Overall Update-Tyler

Tyler has been doing lots of growing and changing too. Over the past few months he's been discovering and exploring new interests. One of those, as I mentioned in a previous post, is music. Sparked by his Imagination Movers CDs he now loves to "rock out" all the time. Anytime he has a spare moment he's "playing" an instrument, usually the air guitar. He also loves to make up his own songs using his guitar and the drumsticks. It's so cute to hear him make up songs about all the things that fill up his days.Another new interest for him is geography. For his birthday he got a puzzle of all the states and he loves putting it together and telling us something special about the states. He also has a really cool Children's Atlas book and spends time each day hunting for certain things on each of the continents.

Tyler has always loved basketball but has recently taken it up a notch. He's attended 2 Timberwolves games this year and after each one he comes home and wants to do nothing but practice. He works on dribbling with each hand, free throws and layups. Some days he spends the entire hour of his rest time in the basement "exercising" with basketball and "rocking out". He has also noticed that professional athletes have cheerleaders and this is now my official job. I am expected to sit on the sidelines and watch him practice, cheering every time he makes a shot. When my imaginary pom poms weren't cutting it Tyler brought me 2 egg shakers and told me to use those. Ha!


Along with all his new interests come new fears. One night, not too long ago, Tyler suddenly developed a panicky fear of the dark, complete with imaginary monsters hiding in the house. After several nights of waking up frequently in the night we bought 2 very bright night lights for his room and the hallway that have helped immensely. He's also suddenly gotten very worried about thunderstorms, lightening and tornadoes. He asks all kinds of questions about why we have to go in the basement during storms, something he is remembering from last Spring. We haven't had any Spring storms yet so we'll see how this fear plays out in the coming months.

There are days when I swear I can see Tyler growing up before my eyes and days when I cannot believe he is only 4. With Winter drawing to a close (supposedly) Tyler has cabin fever more than ever. While he still doesn't mind suiting up to go outside I am beyond tired of it and have started sending him outside to play by himself. He has to stay in our yard or on the sidewalk in front of our house where I can see him through our front windows. Several times he's gone across the street to play with Vincent and William in their front yard with Meg and I keeping a close watch. The first time he went out to play with his friends by himself almost brought tears to my eyes. They organized a baseball game and I could hear their laughter all the way across the street inside our house. Such big boys :)

Other times he seems mature beyond his years are when he's with his little brother. He is definitely a Mother Hen with Cal and sometimes I wonder if I'm even needed! Tyler loves to greet Calvin after his nap by bringing him his drink and asking how his sleep was. I often overhear Tyler teaching Calvin how to do something or explaining something to him. He even wants to hold him and kiss his boo-boos when he's hurt! 98% of the time this is so cute and we just love to watch Tyler in his "first born" mode. The other morning I was in the other room when Calvin announced he was all done with breakfast. By the time I made it into the kitchen Tyler had bussed Cal's dishes, gotten him out of the chair and cleaned up his face, hands and the front of his PJs! Ha! However, the other 2% of the time Tyler needs to be reminded that he is not the boss and cannot control every little thing. This morning Calvin spilled his water at breakfast. As I was wiping it up Tyler was giving Cal a lecture about not being careful.

Tyler: "If you're not careful Calvin then you cannot drink of out a big boy cup. You will have to have a sippy"
Me: "That's ok. It's just water and it was an accident"
Tyler: "No, it's not okay. If he spills then he cannot have a big boy cup"
Me: "Tyler, you are not the parent"
Tyler: "Yes I am the parent. Just stop arguing with me about this mom"

Hmmm, how old are you again?? And where do you get all the things that come out of your mouth? They sound vaguely familiar... :)
It is such a joy to watch these two boys grow and change. Our hope is that they will always have as much fun together as they do now and grow into the best of friends. We are so proud of them both!