4.5 Years with Palmer

Our sweet boy is 4.5 years old.  This morning we completely surprised him with his half birthday milestone.  Palmer was excited to come down to an unexpected birthday treat, despite a little bit of an overnight tummy ache. :(

Birthday photo with Mr. Elephant:

Stats: 
Height: 42.5 inches
Weight: 45 lb
Teeth: All the baby teeth are in and despite regular checking on Palmer's part, no teeth seem to be loose at this moment!

I've seen such a huge leap of growth in Palmer over the last month.  Palmer started a new school for Pre-K and it has been such a beautiful fit.

He goes four days a week and I am blown away by the development we've seen.  I really feel like this year has been different than the preschool years and it's truly "PRE-KINDERGARTEN" as opposed to preschool.  Palmer has been coming home talking about "rhyming" and "patterns" and "subtraction".

And let's be honest- Palmer's drawing skills have never been totally amazing.  His lack of interest generated scribbles on a paper that he would describe as "a roller coaster".  Not this year.  There is a Handwriting Without Tears teacher who is inspiring Palmer to draw (and also write) much more detailed than I have ever seen.

Palmer said this drawing was "my dad and a space ship".  I'm not so sure that's what I see, but you can be the judge...

(Palmer also said the drawing was of his favorite things.  I asked about his mom and got a polite, "No, thank you!"  Ummmm....)

Speaking of favorite things, Palmer is into pirates, space, army stuff, camo and sporty-type clothing, and riding his bike.

He also loves to play with legos and most creations are some type of rocket or a boat or an airplane.

There still isn't a lick of fear in this kid and he's already declared that when it's winter time, Palmer plans to ski "the whole ski mountain" with Rick and me.  (I'm planning on a few more lessons for him, in case anyone is wondering!)

In the summer, you can find Palmer loving life on a tube behind the boat or enjoying rides on the jet ski or practicing flips off of the diving board or bike riding up and down the street.

Yes, you see the line and then you see Palmer trying to cross the line.  He pushes limits (both good and bad) and we wouldn't know him any other way.

I'm always amazed that this energetic personality also has such a contrasting sweet side.  He's almost always extremely gentle with his sister and regularly professes his love for Grace.

He is very sweet to me and I enjoy watching him try to work out problems with other friends when there is conflict.  ("Matthew, I was frustrated when you walked away and that didn't make me feel happy.  Can you please not do that again?" etc)

Imaginary friends, Johnson and YoYo, are still regular parts of our life and usually mimic a parallel existence: they ride their own shuttle next to our car, go to Palmer's school (they are in a different class), and travel with us when we leave town.

Palmer, congrats on turning 4.5.  I know you are itching to turn 5 so you can be "as big as (your cousin) Elle".  I have bad news.  When you turn 5, she will already be 6.  Stay little, stop growing, and don't be in such a hurry to catch up.  We love you just the way you are.

And don't ever let your voice get lower than this:

-Bethany