Happy 4th Birthday, Brooks!

Happy Birthday to our sweet Brooksie Boy!

It is hard to believe how quickly time has passed. Somehow, Brooks is 4 years old already. Brooks is a sweet, shy, and slightly feisty little boy. He loves to play with his sister, and he looks up to her so much. He copies everything she says and does. He is constantly begging for her approval or acknowledgement. He is kind and caring, and likes to snuggle on his own terms. At school and around people he doesn't know very well, he is extremely shy. He often hides behind my legs when people are talking to him, and wants to hold my hand when he feels nervous or anxious. He is still stubborn and opinionated. When he believes something is right, he will not back down even if proven wrong. He still has those big eyes that we've always adored. He has a cute little smile, and a couple of dimples if you look closely. He is his own person, and we love him so much!

Brooks was once again excited to do his birthday interview. He actually insisted that he do his on the same day that Kylie did hers, even though it was about a week before his birthday! He was quite decisive about his favorite things (unlike Kylie who seems to like everything!), and I can honestly say that I believe all of these things are very true!

Some of Brooks' favorite things:

Favorite color: red

Favorite animal: bear

Favorite TV show: Paw Patrol

Favorite movie: Surf's Up

Favorite food: Popcorn (Ironically, his least favorite food is "yellow corn.")

Favorite drink: water

Favorite toy: Monster truck named Snake Bite (this was before his birthday)

Favorite lunch food: Sandwich and "plain bread"

Favorite outfit: Batman shirt

Favorite snack: S'more mix

Favorite song: "Life is a Highway" (from the movie Cars)

Favorite book: Cars book

Favorite friends: Cristian, Alexander, Claire, and Gwyn

Favorite holiday: Christmas

Favorite thing to do outside: Play on his balance bike

Favorite thing to do at school: Play with Alexander

Favorite thing to take to bed: "Rar, Rar"

What do you want to be when you grow up? A Zookeeper or Ice Skating Teacher

What did you eat for dinner on your birthday? Piada (for lunch) Pizza (for dinner)

A few of Brooks' other favorite things include going to preschool, gymnastics, and swimming lessons, playing with anything that has a remote control, cars, trucks, puzzles, and books. He likes to be active and can often be found running laps around the house. He likes to wrestle and play "tickle monster" with anyone who is willing. He loves Christmas lights and going to the zoo! He likes to pretend he is an animal. He changes which animal he is frequently, but some of the most common ones include lizard, bear, walrus, lemur mouse, rat, and skunk. He likes taking baths and playing with play-doh. His favorite foods include hummus, peanut butter and honey sandwiches, grapes, oranges, apples, goldfish crackers, fruit snacks, and granola bars.

Brooks is pretty good at letting us know when he doesn't like something very much. Here are some of the things he currently does not like. He still cannot eat corn. Even if the corn is in something, he gags every time. He also doesn't like to eat soup. This seems to be more of a stubborn issue than an actual aversion. He does not like the cold weather outside. We have to walk Kylie to school in the morning, and he cries almost every day because he is cold. He does not like wearing pants in the afternoon. He always takes them off during quiet time, and generally doesn't want to put them back on unless we are going somewhere. He doesn't like to lose a power struggle. Sometimes, I find myself in little power struggles with him, and it really feels like he is refusing to give in because he wants to be in control. For example, I asked him to put his own shoes on the other day. Rather than even try, he refused until he was in time out for screaming at me! 

As far as milestones, a few things stand out. First of all, he is in preschool! I can't believe he's old enough! He's doing well, and loves to go. At his parent/teacher conference in October, the teachers told me that he is shy (which I knew), but also calm, content, and laid back (haha!). I'm glad he is that way at school because he kind of runs the show at home! He is also potty trained! He did it easily about 1 month after his third birthday. He does still wear a pull-up at night, but he doesn't like to wake up wet, so hopefully he can stop wearing that soon too. He is communicating well verbally, but has trouble with a few sounds. He had a speech screening done at preschool, and they have recommended he have a full evaluation so that is scheduled for next week. I'm hoping they can give me a few tips and tricks to work on at home with him. I would say he is about 90-95% understandable to an outsider. He knows all of his colors, shapes, and many letters. He can write his first name (but struggles with the R and K) and counts to 20. He sings a few songs to himself (but he doesn't like to perform, so I have to catch him singing). He knows "Jesus Loves Me," "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," and "Jingle Bells." He is holding his pencil correctly now, which was a huge battle. He his surprisingly good at coloring within the lines and using a scissors. I think this must be second child thing...He's watched Kylie do those things so much that he has learned earlier to do them. He can run well, gallop, jump, hop and balance on one foot for a short time, do forward rolls, donkey kicks, and a rudimentary cartwheel. He is also really good at the balance bike. I think we'll have to start him on a real bike (hopefully without training wheels) next summer. I'm not sure on his exact height and weight, but he has a well-child appointment next week, so I will update then.* He is wearing 4T clothes, and size 9 shoes. He is a good sleeper, but is starting to have nightmares. He sleeps from about 7:30pm-7:30am, and wakes up screaming once or twice a week from his "bad dreams," but can put himself back to sleep quickly after being comforted. He is a good eater, and will try almost everything we give him.

*Updated 12/16: Brooks weighs 35 pounds and is 41 inches tall. He is in the 48th percentile for weight, and the 64th percentile for height. If he stays on the same growth curve, his pediatrician said he will be about 5'11.5" tall!

This year, Brooks' birthday was the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Jon was off of work, and it was really nice to have him home to shower our boy with attention. He woke up to streamers in his doorway (which is becoming our little tradition), and a pile of gifts to open. We went to church and then to Piada (his favorite) for lunch. After lunch, we spent the afternoon at home Face timing with his grandparents and opening a few more gifts. We went to our church small group in the late afternoon and then to Carsonies for dinner! It was a wonderful day!

We love our Brooksie boy so much! He makes us laugh everyday! We are so blessed!

He opened most of gifts first thing in the morning.

He played with all of his gifts immediately.

This is one of his favorite new toys, the hovercraft!

"It can drive on all surfaces, even mud." - Brooks