He's 4!!!

I never thought this day would come.  My youngest child has turned four years old! While surrounded by diapers, sleepless nights, spit up, crying babies that seemed to be endless and never ending, we have emerged and the baby years are far behind us.  This does make me sad, as I loved and cherished the times of newborns, drinking in their soft, uncoordinated bodies and snuggling them up at all hours of the day and night.  Listening to their little coos and watching their chubby hands develop and learn to grasp, was magical.  I think I will always remember the newborn phase as one of my absolute favorite.  I will always stare at the babies I see and ask to hold those of my friends.  I will forever want more of that.

But, alas, our newborn time has passed and now my baby, Zane Michael is four.  I'm not sure words can completely describe Zane.  He is a master of mischief, and a captivator of smiles.  Although shy at first, hugging my leg for relief of strangers, he warms up fairly quickly and is always making the adults around him laugh.  He loves evil characters, always pretending to be the villain, chasing his siblings around.  He growls a deep and hearty growl, surprising all those around him at the sheer magnitude of his voice.  He is a loud child.  

He can squeeze you with strength and love that actually ends up hurting.  His "break you" hugs are treasured and regularly sought after by Tom and I.  His arms wrap around the neck and he squeezes with lots of force.  A force that usually leaves me gasping for air.  Zane is a tough little boy.  He can take a ball in the head, shake it off (literally) and move on.  When he's crying it's because he's truly hurt.  The tears are short lived as he would rather be playing with all the neighbor kids and his siblings.  He is the master of toughing it out. 

Academics are not his favorite thing and Lego building trumps letter learning and writing.  He's the fourth and I can fully appreciate a child that would rather play than do worksheets.  That time will come, for now we play.  Zane is definitely a left handed child and teaching him to write has been tricky for me.  I don't push it, although all the other kids could write their name way before turning the age of 4.  His time will come.  I have no doubt.  He will learn before Kindergarten.  He will be just fine!  We will continue to play with balls and have fun outside! 

For Zane's Birthday my parents and Tom's Dad came in for the day.  We went to the local orchard and enjoyed a nice wagon ride and bought some yummy cider and treats.  

Sunday we rented a bounce house and enjoyed having some friends over to jump and enjoy the sunshine.  Aunt CeeCee and Maizey came too to celebrate our Crazy Zane.   It was a great day! 

Zane is a keep-me-on-my-toes kind of boy.  A boy that will always be a bit of a challenge, but that brings so much joy and laughter into our house.  We adore our little man and he adores his siblings! 

October

The loveliness of Autumn is in full swing.  Leaves are changing color daily, reaching peak shades of burgundy, bright yellow, and burnt orange.  This lovely new subdivision is filled with many trees, which gives us more raking to accomplish, but provides a beautiful view from our windows.  This also gives the children many opportunities to collect all the falling leaves and make many fun art projects with them.

We were able to get our landscaping put in, the rock will be nice to not have  to replace yearly, like mulch, and looks good.  The plants are small, but will grow and fill in the spaces nicely.

We've started our annual visitation of the pumpkin patches, which is always such a critical part of Fall.  Picking the right pumpkin consumes each child as they tilt, and inspect the many pumpkins.  Once selecting their pumpkin, it can be spotted easily in the mix of family pumpkins.  This ability always leaves me with a large grin.  No matter the age, they know their pumpkin!

 Cute story about the below picture:  Zane went into the chicken coup and asked me if I could leave him alone.  I automatically asked why, and he said that he need some alone time with his friends, the chickens.  I stepped out and peered anxiously back inside, fearful he was going to open the door and let the chickens out.  Inside I saw him squat down and begin to talk with the chickens.  It was adorable!

The weeks have been filled with a lack of excitement as we plug away at the daily grind.  But, along the way a few cute pictures were taken:

Zane turns 4 on the 19th and I'm gearing up for that, emotionally.  Sigh.  More to come as I pour my heart out and fight to except that my baby will not be a baby anymore...