Jacob turned 4 this past December. Time seems to have both crawled and flown by simultaneously.
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| Next to our broken TV before the new one was delivered |
Unlike most 4 year olds, Jacob doesn't understand the concept of a birthday or even seem to recognize the word. I have no doubt that he enjoyed the attention and presents he got on his birthday, but I also don't doubt that he didn't understand it was his birthday or what that means.
Have you seen those cute questionnaires to do with your kids each year on their birthday? They all say to start at the age of 3 and ask the same questions each year so you can look back and see how their answers change throughout the years. Last year Jacob would have ignored me had I attempted to do that with him. This year he mostly ignored me but every now and then he just repeated back the questions.
Here is what we think his answers would be if he understood enough to answer.
Nicknames: none (I guess we're no fun)
How old are you? 4
What is your favorite color? Red (only because Grandma Mac gave him some choices and he said the last color she said)
What is your favorite animal? Dog
What is your favorite book? We read GoodNight Moon and Skeleton Hiccups every night
What is your favorite TV show? Super Why
What is your favorite movie? Cars
What is your favorite song? Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes (he learned a new verse at school with different body parts too)
What is your favorite food? Ramen (isn't that disgusting?)
What is your favorite drink? Root beer (not that he gets it very often)
What is your favorite breakfast food? Chocolate chip pancakes
What is your favorite snack? Graham crackers
What is your favorite outfit? Jack o' lantern shirt
What is your favorite game? Wrestling with his brothers
What is your favorite toy? Innotab
Who is your best friend? His Daddy
What is your favorite thing to do? Play with Innotab or a phone; or help in the kitchen
What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play in a bounce house
What is your favorite holiday? He likes Christmas lights and Christmas presents so I guess Christmas
What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Cup of water and his "friends" (little stuffed animals)
Where is your favorite place to go? Pool
What is your favorite restaurant? Arby's
Where do you want to go on vacation? Somewhere with a pool
What do you want to be when you grow up? ?????
What did you do on your birthday? Went to school, played basketball, got presents
Jacob has made TONS of progress over the past year. He is talking a lot more - a year ago he could only identify letters, numbers and animals. Now he is able to request things, but he still has a problem with wordless whining when he wants something - we are working on learning how to request something without whining. He also typically repeats what we say instead of answering questions or using his own words. His speech is still delayed at least 1 year and a lot of words he says, he pronounces incorrectly (he calls me "Monny - like a cross between Mommy and money; he calls Jeremy "Jeheny").
Jacob impressed all his teachers by showing them that he can recognize a wide variety of sight words from animals, to shapes, and even action words. If Jacob didn't have the delays he has - we all feel really confident that he would be reading at this point.
Jacob loves to help in the kitchen. He pulls the folding step stool we keep in the kitchen out and sets it up right in front of what I'm doing in the kitchen. He loves to help pour things in, stir things, turn on the mixer and turn it back off. He gets very upset if I am in a big hurry and don't have time to have a helper.
Jacob potty trained before going back to school in the fall! He did really well once he decided he wanted to and the only rewards he ever wanted were lots of enthusiastic praise. He had a rough time a few months later where he never wanted to go use the potty anymore, but luckily he is doing much better and accidents don't happen very often.
We're so happy that Jacob is progressing, but it is still hard to see him next to "normally" developing kids. We frequently see children 1-1.5 years younger than Jacob who communicate and comprehend better than he does and it is a little heartbreaking. We just keep praying that he'll continue to make good progress and keep communicating with us more and more.
1 comments:
So glad that you can see the blessings of the progress that he is making. I can only imagine the challenges you deal with. I think that is one of the hardest things of being a parent - worrying about and wanting the best for your kids. We all experience it in different ways and varying levels . . . it makes you appreciate a loving Heavenly Father that loves all of us!
Jacob is such a cutie. Love seeing pictures of him and getting a glimpse of his likes and personality. Thanks for sharing.
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