4 1/2 Years Old!

This is the first year (since he was a baby) that the "half" has mattered quite a bit. John Grayson has been asking for a while now (at least a month) when he would be 4 1/2. I guess the "big kids" on the playground at school are turning 5 and 6 so he wants to make sure he's keeping up. He is growing up so fast!

At 4 1/2, John Grayson is:

• Writing his name (both first and middle)! They work on it at school, and the teacher asked that each child write his/her name on their valentines. Writing his name 11 times paid off because now he can do it without much help from me!
  
• Loves school! This is no change from past years, but we get a lot more details from him each day. When asked how his day was, he always answers "Great!" He loves his teacher, Ms. Carolyn, and has lots of friends. He even started up a "Boys Club" and he is the president. It seemed really strange at first when he was talking about it, and neither John nor I could figure out what he was talking about. Then JGray explained that he's the president of his boys' club, just like I'm the president of my MOMS Club. Ahhh, makes sense, and JGray has just the personality to pull it off. He's very self-assured without being cocky. He includes everyone. He's funny. He's sweet.
  
• Started taking tennis lessons before the holidays and absolutely loved it! He did soccer in the fall and got bored, but really seems to enjoy tennis. He told me it's because he gets to use his hands and his feet. Makes sense. He's going to take more lessons later in the spring and is also trying out basketball and flag football.
• Still loves books. We've started reading him chapter books. He loves the Magic Treehouse series and John just finished reading him "James and the Giant Peach." He sits in his room during quiet time, listening to his books on CD, staring at the pages in these "big kid" books. He tells us he's reading and I wouldn't doubt it. He also loves going to the library and picking out videos. He doesn't choose your typical preschool videos either. He's picked videos on Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, anything about science, and recently some "Reading Rainbow" dvds.
• Is a remarkable big brother. "Bobby" as is affectionately called by his little sister, John Grayson is a helpful, loving, fun big brother. He tries to include Delia (most of the time) and loves to give her hugs and jump and play with her.
  
• Has started telling knock-knock jokes. Some are better than others, but he thinks that anything that involves underwear in the punchline is funny. John keeps trying to teach him real jokes and he remembers them, sometimes, but his fall-back is always underpants.
• Has officially stopped napping, even on days when he gets up too early. JGray is still an early bird, in spite of the lack of naps. There are days when we hear him up and moving around before 6am. He gets a little tired in the afternoon but always tells us that his eyes won't close. He does a great job of spending quiet time in his room (for 1.5-2 hours). He reads books, builds with legos, draws and watches DVDs.
• Loves to draw, write and tell stories. He draws intricate pictures and maps and will spend forever telling you about them. He has a vivid imagination and an incredible memory. He'll come up to us and say, "Remember the time when..." It can go back a year or more, and John and I are shocked by his accuracy.

John Grayson amazes us with his outgoing personality, infectious laugh, charming sense of humor and compassion for everyone he meets. I still don't know what I did to deserve such a special little boy for a son. We love you, sweet boy!

Here's a picture of John Grayson at 4 1/2: