How did this happen? How did four years race by so quickly?
Oh how that sweet baby become such a sweet child! Rowan continues to have such a tender, loving heart. He is thoughtful and selfless naturally. He is such a good first to our family because he set such a kind tone.
He still gets angry and has his rage fits (just as he has since he was 8 weeks old), but they usually can be directed back to hunger, exhaustion, or general frustration at being misunderstood. The other day when I asked him why he was so angry, he said it was b
ecause I was paying attention to Daddy and Lyra, but not him. It broke my heart a little bit, but I was also pretty amazed a four-year-old was able to discern AND verbalize to me what was causing him to act out. His expression has been such a gift to us in so many ways. He has lots of feelings inside that tiny body and it helps that he's able to tell us about most of them.
He's a wonderful big brother still. He puts up with her tackling and general younger-sibling-bantering incredibly well. They get along mostly because he is easy-going. Row will get annoyed with her sometimes, particularly now that she can sneak in there and wake him up. For the most part, he wants her to play with him and spend time with him (which she most certainly is all about).
He will be going to an everyday preschool starting the beginning of August. I'm excited for him, but also a little heartbroken. I love having him around and it will be so strange to have him gone for half the day. My greatest hope is loves school and learning.
Rowan doesn't love social settings. Anything involving more than 1-2 friends is rough for him. The gym daycare and church tend to be his biggest struggles. We discovered if we send him with some maze or hidden picture books to the gym, he'll go without too much fuss. Church is still a struggle, but I'm hopeful that will change soon. A big contrast between my two children and their response to being around people was properly displayed last week. We showed up to the gym and saw that some kids were playing on the outdoor playset for the daycare. Lyra rushed to the fence shouting "FRIENDS!" and successfully started scaling the fence. Rowan sulked in the van still asking if he really had to go. My persuasion was going nowhere and he kept trying to bargain how long I would workout for. "How about 3 minutes mom?"
Me: "Sorry buddy. Longer than that. "
Row: "Fine! No minutes mom. You either get to pick no minutes or no minutes!"
I'm hoping preschool will help him with his dislike of being around groups. I don't particularly care for them myself, but I mostly cope with them without throwing things or ripping things. ;)
He LOVES video games. Loves them. He could play the Switch and our Wii all day if I let him. I feel like lately it fries his brain more than normal. He used to be excellent at stopping and acting normally afterward, but he gets more upset now. He is crazy active when he plays which I think is part of the reason he gets to upset. He sweats buckets and gets dehydrated from his video game jigging. It's the major benefit from letting him play because he just jumps and punches like a peppy aerobic instructor.
He takes such pride in helping. Someone told me they try not to overpraise their kids which will undoubtedly be a fault of mine (is this truly a thing? Too much praise?). Rowan just BEAMS when we tell him he did a good job with something. It makes him want to help more and in other ways. He is such a good kid!
He is obsessed with green. Everything green makes him happy. If he sees a green car or house while driving, he'll yell (loudly and frighteningly sometimes). MOM! IT's A GREEN CAR/HOUSE!
He has such a sweet budding faith. He has a cut on his finger and some new skin was at the edges and got pulled a little. Rowan let me know it was just Heavenly Father trying to figure out how to fix his finger for him. He'll encourage us to say prayers about things I rarely think about (like helping our garden grow, or not being tired, or being able to play games all day ;) )
Ninja turtles and power rangers are the coolest things around. Raph is the coolest turtle and Michaelangelo is hilarious.
His imaginative play is still out the roof. Row has such a mind on him. He is more creative and clever than I often realize. I love overhearing him play with his toys and the worlds he creates with simple objects.
He is so smart! We had him evaluated before pre-school and the evaluator said he was one of the top scoring kids in our district. He catches on quickly to things and does have that perfect child-like interest in something new. He's recently been really interested in learning different words in Spanish and thinks it's really fun to try and say words in his own made-up language. Ba-ba is a word used frequently when he feels uncomfortable. It's a little annoying, but I know he just doesn't know how to respond when he uses it.
I could look at him all day. This love I feel for Rowan is just so consuming. He makes all of us better and is truly a gift. I appreciate every minute with him (even if he's throwing a fit) because it means he's all mine. My own. My precious. (said in my coolest Gollum voice).
Thank you for being ours Rowboat! We love you!
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