Hellobee

Four years go at 10 minutes past midnight, StarCakes was born on his expected due date and I was born a mommy. This kid has taught me so much about love, patience, forgiveness and kindness in the four years that he has been in our lives. We are so grateful for such an intelligent, energetic, thoughtful and inquisitive kid and are so proud of the little person that he is becoming.

Stats: At StarCakes’ 4-year check up he weighed in at 33 lbs and topped off at 38 inches. He is now wearing 4T tops and bottoms and is currently sporting size 8.5 kicks.

Personality: This kid does not shy away from attention. He is comfortable being in the spotlight and doesn’t take long to warm up to people. He loves making friends wherever we go and will chat up any child or parent at the playground who will listen to him. StarCakes has always been a very physically active kid – he’s a climber, a jumper and a runner. He is constantly on-the-go, but he can be quite cuddly in the mornings and right before bed. He is thoughtful with a dash of sweet and silly and quite the rule-follower too.

StarCakes’ first time at the Home Depot Kid’s Workshop.

Favorites: StarCakes loves watching the Angry Birds cartoons and movies so much that he has requested an Angry Birds birthday party. But his love with his Thomas Trains still runs deep. He also loves watching “Up,” bowling, going to the zoo and aquarium, having dance parties with GemCakes, hiding under blankets, doing puzzles and playing with his toy kitchen. Ever since Mr. Cheesecake introduced him to chess he has been obsessed with playing it on a daily basis. They even go to Chess Club at our local library. His favorite books right now are “My First Book of Tagalog Words,” “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie,” “Feast for 10” and “Snowmen at Christmas.” He enjoys playing outdoors and has recently started riding his tricycle and plasma bike around the park.

Sleep: I see our days of daily two-hour naps are slowly coming to an end. Most days StarCakes skips his afternoon nap and plows through until an 8:00pm or 8:30pm bed time. But there are still times when he will fall asleep in the car, especially if he hasn’t been napping for a couple days. We can usually tell that he needs more sleep if he gets touchy about (seemingly ridiculous) things. Like the other day when he was on the verge of tears because his long-sleeved shirt had a cuff and prevented him from waving his hand properly. (I didn’t even know how to respond to that.) He is still an early riser, before 7am, no matter what time he falls asleep. But what I do love about him at this age is that as long as he has his puppy loveys, he can fall asleep on his own and he usually stays in his bed until morning. Recently though he has started the habit of waking up between 3-4am and asking to sleep in our bed. Most nights he just wants a quick cuddle and then will go back to his bedroom after. It was cute (at first) since I don’t get much cuddle time with him during the day, but now we are trying to limit it so he doesn’t expect it every morning.

Independence: With the exception of going #2, if he needs to use the bathroom, he will use it on his own. It’s so great that he is independent like this. He can put on and remove his shirts, pants, socks and shoes. We are still working on him putting on his own jacket. He can climb into his car seat and fasten his own belt without help, too. For the most part, he uses his utensils when eating and has gotten pretty good at using a cup, although he still prefers straws. He can also open the refrigerator door on his own now!

Eating: StarCakes has his favorite foods for sure, but for the most part he is a good eater. He eats a variety of Filipino dishes and is a huge fan of bananas, strawberries, quesadillas, rotisserie chicken, macaroni and cheese and these mini blueberry muffins. He usually has two snacks a day in addition to three meals. Some days he eats like a beast and other days not so much.

Cognitive and Language development: Like I said before, this kid will talk to anyone who will (or won’t!) listen to him. He has such a wide range of vocabulary and is constantly surprising us with words he uses, learns, and recognizes. He can carry on a conversation about his day and remembers details about past events that we don’t even remember.When we read books he will point out words he recognizes and has memorized a number of his favorite books.  He absolutely loves puzzles and is always asking us to help him spell words. I hope that his curiosity will continue on when he starts preschool in the fall!

Peek-a-boo we’re at the zoo!

Sibling Relationship: StarCakes has definitely stepped up to his role as older brother to GemCakes. If she gets hurt he asks her if she’s alright. If I offer him a snack he’ll ask her if she wants some too. If I can’t get her to do something, he’ll help me to get her to do it! He is definitely my little helper when it comes to taking care of his little sister. Of course, they fight and sometimes make each other cry, but they are quick to forgive each other and that’s what I love about seeing their relationship. He is pretty good at sharing with his little sister too as long as he’s not tired or hangry!

Happy birthday handsome! You are pure sunshine and we love you to the moon and back and then some more!