Birthday

I now have a 4 year old boy. Yesterday we made a pan of rice crispy treats from which we cut the parts to make a truck. We made a really cute little vehicle which collapsed about a half an hour later. Oh, well. It was a tasty pile of wreckage. After Man got home from work Tag got to open gifts from us and various relatives. Man and I spent a while putting together two of the gifts while Tag tried on new clothes, blew into a harmonica, bounced a bouncy ball, and sort of half-watched the movie Cars. We then went to a Family Readiness Group potluck where he told everyone in the room, one person at a time, that he is now 4. He got a check from one grandma and I'm debating whether to get him some knee pads to go with his new scooter. He has his dad's knees but miraculously hasn't gotten any permanent scars yet. He and his sister are getting a lot of mileage out of his new mini trampoline. We keep it set up on some open floor near the dining room. It's nice to not have any excuse to get regular exercise and Tag willingly shares.

Reflecting back on Tag's difficult beginning, I can hardly believe how far he has come. From the day he was born he's been a screamer. He had a crazy and depressed mom, and dad who had a hard time bonding with his children, and health problems that affected his daily life. The eczema was excruciating and stomach turning to see. He would scream and claw at his scalp, trying to get relief from the itching and burning when he was just a couple of months old. He woke up several times each night from terrible coughing fits. He couldn't sleep laying down from the acid reflux. He never did sleep through the night much until he was over 2 years old. His temper was terrible and he would throw the most terrifying tantrums I've ever seen in my life. I can honestly say that there were times when I thought about turning him over to the state.

I ended up taking him to therapists, working with an amazing woman in my ward whose own son was quite a challenge, and going to therapy myself. Over the course of 4 years I've learned how to say "no" and mean it, put my foot down concerning unacceptable behaviors, and love this child who I sometimes wanted to (not literally) toss out the window. He taught me how to grow a mother's spine and grow a few gray hairs. Nowadays he's miles easier to deal with and is a daily joy for us all. He is creative, active, kind to everyone around him, and speaks words of kindness even to random strangers. He loves telling women that they're pretty because it always makes them smile and give him a hug (both of which is LOVES getting out of people). Of course we still have challenges and days that don't go so well, but man, he is so very enjoyable. I really can't imagine life without my sweet little guy and I feel like we've developed a very strong bond because of how much we've gone through together. He plays with his voice almost as much as his dad does, keeps a great beat, and loves music. He dances and says the funniest stuff. Just the other day I was putting him through the shower when he asked for his shower sunglasses. His what? A washcloth. It keeps the water out of his eyes so he thought he'd follow the logic of sunglasses.

Right now he's munching on some left over "truck cake", trying to decide which pair of new shorts he's going to wear today, and doing a little dance on his trampoline.

(I tried to post pictures to go with this post, but for some reason Blogger won't let me. I'll try again later.)