Todd is Four (Month 1)

AGE 4, MONTH 1
AUG 21 – SEPT 20 (2018)

FOURTH BIRTHDAY

On his birthday I told him it was his birthday & he said excitedly, “I’m bigger!”
He immediately made the (incorrect) association that being 4 means he can go over to play at M’s house without us

TODD SAID…

DEVELOPING SKILLS

He can build Lego sets by looking at the directions, for about 15 minutes at a time. I help him find the ‘next’ piece and he sometimes needs me to point to the diagram or to the Lego pieces, then he can usually figure out how to place them. At this point, I don’t have any concerns about his visual motor integration skills!

HOME ENTERTAINMENT

M came over to play (and the neighbor E invited himself over, too) (8/24)
Play fighting…every chance he gets! (i.e., we hit each other with pool noodles or pillows)
Lining up his figures to fight one against another
Stacking blocks to surround his figures and ‘trap’ them
Building marble runs (2 kinds)
Building a continuous line of Legos
Watching YouTube videos about toys (iPad)
New favorite shows: Tumble Leaf (Amazon Prime), Oddbods
New favorite movies: Finding Nemo
New Lego set: Incredibles 2: The Great Home Escape (with birthday $ from his cousins)
He said:
- “I need to ‘mote the TV” (he pushes the “ok” button on the Roku remote by himself)
- “I’m go way back here to rewind” (using remote to start show)

FUN ACTIVITIES

Walla Walla Point Park (8/24, 9/7); swinging & throwing rocks
Leavenworth park/trail & throwing rocks (8/25)
Eastmont park (8/28), Washington Park (8/29)
Slidewaters (9/2); He did 1 intermediate slide then briefly played in the toddler area, then wanted ‘snacks’ & was ready to leave (it wasn’t as warm outside and he was probably tired)
Rocky Reach Dam park (9/2); climbing the slide
Walking to Washington Park (9/9)
Apple Valley Gymnastics open gym (9/10, 9/17)
Checking out open houses (9/16)

SQUILCHUCK STATE PARK

Mountain biking
- 8/26– all 3 of us; 1.57 miles; he rode the full distance by himself
- 8/31– Eric & Todd only
- 9/1—all 3 of us; 2.34 miles; he rode all but the last 0.15 miles by himself, then said, “I can’t power up!” (when he got too tired on the climb back to the car)

HORSE LAKE RESERVE

LEARNING TO PEDAL

Eric put training wheels on Todd’s pedal bike, so he’s been having Todd practice pedaling when he picks him up from school
At Washington park, Todd rode around in circles with another kid in the dry splash area (9/20)
He asked a boy at Washington park if he was okay when he fell off his bike
He asked a girl if she wanted to try his bike

POOL

See post, “Swim Videos (Age 4, Month 1)“
We swam 10x this month
He swims all over the pool by himself: he knows how far he can venture out from the steps, then he returns to the steps by himself (or else swims to the sides of the pool)
He walks his hands along the entire perimeter of the pool
When he’s really going after something he shows his true abilities: he puts his head down and streamlines and kicks effectively; sometimes he does ‘big arms’
He jumped in, then immediately dove down to the bottom @ 4.5 ft deep to retrieve toys (8/26); He’s proficient diving for toys throughout the shallow end, even without jumping in for them
He likes doing a game, “Can you do that?” (where he wants me to imitate his actions and facial expressions)
He has a strong streamlined kick
He did several backward flips while in the water (9/2)
9/5- the first time Todd was in the pool the whole time without us (he played with his friend in the pool)
Jumping off Eric’s shoulders (and head) (9/18)

PRESCHOOL AT CASTLEROCK

See post, “Back to Preschool (Sept 2018)“
Meet the teacher meeting (8/29)
Learning names of his teachers/para educators: Mrs. Black, Mr. Jesse, Ms. Fern
He was upset that he couldn’t go to into his school when Eric/Todd walked over to the school park the day before preschool started (9/3)
1^st day of preschool this year (9/4); I was able to see him at drop off/pick up since I work there, and I can peek in on him periodically during the day
For his ‘All About Me’ he said his favorite food is watermelon but it doesn’t mean it’s his favorite food to eat!
He said:
- “I love Mr Jesse, He’s the best teacher” (after ‘meet the teacher’ day)
- “I’m a nice boy but if a kid hits me, my eyes turn green and I turn into Hulk and I throw the kid like Hulk” (8/23)

FOOD NOTES & DINING OUT

We started limiting him to 1 pitcher of ‘small boy Goppas’ per day (8/25); This has worked out very well. He doesn’t want Goppa in a ‘big boy cup’ after he runs out, even though we offer it.
He has a noticeably bigger appetite for food
- ie., multiple corn crisps, a full vegan hot dog, full pieces of toast, lots of apple slices, 4 prunes, a bowl of popcorn (not all at the same time!)
He now likes toast with Earth Balance (instead of plain toast)
He likes dark chocolate chunks
He likes shoestring French fries (and even dipped some in malt vinegar & ketchup)
He tried soba noodles & liked them (9/6)
Dining out: Taco Del Mar (4x); Ice (9/1)

MISC

I don’t know how long it’s been there, but I noticed a chip on the outer corner of his top front tooth! (9/6)

DAY TIME NAPS

No formal naps
Car naps 3x
- 8/25- Car nap then nap on Aerobed
- 8/30- when Eric planned to take him mountain bike riding
- 9/3- going shopping at Fred Meyer
Couch naps 2x
- 9/8
- 9/18- fell asleep at 5 p.m. on the couch and didn’t wake up the whole evening.

NIGHT TIME SLEEP

He goes to bed in the 8 p.m. hour & wakes up before 6 a.m. but usually sleeps all night, except…
- He came into my room before 5 am to sleep in my bed until ‘morning time’ on 8/21 & 8/22
- Sometimes he turned on his overhead light, then fell back to sleep
- Sometimes he went out to the couch in the night or climbed into bed with Eric
He likes to be covered with pillows in his bed at night; He says, “Mama, you cover me tonight”
He falls asleep while I read books
He doesn’t want his ‘lights and music’ on anymore

POTTY TALK

He started the month with 5 dry night diapers, then, he had his first night without a diaper on 8/26. He’s had zero accidents so far!