Haylie as a four year old:
1) She's quite the conversationalist. Haylie and I can just chat about things.
2) She probably asks more questions than a police detective, news reporter and game show host combined but, Haylie absolutely soaks in information and knows so much that it's a constant surprise. There are times when you water down an answer for children to understand - sometimes Haylie will correct you and give you a more detailed answer.
3) Haylie shares well with Zander. She not only lets him play with her toys (and his own because she likes his toys too), she actually plays with him and even invites him to play along with her.
4) She loves a good character. For the last two years, Haylie has asked me to be the voice of various toys or to simply "make him say something." Frankly, I'm weird and so the voices and personalities I've give the toys are a bit out there but she loves it. "Mom-Connery," the Sean Connery voiced mother bird comes to mind.
5) Basic skills like getting dressed, putting on shoes, going potty alone, and cleaning up the mess you've made can be pretty under-rated until you're constantly doing those things for someone else. Haylie has mastered a lot of those skills taken for granted and its just great to realize that she can do so much without even being asked now.
Zander as a nearly two year old:
1) He likes to help. Sure, it's not very efficient (and mildly annoying) to have Zander "washing" the dishes sometimes but its just cute when he hears the water running and he starts pushing a chair over to climb up and help out. Zander also likes to help clean up the toys, dust off the television stand and any other chore he sees you doing.
2) Zander is obedient. By no means does he always do what you ask but, he's excited to go get a diaper, put his pacifier and blanket away, get a tissue, put garbage in the can, etc.
3) The Z-Man is really getting into a learning stage. He sees what everyone around him is doing and is quick to figure it out on his own. Its great seeing how excited he gets with the realization that he can do so many things like brushing his teeth, zipping his coat and eating with a fork. Its even great to see him try things he can't do like putting on his own shoes.
4) He's talking more each day. There are many kids who talk more than Zander at his age but, he's talking a lot lately (and in two and three word phrases) and its just plain cute. He's even added some counting and we've heard "seven, eight, nine" after we've said "six"; he has a few of the teens in the right order too. A few of his common words and phrases are 'don't want it', 'thank you', and my personal favorite... "cycle!"
5) That brings us to Zander's love of motorcycles. When Zander sees a motorcycle on the street, on television or in a picture, he yells out "CYCLE!" He enjoys sitting on my motorcycles and making engine noises. Haylie still likes the idea of motorcycles because I like them but she's not a fan of noise... Zander even loves the noise.
Of course, its not all joy with two small children. Four year old Haylie has some MAJOR meltdowns at times when she's tired and doesn't get her way or when she makes a mistake coloring or drawing (and sometimes when she's not even tired). She still possesses the anti-superpower of "inverse urgency" which causes her slowness to be directly opposite of your need for her to hurry. Zander is rather stubborn about meals lately and seems determined to eat ANYTHING but what we're all having. Zander has also learned to throw a tantrum by watching his big sister - sometimes an example isn't what you'd hope for.
All in all, I love both of my kids (and their mother who has to suffer through far more of their tantrums than I do) and am sure that, even when they've moved on from these stages, they'll continuing growing into great people that I love spending time with.
