Noah at Four

I can't believe that my little guy is four years old. It's just amazing how fast the last four years have gone by. In four more years he'll be eight. Eight. I can't even fathom that. Noah at four:

• Is a truly sweet little boy. I feel like we're so spoiled and lucky to have him because he's just a really easy kid to parent. So easy to love.
• Is a lot less picky about what he wears than he was a year ago. It's a lot easier to get him dressed and he's not so set on specific colors (oh, the days of orange and yellow phases).
  
• Loves to see his grandparents. Nothing is more fun than going to Grandmoo and Papa's house. He loves to point out the trucks and the water towers on the way down I95. He won't stop talking about them the whole way down. It's just a running commentary of everything he sees out the window. He's also really looking forward to seeing his Grandma Jean when she comes to visit us in October. It's always amazing to me how--even though he only sees her once a year-- he always talks about her and knows her immediately when she visits us.
  
• Is obsessed with trucks. He likes all kinds (and apparently I like tankers because he always says "look Mommy, a tanker! It's your favorite), but his favorite kind of trucks are garbage trucks. The kid has a strange fascination with garbage trucks and dumpsters. Hoping this isn't his future career.
• Is such a smart little boy. He's not reading yet, but he memorizes books so quickly, it almost seems like he is. I know one of these days it's just going to click for him. He is really into numbers as well as letters and can recognize numbers up to 1000. He knows his right from left (as in, "Look Mommy! Look at the big blue truck on the left!").
• Still says some really funny, cute things. He loves to play hide and seek, and when he's seeking he will say things like "Where she can be?" in this sweet little voice. The other thing that I love is when he wants to know what day of the week it is, he'll say "What today is it?"
  
• Has my sense of direction. He always knows where we are, and if we take a turn he wasn't expecting, he points it out and asks where we're going.
  
• Also has my love of rides and my stomach, because he LOVED our trip to Dutch Wonderland and all the spinning rides.
• In all other ways resembles Darren.
• His favorite toys are trucks. He also loves his ipod (a birthday present for his third birthday) because he loves to watch you tube. At the moment, he's very interested in a little mini golf putting green that we gave him for his birthday, and his plasma car, another birthday present from Aunt Sue.
  
• He also loves games and puzzles. We've been playing Candy Land for quite some time and we now have Trouble and Chutes and Ladders.
  
• Still loves books. He likes the longer Doctor Seuss books a lot these days. Things like The Sleep Book, The Butter Battle Book and Horton Hears a Who. He's also into The Wump World, The Look Book (also a birthday gift), and the infamous "White Book" which lives at Grandmoo and Pappa's house (and always will). In general, he seems to be looking to branch out to new books lately. I think he gets bored with the old standards.
• Loves movies. He will watch a single movie over and over for a few weeks, then switch to a new one. At the moment, the favorite is 101 Dalmatians, but he also loves the Toy Story trilogy, The Incredibles, and Cars. As for TV, the only channel we really let him watch is Sprout (the PBS pre-school channel). He loves Caillou, Kipper, Fireman Sam, and (unfortunately) The Wiggles. He doesn't really watch the Disney shows at all any longer.
  
• Is still a fantastic sleeper. He wakes up at night maybe once every six months... maybe. And, he's very easy to get to sleep.
• He's still a picky eater. He likes meat and fruit and bread, but really won't eat pasta-- at least he won't eat it at home. He's also not great about eating vegetables. When he does eat veggies, they tend to be things like raw carrots and raw red bell pepper.
  
• Is entirely potty trained. He's even in underwear at night now.
• Is still a big fan of Manchester United. He knows all the players, even the minor ones, and he knows all of their numbers. He loves to put on his "Scholesy outfit" and watch the games with Darren.
  
• Has started swimming lessons. He needs them because he has no fear of the water. He has been wearing water wings and going in with us and totally knows how to swim around and swim on his back if he is wearing them. He'll jump from the side of the pool and go under the water entirely, then bob back up. He doesn't even need to hold his nose.
• Just had his last day at Tendersteps and is getting ready to start at Little Acorn Patch for Pre-K!
• His best friend in the world is Sophia. His other friends are Mia, Greydon, Sienna, C.J. and Wyatt, and the other kids from Tendersteps: Gabriel, Matthew, Lucca, Isabella, Elijah, and of course his sweet little cousin, Evie.
  

Here are links to Noah at three, at two and at one.