#HundtBoysX4: 6.5, 4.5, 1.5
My boys celebrated all their half birthdays in November. This halfway point makes me pause and reflect on each of them. It's almost February so clearly my reflection is a bit delayed ;)
Here's what's going on with each of my boys...
Nolan is the biggest fan of all sports. He wakes up every morning just to look at scores and see teams' records. He just is a sport enthusiast. Currently, he's started playing basketball for the first time and has loved playing soccer and t-ball. Nolan is a reader and I love it. He reads in the car, he reads to calm down, he reads to learn, and he reads for enjoyment. We feel very lucky this love of reading is already inside of him. Recently, he's been big on atlases and just informational text on countries, populations, weather, etc. He also likes chapter books. We've been reading The Princess in Black, Nate the Great, Notebook of Doom, and Magic Tree House series.
This kid needs to be kept busy. If left to his own devices, he loves to run and chase and tackle, which usually doesn't end well. He loves school, but I will say first grade hasn't lit a candle of joy inside him quite like kindergarten. We have a few theories as to why, but are capitalizing on his genuine love of learning rather than where he does some of that learning to keep him motivated and excited.
Nolan is LOVING any traveling we've done. He enjoys learning about other places and experiencing other places. His attitude is absolutely fantastic and gets excited to do or see anything; it's really awesome!
Judah has made incredible growth as a learner these last several months. He has some wonderful math knowledge, making gains in his reading, but particularly, it's his love for science and social studies that make my heart sing. He often comes home to tell us the latest factoid; he remembers things so well from those two disciplines. He's loved learning about monuments and history and bugs, and animals, and how the body works, etc, etc. Our travels have been great for this love of places and people. After we went to New York City in October, he coincidentally learned about the Statue of Liberty at school and couldn't WAIT to gush about how cool it was to see it in person.
Competitive sports have not been shown to be Judah's biggest thing, but he was given the job of assistant coach on Nolan and Josh's soccer team and he loved it so much. He really enjoys telling people what to do and regulating other's behaviors so coaching is definitely in that sort of neighborhood ;) He is also sensational at encouraging others. Josh noticed that as much as Judah did NOT hustle when he was actually playing soccer, he hustles like CRAZY to get cones set up for drills or going to fetch soccer balls.
Him and Nolan are both trying chess in an after school club and Judah is really enjoying that. He's also recently took up taekwondo again and has improved so much just by being six months older.
Oh, Bing, where do I start with you?! As many of you have probably read, Carter got diagnosed with a blood disorder called ITP (Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura). While this has not slowed him down, even though there are times it should have, it has sparked a huge interest in the medical field for him. He plays doctor almost on a daily basis and can take anyone through the process of getting his platelets checked and his IVIG treatment complete with pretending to use alcohol pads to clean the area and cotton balls/band aids to finish it all off. That whole experience has been huge for him during this 4.5 part of his life.
As shown in the picture here, Carter LOVES to dress up. He began his preschool year dressing up every single day for the first few months. Lately, he oscillates between being classy or completely comfortable (a tie or sweat pants). There is so in between with his fashion sense.
He is also starting to do some very early reading and sounding out, which has been super fun! He likes to practice writing letters too. I've observed that although Carter comes off incredibly confident in all that he does, he is very much aware that Nolan and Judah know more than him (as they should) and that sometimes bothers him. He doesn't yet see how big a difference two years is especially a 4 year old and two first graders!
Carter has always loved me in a special kind of way. It's been even more prevalent lately and I am soaking it up. He loves to snuggle with me, compliments me in the most genuine way, and often asks if he can marry me ;)
Preston is happy and just lights up everywhere. Although he is very even-keeled, he's begun do what toddlers do and we've seen some tantrums from him. They are actually hilarious as he rolls around on the floor kicking his legs. He is not talking much, which does have us worried, however, there are oh so many signs of his comprehension, listening, understanding, and engagement in everything we do that we (his family and pediatrician) are trying to let him do things as he wishes on his own timetable. He has 5 people, particularly three brothers, to speak for him.
He does communicate with us pretty extensively through pointing, signing, and making a lot of noises to mean certain things like 'thank you' and 'love you.' Preston LOVES reading and if he can get a book in his hand, he is walking over to you, sitting in your lap, opening it up, and asking please.
Our littlest puppy has extremely good fine motor skills and just motor skills in general. He can climb, jump, spin, trot, and run like nobody's business and his favorite activity, right now, is climbing on top of tables and throwing his hands in the air to signal 'so big!' He will climb any table- dining, coffee, counter, etc.
He is also obsessed with sports balls. If he has a football or basketball in his hand, he's so happy. Preston loves to help do chores and loves to pick up the smallest little crumbs off the floor to give us. He's very neat and tidy and does not like if a mess or spill hangs around for very long. He will point and repeatedly say "uh oh" until someone fixes it.
**************************************
As I read these words myself, it is obvious the individualism in every child. It makes our job so difficult and important as parents because each of these four littles has their distinct temperament, their distinct interests, their distinct needs. It is crazy how four people that come from the same family can be so different, unique and wonderful all on their own. Gosh, these kids are getting big so fast!!!
Here's what's going on with each of my boys...
NOLAN, 6.5:
Nolan is the biggest fan of all sports. He wakes up every morning just to look at scores and see teams' records. He just is a sport enthusiast. Currently, he's started playing basketball for the first time and has loved playing soccer and t-ball. Nolan is a reader and I love it. He reads in the car, he reads to calm down, he reads to learn, and he reads for enjoyment. We feel very lucky this love of reading is already inside of him. Recently, he's been big on atlases and just informational text on countries, populations, weather, etc. He also likes chapter books. We've been reading The Princess in Black, Nate the Great, Notebook of Doom, and Magic Tree House series.
This kid needs to be kept busy. If left to his own devices, he loves to run and chase and tackle, which usually doesn't end well. He loves school, but I will say first grade hasn't lit a candle of joy inside him quite like kindergarten. We have a few theories as to why, but are capitalizing on his genuine love of learning rather than where he does some of that learning to keep him motivated and excited.Nolan is LOVING any traveling we've done. He enjoys learning about other places and experiencing other places. His attitude is absolutely fantastic and gets excited to do or see anything; it's really awesome!
JUDAH, 6.5:
Competitive sports have not been shown to be Judah's biggest thing, but he was given the job of assistant coach on Nolan and Josh's soccer team and he loved it so much. He really enjoys telling people what to do and regulating other's behaviors so coaching is definitely in that sort of neighborhood ;) He is also sensational at encouraging others. Josh noticed that as much as Judah did NOT hustle when he was actually playing soccer, he hustles like CRAZY to get cones set up for drills or going to fetch soccer balls.Him and Nolan are both trying chess in an after school club and Judah is really enjoying that. He's also recently took up taekwondo again and has improved so much just by being six months older.
 |
| Judah, Nolan, and Carter playing a little chess in St. Augustine |
CARTER, 4.5:
Oh, Bing, where do I start with you?! As many of you have probably read, Carter got diagnosed with a blood disorder called ITP (Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura). While this has not slowed him down, even though there are times it should have, it has sparked a huge interest in the medical field for him. He plays doctor almost on a daily basis and can take anyone through the process of getting his platelets checked and his IVIG treatment complete with pretending to use alcohol pads to clean the area and cotton balls/band aids to finish it all off. That whole experience has been huge for him during this 4.5 part of his life. 
As shown in the picture here, Carter LOVES to dress up. He began his preschool year dressing up every single day for the first few months. Lately, he oscillates between being classy or completely comfortable (a tie or sweat pants). There is so in between with his fashion sense.
He is also starting to do some very early reading and sounding out, which has been super fun! He likes to practice writing letters too. I've observed that although Carter comes off incredibly confident in all that he does, he is very much aware that Nolan and Judah know more than him (as they should) and that sometimes bothers him. He doesn't yet see how big a difference two years is especially a 4 year old and two first graders!
Carter has always loved me in a special kind of way. It's been even more prevalent lately and I am soaking it up. He loves to snuggle with me, compliments me in the most genuine way, and often asks if he can marry me ;)
PRESTON, 1.5:
Preston is happy and just lights up everywhere. Although he is very even-keeled, he's begun do what toddlers do and we've seen some tantrums from him. They are actually hilarious as he rolls around on the floor kicking his legs. He is not talking much, which does have us worried, however, there are oh so many signs of his comprehension, listening, understanding, and engagement in everything we do that we (his family and pediatrician) are trying to let him do things as he wishes on his own timetable. He has 5 people, particularly three brothers, to speak for him.
He does communicate with us pretty extensively through pointing, signing, and making a lot of noises to mean certain things like 'thank you' and 'love you.' Preston LOVES reading and if he can get a book in his hand, he is walking over to you, sitting in your lap, opening it up, and asking please.Our littlest puppy has extremely good fine motor skills and just motor skills in general. He can climb, jump, spin, trot, and run like nobody's business and his favorite activity, right now, is climbing on top of tables and throwing his hands in the air to signal 'so big!' He will climb any table- dining, coffee, counter, etc.
He is also obsessed with sports balls. If he has a football or basketball in his hand, he's so happy. Preston loves to help do chores and loves to pick up the smallest little crumbs off the floor to give us. He's very neat and tidy and does not like if a mess or spill hangs around for very long. He will point and repeatedly say "uh oh" until someone fixes it.
**************************************
As I read these words myself, it is obvious the individualism in every child. It makes our job so difficult and important as parents because each of these four littles has their distinct temperament, their distinct interests, their distinct needs. It is crazy how four people that come from the same family can be so different, unique and wonderful all on their own. Gosh, these kids are getting big so fast!!!
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