James at 3 1/2

I never got around to writing the post for when James was three- whoops! I cannot believe that James will be four in six months.  I remember looking at a little boy that was four a couple of years ago and thinking that James would be almost that age when we moved. I could not imagine him so grown up and old and now that time is almost here. Crazy!

How to describe James at this age? Well my brother David's description recently was, "the coolest and smartest kid I have ever known."  Not that we are biased or anything but I have to agree, haha! I will start with the good. James is very funny and the things he says constantly make us laugh. James is a super sweet kid.  He is so kind to others and thankfully we have not ever had any problems with hitting or being mean to other kids. We have never had trouble with him at preschool and the teachers all tell me how well behaved he is. (its amazing how he can be so good for them but also so terrible for me at times!)

Loves to be silly!

James LOVES preschool.  I stressed over where to send him this year and I am so thankful we left him where he is. He loves to learn and his mind is constantly going and does not have an off button.  He loves letters and numbers. He can count to 100 and can identify all the numbers. He can count by 10's and 2's and has started doing simple addition and subtraction problems in his head.  He can write almost all of his letters and is constantly asking me how to spell different words.  He understands the calendar, can make patterns, can classify and sort, and has the most incredible memory I have ever known. He can recall small events from over 2 years ago. The things he brings up from the past amaze Ryan and me because we can barely remember them!

Family portrait and rainbow on Daddy's lunch bag

Picture of Daddy

We were brainstorming "at" words. When we were done I asked him if he could read any of the words and he read them all! 

I got out of the shower and he had arranged his number cards counting by 2's

He is a wonderful big brother.  I can count on one hand the times he has been mean to Harrison. He wants Harrison with him all the time and does not like being separated from him.  It is so sweet to see them play with each other.  James insists on hugging and kissing him before every nap and bedtime and often tries to get Harrison to hold his hand while sitting together. His special nickname for Harrison is Peanut and he prays for Peanut every day.

I love the way his mind works and the deep conversations we have about all sorts of topics but especially the bible. He challenges me to really think through what we believe and why.  Oftentimes his questions leave me wondering how to answer in a way that is age appropriate but also that satisfies his curiosity.

Some of his favorite toys are Legos, blocks, trains, anything you can push and run with, balls,  puzzles, paint, cars, trucks, and the Magna Doodle. We are pretty conservative in how much exposure he gets to technology and television and Ryan and I both love the fact that he is just as happy playing with non-electronic toys.  He definitely does loves TV.  His current favorites are Bubble Guppies, Veggie Tales, SuperWhy, and Thomas. To be truthful I don't tape any other shows because I don't want to have to deal with it! He also loves to read books and to help me in the kitchen.

Lego tower 

Now the not so good or maybe I should say the challenging side of James. :)  He is stubborn, so so stubborn. Headstrong.  Strong-willed. According to my parents VERY similar to my brother David as a kid.  Avoid power struggles with him at all cost because it is not going to end pretty! He can be super sweet and then fall apart in a minute. I feel like I am constantly having to discipline him, especially lately.  In the past couple of weeks he has had a meltdown basically everywhere we normally go: the gym, the church, restaurants.  I'm sure all of Shreveport has seen me carrying him kicking and screaming at this point!

This day he had a fit because I went to the bathroom and he wanted to go first... 

All that being said my hope and prayer for him is that God will use that stubborn, strong willed personality to do great things one day in the future. I don't ever want to squelch his personality because it makes him who he is.  For all of the challenges we love him SO much.  Oftentimes at night I snuggle with him and tears form in my eyes because I still can't believe how blessed I am to be his Mama.  We love you sweet boy!