4 Years Old!

Happy 4th Birthday, Luke Alan! You are a busy, tender-hearted, curious, and passionate growing boy,  with an incredible imagination, a love for dinosaurs and anything related to water, and a new ability to do awesome things with your body like swimming and skiing! You have learned how to play by yourself (and enjoy it!) this year. You get up and play in the morning if mommy is still in bed and you love having quiet time in your room in the afternoons. I'm always so surprised by all the creative things you come up with to do with the objects in your quiet time boxes. You have also learned how to control your emotions and strong desires better this year. You know how to calm yourself down if you get upset (except for occasionally when you really just need a hug from mommy and daddy, which we don't really mind at all!), and you think through your decisions, trying to make wise choices (you still mess up occasionally, but we expect that completely!). You can now count to 100, and are starting to show signs of beginning reading skills. One of your favorite things right now is to listen to stories on CD. You are so attentive when you do this. The most amazing part about this past year is your growing understanding of God and your self-driven commitment to Jesus. You have asked us a lot of hard questions about faith, and it delighted us greatly when you expressed your desire to be close to God, to be His helper, and to invite Him into your life. What a privilege it was to lead you to our Savior!

Here is a list of your favorites at age 4. If it interests you, you can compare it to last year's selections, or the year before!

Color: Blue
Number: 100
Letter: L
Shape: Square
Animal: Sheep and Cats (funny he said this, because we have never heard him talk about these animals before. When I asked him "why?", he said "because they're cute")
Toy: My T-Rex
Instrument: Trumpet
Book: Dinosaur Book
TV Show: WildKratts
Movie: Jungle Book
Song: Bounce Song (Imagination Movers)
Game: Candyland
Food: Chocolate
Drink: Cold Water with Ice
Snack: Crackers
Treat: Chocolate Ice Cream
Fruit: Pear
Veggie: Peppers
Person: Mommy (probably because I was the one asking him...he would never want to hurt my feelings, but he honestly prefers Daddy much more these days!)
Best Friend: Jack
Place: Children's Museum and Conner Prairie
Holiday: Halloween
Season: Winter and Fall
Activity/Sport: Swimming
What you would like to be when you grow up: Scuba Diver
What makes you happy: A hug
What makes you sad: When I'm in time-out

You keep on running after life at full-speed big guy! We'll be there to watch you, catch you, cheer you on, and try our best to keep up!! Happy 4th Birthday, Luke! We love you with all our hearts!