Time Flies

I asked Grant on Sunday if he could stay 4 and never grow older. He laughed at me and shook his head no. I love this age. I love watching his mind work, hearing his vocabulary develop, and witnessing his still-fresh wonder at the world.

Because time flies, I wanted to stop and remember bits and pieces of our summer, conversations had, and characteristics that make me smile.

He is still a serious artist. I threw away some drawings the other day and he was horrified when he discovered them. I had no excuse and had to fess up. The next day he was drawing with Brad. He got a marker and told Brad to sign the back of his picture and write that he would "never ever throw it away or tear it up". When Brad asked why he wanted him to make this promise he said "because mommy threw away my art and I forgave her, but only because she's my mommy." I now know where I stand with Grant - what a close call!

He still uses 'her' instead of 'she'. All the time. As in, "when her grows up, is her going to wear toe nail polish like you mommy?" or "her is not very happy right now" or "why is her crying?". Brad asked him when he thought he would start saying 'she' instead of 'her'. He thought, then replied rather indignately, "when I'm an adult." Hmmm, I'm thinking that if you can reason and use the word 'adult' I think you can get your possesive pronouns straight.

He is very adamant about things. When Brad picked him up from school the other day he was playing with his friends - they were folding clothes and playing in the kitchen. Brad asked Grant if he was playing house. Grant responded: "NO Daddy. We are playing home-living!!"

Every morning is the same. He wakes up. Goes to the bathroom. Comes and checks on everyone. Gives everyone a hug and kiss. Goes back to his room, picks out clothes, and dresses himself - often times completing the outfit with shoes, a hat, and sunglasses. He is very particular that his whole outfit matches. And, every Sunday, he picks out Lucy's dress for church.

Every time we visit San Antonio, we eat here:

Today, when Brad picked him up from school, he excitedly showed him a picture of the Alamo that he had colored. He then went on to explain, "Daddy, this is a picture of the Alamo. It used to be a church, but now it's a mexican restaurant." I feel slightly embarrassed about this... I think maybe we've indulged too much. He's probably always going to be confused by the two now.

He's never been mean to Lucy. Not once. This is so precious to me. I know it will change, but I'll cherish it as long as it lasts.

He's a kid of the 21st century. He asked Brad to look something up online tonight. Say what? I had no idea he even knew what that phrase meant.

The mix of things at 4 is so funny to me. For example, while eating out on Saturday, I took him to the girl's bathroom. He was offended and said, as if he were a teenager, "i don't want to go to the stinky girl's bathroom." And yet, he then proceeded to wave his hands gleefully in front of the automatic towel dispenser as if it were some magical machine and belly laugh everytime it spit out a paper towel.

To me, 4 has been a huge change from 3. More even-tempered. More logical and able to reason. He can play board games now and is actually okay with following the rules AND with losing. Who knew that day would ever come? I didn't. He's even more fun as a companion now. We can ride bikes together to the school track and time each other on my iphone as we do sprints. We can go for a hike together in Cameron Park and talk about things as we rest. Like I expressed on Sunday, I think I might be perfectly fine if he were to stay 4 his whole life. It's a sweet age indeed.