Kyler and Jeanette: October 2018

29 October 2018

Craig Year Five Retrospective

Four years old was a busy year for Craig.

He's been doing gymnastics and loves it.

He talks about how gymnastics makes him strong and he's been getting better at the skills and at listening to his instructors.

Craig finished up preschool, doing spectacularly, although sometimes being a little sillier than some people might prefer.

His teachers say he's quite a character, which I'm pretty sure is a euphemism for "super crazy, silly, awesome, smart, annoying, loving, and frustrating."
And, of course, just a few weeks before he turned 5, Craig started kindergarten.

In the first couple of days, he had a bit of trouble transitioning, but seems to have found the groove now.

And he absolutely loves going to school, with taking the bus and playing on the playground being the highlights.

Craig loves to tell jokes. For a while, many of his jokes employed potty humor that made little to no sense. With our encouragement, he's most expanded past the poop jokes, but they still make little sense. Like this:
Knock, knock! (Who's there?)
Banana! (Banana who?)
Banana on your glasses [or head]! *Hysterical laughter*
He taught that one to Caleb, who repeats it regularly.

Caleb loves Craig, and tries to follow his example in more ways than just telling jokes.

Usually, Craig is an excellent example for him to follow.

Craig and Calista are a silly duo, as well.

They often love each other, and occasionally get on each others nerves.

I still find them sleeping together fairly regularly.

I'm pretty sure they are each other's best friend and biggest frustration.

We've gone and done many things this year. We went camping at Writing-On-Stone,

roadtripped to Oregon,

spent time with cousins,

and went to several Provincial and National Park.

Of course, we also had a ton of time to just play, inside and outside, at home and at parks, alone and with others.

Craig learned to actually peddle his bike this year, finally.

We've gone on several short bike rides, and he's done great on them.

Oh, and speaking of things Craig finally learned to do, I suppose it's only in the past year he actually has been out of diapers. That's pretty crazy, and I'm not sure I ever want to speak of that process again.

Craig absolutely loves playing with Legos.

Sometimes he gets frustrated, either because the blocks aren't going together quite the way he wants, or because Caleb is a toddler.

Mostly, he can spend an hour or more building and playing.

As do most kids his age, Craig definitely has opinions. He refuses to wear jeans and occasionally other pants that aren't "soft pants" (sweatpants) or shorts, which can make getting him ready for school interesting when it's laundry day.

Craig's favorite number is 89.
His favorite color is red. And blue. And brown. Even white. And pink. Even violet...

The best thing about being four was videos, videos, and more videos!

The Sunday before his birthday, Craig sat down in my lap and gave me hugs and kisses and told me he loved me, over and over again.

This is my little boy. This is the Craig that warms my heart and I'm so grateful for.

He may frustrate me sometimes, but he is also the sweetest and funniest buddy around, and I'm so happy that he is mine and chooses to love me.

October 2017