Erik - 4 years old

How is it that I am now a mom of a 4 year old?  I am so thankful that my baby boy has a September birthday because I can promise you if I had to stick him on a bus for all day kindergarten next year I would not survive! Thankfully, I have 2 years before I have to do that!

What is Erik like at four?!

Erik is gentle, tender, and sweet.  He is very thoughtful and good at sharing toys/snacks, etc.  He is observant and more aware of others needs and feelings than I usually realize.

Erik is losing the baby/preschool traits and becoming a boy.  He loves rocks and sticks and diggers.  He now likes to pretend his sticks are guns or spears.  He loves our neighbor James and even though they are two years apart they get along great.  James has a real kid-size pick ax and shovel.  Erik and James spend a lot of time digging for fossils or treasure under our decks.  :)  Both boys happy as can be! Erik is also good friends with Zach!  They like to mow the lawn or use their weed wackers together.  Both Zach and James are wonderful boys.  I am glad they are Erik's friends.

Erik is a an eager learner.  He loves preschool!  In the past few months he has really shown an interest in learning his letters and numbers so I am making an effort to work with him at home for 30 minutes 3-4 times a week.  He can write his own name now.  He can count to 20 but always skips 13.  We are working on this!  I am hoping to teach him how to write all his uppercase letters and the numbers 1-20 during this school year.  Erik loves nonfiction books.  One of his favorite books is called Minerals and Elements.  Ha!  Not my favorite but I am happy to read it to him. 

Erik is active!  He is excellent at riding his balance bike and can go on a 2.5 mile bike ride.  We usually stick to a 1.5 mile ride/walk 4-5 days a week but if we have extra time he can do an extra mile without complaining.  Erik still loves gymnastics and is in kindergym 2.  I hope he is willing to take gymnastics for another couple of years because I think it teaches him how to use his own body strength.  He has asked to play soccer (I missed the cut off) which we will do in the spring.  I am thinking about enrolling him in "tae kwon do" as well as I think the independent sport is good for teaching you strength and confidence.

Erik has become more involved  in the world of pretend.  I enjoy when he comes up with stories.  A lot of his stories parallel something he hears us talking about.  He will tell us, "When I was old (thanks for remind us we are old), I used to ..... (what ever we had been talking about)" and then will elaborate a story regarding whatever situation we had been talking about.

Erik has started to challenge authority more than he used too.  He can be "whiney" and stubborn.  He is usually quiet about whatever is upsetting him, but will disobey by ignoring our requests (rather than throwing a tantrum).  He still challenges Victor's authority more than mine but I do think this is less of a problem now than it was a year ago.  For time outs we use the steps.  He rarely gets sent to his room. 

Erik is starting to phase out naps.  He probably naps 3-4 days a week.  When he does nap his bedtime tends to be quite late (9ish).  On the days he doesn't nap he is asleep by 8 pm.  He gets up around 6 or 6:30 AM. 

Erik is reserved.  He warms up quickly and isn't terribly shy or anxious but quite quiet until comfortable.  He really, really dislikes being the center of attention.  He gets embarrassed and usually covers his hand or face when the spotlight is on him.  He is not comfortable telling people his name or answering questions unless he is comfortable around them.  He doesn't have separation anxiety and eagerly goes to preschool and sunday school but seems a little awkward the first couple of minutes he is there. 

Erik is gentle.  He loves to be held, sit on my lap, hold my hand, etc.  I love this about him and hope I can find ways to meet his needs in this area as he gets older without it embarrassing him.  I am not really a "needs touch" kind of person so I have to be very careful when I am feeling "over touched" by my 3 kids not to disuade Erik from sitting on my lap, leaning on me, etc. 

Erik is a loving big brother.  He is a great friend to Lainey and loves to entertain Carson.  Carson loves playing peek-a-boo with Erik and just laughs and laughs. 

When we picked the name Erik I remember liking that it means, "humble leader."  I think that describes Erik very well.  We love you sweet boy!