THE KUPPERSMITH FAMILY: Liam is 4!!!

Liam turned 4, June 1st. Lucky for him, that was a Saturday so he got to have his birthday party on his actual birthday. We kept things pretty simple and rented a bounce house at our house and invited a few of his friends over for hamburgers/hot dogs and cake. The "theme" was Spiderman. It was a really nice day but Blake and I sure were exhausted when the party was over. Liam enjoyed many Spiderman presents, along with some of his other favorites like pirates. We got him a Tag Reader from Leap Frog that is a little pen that reads books to him and helps him learn to read as well. We also got him Magna Tiles. Blake's cousin had these for his boys and we loved them. If you little ones, look into them. They are a great creative set of building toys.

Liam is now just under 40 pounds and almost 42 inches tall. He looks like a little boy all grown up. There is no more little chubby face. He is Mr. Independent most times but still wants to be held or sit with me at times too, which I will take as long as I can. I love his big hugs, kisses, and "nose kisses."

Liam no longer naps. He goes to his room for quite time each afternoon for about an hour. He will fall asleep if our schedule has been really crazy and he has missed some sleep, but otherwise, it is best that he doesn't so that he will go to bed before 10:00 that night. Liam typically goes to bed around 7:30 and sleeps until sometime between 6:30 and 7. The boy definitely needs his sleep. If he hasn't gotten what he needs, his behavior is the first sign.

Liam is a typical 4 year old. He knows what the right thing is to do most times but doesn't always choose to do it. We are in the process, yet again, of finding new meaningful consequences that he cares about. I want him to continue to be curious and test his limits because I know that is completely normal but I always want him to be respectful. He is learning these things, along with self control:)

Liam has the summer off from school. He has practiced writing a little but has really shown an interest in coloring all of a sudden. He finally cares if he is in the lines or not. He can write his letters (upper case and most lower case) and numbers. He does need a reminder though with the ones he doesn't do much. He often tries to "read" things and has shown a new interest in truly learning site words. The teacher in me loves that he innately wants to learn. Liam still has a huge love of books, which I hope never leaves.

Liam enjoys swimming, riding his bike (with training wheels), playing games, running, doing anything LOUDLY, talking, talking talking, asking questions, playing with friends, dinosaurs, Spiderman, pirates, cars, baking with me, and much more. His favorite movies right now are Cars 1 and 2, Monsters Inc and Monsters University. His favorite color is still blue but he now says he likes all the colors in the rainbow. His favorite foods are hot dogs, Chick Fil A, breakfast foods, watermelon, blueberries, corn, and macaroni and cheese. While these are all typical kid foods, Liam has branched out quite a bit with what he will eat this year. He now likes broccoli and spaghetti, two things he would not eat before. He is the prime example of keep trying things with your kids and who knows, maybe one day they will eat it. My favorite change is that he now likes chocolate. He would eat it before but he now requests things like chocolate ice cream or donuts if we are out. A little man after my heart:) Liam's friends include IV, Sami, Sawyer, Austin, Miles, Caleb, and Madelyn. These are a mix of school and family friends.

We love our curious, outgoing, friendly, caring, funny, active little guy.