Nathan is 4.5 Years Old!

Nathan.  You are now 4.5 years old, but I feel like you are six. 

You are as big as a six-year-old.

You are socially confident like a kindergartner.

You are as smart as a six-year-old.

You have grown up far too fast for my liking.  Every time I see a really cute baby/toddler picture on the digital picture frame I say, "Awwww!  You were so cute!".  You hate it!

At 4.5 years old you weigh 47.4 lbs and are 46 1/8" tall.  You wear size 6 clothes and size 12 or 13 shoes.

We have started teaching you how to read.  Since Matthew and Kayla started learning to read 1.5 years ago, you were exposed to what sounds letters make and how to spell words.  You have been listening and absorbing everything they say/do/learn, and so it wasn't surprising when reading started coming quite quickly for you.  Matthew and Kayla's teacher allows Matthew and Kayla to take the beginner book-in-a-bag books home for you.  We never make you sit down and read with us.  When we do read, you initiate it and it's only for a few minutes at a time.  I don't want you to learn too quickly!  You are looking forward to pre-kindergarten day and then kindergarten in the fall.

You enjoyed playing soccer this year, and did well at swimming lessons in the fall.

Your favourite things to eat are:
Breakfast:  Corn Pops and a banana
Lunch:  Two (or three, on occassion) slices of bread with either chocolate icing, hagelslaac, or dutch cheese.
Dinner:  Rice and "Chicken on a Bone"
Anytime:  Any fruit.  Homemade cookies and muffins.  Seriously...you ask for them non-stop when I make them!  You easily eat three muffins for snack or five for breakfast/lunch if I let you.

You love Parker.  You smother her, which she despises so she "growls" at you, and you don't even seem to notice.

You love Olivia, too.  She is usually accepting of your hugs and kisses, which is nice for you.  She hates it when you try to put your arm around her in the car and so it sits on top of her carseat with your fingers dangling in her hair.

Nathan, you were pretty excited to get a bunk bed and to sleep on the top.

You love playing with your cousins, but can be quite moody and so sometimes you just would rather play by yourself.  You still have a soft spot for Carly.

You always choose the blue cup and plate.

You have been doing really well at eating during dinner time.  For a while you only wanted to eat with help.  We were helping you for a bit, but since then only will help you with one bite.  You seem to have gotten over that phase and typically feed yourself your whole meal.

You still have a tough time getting along with your Dad.  You have a lot of fun with him, but you don't like to listen to him when he's serious.  If I'm around we can manage that fine, but when I'm out, you are out of luck and so there is more conflict. 

You have the worst habit of biting your nails!  Your nails are about half the size of what they should be, and it's disgusting! 

You love to watch Matthew play on the Wii, and then play yourself, too.

Nathan, you love the Avengers and have recently developed a love for Star Wars.  You love dressing up like a super hero and reading about them, too.

You know what "N", "E", "S", and "W" mean when you read the cardinal direction display in vehicles. 

You can easily count past 100.

I think you know how to form almost all of the uppercase and lowercase letters.  They may not be formed by the right procedure, but the end result looks the same.

You still sleep with your baby blanket, your baby, your puppy and a handful of other stuff animals.