Brag on Your Kid

I haven't done a Teagan post in a while and I figured now was a good time when I'm not super busy with a new baby.

Can I just say that Teagan is a delight. He is constantly making me laugh and he is so sweet. Such a tender little boy.

Here are some things that he's doing/enjoying lately.

-Teagan loves to pretend play. Whether with super heros, stuffed animals or anything else he can get his hands on he is so creative. The things he comes up with are hilarious.

-He counts like this 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,14,18,16,19,300! I'm tempted to never teach him the correct way because I love it so much.

-He is learning lots of his letter sounds and is getting better at recognizing what letter words start with.

-When we do "cheerio math" he is a wiz. I either change the number of mini cups or the number of cheerios and he has to figure out how many to put in each cup to make them all the same, he gets to eat the leftovers. I am amazed at how well he does with it.

-He can memorize like nobody's business. I think he has 8 or 9 Articles of Faith, the Pledge of Allegiance, and several scriptures and songs memorized. We only work on it for about 5-10 minutes a night so I'm really proud of him.

-He loves to build. He creates really cool building and "stuff" out of dominoes, cups, legos, cardboard boxes, and blankets. Of course he loves to break them when he's done. :)

-"The Bernstein Bears" is his favorite book series. He has 6 of the books and would have me read them to him all day if I had the time. He knows them all pretty well and is quick to correct me when I try to skip parts. He realized one day that our family will be just like their family (dad, mom, boy, girl) and was so excited and is determined that we are dressing up as the Bernstein Bears for Halloween.

-He is an expert helper and is seriously going to be a huge blessing for me when the baby comes. He sets the table, helps clear the dishwasher, starts the dishwasher, helps carry dirty clothes/towels to the laundry room, helps fold clothes, wipes off counters, takes out garbages and is learning to vacuum his room. When he gets to do a new chore he gets SO excited because he feels really big and helpful. I love having him work by my side and am trying to enjoy every minute before he realizes that he hates chores and it becomes more of a battle.

-He is great with other kids and is a peace maker. He shares so well and is quick to figure out a solution to any disputes. You could say he's a little bossy, BUT he is willing to compromise when someone holds their ground (luckily a lot of the kids he plays with are also oldest children so they don't let him get too bossy.)

-He is very aware of other people and their needs. It amazes me when he notices that someone is feeling bad and he does something to make them feel better. Sometimes I'll see him giving me a silly smile and if I ask what he's doing he says "I just wanted to make you happy mom." I'm trying to smile more so it can go both ways. :) He's always finding Jax's special dog and bringing it to him when he's sad.
-Zac has always been the favorite parent, but I think he's finally found a place for mom. He goes to Zac for all things fun and exciting and comes to me when he's ready for a snuggle and some loves.

-He listens and picks up on everything so Zac and I are having to readjust music, TV, and especially the way we talk. Why does it sound so much worse coming out of their mouths?

A couple of funnies, I can't remember anything else, I really need to start writing them down more often!

The other day I was talking to my mom on the phone about teaching your kids to save for college. I said something along the lines of, "And if they want to use their savings to get a car I'll just say nope, it's for college or a mission." Teagan pipes up "Just so you know mom, I'm getting the car!"

Randomly in the car one day: "Mom, you can eat lotion if you want, but just so you know, you're going to die."

I lost my tablet the other day and was trying to find it and Teagan was so excited and was following me around the house saying over and over in a sing song voice "rules is rules mom, If you don't take care of your tablet then you won't have a tablet anymore, rules is rules!"

We love our little Teagan. He is so wonderful and I am so grateful for him. He's not perfect, but neither am I so it works out pretty good if we can remember to cut each other some slack once in a while. I can't believe he's 4, time really flies.