On the Cusp of Turning Four

About a year and a half ago Oliver received his first real tricycle.  It was a retro-looking Radio Flyer.  Even after Chris had lowered the seat as far down as it would go, Oliver barely, just barely, fit on it.  His feet didn't comfortably reach the pedals, but he didn't have any interest in using them anyway.  Instead, he'd lean into the handle bars and would rapidly propel forward by pushing off from the sidewalk with his feet.  His technique provided speed, but also many bruises from the pedals smacking against his shins!

This summer Oliver learned how to use the pedals.  He had finally started to cruise around on his trike like a big boy, and then I realized that he looked, well, like a really big boy.  The seat was suddenly too low for him and Chris kept raising the seat until it couldn't go any higher.  A week later I watched Oliver pedal down the sidewalk and realized that even with the seat adjusted to its maximum height, he was too big for his tricycle. 

On the cusp of turning four, Oliver is growing up.  In a blink of an eye I know he'll be on the cusp of fourteen.  But right now he's only four.  He misses Mom and Dad while he's at preschool, sleeps with his teddy bear and lets me hold his hand.   

As sweet and sensitive as Oliver is, he's got a wit about him.  In a very serious and matter-of-fact tone of voice, Oliver told me, "We have to have a talk."  The way he said it made me very nervous. What was his little soul going to confess?  Or did he have a question I was going to be unable to answer? However, without missing a beat, he told me I make mac and cheese too hot for him.  Apparently he was still miffed that I hadn't properly cooled down the previous night's dinner the way he likes it.

We continue to have food struggles with Oliver, particularly dinner.  He'd prefer to eat a sandwich or mac and cheese every night for dinner if you'd allow him.  The majority of dinners seem to be punctuated with (loud) declarations from Oliver that he doesn't like what's being served or that he's not going to eat any of it.  He's also really curious about learning new words, so when I told him what the word "allergic" meant, he grew happy and excitedly told me he was allergic to soup, which, coincidentally, was what we were eating for dinner that night. 

Like most four-year-olds, Oliver is chatty and curious.  He always wants to know, "Why?"  His vocabulary continues to increase and he uses better grammar than most people I encounter in the professional world.  People mention how well-spoken he is.  The only downside to Oliver's talkativeness is that when he speaks, though, he projects at only two decibel levels - high and higher. 

We are still stressing the please and thank you, but have now also taught him that tone of voice also matters, not just saying please.  We're teaching him to say excuse me before interrupting a conversation. 

Oliver still likes playing with blocks and trains.  He likes digging in the dirt and burying things in the sand at the playground or beach.  He's particularly into arts and crafts right now.  We have an art cupboard in our dining room and half the contents end up strewn around the dining room table - construction paper, paint sets, bottles of glue, pipe cleaners and puff balls.

Amidst the arts and crafts supplies, Oliver developed an obsession with tape, which only wanes when we stop restocking.  He'd wrap up blocks or random pieces of paper around the house.  Before I could throw away a large ball of newspaper wrapped in masking tape, I had to rip it apart to make sure there was nothing but paper inside of it. 

Oliver can almost write his name...except for forgetting the "v" and putting all the vowels in a row.  But at least he has an interest in writing letters, so he'll get here. He likes to ask us how to spell a word and then prints each letter as we say them.  Spelling is one of the many instances where I'm amazed at Oliver's natural interest in learning.  We never specifically taught him his colors, numbers or letter, but he's either learned seemingly on his own, or asks us to teach him. 

Oliver learned how to rock climb this year with his dad and is more comfortable with swimming.  He's come so far in the last two years when he screamed through his entire swim lessons!  He's taking part in other activities that equally appeal to adults, like fishing and going out on the boat.  Chris is finally realizing the dream he's carried with him since before Oliver was born and that is to share his favorite pastimes with his kids.  Oliver has finally reached the age where he can be more a participant and less and observer. 

Since Oliver had outgrown his tricycle, we found him a bike with training wheels on Craig's List.  It came with a bell and a water bottle holder.  For a kid who had been unsure what to make of his tricycle when he first got it, Oliver hopped on his new bike without hesitation.  He zips up and down the sidewalk and races the neighbor girl.  The training wheels don't slow him down for now, but someday too soon, he'll no longer need them.