Kippy || 4 Years Old

It's big day over here today. Kip turns 4 years old! He's no longer a toddler and officially a big kid!!! Ugh, my heart! It's all gone by in a blink.

 

Fortunately, Kip tells me he "just turned one years old" and he is "just a little baby." Well, okay, I'll keep you my baby!

Kipling at 4 Years

Weight: 36.8 lbs. (31.2 lbs. at 3 years) 

Height: 41.3 inches (38.2 inches at 3 years) 

 

Kip is a comedian. He loves to make people laugh and will repeat or imitate things he has seen that made other people laugh. He will be that class clown that teachers call "a distraction" while simultaneously stifle their own laughs at his antics. 

 

He is a perfectionist and tends to shut down if he thinks he cannot accomplish something or struggles when he first tries. His biggest obstacle is himself. 

 

He is a social extrovert and loves to find other kids to play with but also enjoys striking up a conversation with a neighbor or other adult. He relishes the company of others and often demands the personal attention of others as opposed to being by himself.

Kip is tender and sweet and I adore the way that thoughts fill his brain and overflow from his mouth as if there is too much inside of him to get out. He also carries a righteous rage that I relate to on such a deep level that while he is mid-tantrum I am both truly irritated and completely sympathetic. 

Milestones of Age 3,

Dropped naps

Stopped using the pacifier

Learned how to ride his trike

 

Sleep

Kip goes to bed at 7:00 PM. His routine is to go upstairs, go to the bathroom, get his teeth brushed, and then we read three books (two on the nugget and one in bed with his flashlight). He has his sound machine, colored star projector on his ceiling, and twinkle lights over his window. He gets to listen to one song and the person that puts him to bed lays with him for a minute and then sits a minute. He has to have fresh water in his water bottle and the door left open a crack. Ah, remember the days of just putting him in the crib and walking away? No more! Now we have elaborate routines to settle into bed.

Kip wakes in the night on occasion either to go to the bathroom, he has sprinkle toes (foot fell asleep), or some other unknown thing. Sometimes he seems to have mini night terrors but they don't last long. He wakes up at 6 AM (sometimes earlier) and is supposed to stay in his room until his green clock lights up. Then he comes into our room and lays in between us to watch a show while he drinks his sippy cup of milk. On rare occasions, he will sleep until 6:30 AM.

He no longer naps but does regularly fall asleep in the car.

 

Eat

Kip has gotten pickier over this past year. We try to stick with the approach we always had which is to provide the food, offer at least one thing on the plate that we know he likes, and not short order cook for him. He loves cinnamon toast or a peanut butter waffle for breakfast. He also has oatmeal on occasion and loves cinnamon rolls and bacon on the weekends. For lunch he loves PB&J or a mayo and honey mustard "swamwich." Recently he started liking salami and he will occasionally eat a wrap if Mandy makes it. For snacks he likes popsicles, Cheez-its, Goldfish, and yogurt drinks. He likes Puffy Cheetos, cinnamon applesauce, and morning bars. Dinner is the toughest meal for him because he is typically hangry and overtired which turns into tantrums and refusal to eat. If he refuses dinner, we offer him a cheese stick (just to get something in his belly before bed). I'd say his favorite dinner is grilled cheese and tomato soup or something with hot dogs or macaroni and cheese. I think the only chicken he eats is Chick-fil-a and he LOVES Wendy's "hamburger-ers." He still loves milk and has at least one cup a day. 

 

And he still loves his "coffee o'clock" and can tell you the correct time on the clock to enjoy it.

 

Play

Kip is a true lover of trains, going on two years now. He plays with his wooden "little trains" the most out of all his toys and is very skilled at building all sorts of complicated layouts. Kip also likes his "table trains" which are medium-sized die cast trains that he likes to run along the table tops. He loves Duplo legos, Hotwheels and matchbox cars and creating traffic jams and play "town." In his room he plays with his racetrack and Magnatiles and also went through a marble run phase. He is amazing at building and creating with these types of toys and is amazing at sound effects as well. Recently he has been into monster truck toys and creating jumps and ramps.

He likes sensory activities but is not typically interested in arts and crafts because they frustrate him easily.

 

Being outside is his lifeblood and he likes his scooter, trike, spraying the hose, drawing train tracks with chalk, water table, and pool toys. He loves going to the park, running around the field, and getting the chance to go to the playground.

 

Kip is a good big brother but also a typical sibling. He has such a love-hate relationship with Ivy most of the time. She is starting to get into his things which he hates but at the same time he asks to see her in the morning, wants to snuggle, and cannot for the life of him GIVE HER SPACE. He is constantly up in her business and wants to get as close to her as physically possible. 

Things I want to remember about Kip at age 3:

"Pretty good"

Talking to people on the street

"Dancy Dancy" (Fancy Nancy)

Carl/Super Truck and Mr. Red

Naked Baby

Doggies

Mandy's robot

Bubble bombs 

"Engine Could" (Little Engine that Could)

Oh no you honk honk

"tending" (pretending)

Dancing to Ultra Luminary

"Sixty-fivey-odey" (650)

His fixation with the light in the fire alarm above his bed 

Clearing throat 'radio...microphone' 

"Nope, not available"

Little trains now called toy trains 

"mandy excuse"

Removing one sock when he feels hot

"Ruffle Bag" (how he says toot)

"Steak" (mistake)

Brain Candy TV (monster trucks)

Hot Wheels City

Tumble Leaf

"You're burping me up" (said when he is frustrated at someone)

"Liquid name" (legal name)

"Oh! Oh no. Stop. That's embarrassing" (in response to most of what mom says or does)

What's Next

The biggest milestone of his "big kid" life so far is just a few weeks away - starting school! Kip is enrolled in Pre-K for the fall and I'm just crossing my fingers things stay stable enough that he gets to go in-person. He needs social interaction so much and we all feel like he will respond well in a classroom environment. I want little friends for him so badly so despite my fears about the pandemic, I want him to go to school!

 

Happy birthday bud, year three was a wild one mixed with so many changes and transitions. We had our fair share of threenager moments and 100 tantrums for every gray hair on my head but it was also full of sweet sass and tenderhearted moments I hope I remember forever. 

 

Birthdays are so bittersweet, a tug of war with the heart strings.