Hunter: Age Four

My baby had his birthday a few weeks ago.  Can four years really have passed since he was born?  Yes. Yes, four years ago I was staring down at his tiny face, trying to figure out who he looked like.  Four years later I'm amazed at how fast he's grown.  He's my mini me, and not in looks alone.  We're alike in so many ways, which is why we probably spend so much time laughing at the same corny jokes as well as butting our stubborn heads together.

For his forth birthday I wanted to sum Hunter's little personality up. . . so here we go. . .

Four-year-old Hunter is a bit obsessed with ducks, birds, and eggs lately   He wants to watch Youtube videos of eggs hatching.  He finds balls, rocks, and any small roundish object to build nests for and sit on.  The other day he went outside with one of his "eggs" and sat on it for close to an hour.  When we checked on him, and asked if he wanted to play a more active game, he promptly explained that all he wanted to do was sit on his egg.  That being said, when he's playing his bird games we're not to call him "Hunter."  If we do, he promptly corrects us by saying, "Renember, I'm the DADDY BIRD (sometimes he's even the Mommy Bird).  We have to say, "Oh Daddy Bird, would you like to come inside for a snack?"  Daddy Bird usually refuses, and keeps egg-sitting, unless the snack is profoundly delicious.

Hunter's eggs also come along for car rides.  On more than one occasion, before he sits in the car seat, he places his "egg" (one time it was a golf ball, another time it was a plastic container thing) down on his car seat and sits on it the entire journey.

I've also noticed Hunter--who when at home mostly only wears his undies--walking around with something inside his pants.  When I asked what was in there, he reached in and grabbed two filled water balloons and said all matter-of-fact like, "I'm keeping my eggs warm."

One of our neighborhood friends plays with Hunter all the time.  He even has her involved in his egg games.  Together they've collected a good number of egg shaped rocks, and take turns sitting on their "nest."  In this game Hunter is the Daddy Bird and Zoe, his friend, is the Mommy Bird.  They've stopped calling each other Hunter and Zoe, but instead refer to each other as, "Daddy Bird" and "Mommy Bird"  It's quite funny to see them playing together - protecting their little brood of rock-eggs.

Hunter also likes to include us in his animal games.  One day he told me, "Let's pretend you're a pig, I'm a bird, Tralee's a cat, and daddy's also a bird."  The entire day he would say, "Hey Pig!" if he wanted my attention.  We got a few odd looks at the grocery store when my four-year-old kept calling his mom a pig.  I didn't mind.  I just responded with a, "Yeah Bird."

Hunter has also become a very proficient whistler -- much to the chagrin of his older sister who still hasn't figured it out.  Hunter's so good a whistling, sometimes I don't even think he knows he's doing it (and sometimes I don't notice either).  For instance, at my grandpa's funeral a few month ago he was whistling away unnoticed.  When we were listening to the recording a few days later, someone asked me, "Is someone whistling?"  I realized it must have been Hunter.  I didn't even notice during the funeral. . . and hopefully nobody thought me rude for not stopping my lil' bird's song.

When Hunter's not acting like a bird, he likes to pretend he's a superhero.  He and his sister will play outside "rescuing" people and animals for hours at a time.  The other day as he was helping me vacuum, Tralee told him, "Make sure you lift up the cord so you don't run over it."  Hunter looked at her and exclaimed, "I'm a superhero you know! I can handle it!"  I laughed.

Hunter has a few other things he says that always bring a smile to our faces.  Here are the ones I can remember right now:

Renember for Remember

Glubs for Gloves (he and Tralee both say this)

Stwah-beh-wees -- Strawberries

"I can do it by myself!" is often said when Jim or myself step in to help Hunter, when he clearly doesn't need our assistance.

Hunter also says, "I'm sure!" all the time!  Whenever we ask him a question like, "Hunter, do you have to go potty!"  He says, "No.  I'm sure!"

A few weeks ago Hunter was asked to say the Fifth Article of Faith during Sharing Time in Primary and he did a GREAT job!  Here's the video:

Hunter can be a picky eater sometimes, although he has a healthy appetite if the right foods are placed before him.  Some of his favorite foods are sautéed mushrooms with Marsala wine sauce, plain lettuce salad, corn on the cob, steamed broccoli are one of his favorites, as well as edamame.  He'll drink green smoothies, and likes chocolate almond milk.  He likes vegan BBQ ribs, which turn out to not be the healthiest thing.  He also like waffles and pancakes (which I'm able to sneak Chia seeds, flax seed meal, and hemp seeds into).  Hunter's favorite fruits are pears, strawberries, and blueberries.  He also loves fruit leathers from Costco, and goldfish crackers are one of his favorite snacks.  Hunter likes ham as well.  We don't eat that much meat around here anymore, but when ham is an option, Hunter will eat it up!  Hunter probably has the sweetest tooth in our family (well, tied with Jim).  He's my little sugar addict.  As a general rule, I don't buy crap for my cupboards, but when we do happen to have junk food in the house, Hunter knows right where it's hiding and how to find it.  Overall, Hunter is squeamish of new foods, but eats well when the ball's in his court!

Hunter also still has a temper, although it's taking more and more to set it off.  I'm hoping pretty soon he will know how to calm himself before reaching the point-of-no-return; where he starts hitting whoever ticked him off.  We're always reminding him to walk away and take deep breaths when he starts to feel mad, but unless we're right there to re-direct him when his temperature rises, he starts a-swingin'!  It's almost like he's blacking out he gets so mad (i.e. The Hulk) and when he calms back down he becomes his sweet self again.  He's given two kids bloody lips, and we saw his hand print on another little girl's face after he hit her.  In ALL of these occasions Hunter was instigated, but that's no excuse for getting physical.  If anyone has dealt with this before, and has some GRAND advice, please share!  Because, like I said, I can't always be there when his blood starts to boil to help him calm down and redirect, and I'm afraid if he can't get his temper under control when kids are teasing him, or being mean, or not sharing, then he might have a rough road ahead.  This doesn't happen all that often, but happening even once seems like too much for me, so ANY advice would be appreciated!!

Hunter still rubs the mole on my arm for comfort and when we're snuggling.  It's a lot less frequent than it used to be, but the other day he fell down, scraped his leg, and the minute I picked him up, he pushed his hand under my sleeve and rubbed the mole.  He calmed right down, and it made me smile.  I wonder when he'll grow out of "da mo" phase.

Rubbin' da mo while watchin' a show!

My little "snapshot" of Hunter turned out to be more of a short-story, but I don't want to forget my four-year-old Hunter.  Four is such a fun age!  He's all boy, and jumps off of things, into things, and is constantly doing "cool skateboard moves" even without a skateboard.  His favorite toys are balls (any kind. . . although instead of kicking them around now, he sits on them as his eggs).  Overall, I love this kid!  He's my little buddy while Tralee's at school, and is SO active and funny!

I wonder what his fifth year will bring?