My Favorite Big Boy

Here are some of the many many reasons we love our Tyler sooo much!

1. Tyler loves shows - movies, TV, You Tube videos, whatever he can get his hands on! He could spend all day long watching shows if I let him! I often use this love to my advantage - i.e. we have recently been having a hard time with him spending the night in his own bed. When he comes to my bed to climb in, generally, all I have to say is, "If you want to watch (fill in the blank) tomorrow, you have to sleep in your own bed." and he'll hurry back to his own bed. That doesn't mean that he'll really stay there all night, but it is very motivating to him.

2. Tyler is our gadget man - he can figure out how to work any electronic device if his watches someone do it once. This works out particularly well for him when he finds James' Ipod and can get into You Tube and find his favorite movie clips.

3. He is so polite! I know you must think that I'm a little biased, but he really is. He's so good at saying please and thank you. He automatically says, "scuse me" if he burps (even if it's a fake one.) He also loves to talk to strangers (I know - a little scary - we're working on it) but at least he is polite and introduces himself! "Hi, my name's Tyler. Nice to meet ya!"

4. Tyler loves to read and is working so hard to learn how to read on his own. He taught himself to pick out each of the letters in the alphabet and all the numbers when he was about 2. He has been able to pick out many words out of books for a long time as well- elephant, lion, Po (as in Kung Fu Panda), zoo, mom, etc.. When we read together, he is constantly stopping me and asking me where it says something I just read out loud.

5. Tyler loves his friends! We could not ask for better friends out here, and although they often fight and argue like any little boys, Tyler is always concerned about his friends' feelings and will often tell me that it makes him sad when someone else was sad during a play date.

6. One of our favorite games lately is "That is going to cost you!" Tyler asks me for something, like a fruit snack, an extra show or book, etc. and I tell him how many kisses it's going to cost him. He starts kissing my cheek, and I start counting. He always (on purpose) goes way over whatever number I've given him and we have to start over and over and over. This always ends up with lots of giggles and smiles.

7. Tyler says the same prayer every single night... "Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for our blessings. Thank you that Nana took me to see Madagascar 2, and that Mommy took me to see Kung Fu Panda, and that Daddy took me to see Bolt, and that Mommy took me to see Monsters Vs. Aliens and that Mommy took me to the library." Sometimes things like please bless the prophet, thank you for Jesus, etc. get thrown in too, but we have seriously wondered if we should ever take him to see another movie in the theater! We worry that the list might get way too long during his prayers!

8. Tyler is such a good big brother to Ryan and is so good about watching out for him. If I leave both boys at a friend's house or at the gym, Tyler always makes sure that Ryan isn't too sad. He makes certain to tell the person in charge that when Ryan is sad you have to watch a Baby Einstein show. He is also so good at letting Ryan play with him when his friends are around, and really protects him from whatever 4-year-old antics are going on.

9. As soon as he hears the garage door open and James' car pull in, he says, "I have to hide!" and tries to find a new clever spot to hide from his dad. James usually finds him pretty quickly. :)

10. Tyler could eat yogurt, bananas, french toast and chocolate milk for every single meal, and be very happy.

11. He has empathy for others. For instance, a few months ago, a new boy started attending Tyler's preschool. Tyler's teacher told me that this little boy was crying and missing his mom, and that Tyler went up, gave this boy a hug, and told him it was ok to miss his mom, but that when he was done, Tyler wanted to play with him.

I'm sure that from the above list, you all think that I am a bit delusional and that I must think Tyler is the best behaved, well mannered child on this earth. Don't you worry - he often has meltdowns, tantrums, needs time-out, does things he knows he shouldn't and drives me crazy. But the good outweighs the bad every day and I am grateful I get to be Tyler's mom. I wouldn't trade that job for anything - no matter how crazy the day is! The kiss goodnight that I get every night makes me forget all the crazy, silly things that he's done throughout the day and helps me look forward to the next day. (That same kiss also signifies the end of "mom time" and the beginning of "me time," so maybe that's another reason why it is something I so look forward to every night!)