Luc is 4 Years Old!

Our Little Monkey is 4 Years old!

Weight: 30 lbs
Height: 37.3 inches

A little big for the seat now

This year went by so quickly. And Luc has grown up so much in this past year. He's definitely out of the toddler stage and into the preschooler stage (minus the tantrums).
I love this lil guy so much I could squeeze him! I don't write about all the bad things (he's no angel, like any 4 year old) because I want to remember only the happy, good, fun moments.
We are so proud of Luc.  He's our clown, comic relief, philosopher, and helper.
He's a great helper; with Aria (he will sometimes fed her when I walk away from the table, share his own food, hug her to get her to calm down, make funny faces in the car and tell her "It's ok, Aria. We'll be home soon." to make her stop crying), with Daddy (he loves to help Daddy wash the cars, change the oil, and rotate the tires by screwing the bolts back on and trying to lift the car up with the jack; vacuum the house, and water the plants), with Mommy (doing laundry, helping with Aria, and miscellaneous things- taking a strand of my hair out of my sink to throw away because "I tryin to make it not messy for you.")
Luc still keeps us entertained and in stitches with the creative things he says and funny ways of making faces, sounds, etc. He's still our little clown. I'm happy, so far, he knows when it's appropriate in school. His teacher noticed he does the eye roll, but she reassured us she knows it's him being silly and not disrespectful.

Luc continues to love the outdoors. All summer, after he finished his dinner, he would go out on his bike with Daddy and the neighbor, Vasna. If the hose comes out, he ends up soaked. If it's raining or too dark, he gets really sad that he can't go ride his bike that day. When we are stuck inside, Luc likes to dance with me holding Aria and me humming something random, chasing around the house with cars with Daddy, or pushing Aria's buttons.

Bedtime

Luc started asking Daddy to get me to come back to his room to say goodnight a second time after Daddy is finished reading the book. I go back into his room and Luc likes to give me hugs and kisses and we tell each other goodnight and sweet dreams, I love you. But this is also my favorite part of the day with him. When he's tired he's a lot more open and honest. I can ask him almost anything and get a real answer from him. This is where I found out who he plays with at school, I hear his problem solving solutions to different things, stories about random things, what makes him sad, why he acted a certain way earlier in the day, etc. Then he asks me to stay and sleep with him. I always tell him I have to shower and spend time with Daddy and that I'm not ready to sleep yet. He surprisingly doesn't protest or stay awake waiting for me. He cuddles into his blanket and will fall asleep quickly after one more kiss and "good night." Most nights, I wish I could climb into his bed and cuddle up and go to sleep too, right next to him.

When Luc wakes up, he says, "Ugh! I forgot to stretch. Why do I keep forgetting to stretch?" I don't know where he got this from. He asks that Aria be placed in his bed so that she can give him a "kiss" to wake him up. He's still in the best of moods when she's there to "wake him up."

Personality

Luc will often admit later that he was acting shy or scared. When he meets someone new and later we talk to him about how he wouldn't say hi or whatever, he says, I was being shy. We tell him it's okay and good to be a little cautious with new people.
During his school's Oktoberfest, they had a fire engine and ambulance there open to the kids to climb inside and look at the different tools and compartments. Even though I was holding Luc up to see, the firemen asked if he wanted to sit in the driver's seat of the engine. I thought it would be cool, but he said no. I offered to sit with him or go first, but he was still shy and said no.
There was also a bounce house obstacle course we thought he would like. When he first got on, and found out Frederic couldn't go in there with him, he got scared and didn't want to do it. I don't blame him though, it looked to be for older kids.
Later on, Luc admitted: "I was a scaredy cat earlier at that bounce obstacle thing." Again, I tried to tell him it's okay to not want to do something that seems scary.
In these situations, I see myself reflected in Luc. I was the same exact way he was when I was a kid (even now sometimes being shy with new people and scared to try new things). I know not to push him into anything he's cautious about. I also remember that when I was a kid, if someone had offered to go first or come along with me to try something out, I would've been more likely to do it. And I know when you don't do some things, you do later regret it. So if ever I can go along with him to help him open up and be more adventurous, I'm going to be right there. But if he really doesn't feel comfortable doing it, I'll walk away with him with no problem and no pressure.

Whenever Luc doesn't want to do something or gets in trouble and has to find an excuse, he resorts to "I'm just tired."

Sister Love

-Likes to pick out Aria's clip for the day and socks

Luc is always squeezing Aria a little too tightly.

-Will comb her hair in the morning or after her bath
-Is so excited to start sharing the bath with her ("as long as she doesn't touch my toys")
-Tries all day to get her to laugh at him, especially by making silly faces
-He tells me if she's fallen asleep, or not, in the car
-He lets us know if she's getting into something she's not supposed to

 Health

Luc's allergies have gotten worse and worse in the past year. On and off in the spring we started giving him allergy medicine because his eyes would water and his nose would itch. We put the allergen fan back in his room too. Over the summer, he developed a cough that we attributed to his allergies as well. It makes us sad though because whenever he gets too excited and laughs, he starts coughing. When he's upset and cries over whatever, he starts to cough and then most likely throws up. And all of this is worse if he's been outside all day, or if he goes outside at all at Grandma's house. We can't keep him indoors, but you can tell he's bothered by being outside.
During the late summer and this fall, he'll sometimes cough during the night as well and I know that prevents him from getting a good night's sleep. In September, Luc had a bad episode and had an asthma attack. We were given a nebulizer to use at home and he went on a two-week course of albuteral (as needed) and twice daily doses of steroids. After the two and half weeks, he was great! No more coughing when he laughed or cried. We didn't do any more treatments, and after awhile (still keeping up with daily allergy meds), the coughing came back. The doctor said it might be asthma and he might need long-term treatment. We did a trial of steroids once a day for 2 weeks again, and his coughing stopped. We will wait until the winter comes to see how he does in that season. We will evaluate with the doctors if he needs regular treatment if the coughing comes back again (which I have a feeling it will). I feel bad for him. I've had asthma on and off since I was a kid. Besides it being scary when you're having an attack, it's always in the back of your mind that something could trigger it at any moment. That just stinks. If he does have it, I really hope he quickly outgrows it. He's been such a champ though, sitting still for each treatment and not complaining.

School

He does exceptionally well at school and loves going to school. His teacher tells us he listens very well, behaves himself (she's never actually seen him mad or get upset- lucky her!), is attentive especially during story time, is reaching his milestones, and all the kids love him-during snack time when the assigned child gets to choose two helpers- Luc is most often picked by his classmates.
When I see him on a school day and ask what he had for snack, what activity they did, Luc answers: "Let's just not talk about it right now. I'll tell you in 120 minutes." ...he never does.
Luc is really starting to learn and understand Jesus, God, etc. now that he's in school. I'm so happy we put him in St. Paul's. It's a wonderful school and he Loves it! I was a little hesitant and worried how we would teach Luc about God since we don't go to the same churches (or church at all when he's this young). I used to read him the story of Christmas and Easter and mention God in conversation. When he was really little and I put him to bed, I would say the night prayer before laying him down. But it never seemed to stick or make sense to him. I took him to church once or twice, but at that age, he doesn't sit still and for sure didn't listen to what was going on. School has been such a blessing in this situation. They have Jesus time and learn about Bible stories.
Now, Luc comes home and asks questions about Heaven and God and tells me stories he's learned. On the way home from Grandma's one day, Aria was crying because she was hungry (starving, we later found out) and he started singing: God loves me, I love God. God, please help my sister not cry. She does not feel good. Make her feel better, God (to his own tune).
He tells me angels live in the forest too (besides Heaven) to play music for all the animals.
When he asked about my Grandma being in Heaven, he said: God wanted her to come live next door to Him? That must've been a really long drive to get there. She must've been so tired, she fell asleep! (How philosophical is that. And so true.)
He also told me that Heaven is in the sky and you can't drive there, so you'll need a rocket ship.
He's been enjoying reading the book about Easter (a little off season, but I go with it) and he had all sorts of questions the first time: "Why is he hanging on the wall?" Now he likes to tell me the story and explained it to Daddy the first time he was going to read it to Luc.

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Things Luc Says:

"I not be kidding you!"
"Oh, Aria. I just love her so much."
"That's what big brothers are for."
"Ugh, this traffic."
"Why are we moving so slow?" (in regards to sitting in traffic)

What do you want to be when you grow up?
In September, he wanted to be a Pastor. He got the idea from one of the Jesus story time activities he did in school. When I asked him if he knew what a pastor did, he didn't know. But when I told him, he decided to think about whether or not he really wanted to do that.

Favorites:

Friends:
Ella (school), Kira (school), Kinsley (school), Vasna (next door neighbor), Blake and Briley (friends- Daddies worked together)

Favorite color:
Purple, sometimes Blue too

Favorite food:
Mac n Cheese, Hot dogs, cheese, yogurt

Favorite Toy:
Paw Patrol cars, monster truck, train, and train track

Favorite Thing to Do:
Ride his bike

Favorite Time of Day:
He's happiest in the morning, but the evening when Daddy gets home and can play with him is his favorite.

Favorite Day of the Week:
Weekend, because Mommy and Daddy don't work and we can play all day.

Luc's Pure Happiness Smile.

Favorite TV Shows:
Blaze and the Monster Machine
Team Umizoomi
Miles from Tomorrowland

Favorite Songs:
French kids music


General Interests:
Car, trucks, trains, motorcycles