Friday, January 3, 2014

Case Benjamin is 4!

I'm going to go ahead and skip the apologies for being absent since September.  This is apparently life at this point and I as blessed as I am I can't apologize for it.  The good news is that I am getting Case's 4 year post up before his 5th birthday.  That's a win in my book!


Dear Case,
You are 4 years old.  I canNOT wrap my mind around the fact that it's been 4 years since you joined Daddy and me.  What a journey it has been!  I don't have words to tell you how happy and truly blessed I am to be your mommy!

You've changed so much over the past year.  I still call you "Baby" all the time although you are anything but.  You are such a little boy.  I absolutely LOVE to just watch you play.  You are so creative and have really started getting into role playing with your toys now.  Your favorite toys have been your Transformers for a while now.  Your love for these toys started at a garage sale over the summer.  Daddy found a couple and you liked them so much I went back and bought the rest of them.  Your friend Marshall had some that you LOVED to play with too so we started buying you some new ones for your birthday and Christmas.  Now you have quite the collection!

You love puzzles, games, Grandma's iPad, monster trucks, cars, and you're starting to get into Lego's I think.

I love your heart.  You are immediately overcome with guilt when you know you've done something wrong, especially if you've hurt someone.  The tears you try to fight back usually just about make me cry.  I love that you show concern to others.  Now granted you are only 4 and you still live in your own little world but those moments of care for others fill me with hope for the man that I hope you will become.

Your appetite has definitely grown to a new high over the last year.  You still don't always eat great but it's way more than you used to.  Your repertoire is pretty limited.  Grilled cheese, mac & cheese, hot dogs (no bun... so weird), peanut butter and jelly (sometimes), chicken nuggets (not McDonalds... you only get those when Daddy sneaks them to you) spaghetti (no tomato chunks allowed in your sauce), pizza, cheese quesadillas (sometimes), turkey (again, no bread... still weird) grapes, bananas, pancakes, eggs (with lots of cheese and a little garlic salt), Honey Nut cheerios, blueberries, strawberries, watermelon, and pretty much any candy or dessert that doesn't have nuts.  I'm pretty sure that actually sums up everything you'll eat.  You'll notice a distinct lack of vegetables.  That isn't because I forgot them.  You are NOT a fan of trying new things!  I make you take one bite of everything on your plate but if you don't like it after that I don't make you eat it.  That's mostly because I'm so afraid you'll puke if I force you to eat something you hate.  You can thank my puke phobia for all those times I didn't force you to eat something gross.

You do love to go out to eat too!  Your favorite right now is probably Jimmy Johns for turkey and cheese but you also like the Pizza Train (so gross!), Subway, I-HOP (you LOVE pancakes), Chick-fil-a, Panera, and pretty much anyplace that isn't home.

Your sleep is pretty set on a routine, mostly because I set up a light with a timer in your room and you have to stay in your room until it goes off.  You get up at 7:40 each morning and you really aren't awake for more than a couple minutes before your light goes off so that really is your wake up time.  Naps aren't super consistent anymore but you spend time in your room and tend to fall asleep for at least a little bit each day.  You get some time with Grandma's iPad before naps and bedtime as long as you have been obedient.  You LOVE iPad time!

You aren't playing any sports at the moment.  You really liked Karate but we decided it was probably more important for our family to eat than keep you signed up.  No joke, it is $100 EVERY month!  You are a very structured kid and it was probably the perfect sport for you, although I am admittedly a little afraid it would turn you into a total weirdo if you stuck with it too long.  Hopefully we'll figure out a way to make it happen again soon, despite my fears, because you really seemed to enjoy it and I'm pretty sure you'll never be interested in a team sport.



You love to learn but not on my terms.  I want to create a lesson plan and have you follow it.  You?  Not so much.   I think you're a smart kid.  You know all the upper and lower case letters and at least 90% of their sounds.  You recently started saying things like "penis starts with /p/, /p/, /p/, p" and yes it almost always involves some inappropriate word but hey... you're starting to spell.  Another inappropriate learning moment came out of the blue in the car the other day.  You said "Mommy, more and on make moron."  Thank you to Mr. Potato Head for teaching you that word but again, another learning moment.  I'm sure your teachers will be very pleased with your method of learning someday.  You haven't been to school yet but Daddy and I are thinking it might be good to get you in preschool a couple half days a week starting in August just to help you understand the structure of a school day.  I'm not looking forward to this because again, you are not a fan of change.  You got to your class at church and will go to Child Watch at the YMCA with no problem but that's because you have your trusty sidekick with you.  I'm not sure how you'll do when I send you into a classroom without Ty, but I'm guessing it will end with both of us crying.

You still hang out with your Baby Jam buddies, although it isn't nearly as often as mommy would like.  With the addition of siblings to our crew and busy schedules, we definitely don't get together every week anymore.  Your closest friends are Andrew and Sage from Baby Jam and Rachel and Caroline from church... hmmm... that's a lot of girls.
You, Caroline, Rachel, Andrew, Sage, and Ty
at the pumpkin patch.  Notice there are only
two kids throwing hay, you and your brother.
With your buddy Andrew.  I hope you
guys stay friends forever!  

You're very best friend is definitely Ty.  You guys are thick as thieves, and could very well actually grow up to become fearless perpetrators of some sort.  You guys love to make your toys interact, and be super heroes, and anything that's against the rules suddenly becomes fair game with Ty by your side (hence the perpetrator comment).  Don't get me wrong, you two do your fair share of fighting too.  In fact almost every sweet playtime comes to an abrupt end due to a fight of some sort. You guys don't fight fight too often but we're seeing glimpses of what's to come.  Not sure yet who is going to win those fights.
Buzz and Woody for Halloween



Hide and Seek



You're sense of humor has grown too!  You do so much that makes us laugh and you LOVE to get a laugh.  You always want us to "watch this" and yes at times it drives us completely batty but other times it's totally worth it when you do something so funny and off the wall.  The other day we were all making silly faces at the table and this was what you came up with...
You got a good laugh out of that one and now periodically you say "Hey Mommy" and you strike this pose.  I love that you are coming into your own sense of humor... you'll definitely need it around here!  Mommy will keep nurturing your funny side and I will do my best to keep Daddy away from it :-)  

Case, I just want you to know that I love you.  I love the little boy you've become and I pray everyday for the man that you'll grow into.  I pray that your heart will serve the Lord first and foremost.  Everything else will fall into place.  Thank you for having a forgiving heart as there are many times that I mess up being your Mommy.  One thing is ALWAYS true no matter how much I fail, I love you and am so grateful God chose you to be my little boy!  I will always love you from now until forever!  

Love,
Mommy




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