Fabulous Four!

Doesn’t he look so grown up?

Josiah turned four today!  I am astonished that time could possibly pass so quickly and that this once newborn is a full blown kid.  He is a wonderful, kid, I have to say!  He is becoming bold, learning new things daily, thinking things through, is purposefully entertaining, and very sweet.  He also talks constantly with a booming voice that commands attention and runs around like a crazy kid.  We are beyond grateful for the little boy that he is.

Go get ‘em!  I feel like he’s racing into his future!

Right now Josiah is enjoying so many things.  He used to only be a truck and tractor lover, but while he still loves them, he now is enjoying a wide variety of things like his kitchen set, balls, learning toys, random little toys, any sort of “instrument” (real or home made), trains, and baby dolls…yes, I said baby dolls.  He went through a period a month or so ago that he begged for a baby sister and would tell me all the things he’d do with her, for her, and to her.  He said he’d let her sleep with him and get up with her to feed her at night when she woke. I’ll have to remember that if we end up going down that road!  It was so sweet.  He didn’t want a brother because he said he already had one of those and maybe a sister would love them both. 

He still loves trucks!

He’s also a tough soccer player…

…that “can handle dirt” and will stick his tongue out at you…

…and has great kicking form :)

And here he’s practicing for that baby sister he dreams of with my raggedy childhood doll.

Though they have their fights, he’s pretty good with this sibling already.

Anything can be enjoyable outside!

And running is still a favorite activity:

This is THE most food motivated kid!  He constantly wants to eat, preferably sweets, though he doesn’t get that many, but he cleans his dinner plate, too.  Here he’s enjoying a train lollipop from a birthday party.

He is also starting to love all kinds of t.v. shows.  I have mixed feelings about this, but will admit to these shows being nice when I don’t want to share my breakfast or I do want to walk on my treadmill.  Right now he likes Imagination Movers, Mickey Mouse, Callilou, Winnie the Pooh, any movie I let him pick from the library, and the “funny news”, a.k.a. America’s Funniest Home Videos.  We don’t have cable, but he has a wonderful aunt who sometimes records these things for him then we watch the over and over and over…  :)

But it’s not like all we do is sit around and play with toys while watching t.v.  Josiah loves to play outside and can get entertainment from everything from dirt and rocks, to the swing set, to his bike, to his Jeep.  He enjoys putting on “programs” which may consist of dancing while singing some made up song, or of running wildly through the fall leaves that Jacob only recently got rid of.  We also do structured (which he balks at) and unstructured learning time as well as crafts.  This boy loves to do crafts.  In particular, he is always so proud of the crafts he makes in Sunday School.  His teachers are so creative!

We were looking at this handout from Sunday School the other day when Josiah did math in his head for the first time!  You are supposed to compare the differences in the pictures and we had him count the flowers on the top (7), then on the bottom (5), then he exclaimed without a pause, “this one has 2 less flowers!”  He had no clue why we were excited and proud when we told him he’d just done math on his own.

Josiah has also started to say some of the funniest things.  One that cracked us up was when he started calling himself a man-boy.  He usually refuses to sing or do hang motions to songs in Sunday School and, try as we might, he just won’t do it and we didn’t know why.  He finally told us it was because Savannah told him man-boys don’t do things like that.  We pointed out that the Imagination Movers do and he has since thought differently about it.  He has used that explanation of himself routinely since.  I have mentioned before that Josiah almost always tells me that I am pretty when I put something on other than my “house clothes.” (What does that say about me???  It’s usually just workout pants and a top.)  The other day I wore a mix, though.  I put on jeans, a purple T-shirt, and a different color of purple slipper socks.  When I walked out he said, “Mommy, you are pr…you look like a rainbow!”  Ha ha!

He’s not so well dressed himself first thing in the morning!  This is his preferred mix.

I’m not sure why, but unicorns came up the other night while we were eating a meal with corn and I asked Josiah if he knew what unicorns are.  He said, “yes, it’s this,” and pointed to one piece of corn.  Well, yes, that is a uni-corn all right.

And apparently there is just something hysterical about a fake phone clipped to your underwear.

We have been looking into where to send Josiah for preschool next fall.  We are very close to making a decision, but it is not a fun process!  He loves every school we take him to but insists he’s not going.  It’s in his nature to resist change, but I’m confident he’ll love it once he starts because he’s always drawn towards groups of kids.  Schooling seemed so far off when we were anticipating having kids, but now it is upon us and I’m feeling a little panicky.  I’m not worried about them “leaving the nest” so much, but I’m just worried about making the right choices for them.  Poor Josiah will be our experiment.

I love this sweet face with the cutest round cheeks surrounding the most precious happy smile!

Josiah is such a bright spot in our lives.  We love his cuddles in the morning, his laughter during tickles and play, his jokes, his sweet comments, and his blossoming courage reined in by a healthy level of danger analysis.  This next year promises to be a big one for him and I am so excited to see him “at work.”  He always says he has lots of work to do, and he does!  Growing up is hard work!