What we are up to! 4 year old edition

A little update on what Max and Claire have been up to from the past year.

I thought two was hard, but three was way harder.  While they are so independent, funny, smart and fun....they are also mouthy, say "no" a lot, like to talk back and have started to fight with each other.  They know what ticks me off and do it often.  Needless to say, I have read a few parenting books this year and now taking a six week class called, Parenting the Love and Logic Way.  Only two weeks in, but really enjoying it.

I did a little questionnaire with them:

Max

Favorite color:  red

Favorite toy:  cars

Favorite food: peanut butter and honey sandwich

Best Friend:  Trevor

Favorite thing to do with Mommy:  read books

Favorite thing to do with Daddy:  play games

Favorite cartoon:  Paw Patrol

Max is my buds.  He has been a bit challenging this year.  He can be so sweet, but when he is mad, he is miserable to be around.  His anger is no fun... and we are working on it.  He has hit me a few times and that is NOT ok.  When I send him to his room, he slams the door, often kicking it.  His favorite line:  "I'll be good now".  Really hoping to learn a lot in this parenting class.

This past year he played soccer and really liked it!  He loves to play basketball (he can dribble about 30 times in a row!!) and we look forward to putting him on a team this year.  He is happy being outside and running around.  Loves riding bikes.  He got a 2 wheel bike for Christmas (opposed to balance bike with no pedals) and is starting to get the hang of it.  He loved the pool during the summer and we are getting ready to start swim lessons to get ready for this summer.  He also loves TV.  I remember saying (I think when he was 2) "I wish they would watch tv some so I could get things done".... now he could watch TV all day and it's quite annoying. Be careful what you ask for! He loves playing with superheroes, ninja turtles and cars.  

Sleep.  Ah, sleep.  We have pretty much stopped naps.  I made that decision when they were napping 2+ hrs at nap then not going to sleep until 9:30.  Now that we have cut out naps, we usually start bedtime process around 7:15 and asleep by 7:45.  It's really nice having down time with Justin!  They are both still early risers - that means before 7, closer to 6:30 for Max.  Just this week we started sleeping in underwear at night.  He has had one accident so I would say he is doing well!

Buds loves school and is learning so much.  We are still working on recognizing letters and numbers. He loves reading books and I love reading to him!

Claire

Favorite color: rainbow color

Favorite toy: hello kitty phone and wallet

Favorite food: mac and cheese

Best friend: Lily James

Favorite thing to do with Mommy: get nails done

Favorite thing to do with Daddy: play games

Favorite cartoon: Sofia the First

Claire is my mini me!  She is a little fashionista; loves clothes and shoes!  She wants to get dressed first thing every morning and usually picks out something really cute.  As Justin would tell her, "so cute, I mean so cute!"  She loves walking in our room to check herself out in our floor length mirror. She also likes to do her own hair and she's pretty good at doing her own ponytail!  She gets attached to one or two pieces of clothing and will wear them multiple times a week.  Right now she loves her skinny jeans, black and white stripped tunic and a white tank top that she wears under most things!

She is pretty easy going and can be a big help.... when she wants to.  She is not good at quiet time bc she is attached to my hip and would rather follow me around the house than do something by herself. She can be mouthy and always tries to get out of doing anything i ask her to do, especially cleaning up.  Usually she is "too tired" or "it's too hard to do by herself".  She is not huge into TV.  She will sit for a few minutes, but would rather play music and dance or play pretend with her baby dolls.  She walks around with her pretend phone or my phone calling people and usually having a conversation similar to one I would have had earlier in the day.  She also comes up with random stories about "her daughter" that are absolutely hilarious!

She is going to be a great help with her baby sister.  She is very motherly around any kids younger than her!

She started dance at the end of the summer and will continue through to her recital.  I thought she would LOVE it as much as she dances around the house.  She likes it ok.  She usually complains and says she doesn't want to go, but has a great time once she is there.  I may sign her up for soccer with Max this spring as well as swim lessons.  She also likes to play outside and be with her friends.  She likes to play games and is very smart.  She recognizes most of her letters and numbers through 10. She likes memory and alphabet games and likes the challenge.  She can write her name and Max's name.  She LOVES to draw and color and is really good at staying in the lines.  I give her notepads and she walks around writing "notes" all the time.

Sleep is same as Max.  It's harder for her to stay awake and not nap. I have to keep her engaged so she doesn't fall asleep around 5:00.  She has been known to put herself down for a nap!  She has been pull up free at night for a week now! So proud!

Love these two so much and really enjoy watching their personalities grow.  My everything!

We don't have their 4 year well check until March, but unofficially:

Claire: 39 lbs, wears mostly size 4T, some 5T, size 10.5 shoe

Max: 49 lbs, wears mostly 5T, size 13 shoe