four.

My firstborn is 4 years old. My sweet Isaac Samuel.

First things first...Isaac weighs 35 pounds and is 40.5 inches tall, the first time he's been over the 50th percentile since he turned 2 years old. His 4T pants fit him well in length and the waist, but his 4T shirts seem huge on him. I even got a few of his 3T shirts out from last year, but they seem a little short in length and the sleeves. He is wearing a size 10 shoe.

Three was a rough year at times, I definitely understand the term "threenager" now, but three was also fun. Four is proving to be interesting. He understands so much now and can argue back and reason with us. His imagination is also growing by leaps and bounds. I thought it was adorable when he pretended to cook in his kitchen at 2. He really knows how to pretend now.

Isaac is such a sweet, well-mannered little boy. He definitely gets frustrated and can tell you all about it, but he's very pleasant most of the time. He is very generous with his hugs and kisses and cuddles.

My favorite part about this age is how independent he is becoming. He loves to get dressed by himself, and I assist most days, but if we're having a crazy morning it's nice to be able to tell him to get dressed and he can do it all by himself. He can even put on his jacket and zip it without any help. :)

Isaac is a wonderful big brother. He has loved Levi since the day we brought him home and continues to impress me every day. He is rarely ever mean to Levi on purpose, but he does get irritated at times when Levi wants to play with what he is playing with. He is also starting to show a little more jealousy. If I tickle Levi, Isaac insists that I tickle him too. And there are days that they are both fighting over who gets to sit in my lap. Neither is satisfied with sharing Mama's lap. He loves wearing matching clothes with Levi, especially pajamas. Every night he asks what pajamas Levi is wearing and wants to wear the same, or gets upset if he doesn't have a matching set.

Isaac is happiest when he's playing outside, but he also enjoys a few tv shows (Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Paw Patrol, Dora the Explorer), and is also really starting to enjoy art projects more. He loves painting at his easel and his coloring has gotten much better since he learned how to hold the crayon the right way. He can write his name, but it's usually very large and the letters run together. We started working on it casually at home a few months ago, but one day a few weeks ago he showed me how he can do it now and it was obvious that they've been working on it at "school".

Speaking of school, he goes to Parent's Day Out twice a week, and this is his third year in the program. He loves it there, and all of the teachers love him.

Isaac still takes a daily nap. He is mostly fine without it on days that he doesn't get one, but he also doesn't fight me and lays down and falls asleep quickly most days. I do have to wake him up every day so he'll go to bed at a decent hour, but he sleeps roughly 1.5-2 hours.

Isaac has his own opinions now. That's a new thing and something I need to adjust to. He decided months ago that he wanted to be a tiger for Halloween and nothing would persuade him otherwise. I also chose a theme for his birthday party like I always had and he quickly shot that down, insisting on a train party instead. I was actually able to convince him to change that, but for a while he wouldn't hear anything else. He's not too particular about his clothes yet, but I'm sure that's coming.

Rodney's dad, Papaw, is Isaac's favorite person. They ride all over the farm and check on the cows, feed the cows, ride the tractor, and wash the tractor. They play in the creek and explore. Isaac learns a lot from Papaw, and that's a very good thing. I can't think of a better role model.

He calls mushrooms 'mushmellows' and says 'cuitar' for guitar.

It feels like Isaac has been with us far longer than 4 years. We are thankful for every day we get to spend with him.