FOUR YEARS OLD!

(I started this post over a week ago and am just now getting back to it...sorry!)

At each birthday I usually like to do a recap of favorites, stats, etc. Since I didn't include it in Diego's birthday post, I thought I'd do a new one.

I forgot to tell a cute story from the morning of his birthday. As soon as he woke up he said "Mami, ya que tengo 4 anios, puedo saltar mas alto? Yo creo que si...mira!" (Mami, now that I'm 4 can I jump higher? I think so...watch!") He stood in place in his room and jumped as high as he could He proceeded to go all around the house to see if he was bigger. He sprinted across the living room to see if he could run faster. He went up to several counter tops to see if he stood taller. He tried on clothes that used to be too big. He sat in the chairs at the dining room to see if he could reach better. It was adorable! He spent a long time testing his new 4-year old skills!

He had his four-year check up this past Thursday and he is in perfect health, praise God! He weighs 40 pounds and measures 40 inches. He had his hearing and eyesight checked and did great. When the doctor asked him who his best friend is, his response was, "Asher!" So sweet.

He received 4 vaccinations which were dreadful, but it did help that he had a new transformer in hand to distract him from the pain.

Some favorites of our sweet boy:

Favorite color: Green

Favorite food: yogurt, hummus & crackers (only the kind from Trader Joes), salad w/ broccoli and cucumber topped with olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Favorite dessert: ice cream or any fruit with whipped cream

Favorite beverage: orange juice and his morning smoothie (milk, banana, blueberries, strawberries, flax seed & wheat bran)

Favorite article of clothing: red lounge pants

Favorite game: Candyland and Ladybug game

Favorite time of day: 7am - 1pm

Favorite activity: Running

Some fun facts:

- He is learning to read and write. He can read all 3-letter words and is enjoying being challenged with longer words. He loves to sound out letters which really helps him with his reading. He can write all letters of the alphabet, but of course some are better than others!

- He loves to count and sequence objects. He can count by twos and can count backwards.

- Every evening we tuck him in my doing a "sandwichito" (little sandwich). Ricardo and I lay on either side of him in his bed and he is the peanut butter and we are the pieces of bread. We give him a long cuddle and it makes him sooooo happy. The problem with this routine is that Ricardo is not home for bedtime on a lot of week nights so Diego gets upset and will sometimes settle for Alexia being the other piece of bread.

- He makes our coffee every morning by pouring the water into the coffee maker and scooping the coffee into the filter

- He pours his own milk (no matter how full the gallon is!) and never spills

- He is a total cuddle bug

- He loves to hide and as soon as he hears the garage door (Ricardo coming home) he runs to a hiding place

- He loves to run and run and run

- He loves to sing and is always singing in the car and usually humming a tune as he plays

- He loves to shower with Ricardo in the mornings

- He has become especially attached to Ricardo lately and is very loving and affectionate with him

- He claims to "love the cold," but usually asks to put a sweater on when he wakes up in the morning

- He enjoys memorizing bible scriptures and learning catechisms

- He is an amazing big brother to Alexia and really adores her. He is thrilled to have a baby brother soon!