Gman is 4 and a half!

I just love that goofy boy pictured above! He is definitely a little boy now, being that he is 4 and a half.....as of January the 24th! I just wanted to shine the light on him tonight since his sister gets a lot of updates. And I have done his half year updates pretty regularly over the years. Its amazing to look back at the 3 1/2 and 2 1/2 seeing just how much he has changed. Even worse, those pictures with stories seem like just yesterday......or I should say lasterday!

But it was also funny to see some things that have stuck...mainly Wii games! He is still in love if not totally addicted to the Wii, it has definitely been a great investment......thanks Nana and Poppa! (In fact, we have had to send it off to be refurbished from it being played so much.)

He does like different games now, though. Mario and most recently Sonic are his favorite characters. A couple mornings ago we had guests for breakfast....

Blue Yoshi and Mario joined our table....I just quickly had to snap a picture. His imagination is still in full swing if not just revving up. He will say "Lets just talk about....." wii games, scenes, fights, and/or memories of all things Mario, Sonic or Cars 2 and then will precede to ramble about a time he beat so & so or Mario threw the fire ball....etc. Tyler and I just nod and say "Really?"; having no clue what he is talking about most of the time.

Speaking of dreams, since Halloween, he has been talking about his dreams a lot. He will see people, be scared, fight fights, and do all sorts of things in them. But what gets me is that he remembers them and understands they were a dream.

He is also using that imagination in his drawings and building. Its fun to ask him what he drew because he always has a story for each picture. Below is what we built at the Creative Discovery Museum that he came up with on his own.

A couple weeks ago, the below pic was sent home from preschool and I just laughed.....

(make sure you read the yellow words at the top of the page)

We had went to Nashville to do all the Christmas festivities so I guess he thought that was where the North Pole was. He loves to ask about the directions to where we are going. And wants to know every detail. When we pass turns to places we have said we were going, he tries to correct us saying we went the wrong way. Of course, when I try to explain to him why we are going a different way, he typically tells me I am wrong and wants to argue about it.

That's another new and growing character trait...attitude. We are working on his demeanor and looks when asked to do tasks or stop doing certain things. I already know he is going to have a bit of a temper just based on the fact that he wants to get back at us when he gets in trouble and because of how he acts when he loses or doesn't get what he wants.

But he also seems to be a bit of a people pleaser like both of his parents. It crushes him for you to be mad at him. He will say, "Don't be mad at me anymore." or "Don't tell daddy cause he will be mad at me." followed by wailing and many "I'm sorry I did that." He still has the sweet nuturing side that show ups after the moment of temper. Just yesterday, he got in trouble at school and had to sit out of play time. (He got in trouble for spitting at a girl who was apparently growling at him) The teacher, Ms. Tammy, said he completely melted down about being in trouble and said he was sorry multiple times. She said she kept explaining that everyone gets in trouble sometimes and it was ok because he was just so worried she was mad at him. See what I mean....the temper drove him to spit then the people pleaser side made him meltdown. One day, he will balance the two out, I hope. :)

Other updates.....

He is slightly tall for his age.....47 inches I believe. In fact, at Christmas time he was told by a security guard that he couldn't play in the mall play area because he was too tall. I, without thinking, said "Really?! He is only 4." He didn't let him in and Garyn cried for awhile over it.

He also weighs a lot, although he is slim.....48 pounds! I can hardly pick him up from off the ground!

He still loves fruit and eats it multiple times a day. Hamburgers, yogurt and eggo waffles are other stables.

He is reading well and seems to be getting into math more. I am trying to work on him

counting to 100 and adding.

We play lots of games! Trouble, Memory, and his own made up games. We usually do a lot of tag, hide & seek and racing games that he comes up with.

He also likes to play on our computer or phones. He writes in the search box things he likes, then looks at whatever comes up. My search box currently has "smash bros brawl smash" in it from earlier today. We really have to watch him because you never know what might come up in the searches he does. He wants to just play smash brothers games or watch mario videos, but won't always stay on the site we first put him on. We already need parental controls, I guess!

Another favorite that he gets from his daddy is watching movies. The boy could watch a movie ten times in a row and not grow tired of it. We watched Cars 2 so many times I just had to put a stop to it when he would repeat every word they said! (we do have tv restrictions even though it sounds like we don't!)

We are working on his responsibilities to help us with small chores he can do. He does things like clean up his toys; put away his plates and cups in the sink; make his bed; and put away his shoes.  I am also patiently trying to let him dress himself and bathe himself.

Well, I think that is a good synopsis of our little Gman....... who still insists you call him that. He says he changed his name. I appreciate his individuality, though, and usually oblige!

Isn't he just the cutest!