4 in 2016

My dude.

Holy business! You are 4. I can hardly believe that it’s already been four whole years since you emerged, screaming and crying into this world. And with that emergence, we have been forever changed.

You’re very smart; sometimes you are too smart for your own good and you make us forget that we are dealing with someone in PRE-SCHOOL. Your ability to take in and assimilate and put forth ideas and concepts continues to amaze us. And some of that is just a normal part of how people develop. But! When we see you side by side with your peers, there’s a noticeable difference in the way you tell stories and see the world, and it’s a magical (albeit sometimes frustrating) thing to witness.

You are so full of love; you compliment everyone with “you’re beautiful” even though I’m not 100% sure you know what it means, you KNOW it makes people feel good and therefore you continue to say it. Yesterday you learned how to make a “heart” with your hands and you said “this is my loving heart for you.” Ahhh, Joaquin, you’re a charmer and I love it. You’re going to make someone out there very happy someday; but I’m sure there will be some broken hearts along the way (including your sweet little heart).

You continue to feel so deeply; you have big feelings and struggle to sort them out. You’re a sensitive little soul and crave and need so much attention. And it’s been hard being a new big brother. Your sister is the belle of the ball and the object of so much adoration, and it used to be fine, but now she’s become mobile and is into all of “your stuff” – and the game is changing.

But at a very base level, you are so proud of her and so proud to be her brother. It’s heart-warming to hear you tell her that you will “always love her no matter what” and that she will “never not be beautiful.”

You currently love all things transformers, star wars “minja” turtles and octonauts; we just redecorated your room with an “outer space” theme and you tell us you want to be an astronaut when you grow up. You love hip hop class, which starts again soon, and you have lovely rhythm and can do interpretive dance like no one’s business. We’re thinking about marital arts next, per your request.

You’ve just graduated from the “Delfine” class into the “Ballena” class and it’s going to be a big adventure as you complete your last year at Playgroup, where you’ve come to love your teachers and classmates and they have come to love you. Now you’re starting to really understand the concept of numbers and counting, and it’s fun to see you recognize when you’ve solved a math problem or simply counted higher than you have before. Letters are still tricky, but I have no doubt you will learn and flourish in this area as the year progresses.

You’re a strong, stubborn, sensitive, sweet and charming little boy. We’re so happy that we’ve been along for this ride, through all of the challenges and delights. We’re excited to see where you go next in this journey of life.