4 years old!

We have a 4-year-old! (Well, we've had a 4-year-old for six weeks now, but who's counting?) Our big guy celebrated his 4th birthday on March 1. Unfortunately we were not at Disneyland or on the beach for this birthday, but Jack did get to celebrate with all four grandparents at the same time--which is something he had never done. We went to an indoor pool in the morning, played with Teagan all day, and had pizza and cake for dinner. Jack got his first set of real golf clubs, complete with bag and shoulder straps. He hasn't had a chance to practice outside much yet, but we are hoping to get him some lessons this summer so he starts to learn how to swing a club.

Jack at 4 is a delight. Now that we're in our new house (yay!), he has settled down and seems to be more like himself. He is re-discovering all of his toys that have been in storage for the last few months, and he can play by himself most of the time. Sometimes he likes to share with Lydia and let her push buttons on his fire truck or play with the ball he's using, and other times he wants his own space. He still dotes on her--his first question when he comes out of his room in the morning is almost always, "Where's Lydia?" He is becoming more and more independent with dressing himself, bathing himself, and eating. As Lydia moves around and is no longer much of an infant, it is helpful when Jack can get himself dressed. He has been very into books lately, and I hope we can keep that going. When we sit down to read books before bedtime, he wants to "read" them to us first. At school, they have apparently been reading some Shel Silverstein because tonight when he "read" me a book, this is the story he told:

(Shel Silverstein fans might recognize this as "Sick." Here's a link to the full poem: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/16480).

Jack told me last night that he loves his new school, and he told me this morning that our new house feels like our house in Colorado. When I asked him if that meant he thought that our new house was cozy and comfortable, he agreed. After all that he's been through in the last year (new baby sister, moving, two new schools, living with Grandma and Grandpa), he is thriving. We are so proud of him!