Expecting the unexpected

From the day he was born over four years ago, I have been consistently delighted with Little B.  As he has grown and moved through the young developmental stages, I have never known what to expect other than that he will surprise me and, most of the time, continue to be a joy.  This is not to say that we haven't had our challenging times, because we certainly have, but love forgives a multitude of sins, right?!

Even four year olds love to be held by their mommies

Little B has found a new stride since he turned four and he constantly delights and amazes me.  For example, I needn't have sobbed with grief when I found out Baby P was a boy and I wouldn't have a little girl to enjoy girly things with, because Little B has been enjoying the Frozen soundtrack more than me!  I finally indulged the girly-princessy part of me and bought it for myself a couple weeks ago and ever since Little B has asked to listen to it almost every day.  I even hear him singing the songs to himself under his breath.  I love that he loves it!

Enjoying the snow at Gramma and Grampa's house (with Gramma's gloves!)

He is also, with practically no effort from us, mastering his letters!  He seeks out opportunities to point out and name letters, which I hope is building a foundation in his brain for starting to read.  I'm not in a hurry for that to happen, other than that I know he will be so pleased with himself.  He's also starting to learn numbers, again, completely unprompted.  He regularly asks to push the buttons on the microwave, naming them as he goes, and tells us the numbers on the clocks and digital thermometer.  Hooray for an active, growing brain!

The main thing I don't like about this age is his forceful, commanding attitude that surfaces whenever we tell him something he doesn't want to hear.  For example, when I say, "Little B, it's time to go, please put on your socks and shoes," he will immediately bark out,  "NO!  I don't want to go!" or "Blaaaast!" (Perhaps he is starting to internalize Jake and the Neverland Pirates a little too much?!)  It's a pretty disrespectful tone of voice, so we're trying to react in ways that encourage him to correct the tone and use nicer words.  Or maybe I should just starting shouting pirate words back at him and see how he reacts!

Brother sledding!

Perhaps the most meaningful thing for my mommy heart right now is how Little B is learning and thinking about God.  He sits through our entire church service with us every Sunday, sometimes more wiggly than others, but by his own choice.  I don't think he necessarily learns things from the sermon yet, but he enthusiastically puts his two quarters in the offering plate, he'll sit with us as we pray and recite the Lord's Prayer, and he always lets me hold him when I go up to take Communion.  It is so special to me to share these traditions of our faith with him, and to see him desire to experience them with us.

My precious boy being in worship the way he needed to experience it that day

Much of my parenting mindset these days is wrapped around the fact that almost everything for my kids is a stage.  Little B won't scream at me like a pirate and be disagreeable whenever I ask him to do something forever.    Baby P won't enjoy dumping boxes of cereal out under the kitchen table forever.  Neither one of my kids will constantly ask me for hugs and cuddles multiple times every day.  I'm doing my best to, as they say, enjoy the journey.  It is an amazing privilege.

Decided he needed to sleep in his tent after we had tucked him in!