Life at Four.

I’ve always written about the kids when they were little, like Evie’s most recent seven month update. But for whatever reason I never write about them at older ages! Javi’s birthday is in September so he’s a bit shy of five. He doesn’t make the birthday cut-off to start Kindergarten and with Covid-19, next school year is a bit up in the air. Today I give you — Javi’s: Life at Four.

Energetic + Cool:

He’s never still! He wakes up every day with more energy than I have in an entire week (and he barely sleeps!). Because of this, we try to spend a lot of time outside, first thing in the morning. He loves running, jumping, crawling, bouncing — any movement that isn’t walking. Sometimes we go outside for hours at a time; other times we go for short bursts more frequently throughout the day. He loves chalk, riding his scooter or bike and playing tag. He has a good kick and enjoys soccer. Games are tough because he refuses to lose! If he doesn’t win he’ll give up and walk away (angry) — we’re working on it 🙂 — He starts T-ball this week!

He’s often saying “watch this” or “did you see that?”. He loves doing tricks and “being cool”. “Coolness” has been a big thing at Four — he’s suddenly very aware of his abilities, his speed, his movements and even his dress! Any outfit I pick out “isn’t cool”. He wants long hair and a motorcycle and is always going on about what is “rock and roll”!

Creative Learner:

He’s a coordinated kid. He’s good with small objects and loves Lego kits and Kiwi Crates. Just recently his drawings have stories to them — he draws people, animals, dinosaurs, etc. His writing is pretty legible but, if not shown, he’ll write in all uppercase letters. He loves to write his name, mama, daddy, Lola and Eva — sometimes all backwards! He loves to create! He turns paper into roads and turtles and firetrucks with the help of scissors and glue. And washi tape! Oh — that’s a favorite thing at Four. He recently learned to make cards so we’ve been being gifted many cards with hearts on the front.

He enjoys practical life activities that are real. What I mean by that is while Lola enjoys tray/shelf work for things like pouring or spooning — Javi only likes these tasks if they’re useful to him. He’s been loving pouring himself drinks from the fridge and making his own sandwiches at lunchtime (in general, he dislikes meal times and is such a picky eater but anytime he makes his food, he eats it!). Occasionally, he’ll jump in and help with laundry or tidy his toys but these types of taking care of the environment tasks are few and far between.

He’s loving sorting and categorizing items. He counts to a 100 and can identify number symbols 1-100 but if I ask him to write, say 65, he’ll ask what it looks like. He loves math facts and is quick to tell you how many m&m’s he has left after he’s eaten a few off his dessert plate! He’s really interested in telling time! This comes up a lot in the morning when I tell him he has to stay in bed until 6:30.

His most favorite thing right now are Science experiments! He’ll sit with scientist goggles and a notepad all day! He’s curious about how things work and why and loves to make discoveries and explore. He loves color mixing, baking soda and vinegar, and basically any two items he can mix together to create a reaction.

Loving + Affectionate:

He talks a lot about before Lola and Eva came out of my belly 🙂 but then he’s full of love and admiration for his sisters. He shows them things and is gentle (more so with Eva than with Lola, of course!). He plays with them — sometimes showing regression and following Lola’s behaviors which are less than positive, at times! He helps Lola get snacks and fill her water cup, and tells her to lay down when she’s supposed to be napping. But then they’ll argue over toys or fight over a chair! With Eva, he brings me diapers and bottles and is always ready with kisses and hugs.

Clever + Cocky:

If there’s one thing Four has brought out is cleverness. He now knows how to trick Lola, for example. When she’s chosen the last snack he likes and there are only snacks left that he doesn’t like — he will get a big smile on his face and act all excited… “LOLA! look at what I have! it’s so good.. do you want to trade?!” — and of course, she falls for it every time! He’ll also do his best to pit Sean and I against each other — or just talk so much that we’re just confused and end up saying whatever he wants to hear out of frustration! He is quite the negotiator. He reasons himself to be right every time — sometimes for the most random, out of the box thing. He’s convincing, smirks and it’s hard to say no to him. Sometimes he even comes down from bedtime under the guise of “but I just wanted to call Gramma and say goodnight”. And like… how do I say no?! But then he’ll make us laugh! He’ll say, “mama, if you don’t let me jump off the couch one more time, I’ll never go to bed again”. We’ve been discussing “threats”. And what correlation means 🙂

Along with cleverness, Four has brought some major cockiness! If he doesn’t want to hear something, he won’t listen. If he thinks he knows how to do something, he dives right in without hesitation, directions or instructions. “Wait”, “stop”, and “no” are just agitators to his compulsions. He’ll even tell me after “my brain said to stop, but my body just kept moving”! He hates “lessons” and “work” so we have to disguise any type of learning experience as a game, a challenge or an activity we can do together. Sean tried to teach him guitar — that was a no-go! I think they’re still in a fight! I can say the sky is blue and he’ll argue it’s white because of the clouds! He “knows everything”, and “learned that already” — every time.

Imaginative + Playful:

A great thing about Four and the never staying still thing — is it brings out some great imaginative play. He plays house and hotel and astronauts, builds with play-doh, paints — all before anyone else is up in the morning! He’s recently found some imaginary friends to chat with (have meals with and who he takes to bed)! He loves Darth Vader and Paw Patrol and Disney movies. He loves playing music and board games and card games. He has solo dance parties in the kitchen and tells “Alexa” which songs to play.

He’s persistent! If he wants someone to play with him, he’ll ask and ask and ask until you agree. He experiences waves of complete independence followed by overwhelming dependence on me and Sean. He’s never “too cool” for hugs and snuggles on the couch and will do anything for a few extra minutes with us at bedtime! He’s always asking us to stay with him in his room “for the company”.

We love and adore him so much and can’t wait to see what Five brings!