Jake is 4.5

All photos by Amy Crawford Photography.

Dear Jake,

Today you are 4 and a half years old. You got a real kick out of hearing me tell you that it was your half-birthday. You love to tell people that you are 4, and now it will be so much fun to hear you tell people that you are 4 and a half!

You have grown so much this year, but the biggest change is that you have become a big brother! You have been wonderful to Ryan, and get so excited when you make him smile. You love hugging him and kissing him. I love it when Ryan is sitting in his bouncy seat and you go play with him, and sometimes push him in his seat all around the upstairs, or to wherever you are playing so that Ryan can watch you. I am loving watching the 2 of you growing together now.

There are other changes, too. You have become MORE interested in reading (if that is possible!) and are now sounding out words and trying to read them. Today you were looking at the Sunday comics and tried to read something that said "I told you" which you read as "How old are you." Close! Another development is that you are becoming more interested in longer books, especially chapter books, even when they don't have many pictures. I am so excited to start reading more with you! Besides words, you have also become more interested in numbers. You love to count, and ask us what 2 numbers put together makes. We've been doing much more addition and subtraction lately.

I'm sure you've grown taller lately -- we just had to buy you new shoes! You are now in size 10, I think you are going to have feet on the small size, just like your daddy. And we just measured your height today -- you have grown 1 and a quarter inches since your birthday in June! It's true what they say that when you have a baby your child suddenly looks enormous. When did you get that big?? When I have the chance to hug and cuddle with you, I love it, as I don't get much of it these days!

I used to cuddle you to bed every night, but now Daddy does that since Ryan needs me. I don't know if that is part of why you fight bedtime so much right now, or if you are just having so much fun that you don't want to stop, no matter how tired you are, but I hope it gets easier for all of us soon. You still sleep in a bed right next to Mommy and Daddy, and you have no interest in your own room yet, and that is just fine with us. I can't imagine not being able to look over and seeing that you are sleeping peacefully with us.

One thing that is so awesome is your explosive interest in Legos. Both Daddy and I loved Legos as kids so this is really fun. While Mommy is better at making houses, you and Daddy make vehicles. You have also really gotten interested in superheros, thanks to your friend Cole. Spiderman, Green Lantern, Iron Man, and Batman are all part of your vocabulary. At this point, you are planning to be Green Lantern for Halloween next year.

Speaking of friends, you now have regular playdates, both at your house and at friends' houses. It's amazing to me that you're old enough to be off elsewhere, without Mommy or Daddy or Gramma or Papa and having fun.

We are having so much watching you grow, teaching you things you want and need to learn, and learning from you as we go.

Love, Mommy

Paper chain kindness act day 20: give someone a kiss. We all kissed each other silly for a minute :)