Happy Fourth

Happy Fourth of July!!! Man, I only wish we could spend it with family. But, know that we miss all of our friends and family, and will do the next best thing, and spoil our kiddos rotten. It is with great sadness that I tell you that Sullivan is officially a big boy. He must sense that his fourth birthday is coming up, or perhaps, something has just clicked in him. Its amazing. Seriously. (and kind of funny, but more of that later).

Some of his new big boy things, he has now decided that "I can sleep by myself". He has to have long discussions with Sampson (our big 75 pound black dog) each night about how he no longer needs anyone to sleep with him. Unfortunately, Sampson isn't ready for this milestone. He sits outside of the door whining and crying until we have to trick Sullivan into letting him in. We open the door as if we have something to say to him and let Sampson sneak onto the Winnie the Pooh Couch. Sullivan gets very upset in the morning :)

Secondly, he has decided that he will eat whatever we eat. He has eaten what we have for about a month now. This may sound like no big deal to you, but he has an incredible gag reflex. He throws up all of the time, and so to accomodate the reflex, we have always just let him eat whatever would not make him puke- chicken nuggets, fries, and mac and cheese. I assure you, he HAS lived on those food groups for two years, and he is thriving, so get off my back :) Just kidding (kind of). My aunt told me that her oldest boy lived on nothing but McDonald's fries for a year, so I figure, he will live. (Mika is now over thirty and a father himself, so surely its true)

He always comforts his sister when she cries. He runs to her (there is no crying it out in our house, he will have no part of it). And, tonight, he started jumping in the pool and swimming to the side by himself. Its like a whole new kid. Gone is the "I can't get my face wet" boy, here is the "I am brave, watch me!" kid. Its so fun to watch him grow. I have bragged about every stage he is in being my favorite, but its true! And now, getting to really know him as a person, is really exciting. He is a very caring, loving boy who has about a ten second patience (just like his momma). He is very easily agitated, and has a mind of his own. If he says he isn't going to do something, its a waste of time to try and convince him otherwise.

So, the funny part. I have friends, family, and acquaintences who have made terrible comments about the way I parent. And, they may think I don't know, but trust me I do. Anyway, if you let a baby sleep with you, they WILL sleep in their own room when they are ready! He is, Amazing huh? If you let them eat what they want, they WILL eventually eat what they need. Wow!!! If you love hold them too much, they WILL turn out brave, and able to do new things on their own without being timid. I love the attachment parenting I have done. I would not trade one second of breastfeeding, cosleeping, or holding my babies in for anything! I think my boy is turning out wonderfully well rounded, and exceptionally fun to be around! Anyway, enough of my soapbox :) Enjoy your Fourth of July and know that we miss each of you terribly.