Will quadrupled

My little boy turns 4 today. Crazy. I know its a cliche, but you really can't believe how fast they grow up, and how much they change in those first few years. It seems like just yesterday...

He was so tiny, only 5 lbs, and the only thing that got me through those first couple of weeks was cuddling with this tiny little bundle. He learned to climb on the couch before he could walk. Thought I was in for trouble but turns out I ended up being very lucky and have so far avoided any major accidents.

(One)
(Two)
Somewhere between his 1st and 2nd birthday the truck/car/vehicle obsession began, and man I had no idea what was to come. Who knew that buying him a matchbox car to keep him quite during a shopping trip would turn into this...
(only a partial collection at the time)
(Three)
This year has been really hard, lots of new adjustments. I tried to prepare myself that it might be I would have a little toddler acting out a lot just because of the things he was going through. But much to my relief he has handled everything really well. He is such a calm, mellow kid that I have a hard time when I'm around "normal" kids cause I'm just not used to it. (Not that he doesn't have his moments, don't ask him to share) He is such a wonderful part of my life and I wanted to make note of some of my favorite things about him.

~ I love his truck obsession. Sometimes it gets old for me and I don't get it at all, but its so fun to have a kid that will get so excited just by driving past a construction site.

~ He is the best hugger. Ask anyone that has received his bear hugs. He will come and tell me that he needs a hug and then after receiving one asks if I need a hug too. Hugs are too special to not dedicate to one at a time.

~ His is still a cuddler. And I can't tell you how much I need that. I hope he stays that way for many years to come. Ok, it might be weird if my teenager is still cuddling on my lap, but I'm gonna hope it never goes away. When he is feeling needy for some cuddling he comes up and makes this little whimpering animal noise and that's his sign that I need to pick him up and give him some one on one attention.

~ He is extremely interested in learning. I think he will absolutely love school, but I wish for a very patient teacher for him. Its more than a "why" stage with him, he actually wants you to explain things in a very detailed manner, to a degree much further than I almost always have the answer. And he remembers things that I never thought he was really even listening to. I feel bad at my lack of knowledge for his questions, but I really don't know how earthquakes happen, what they do when the water gets to the sewer plant, how radio towers work, or what the speed of light is. This kid needs to watch the science channel non-stop to fill his need for information.

~ He is extremely kind hearted. Two recent examples. I recently mentioned this, but we were at the fair and he didn't want to leave a lone lamb that was crying outside because it was probably lonely and he didn't want it to be sad. We were at the store looking at toys and there was a little tiger in a circus cage. He stopped and went back to it and very concerned told me that somehow the tiger was stuck in that cage and maybe it needed help. He is very sensitive and gets his feelings hurt very easily, but is also quick to apologize very sincerely if he knows he hurt my feelings. He will also come and ask you to tell him sorry when he is upset. Sometimes this ends with me saying "I'm sorry that you are upset", but if you say sorry, he will say thanks and move on from the issue. I'm guessing this won't last forever.

~ He loves animals. Especially dogs. He has very deep attachments to the dogs in our extended family and asks when he gets to see them next on a weekly basis. He also tries to watch out for them and if he thinks one is not being treated fairly by the others, he will try and go to their rescue.

~ Before Will could talk we taught him the sign for more. He was very good at using it for when he wanted more bottle/food but he quickly learned it could be used for other things, including asking to be tickled. He would place your hand on his tummy and then make the sign for more. He still loves to be tickled and if you start tickling him he will ask you to stop so he can take off his shirt, cause then you can get better access.

And just for fun...
Happy Birthday bug! I love you more than words can express.