He's 4.5!

I realized that our little Isaac turned 4.5 on the 7th of November. For some reason, I was thinking halfway to five was the 7th of December. But some very slow math on my part indicated I was a month behind. Here's a couple of very recent pictures of our little guy:

 

 



Isaac currently:

• Can best be described by the following words: detailed, nimble, verbose, sneaky, devoted, cautious, and particular.
• is nicknamed "the negotiator." He is always ten steps ahead of us, smoothing things out for how he would like the next segment of the day to adhere to.
• would still probably be considered a "daddy's boy." He and Daddy really "get" each other, and Daddy always know how to best reach Isaac when he is having trouble adjusting to new situations.
• has a great relationship with his Aunt "Tawny."
• is becoming very aware and asking a lot of "deep" questions about God.
• can remember his life in Turkey and understands the difference between Turkey, the Azores, and America.
• is a leader and a follower depending on who he is with. He is a leader with his brother and sister, but he can easily slip into the follower role if influenced appropriately.
• has been learning how to play some educational games on the computer.
• loves watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Jake and the Pirates, Fireman Sam, Veggie Tales, and other movies. However, if truth be told, I don't know how much TV he would watch if it wasn't for his brother's much stronger desire to watch things.
• has to often be "made" to go outside or do an activity (like coloring or educational things) but once he starts them, he usually gets into them and really enjoys them.
• loves ice cream and marshmallows and chocolate milk and potato chips but has no desire for any baked goods.
• is still allergic to eggs. (Daddy had to give him another epi-shot the other night when we had Portuguese ice cream -- not having that again.)
• is a pretty picky eater but is doing a better and better job sitting at the table and trying different things.
• is very kinesthetically aware: has amazing balance and nimbleness.
• Is especially snuggly during the few minutes right before he falls asleep. We love to go into his bedroom and talk to him after Sidge has fallen asleep, and he is drifting off as well.
• Is very into pirates. He's very into everything pirates.
• Has a limitless vocabulary and even uses words like definitely and possibly. One of his favorite phrases is "I have no idea" whenever we ask him something he doesn't know.
• Enjoys superheroes. While he doesn't watch them or read about them or anything of the like, he is very into batman, superman and spiderman.
• still pronounces some words with a cute, incorrect twist. one of my favorites is the word hopsital which he pronounces hosabull.
• loves for us to read him books. (Loves to pick out books at the libary and go to storytime at the library.)
• thoroughly enjoys the built-in "bar" upstairs which he  has converted into his own personal kitchen. While Abigail and Sidge are welcome to come in, the kitchen definitely belongs to him
• can play for hours by himself with cars and Magnatiles (or anything else that can serve as a "house" for his car.)  
• is a fantastic big brother to Abigail. They have a very close bond. He knows how to wrestle with her gently, shares with her all the time, hugs and loves on her. He has nearly limitless patience for her (unless she is messing with his cars or magnatiles.)
• gets along very well with Sidge. He is definitely the leader between the two of them and can be a bit sneaky when it comes to their relationship (stirring things up beneath the surface.) But in general, they get along very well and are absolute best friends.

Isaac will always be our first-born son. He is totally a first child, and we are so glad he is our first child.