Will is as curious, joyful, and sweet as ever (except when he's picking on his little sister which has really ramped up lately). He provides running commentary on the world in a way that only a four year old could do it--I am ever grateful to be able to witness him discover the world with such pure innocence. He has a very creative imagination and is forever building elaborate designs with his wooden blocks and Lego Duplos, all the while incorporating other random toys and making up a story to go with the whole thing (when Cate is involved he is sure to let her know exactly what she is supposed to be doing in his imaginary world). He loves to color, especially with markers, and really seems to enjoy going to school and learning. He's starting to explore writing the letters that are not contained in his name. And this kid has a bit of a freakish memory. He LOVED Christmas--every bit of it between the birth of Jesus, Santa, the songs, you name it. Up until very recently he was still regularly playing "the Grinch", singing Christmas songs, or playing "Santa". My soon-to-be 4 1/2 year old still naps pretty regularly (don't hate if yours stopped napping at 3--just remember how hard I had it in the potty training category and I still have one stubborn kiddo to go!). Will loves pancakes, bacon, popcorn, donuts, lollipops, chicken drumsticks ("bone chicken"), marshmallows, and cereal and milk (Lucky Charms is probably the fav due to the marshmallows). He and Cate still eat a wide variety of meats, fruits, and veggies, which makes my life a lot easier. Over the last couple weeks Will has really started testing boundaries (i.e., not following directions, picking excessively on Cate, arguing with us, etc.). We're working on it, but boy I don't like being the bad guy.
Both kiddos started their spring semester of swim lessons this week. I was worried about Will because he regressed a bit toward the end of last semester, but he had a great first lesson. He adjusted easily to his new teacher, and I actually think he'll do a little better in this new class. He is now back with his age group and they stay in the pool the entire lesson and rotate turns quickly so there's less time to get distracted, and for Will, less time to overthink this whole swimming thing, especially putting his eyes in the water. Cate started her new class as well, but still had Mr. Armando since he was subbing for her new teacher. We'll meet Mr. Brendan next week and see how that goes. Cate is pretty comfortable in the water so I don't anticipate it being a problem--not sure if it's natural ability/personality or just that we started her a year younger than Will. I'll try to get some videos soon of their progression.
On to school year 2014-2015...it's hard to believe we have to think so far ahead, but registration for Cate's current school and new student registration for St. Pats was this month. Next month begins re-enrollment for Will. We went back and forth with sending Will 3 days per week or 5, but at the end of the day we found a good compromise. We will be enrolling Will in 5 day PK4 so that Cate can also attend St. Pats (PK3 is only offered on Tu/Th at St. Pats and if Will went to 3 day PK4, he'd go M/W/F and then I wouldn't be able to get my 3 day work week in). The compromise is that I'm planning on keeping Will home on Fridays and then Cate will have a sitter either Monday or Wednesday. That leaves me with 3 days at work, 1 day with just Cate, and 1 day with both of them. At the end of the day I think this is the best choice for our little foursome.
On to little Miss Cate--At this point, aside from being still in diapers and using a paci when she sleeps, Cate has no traces of toddlerhood left. (I know, I know--just planted the idea of the paci fairy and for better or worse said fairy is coming next week.) She talks non-stop, launching into monologues, and some of the stuff that comes out of her mouth seems well beyond her years. I'm not entirely sure where she even picks some of this stuff up. She has days here and there where she's starting to ask "Why?" a lot. She loves to dress up and play with her princesses, but still hates to have her hair brushed or put into any kind of ponytail, clip, or bow. She loves animals, but seems particularly drawn to cats and horses. She enjoys playing pretend with her dolls and frequently puts them to bed by tucking them in and kissing them good night. She is full of sass and loves to pose/model (again, not sure where she gets that from). One of the oddest things she does is lick people, well mostly me, but still. She does it the most in church of all places. Cate adores her big brother and seems a little lost on the rare occasion when he's not around. However, she blames every injury on him, even when they aren't in the same room. Her most common fib is "Will hurt me." And she gets very upset if I hold Will. We are at square one on potty training. Cate seems to understand the entire concept but hasn't decided to do it yet. She gets her dad's stubbornness (and maybe a bit from me), so I have a feeling she will decide one day and it won't be too hard from there (fingers crossed). Some of Cate's favorites are yogurt (with or without granola), applesauce, cooked carrots, cereal and milk, donuts with chocolate icing and sprinkles, edamame, and pretty much anything on our plates (even if the same thing is on hers). Most of her mispronunciations revolve around food: "pasghetti", gorilla (what she usually calls granola), and "bressert" are a few common ones. My favorite is probably "Okamomo".
And finally a random shot left from Christmas.
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