Four.

Four seems impossibly old.

At his annual doctor's appointment yesterday Tai aced his eye and hearing tests, as well as all the gross-motor tests. It was adorable to see him (dressed only in a johnny, socks, and cookie monster underwear) jumping and hoping and standing on one foot alongside the pediatrician. At four years old, Tai stands 38 inches tall and weighs 32 pounds. But he's so much more than that.....

He's articulate even in the worst of circumstances. While getting his upper arm swabbed in preparation for three shots, he started to cry pretty hard. As soon as the first needle went in, he said (through tears) "That hurts! I don't want any more! That's enough, don't do the others!" It was heartbreaking, but only lasted about 1 minute.

He's absorbing new information at an alarming rate. Tai received a Smart Globe for his birthday and uses it frequently. Somehow, without being given much instruction, he already knows how to adjust the volume and change modes. He can now point out Madagascar on the globe and tell you all about Giant Bird-Eating spiders and other bizarre creatures. In addition to learning about animals all over the world, his two favorite modes are Population ("Wow, that's a lot of people!") and National Anthems. When in National Anthem mode, he clicks on Mexico and tells me that when he and Emmit go to Mexico (nightly, apparently) they hear that song a lot. Then he clicks on the USA and says, "Daddy knows all the words to this song!!" proudly.

He's responsible for other living things. For some time now Tai has been feeding the pets their breakfast. Somewhere along the way we decided that once he turned four, he could feed them their dinner too, right before he goes to bed. He's pretty excited about this new chore, but one night last week he and I both forgot about it at bedtime. After I tucked him in and left the room I realized the pets were hungry, so I started to feed them. Tai heard the commotion and came running out of his room, exclaiming, "Mama. I'm four now. Remember? I feed them their dinner!" Tai has also started brushing the dog without being asked. And he does a decent job, too.

He's using technology. He has just started to play the occasional computer game, and is loving it. Although it took a bit of time to learn how to use the mouse properly, he can now navigate his way through a Blue's Clues game unassisted. At school, his teachers were having a terrible time keeping him quiet at nap (resting) time. He doesn't nap anymore and just wants to play or sing or tell loud stories. So we bought him his very own discman, headphones, and collection of audiobooks on CD. The teachers are ridiculously thankful and Tai comes home every night and tells us about the stories he listened to. We've adopted a similar technique for rest time at home on the weekends -- Tai now has his own ipod and speakers in his room.

He's learning how the world works. The other day Tai asked his teacher what the director of the children's center does in her office all day. He was told that, among other things, she holds meetings. Tai immediately decided he'd like to set up a meeting with her. So he did. Yesterday afternoon he went into her office, at a previously agreed-upon time, and met with her. They read two books, talked about staying healthy, and Tai gave his feedback on the school. When asked what he likes about the center he said, "I like that I don't have to nap and I can listen to stories instead." When asked what he would change about the center he said, "After nap story we should just play and not have to have resting time." Apparently the Director took notes.

Luckily, he's still my little boy. Although it seems that he's growing up too fast, he sometimes reminds me that he is still quite young. He writes his name backwards. He's still scared to watch Finding Nemo ("Maybe I'll watch it when I'm 5.") And he can't put his own snow boots on or operate the fly on his jeans.