Tyler is 4 years old!

I've said it a lot lately, but I just can't believe that I have a one year old AND a four year old! Tyler has been doing SO good lately and I was just telling Travis the other night that we are so lucky that he's such a good/sweet kid. Don't get me wrong, he certainly has his moments, but things feel so much easier than they did six months ago when I mentioned all the tantrums that he was having. I think those tantrums were a combination of him trying to adjust with Kinley around and dropping his afternoon nap. Fast forward to today and he is a lot more interactive with Kinley. She bugs the snot out of him, but he does a really good job of tolerating her and actually seems to enjoy having her around at times. I love the moments when I catch him playing games with her and I feel like it's happening more often now. He's still not taking a long afternoon nap at home, but he almost always takes a cat nap in the car when we're out running errands during the day. Not everyday, but a few times a week. Lately, he'll fall asleep in the car and then I transfer him to a shopping cart to sleep while I buy groceries or shop at Target. He also goes to bed a little earlier and even tells us if he's tired and wants to sleep. That's pretty crazy considering our difficult sleeping history with him, but I'm loving that he's getting the much needed rest and that it has helped restore a little harmony around our house. :-)

His imagination is still growing by the day. He has full conversations between his super heroes and other toys. He doesn't have set chores yet, but he has been helping me more around the house, setting the table, bringing me dirty dishes, collecting dirty clothes, putting up toys, vacuuming and he's a huge help with Kinley.

He's becoming very clever and witty and says the funniest things for a four year old. He likes being on teams at the house and it's usually the boys versus girls when Daddy is home, but he always asks to be on Mommy's team during the day.

I found this cute idea online (asking the same questions each year to the kids starting at 3 or 4 and seeing how their answers change over the years) and I'm excited to start making it one of our birthday traditions. It was fun to get a list of Tyler's favs, although I added to some. The videos follow the list (and are worth watching to see Tyler sing his favorite song or demonstrate Hide-n-Seek). I think this sums Tyler up for the moment.

1. How old are you? 4.
2. What is your favorite color? Blue.
3. What is your favorite toy? Captain America shield. Do you have any other favorite toys? Rescue Bots, Chase.
4. What is your favorite game? Hide-n-go-seek.
5. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play on my swing. (He loves riding his bike, digging in dirt and playing with Cooper as well).
6. What is your favorite thing to do inside? Play with my Rescue Bots... really loud. (He loves playing with Play-Doh, coloring, playing with his Legos and playing on the iPad as well).
7. What is your favorite TV show or cartoon? Peppa Pig. (He also loves watching Rescue Bots, Transformers, Avengers, Max & Ruby, Mike the Knight, Dora and UmiZoomi right now).
8. What is your favorite outfit? This. (Orange Avengers t-shirt)
9. What is your favorite animal? A cat.
10. What is your favorite song? ABC's.
11. What is your favorite book? Rescue Bots.
12. What is your favorite fruit? Apple.
13. What is your favorite cereal? Lucky Charms.
14. What is your favorite snack? Fruit snack.
15. What is your favorite drink? Water.
16. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Cereal. (He usually asks for eggs and toast with jelly). :-)
17. What is your favorite thing to eat for dinner? Chicken and broccoli. (His other fav is grilled chicken salads).
18. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas. Why? Because you get Angry Birds and stuff.
19. Who is your best friend? Tanner.
20. What do you like to take with you to bed at nighttime? Lovey. (And a sippy cup of milk).
21. What is your favorite restaurant? Mama Fu's. (He also loves Chick-fil-A).
22. What is your favorite place to go to? Jumpy Houses.
23. What are you excited to do this year? Stay home and play with my new drum set. (In addition, he has been looking forward to the neighborhood pool opening and going to the coast to play in the sand and fish).
24. What do you want to be when you grow up? Tyler. What kind of job do you want to do when you grow up? Fix cars.... bang, bang, bang!

take 1~


take 2~