Solomon // four years.

My big boy. I really don't know how we made it to four years old. My little mini-me boy is growing up so quickly and I don't even know how to handle it. Sometimes I have to go sit with him and just hold him in my lap, because I think about the days that are way too close, when he won't fit anymore. I'm trying my best to take in all the little things that make Solomon who he is as we get to know more of who he will become. I constantly pray for his sweet heart to stay soft and protected in this big world. 

Time flew by, but then again, year three was really hard for us. We had a lot of changes during the last year, and add in the growing emotions/feelings of a three year old, and we definitely had our challenges. The biggest change for Peter and I was figuring out what type of discipline we wanted in our home. As Solomon grew, we realized what we thought would work, wasn't actually working. We also realized that some of the things we were choosing to do, didn't help him understand his feelings and emotions. Instead of a time out, we started to model a form of "time in" and would get on his level and communicate what he was feeling and his expectations calmly. I can drastically see the changes in his behavior in just the past few months, and I've enjoyed seeing how he can articulate what he is feeling much easier now. He now tells us that he isn't happy because he is tired, or hungry, or even because he is mad or sad for a certain reason, then we can work together to fix the problem and he will be his happy self again. I love watching him become more brave with his emotions, and we are still working on using our words instead of our hands when he gets frustrated. I can see all the little lessons we have had in the past few months starting to shape who he is.There are definitely a lot of things we are still working on as a family, but I really love where things are heading. 

One of my favorite things about Solomon right now is how he is starting to show his kindness. He has started to go out of his way with me and Peter to say thank you, and I love you, and he has also become such a sweet and protective big brother. One of my favorite moments in the last month was a busy day when we picked up some lunch to eat at home & Asher fell asleep in the car. I took Solomon in to the kitchen table and opened up his food and told him to go ahead and eat and then I'd come down and join him after I put Asher in his crib. It took about 10 minutes to get Asher settled and then I finally came down to eat with him. He had this sweet smile on his face and said "did you see what I did mommy?" As I was going to sit down next time him he told me that he opened my food for me and got my silverware out and was waiting on me so he could pray. My heart seriously almost burst. For ten minutes, that precious boy sat at the table and waited for me to eat. It's things like those little moments that make me want to pinch myself. I really don't know what I did to deserve such a sweet and kind little boy. 

He's been talking about making new friends all the time, and loves to be out and about, but he definitely is a homebody at heart. He loves his routine and I love that too! It really is such a joy to have him at home with me everyday. I love how it allows me to see him changing and growing. One of the biggest blessings of our new homeschooling adventure is teaching the big life lessons as a family, not just the educational lessons. Learning how to work together and be together as a family, with a happy heart isn't always easy, but I do believe it is what God has called us to at this time. I'm so thankful that 90% of our time together is full of laughs and sweetness. I'm so proud of who this little man is becoming, and I will continue to pray for God to shape his heart into what He wants him to be, and use Solomon for His Kingdom.

eating // still a happy eater, which we are so thankful for. He will try almost anything and usually likes it. His favorite type of meal is when we share a bunch of different things, especially Thai food. He loves the soups and will eat off of every ones plate. He loves to connect events to food also, which I think it so cute. If we go somewhere and then we go get ice cream he thinks that place will always involve a trip to ice cream.... or if we have a family movie night, he always asks for popcorn, even if that only happened one time. Of course he still loves the normal kid staples like mac n' cheese and french fries and hot dogs and chic-fil-a. 

sleeping // thankfully he is still a great sleeper. He doesn't nap at all most days now, but if he does it's still very hard to get him awake, unless I catch him right after he falls asleep. He still likes to wake up in the morning (or sometimes in the middle of the night) and crawl into our bed with us. He's gotten pretty good at it, and sometimes we don't even realize he's there till morning. I still love waking up with him between us! 

wearing // 3T (and some 2T shorts still, skinny boy!) but his pants are going to need 4T for Fall I think. We'll see when the weather cools down. 

loves // still loves coloring, puzzles, playing pretend with any kind of toy (which I LOVE to listen to), reading books,  swimming, singing songs, constantly playing with legos and building things and he really loves to play a few video games with daddy on the weekend. We have learned it is a great perk for him having a good week and being a good listener. The meltdowns have died down drastically, except for when we are leaving somewhere when he's not ready. That is still a big struggle we are trying to work on. 

& here are the answers to some questions!

favorite book // LEGO instruction books (he will seriously read them all day long)
favorite food // Chicken Salad Chick
favorite song // Sleeping Bunnies 
favorite toy // all his legos 
favorite thing to do // play hide and seek