Our Big Boy is FOUR!

I can hardly believe Ethan is four now! We celebrated his birthday with a Cars 2 party with friends and family on Saturday, and on Sunday, he officially turned 4! Where did this little baby go??

This was FOUR years ago?!?

He still has those same big, bright eyes, but those feet are definitely not that tiny anymore. :'(

On Monday, I took Ethan to his pediatrician for his 4-year well-check. Everything went great and he appears to be right on track with his peers. He actually scored between age 5-6 on the developmental milestones checklist, so that's good! He weighed in at a whopping (haha) 34 pounds (fully clothed, with shoes), and measured up at 41.75 inches (without shoes). This puts him in the 75th-90th percentile for height and 25th-50th percentile for weight. Looking at both figures, he's just above the 3rd percentile for height-to-weight ratio, with a BMI of 13.8. Must be nice to have no body fat! Haha!

He is doing pretty well from a medical standpoint, except for what we believe to be some seasonal allergies. Surprise, surprise! We're hoping a daily allergy medicine can help resolve this problem and that he won't have issues as severe as his mother does! Other than that, all looked good!

Three was definitely a rougher year than two was, from a parenting perspective. Ethan was a great two-year-old who did not go through the "terrible twos," in my opinion. By age three, though, he started asserting more independence and definitely showed a little more attitude. :/ We're hoping year four brings some better listening skills to go along with his great desire to be Daddy's helper. Overall, he's a good big brother, and we think he'll be very helpful when we bring another sibling home in September. He's as stubborn as a mule (hmm, wonder where he gets that from?!?), but also sweeter and more empathetic than your average little boy. He's inquisitive, curious, a thinker, and has a great desire to learn (he is his father's son!). His big, bright eyes can light up a room and his insatiable appetite rivals that of a teenager! He's quite the funny little man, too, and keeps us laughing most days. As you can tell by that face, he definitely doesn't take life too seriously yet. ;)

For his birthday this year, I decided to ask him some questions that I'll ask every year now, to see how his responses change over the years. Here they are, in case you can't read them in the picture:

1. What is your favorite color? blue and yellow
2. What is your favorite toy? race cars and monster trucks
3. What is your favorite fruit? blueberries, apples, and grapes
4. What is your favorite tv show? America's Funniest Videos
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? peanut butter & jelly and trail mix
6. What is your favorite outfit? monster truck shirt
7. What is your favorite game? race car game
8. What is your favorite snack? trail mix
9. What is your favorite animal? doggies
10. What is your favorite song? race car movie (Cars 2) song
11. What is your favorite book? race car (Cars 2) book
12. Who is your best friend? Isaac and Asher
13. What is your favorite cereal? Cheerios
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? play on my swingset
15. What is your favorite drink? water, milk and root beer
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? "fake doggy"
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? pancakes
19. What is your favorite dinner? hot dogs and mac 'n cheese
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Daddy

As our firstborn, Ethan continues to keep us on our toes, teach us about kids and how to be parents. He amazes us daily with the things that he says and does and we look forward to what this year will bring with it. Happy 4th birthday, Ethan. We love you!