Day 695 | And He Turns Four

I know you've been waiting for this...

Top 10 Best Things About Four-year-old Chase

1. His compassion: this kid has the biggest heart you can imagine. He's amazingly thoughtful and generous and understanding. Much more so than you would expect from a four-year-old.
2. His intellect: he's a little smartie, that's for sure. His little brain is just a sponge picking up so much from school (and a little from us). My current favorite example? Often he interjects in normal conversation, "hey, that's alliteration!"
3. His deep interest in space: books, toys, videos, anything space related is a big hit. He told me yesterday that he probably can't fly to the moon until he's eleven, though. 
4. His love for vacation: yes, we've taught him well. This kid definitely knows the appropriate amount of excitement, enthusiasm, and anticipation to exhibit when a vacation rolls around. 
5. His super-expressive, unwavering love for mommy and daddy: he often turns to Chris and me out of the blue and says, "I love you, mommy/daddy." Other iterations are "I love you so much I believe in you" and "I love you so much and I like you so much" and "Mommy/daddy, you're my favorite (a family saying)."
6. His love for school: sending him to full day three year old preschool was a tough decision. A tough decision. Man, was it the right one. This kid loves being a Bulldog (their classroom mascot). He loves all his little Bulldog friends. And the Bulldog teachers could not be better (not exaggerating). Not only has his mind expanded with all this classroom time, but socially he's made leaps and bounds this year (our biggest hope when sending him). 
7. His imagination: this part of his brain is working in overdrive as of late. He loves acting out stories, coming up with new games, and including any/all of his family members in the productions.
8. His kid-isms: kids say the funniest things, right? This guy is no exception. My latest favorite occurred when a penpal of his (thanks for coordinating, uncle Matt) sent him foreign currency in her latest card. He opened it and looked up at me in surprise and said, "How did she know I like money?" Hahaha. 
9. His natural ability to be the big brother: we couldn't have asked for a better role model for sweet Robbe. Chase has already shown an interest in helping his little brother navigate life a little easier. He's patient with him, gentle towards him, understanding of his shortcomings, translates as well as I do, shares his toys, and genuinely wants him around. It's the best.
10. His rule-following: yep, still going strong with his impressive ability to listen and follow rules. It's pretty amazing from a parenting perspective. And luckily he takes it with him to school, too. Not to brag but he's the only Bulldog to not have used the "take a break chair" (where you go when you need some time to compose yourself) at school yet. Fingers crossed he can make it to the end of the year. Maybe he'll win an award!

Almost exactly four years ago (to the minute), we welcomed this little baby into the world that changed every second of our lives moving forward. We couldn't be more proud of our amazing 4-year-old and the little gentleman he's becoming. We love you, Sweet Pea.