I had just finished eating lunch the other day, when Everett suddenly climbed up onto my lap, wrapped his little arms around my neck, pressed his soft, chubby cheek against mine, and said, “I will keep hugging you forever….forever….forever….” And he kept whispering “forever” as he hugged me tight, and I stopped everything just to take the moment into the very depths of me, so that I will always, always remember it, forever, forever, forever.
We celebrated Everett’s fourth birthday at the end of November, and yet I still keep thinking, after all this time, “I can’t believe we almost missed him.” I am so very thankful that God decided our family wasn’t finished yet, blessed us with our sweet miracle boy!
So four years old is kind of crazy – I’m mostly okay with it, as long as I don’t let my imagination run into the future at all, cause then he’s just getting too big too quick! But I can deal with four. Anytime I’m tempted to start mourning the passing of time and the baby stage, I just think about the wonderful people my kids have become, and I wouldn’t want to go back to a time when I didn’t know them the way I do right now. So basically staying in this present moment is my strategy for dealing with the whole “They grow up so fast!!!” Because they do, but it’s fun and wonderful and what they’re supposed to do, so four is great!
And four is super fun – Everett is just the sweetest, most imaginative, fun little boy, and I am loving all of it. He is fiercely independent, which is great, but comes with A LOT of opinions. He was ticked off with Kaylia the other day, and as he angrily marched out of her room, he said to me, “You need to go deal with Kaylia!”
He is very happy with structure and habits and letting his sisters know what the rules are, and his blankets + cup of water + curtains must always be arranged just right in order for him to sleep, so it’s looking like he got Ben’s sense of humour +cheerful friendliness, with my particularness and need for order in my environment. š It’s an interesting combo.
But he’s just the snuggliest, sensitive little guy ever, and we all love him like crazy. Kaylia was feeling sad the other day, so he stood beside her chair, gently scratching her back the way she loves to have Ben do. Everett did it until she’d calmed down completely, and then stopped, but she asked him to keep going, so he did for awhile. Finally he said, “I’m getting very tired” so she gave him permission to stop!
He makes up songs all the time, and requires hardly any toys to keep him happy, because his imagination does all the work, but most of the time he wants to play with one of us. He loves to pull games out of our stash, and make up his own way to play them. The other day he “taught” me how to play Carcassonne, and explained very seriously that there were “hunters, fishers, and walkers”. He was very encouraging, and told me I was a great learner! š
With two older sisters, we sometimes get caught up in a conversation without realizing exactly how much he’s taking in until he suddenly pipes up with the most hilarious comments at exactly the right time. He is smart, witty, and has impeccable timing! He is constantly surprising us with the hilarious things he says, and keeps life fun and interesting!
We’re so excited to see what this next year of his life will bring for our sweet boy!!
Ordinary Days 
We sure love him too and we consider ourselves all great fans of his!
Aww, that’s sweet! š His life is so much better because you guys are in it!!