Will is Four!

It seems as if four years old is the age when suddenly kids aren't so little anymore. They are completely out of the toddler phase, and fully embracing being a little kid.

Will is all boy. He thinks it's funny to burp, fart, play with his food, etc. He loves trains, cars, superheros, and sports.

At the slightest hint of warm weather, Will was begging to play in the sprinklers. I finally gave in one day, even though it wasn't super warm. He still loved it, thought the water was cold. I'm sure we'll be playing in the sprinklers all summer long.

I decided it was time to start teaching Will how to really play sports, so I went and bought him a baseball glove, a plastic bat, and a hockey stick. He really likes to play hockey in the driveway or out in the street. And for having only held a stick a time or two, he is picking it up really fast. He can stop the ball and hit it back to me.
 
 He also really loves to play soccer. He dribbles the ball down the field as fast as he can. The only problem is when he wants to stop the ball. He just slides on his knees and crouches over the ball to grab it. Still working on that one. I'm planning on signing him for for a leagues this fall. Yay!

When Blake got her glasses, he really wanted some too. So we found some cool sunglasses for him.

It rained pretty much the whole month of May. And Will became obsessed with umbrellas.

One of this favorite new movies is The Big Green. He watches it all the times and loves the part where they all play soccer in the rain and mud. He always asks if we can do that next time it rains.

He loves to go to Primary, though he mostly just wants snack time. He also gets mad if he doesn't get to participate and talk into the microphone. He always asks if he can give a talk.

Will says he enjoys church, but the entire time he is asking if it's almost over yet. He likes going to primary, especially if he is able to give a talk, say a prayer or participate in any way. Often throughout the week, I will find him setting up primary in our living room. One time he even asked me to play the piano so they could have singing time, then he got up and gave a little talk, etc.

He loves to learn, and he loves to help.

Will loves riding his bike, though he is growing out of this one. We have a slightly bigger one that we need to fix the tires on. We'll see if he can master riding a 2-wheeler this summer.

He loves playing dress-up and his current favorite is Captain America.

He loves reading and telling stories and I find it's one of the best ways to teach. Most of the time, we aren't necessarily reading word for word, but I like to ask him what is going on in the picture and talk about different things.

Often, he will ask me to sing at the piano so that he can spin. When I play the piano, Will and Blake like to spin. And the louder and faster I play, the faster they spin. His favorite song for me to play is Phantom of the Opera.

He thinks he can read the time, but he ends up saying something like, "It's eighty-fifteen-seventy-twelve o'clock." Not quite sure what that means.

Will has a major problem with leaving lights on and not closing the door. Every time he goes outside, I'll find the front or back door wide open. It seriously drives me nuts. And we work on it daily, and he says he'll never do it again. But I swear I have yet to see him close a door behind him. (Though I will acknowledge that often times Blake is right behind him and I think he leaves it open for her...and she refuses to close it.)

He will start preschool this fall at a place called Kiddie College. I looked at a couple of different options, and I felt this one was best suited for Will. I really think he is going to thrive there. He will go Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for 3 hours in the afternoon.

For his birthday, he really wanted a crane to attach to his wooden train set. He was super excited when he got one.

Will was also fortunate to experience trick candles on his birthday. He thought it was a hoot.

It took him quite a while, but finally they stayed out for good. I believe he was exhausted.

He is quite the little daredevil and climber. I doubt he is afraid of much.

One of our neighbors built a garage a few months ago. Now Will keeps asking me to go buy a garage. When I tell him it's too expensive or that we can't right now, he tells me that the "fixer man" will do it and that I need to call him. If only it were that easy.

Since we can't build a garage yet, Will just builds houses out of pillows. Great spot for movie watching.

Of course they have their issues, but for the most part Will is a great big brother. He loves to push Blake on the swing. He will help her get her snacks. And they play together really well.

Will is, however, very bossy and likes things to be his way. We have a double slide that comes off of our trampoline. Will only allows Blake to go up her side and he gets to go up his. We have 2 cozy coupe cars and 2 wiggle cars, and Will is very particular about which one Blake uses. He tells her what to play with and how to play with it. Luckily, she seems to go along with whatever he says.

They also play really well together until another kid is around. If we are playing with any friends, you would think Will forgot that Blake even existed. He pretty much ignores her, or torments her with his older friend.Sounds like a brother thing to me.

He is constantly talking about the things he will do when he is older. "When I turn 6, I'm going to fix my own bike." Or "When I turn 10, I'm going to ride my bike and take you to the park, Blake." "When I'm giant like Daddy, I'm going to have my own motorcycle."

Will likes to do anything but smile when I pull a camera out. I have to bribe (or threaten) him in order to get a smile out of him.

Will is very social and makes friends quickly. The other day we were on a walk and passed someone who was working in the yard. Will told me that I was supposed to say "good morning". 

I suppose it has never been easy, but bedtime is especially fun for this dude. But what about bath time? And I need a drink? I'm hungry? What about brushing my teeth? We need stories. And songs. Another story. Oh yeah, I need to go to the bathroom.

When Will dresses himself, he likes wear all one color. He will have blue shorts, a blue shirt, and blue shoes. Or he'll do the same in red. Most of the time, I'm ok with it, though occasionally I make him let me pick what he wears.

He has a great imagination. I'll often find him and Blake playing some sort of pretend game or another. Yesterday, they had our snow sleds out on the grass and they were pretending they were boats. Or they will set up 4 chairs to act like a car and they will go places. Or they also like to pretend that they are going to school. They even make sure to pack pretend food for lunch in their backpacks.

We can't drive far in the car without Will on the lookout for a train. He knows where all the tracks are and if we happen to cross over them, he always hopes for a glance at the train.

 

This boy is incredibly smart and loves to laugh. He has a big idea for everything and can think of a way to solve any problem. He is constantly on the go and wanting to play and learn new things.