Four years ago tomorrow, Schroeder made a fast escape from my womb. That's how Stephen put it the other day. After I changed the sheets on the guest bed (my parents were coming into town that night), Stephen and I spent the whole day sitting on our couch and began the process of getting to know this little guy.
This year, I've been slipping into his room when he sleeps, slowly watching his toddler-hood slip away. This has been especially emotional for me since he is our middle child. Sort of like Wednesday. Once Wednesday passes each week, you gear up for the weekend. Once Schroeder passes through a stage, I begin the process of grieving that stage. Soon all of my kids will be potty trained and ready for preschool. Soon I won't have any babies to tag along with me during the day. That seems a little silly considering I have a brand new baby due in May, but emotions don't necessarily coincide with reason.
This year, I've discovered that he really is a man of few words. I've told people that he only has 500 words to expend daily. If you catch him at the right moment, he talks, but he has long spans of quiet. (I'm praying that despite his few words, he and his future wife will be able to communicate well.) I'm used to having big chunks of time with him when Maggie takes a nap in the afternoon. When the big kids were home for Christmas break, I realized that I really missed him since he was expending all his words on his siblings. When he does talk, it's typical to hear BOY words like vehicle and minion and weapon. He still loves the word PUNCH, he still occasionally uses the word NEVER! in response to your question, and if you spend very much time with him, you will definitely hear him say WHAT THE???? He just says WHAT THE? and doesn't fill in the end. I'm not sure where he picked this up, but I want to say his Uncle Jason says it who passed it down to his cousin Gabe. (Am I right Connie?)
He and Julian play so well together. Julian is starting to view him as a peer who is up to par in his playing skills and can talk LEGO and Avengers with the best of them.
He's not perky in the morning and many times doesn't say much until he's been up for a solid hour. He definitely can sleep in later than any of my other kids. The big kids get on the bus at 8:30 and despite the noise of them getting ready, he's been known to sleep until nine.
We've discovered that he pays a little more attention to detail than our older kids. D'arcy and Julian typically unload the dishwasher. They sort of dump the silverware into the drawer which drives Stephen crazy. Schroeder has been eager to help lately, and one day I discovered him putting the silverware in the drawer so methodically. So now that is his job. One time, he pulled the drawer open to find that it was all disheveled and he sighed in frustration. The older two said, "Don't worry! It doesn't matter what it looks like!" I ran into the kitchen and said, "NO! It does matter, that's why Schroeder gets that job now." Schroeder patiently put it all back in order.
He's still our sneaky, stealth child. Today, I discovered the little pot of jelly beans was missing from the top of the refrigerator. I asked all the kids who had moved it. D'arcy said, "Mom, none of us have been in the Jelly Beans!" I looked directly at Schroeder and told him to go get them. He didn't even try to deny it. He retrieved the bucket and D'arcy was sort of flabergasted. He's gotten more punishments this year for sneaking than probably all other things combined. We have also had to crack down on the blank stares and his bad habit of downright ignoring people including his parents. Nope, that isn't cute and doesn't fly.
So now comes my hodge podge paragraph of things Schroeder likes. He likes blueberries and yogurt, his Croc shoes (even in winter), mooning his siblings (it starts early), the song Ghosts by The Head and the Heart, pistachios, coloring, going to the Children's Museum, Imaginext, going to MOPS, perusing the toy aisles of Target, night time conversations with Maggie (his roommate), helping me cook, puzzles, sleeping on the trundle in D'arcy and Julian's room, dancing to Muppet music, and watching Backyardigans on the iPad.
Here he is in all his beautiful four year old glory.
This year, I've been slipping into his room when he sleeps, slowly watching his toddler-hood slip away. This has been especially emotional for me since he is our middle child. Sort of like Wednesday. Once Wednesday passes each week, you gear up for the weekend. Once Schroeder passes through a stage, I begin the process of grieving that stage. Soon all of my kids will be potty trained and ready for preschool. Soon I won't have any babies to tag along with me during the day. That seems a little silly considering I have a brand new baby due in May, but emotions don't necessarily coincide with reason.
This year, I've discovered that he really is a man of few words. I've told people that he only has 500 words to expend daily. If you catch him at the right moment, he talks, but he has long spans of quiet. (I'm praying that despite his few words, he and his future wife will be able to communicate well.) I'm used to having big chunks of time with him when Maggie takes a nap in the afternoon. When the big kids were home for Christmas break, I realized that I really missed him since he was expending all his words on his siblings. When he does talk, it's typical to hear BOY words like vehicle and minion and weapon. He still loves the word PUNCH, he still occasionally uses the word NEVER! in response to your question, and if you spend very much time with him, you will definitely hear him say WHAT THE???? He just says WHAT THE? and doesn't fill in the end. I'm not sure where he picked this up, but I want to say his Uncle Jason says it who passed it down to his cousin Gabe. (Am I right Connie?)
He and Julian play so well together. Julian is starting to view him as a peer who is up to par in his playing skills and can talk LEGO and Avengers with the best of them.
He's not perky in the morning and many times doesn't say much until he's been up for a solid hour. He definitely can sleep in later than any of my other kids. The big kids get on the bus at 8:30 and despite the noise of them getting ready, he's been known to sleep until nine.
We've discovered that he pays a little more attention to detail than our older kids. D'arcy and Julian typically unload the dishwasher. They sort of dump the silverware into the drawer which drives Stephen crazy. Schroeder has been eager to help lately, and one day I discovered him putting the silverware in the drawer so methodically. So now that is his job. One time, he pulled the drawer open to find that it was all disheveled and he sighed in frustration. The older two said, "Don't worry! It doesn't matter what it looks like!" I ran into the kitchen and said, "NO! It does matter, that's why Schroeder gets that job now." Schroeder patiently put it all back in order.
He's still our sneaky, stealth child. Today, I discovered the little pot of jelly beans was missing from the top of the refrigerator. I asked all the kids who had moved it. D'arcy said, "Mom, none of us have been in the Jelly Beans!" I looked directly at Schroeder and told him to go get them. He didn't even try to deny it. He retrieved the bucket and D'arcy was sort of flabergasted. He's gotten more punishments this year for sneaking than probably all other things combined. We have also had to crack down on the blank stares and his bad habit of downright ignoring people including his parents. Nope, that isn't cute and doesn't fly.
So now comes my hodge podge paragraph of things Schroeder likes. He likes blueberries and yogurt, his Croc shoes (even in winter), mooning his siblings (it starts early), the song Ghosts by The Head and the Heart, pistachios, coloring, going to the Children's Museum, Imaginext, going to MOPS, perusing the toy aisles of Target, night time conversations with Maggie (his roommate), helping me cook, puzzles, sleeping on the trundle in D'arcy and Julian's room, dancing to Muppet music, and watching Backyardigans on the iPad.
Here he is in all his beautiful four year old glory.
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