Anderson: FOUR

This post is just a lot of words.  I mean, a lot. All of is is my own personal record of this 4 year old Bug.

Anderson is SO many things. He is so predictable in so many ways and I just love how distinct his personality is; he is such a person.

He is so PHYSICAL. All he wants to do is play football, wrestle and play anything that involves him falling, jumping, attacking, etc. Football really is his favorite thing right now & he loves to play with Brandon, but will settle for me if he is not home. Or, if we are both busy, he will throw the ball up in the air and catch it himself, while yelling, "Touchdown Tennessee/Powell/SEC/Kentucky/whoever his team is at that point." He does get frustrated quite a but when he doesn't catch it, is tired, all the time and we are trying to work on the idea of being a good sport. Here's looking to 4 for that one.

He is so SENSITIVE. Really. So sweet. (Why is that killer whale eating that seal? He is not playing with him. Is that the mama or the baby seal?*/ When I say that I can't believe how big he is, he will respond, I will still kiss you when I am 14./He is always so, so sweet with Max and just very loving with him.

He is SUCH AN AWESOME BIG BROTHER. I mean, he is so great. He always plays with Max and will tell me when Max is trying to escape or climb something dangerous or, most often, when Max spits up everywhere. (Bobble!! Max spit up again!) I think his big brother skills are one of the things I love the most about him at this point. I am sure this will change when they start fighting all the time, but their bond makes me so happy that I got my pair of boys.



Anderson playing football

Clearly I placed a random link to a video in the middle of the post.

He is so CURIOUS. All the time. He is always asking questions that I can't answer (thankful for Google) about everything-where all the volcanoes are located, what squid eat, the number of moons that Saturn has, why cheetos are not healthy, why clouds are shapes, what happens when gasoline is frozen, why octopuses don't have noses, how much bigger Alaska is than Texas....I keep waiting for a question related to the causes of the American Civil War or the importance of The Feminine Mystique, but he has no interest in anything that I can explain. 

Bobble Cole got him this Science kit & he is totally owning it. He loves, loves to be a scientist and play with food coloring and random stuff that I sort of throw at him because I am so pumped that he is "playing" alone and I can finally mop since Max is napping, too. 

Possibly his favorite thing EVER is this little volcano that he got last year for Christmas. He even shared the love with Lily complete with pink food coloring. SO many volcano questions and literally the only one I know is Mt. Vesuvius, so that is my go-to answer. When he found out I have actually been there, I think I blew his mind. 

I wanted to get him a globe for Christmas because he is always asking me about geography*, but they were kind of expensive and, well, fancy. I found this inflatable one and it is perfect!

*You are thinking that I am probably strong at answering Geography because I am a Social Studies teacher and you would be wrong. History. Not Geography. Different realms, people. 

He can entertain himself with such random things and is total proof that he does not need all this stuff we keep buying him. This was a booby trap for bad guys that only caught Max.


Favorites: anything with wheels (only authentic things, though), space (he will totally correct me if I say Jupiter has 60 moons or Saturn has the volcanoes...I think I might even have those wrong now I can't remember) , sea stuff/life (he LOVES watching the Planet Earth DVDs that GG got Brandon a few years ago, but we are working on that fine line between interesting and "so many animals die because it is nature, but he is really sad every time"), fire, volcanoes, football (he can name almost all of the teams in the SEC and loves watching football with Brandon for a few minutes), being outside, playing in the bathtub, anything involving tackling/wrestling/being physical, Transformers, Wild Kratts (a more pg version of the nature show because they don't show things dying)

The other day he requested to watch Sports Center because he needed to check on his teams. Then, that  lasted a few minutes & I was flipping channels for him to choose something (Spongebob, Team Umizomi, etc.) and he wanted "that!", which was "The Serengeti". He watched it until a group of cheetahs ate an elk or something and then got upset.

We went exploring in the "woods"behind our house and he is obsessed with ice (because he can break it), so he was pumped about this. It was about 25 degrees, I think, but he loves to be outside so we deal. We came out of the woods in a different neighborhood and he helped me find our way home. He is so good with directions and I have a feeling he might pass me with his knowledge in this area this year. (This is not saying much.)

He is such an easier roommate at this point compared to a year ago. He is still picky, but eats much more variety of food now. He goes to bed by 9 and, while he still wakes up during the night*, he will sleep until 6 or so. Naps at school and occasionally falls asleep in the car on the weekends. (I am no longer nap bitter now that he is 4. Who's proud of me?)  The patch can still be a bit of a problem* because he does not want to wear it some days, takes it off because it is itching, etc. etc, but is really fine.

*Constantly wakes up during the night. Always, multiple times every night.

**Never. 3 hours is Never a problem for us.

Honestly, he is really just the greatest little person to hang out with because he is so sweet and funny and thoughtful and curious and adorable. I cannot believe that he is 4 years old!


And, I totally just realized that this post makes him seem as if he is some kind of scientist, geography person. No. He is those things, but he is most definitely also incredibly set in his ways, stubborn ( he has to beat the garage into the house every time or her loses his mind. The same thing goes with walking down the stairs with another person), loud, rambunctious, a terrible sleeper, a picky eater and does not respond well to criticism or suggestions.

But, he is still completely perfect and exactly as a 4 year old should be!