10 Things about James

Oh James. Where do I start with this kid?

1. He turned four at the end of November. I have no idea if he is a typical four-year-old or not. All I know is he is about the most creative, imaginative little guy I know, which is awesome but often frustrating. When we're trying to do something that should be basic black and white, he finds ways to mix in a million shades of gray. For instance, I've been working on reading with him. Every day during Livy's nap we have our "reading lessons." James' ability to be distracted by anything else  other than what we're working on makes me want to pull my hair out. Instead of just sounding out the sounds like he knows he's supposed to, he'll find ways to make the words do silly things, make little characters out of each one, find various patterns within the letters, etc. Each day I try to stay calm, only feeling my blood pressure rising more and more as we get further into it. Since Brian and I long ago determined that he'd help the kids with math and I'd help them with reading/writing, I've been excited to share with them my love for reading, but some days I want to throw in the towel and tell myself he can learn in kindergarten from someone more patient than myself who can deal with him unleashing his creative shenanigans.

2. I can't believe how fast this kid is growing up. Not only physically, but emotionally and mentally as well. He's always been verbal and expressive but he's reached such an astounding level that sometimes I mistake him for a 12-year-old rather than my sweet little four-year-old. Brian went out of town last week and told James man-to-man that he was in charge of the family while he was away and had to take care of us. James really took this to heart and every day would help me out with Livy and do kind things for me. At the end of every day he'd remind me that he took care of us that day.

He is so loving (most of the time). He still loves to give hugs and kisses and I dread the day this stops. He tells me at least once a day "Mom, I love you so much that I can't stop loving you." Sometimes I think he says it to butter me up when he's done something wrong, but I love to hear it anyway.

3. This kid is such a social creature. He loves being with other people, young or old. He's the youngest in his primary class by quite a few months (some days it's more obvious than others) but you can tell the kids in his class look up to him and adore him. As a mom, that makes me so happy. I've already been told by several moms that their daughters have a crush on my son. I don't know what he does to warrant this, but it makes me laugh.

 

4. He's starting to really get into spiritual things, is super inquisitive (just now he asked me why Jesus didn't live in Israel anymore and if he would now be considered an angel). I don't know if it's just him growing up, me being more conscious of teaching him concepts, or primary, but he talks about God and Jesus all the time and requests primary songs to be played on the piano or sung to him daily. The other day he was playing with some blocks and was quite serious about building a temple (pictured below). When Livy destroyed it out of retaliation later that day, he was quite distraught about it and was worried he wouldn't be able to rebuild it just like he did before. Now he requests that I take pictures of everything he builds in case it needs to be rebuilt later.

 

5. He wants to be just like his dad. He's constantly reminding me that he wants to grow up to be a doctor and fix people's faces "just like dad." When Brian is gone, I can tell how much he misses him. The bright spot of his day is when Brian comes home and rough houses with him. Those two have a special relationship and I love to watch it unfold.

 

 

6. He's getting to be quite helpful with housework and, luckily, is still quite enthused about helping. Laundry is his favorite. He loves for me to ask him to be the delivery boy and he delivers the laundry piles with great pride. If he knows something is helpful for me, he'll happily do it.

7. For the most part, he's pretty well behaved in public and we don't even have to worry about him anymore. Although he still has his moments, I feel like I can now count on him to be the dependable, helpful one and I love that. So while I have to wrestle Livy at the grocery store, hurry and get my shopping done while she screams with me holding her down with one arm while I push the cart with the other arm, I can totally depend on James to sit quietly and patiently until I'm done. If I ask him to help make Livy happy, he'll do it the best he can (with her it's sometimes an impossible task) and try and talk her into calming down. Sometimes all it takes is him holding her hand and there is instant peace. He has that effect on her and it's amazing.

8. He still goes to bed around 8 and wakes up around 7:45 on the dot every morning. Some days he'll come stand by my bed until I wake up. Other days, if I'm up before him, he'll sneak out and hide from me then jump out and pretend to scare us. Naps are almost nonexistent, although maybe will happen once every couple of weeks or so. I can't decide which is worse though, him not napping on days I wish he would, but then going to bed early, or him falling asleep for a nap, being happy the rest of the day but not being able to fall asleep for bed until after 10 or 11 and then being grouchy the next day because of it. It's a vicious cycle. I know on the days driving home from preschool that it'll be a nap day when he sits in the back and says "Mom, my head is too exhausted to hold itself up."

9. He's finally out of his super picky toddler nightmarish eating phase. As Livy's getting progressively worse, he's getting that much better. He likes meat now, eats salad like its candy, and can pretty much be convinced to try anything and finally loves healthier food more than sweets. There is hope in the world.

10. He's super into "I Spy" books and mazes right now. Unfortunately, he could also play games on the iPad all day if we let him (which we do not--Andrea, I know you're worried). He loves playing games, too. Nothing fancy. Candy Land and Operation are favorites. But even more than games, he loves anything we all do together, whether it be going to the park, watching a movie, playing sports (bowling is a new favorite, if you can call that a sport), etc.

That's our James. Thank goodness for him.