I say this every year with every birthday of each kid but I can't believe my baby Brooks is FOUR!! Time sure is flying by. Brooks is such a sweet boy. You really can't describe Brooks without saying he is sweet. He just is. He loves deeply and loves to be loved. He is our little snuggler. He is almost always happy and has an easy-going, chill personality. He tells Russ and I that he loves us multiple times a day. He randomly just comes up and gives me a kiss on my arm or leg, particularly when I am snuggling him to bed or rocking the baby to bed. He tells me thank you all the time for random things like, "Thank you for still wearing the sticker I put on your jammie shirt yesterday, mom." Or, "Thank you for giving me my gummies this morning, mom." He still naps for a least an hour everyday. Him and Hallie continue to be best frenemies. He is very protective of his sister and easily forgives her even if she does something that isn't so kind to him. On the other hand, he loves to bully Stockton. He often says, "But he loves it," when I ask him to stop touching Stockton and when Stockton obviously does not love it! He has some anxious tendencies and can be shy at times but once he feels comfortable he brightens up your life. He really only has one volume and that is LOUD!
He surprisingly can be stubborn. Like, for instance, he still refuses to go poop in the toilet and won't go to primary by himself. I'm nervous he won't go to school alone in the Fall either. He has a special connection to his grandpas and loves going on "dirt roads" with them in their trucks. He is obsessed with his cars and making "cities" with them. You would never know he had a speech/stutter issue a year ago. He is learning to pronounce his L's and R's better. He knows his shapes and hopefully we can get him to know his letters before preschool starts. Russ is his biggest hero and it completely melts my heart to see how much he idolizes Russ. He thinks Russ is the coolest and wants to be just like him. I tell Russ all the time that this little kid looks up to him so much so he better be conscious of his actions. He asks when he'll be big enough to drive daddy's truck and tells me that "soon I'll (he'll) be big enough to wear daddy's clothes." He tells me that he wishes that Dad could stay home with him all day and I went to work instead. You will almost always find him wearing a hat and tells me after his baths, "Mom, you don't need to do my hair because I'm just going to wear my hat." He loves wearing shoes that are at least 2 sizes too big and he often sleeps perpendicular in his bed on purpose. He has the best laugh, one in which you can't help but laugh along with just because he laughs that hard. There are so many things to love about Brooks. He truly is a special boy. Happy Birthday, B! I love you to the moon and back and then to infinity and beyond.
We went to Brooks' 4 year well check just after his birthday. He is healthy and well and just the cutest little missing front tooth boy. His 4 year stats are:
Weight: 41 lbs. (85th percentile)
Height: 41.9" (83rd percentile)
On his birthday Brooks woke up to camping decorations (leftover from his party with Grandparents), donuts and presents from Russ and I.
New trucks!
While Stockton was napping (and Hallie at school) I had my mom come over while I took Brooks on a date! He chose what he wanted us to do. He wanted Little Ceasers pizza and to go to Kidstopia.
He was hesitant at Kidstopia and made me follow him around everywhere. Luckily, Stockton napped for forever so we could stay for 2 hours there! Towards the end of our time Brooks found a friend. The kid was about the same age as Brooks. The friend came up and asked him what his name was. Brooks proudly responded, "Brooks Russell Ahlberg." I couldn't help but laugh and then my heart melted at the same time. Brooks loosened up and ran around with this boy. It was fun to watch his anxieties flee and him enjoy playing with this new friend.
After Kidstopia we only had a few minutes before we needed to go pick up Hallie from school.
For dinner Brooks requested McDonalds. We ate in the car and picked up dad at work to go to a movie. We saw Sing 2 in the theaters. Brooks was hoping to see Paw Patrol but I told him that movie isn't in theaters at this time and we can't choose which show they air. I honestly don't think he cared what movie was playing just as long as we were going to a movie. Everyone was less then interested in the movie during the movie but the treats and having the theater basically to ourselves made things nice.
After the movie Hallie and Brooks danced to the credits. I loved watching their dance moves and their confidence and smiles. Brooks had this fun dance move he made up where he would grab the railing near the isle seats with one hand while the other hand was high in the air and putting one knee up in the air would jump up and down on one leg to the music. It was pretty funny!
The next weekend we, and by we I mean Russ, Hallie and Brooks slept in the trailer for his birthday. We parked it outside our house and I think all of Brooks' dreams came true that night. He loves our trailer! I tell Russ often we can never sell this trailer because it is worth having just because of how happy it makes Brooks. They watched a movie, played in the trailer, did very little sleeping and had the best time for the one night we had it in front of our house.
