Howard Trio Plus One: 4-Years-Old

In years past I wrote several blog posts in anticipation of Alexis, Jack, and Faith's upcoming birthday, including posts about each child as an individual. Although this year I often thought about their birthday and how much they've changed in the last year, I have been busy with baby Graham so I haven't been able to put in the time writing blog posts like I have in years past. Also, their 4th birthday was three weeks ago already, and I have been working on this post on and off for those three weeks! Writing Graham's 2-month blog post made me realize how much more difficult it is to write a post about three kids at once as you don't want to miss anything, and then the post gets ridiculously long. I could go on forever writing about Alexis, Jack, and Faith and adding pictures to the blog post, but since my time is extremely limited I'm just going to post this "good enough" update on our now 4-year-olds as I have to give myself a little extra grace at this stage of life.

Height and Weight...
Alexis: 39.5 inches, 30+ lbs (grew 2.25 inches and gained 4 lbs in the last year)
Jack: 38.25 inches, 27+ lbs (grew 3.25 inches and gained 2.5 lbs in the last year)
Faith: 40.75 inches, 30+ lbs (grew 3.25 inches and gained 4 lbs in the last year)

Alexis At Age 4...

Snoopy: She continues to love her stuffed Snoopy and she sleeps with him every night. He comes along on most car rides as well. Last year we gave her a Snoopy shirt for her birthday, which quickly became her favorite shirt. Since she is now outgrowing that shirt, and it is very worn, we got her a new Snoopy shirt for her 4th birthday.
School: She was the slowest to warm up to being dropped off at preschool twice a week, but after Christmas she seemed to become much more comfortable with it. According to her teacher, she mostly played with Jack and she loved looking at books during playtime. Alexis knows how to spell and write her name and she can count to 29. She learned so many things in school this year and we are constantly amazed by how much she knows.

Less dominant: Although Alexis has strong opinions, when it comes to her relationship with Faith she is the submissive one. We often hear the girls arguing about something and then Alexis saying, "Okay Faith" with a tone of defeat. We are trying to teach Alexis that although she loves her sister, she does not always have to do what her sister wants her to do.
Book Lover: Alexis could sit and look at a book for an hour, and somedays she does this. Usually Faith and / or Jack join in and look at the book with her or they follow her lead and pick up their own book. She loves looking at all of the pictures and she knows immediately if you accidentally miss a page when reading (or if you purposefully skip some words in a book).

Alexis and Faith looking at a book before bed

Alexis, Faith, and Jack looking at their Bibles in the morning before breakfast

Wants to drive an ambulance or be a car mechanic: I'm not sure where these ideas came from, but every time we see an ambulance Alexis says that's what she wants to do. Lately, though, she has also been pointing to a picture in a Richard Scarry book of a car on a lift and saying that's what she wants to do.
Terrified of dogs and our cat: Alexis freaks out whenever a dog is near and she will not go upstairs alone since that is where our cat spends most of her time. We aren't sure what triggered the fear of dogs, but one time she got too close to our ornery cat and she got a tiny scratch so she no longer wants to be near her at all.

Faith at Age 4...

Husky doggie: She loves her stuffed Husky and, like Alexis with her Snoopy, she sleeps with it every night and it comes along on most car rides.

Faith cuddling with her doggie during the night

School: Faith was happy to be dropped off at preschool from Day 1. She is the most outgoing of the three (although she is still reserved in many ways). She usually played with the only other girl, besides Alexis, in the kids' preschool class (there were seven boys and three girls in the class). She also knows how to spell and write her name, and she can count into the 20's. She continues to amaze us by how much she knows as well. And just tonight she suddenly could skip like a pro!

Generally the Dominant Triplet: Faith likes to be in control, and when things aren't going her way she gets quite frustrated. Most of the time Alexis and Jack follow her lead, but when they express their opinions and ideas things get tense. For awhile she was insistent that she was first for everything, but in April we started having days that each child was the "Line Leader." This is the title they had at school when it was their day to not only lead the class to music or chapel, but also to bring a snack and share something with the class. Having set days that each child is the leader has been great as not only do they get to go first for fun things, but they also are first to get their teethed brushed and use the bathroom before we leave the house. It has solved so many issues!
Everything Pink (or Red): Before our trio was born I randomly decided that Faith would wear the pink clothes and Alexis would wear the other color, which usually ended up being purple or yellow. I was afraid that we wouldn't be able to tell the girls apart, so this arbitrary designation reassured me that we wouldn't mix them up and it helped others know who was who. I think this still helps family and friends, but I'm afraid we have our own "Pinkalicious" on our hands (this is a book series about a girl that loves pink) as Faith is a bit pink obsessed now. All three kids know what "their colors" are when it comes to dishes and clothes, but sometimes this creates a problem if someone else is getting them a dish since the whole world doesn't have the color scheme memorized like the kids and I do. 😬
Wants to be a ballerina: Like Alexis' dream of being an ambulance driver or car mechanic, I don't know where Faith got the idea that she wants to be a ballerina. The funny part is, whenever I ask her if she wants to do a dance class she says no, and that she'd rather just dance at home. 4-year-olds definitely have their own ideas!

Jack at Age 4...

Tigers or Stuffed Doggie: Jack isn't attached to a particular stuffed animal like the girls are, but when he gets really upset he does like to cuddle his stuffed doggie or one of his Beanie Baby tigers.
School: Jack was somewhere in between Faith and Alexis when it came to adjusting to school. It took him a few weeks to warm up to going, but once he did he didn't have a problem when I dropped him off. Not surprisingly, Jack was the quietest student in the class and he never wanted to eat the snack at school. (The apple doesn't fall far from the tree as I know I was a very shy child and I never wanted to eat at school or at friend's houses, so I can't fault him for that). Although Jack was a quiet student at school, he learned so much during the school year. He was the first of our three to be able to spell and write his name. He can count to 20, although I think he still misses 15 sometimes. He is super observant and we are always amazed by how much he knows!

Most Reserved: For the most part, Jack hangs back and lets the girls decide what to play and how to play it. But sometimes he does have an opinion, and he can get quite frustrated when the girls don't listen to him. I always say that someday he'll make a great husband as he learned early on to let the girls run the show, unless it's something that's truly important to him. 😂
All boy: For awhile I didn't feel like Jack had a typical boy temperament, but that has changed in the last year. He is suddenly obsessed with "bad guys," guns, swords, Jeeps, ATVs, golf carts, climbing, hiking, driving, and all things boy. All three kids have tons of energy, but there is something different about Jack's (sometimes out of control) energy. Although it surprises me at times since the change seemed sudden, I'm glad to see him become his own person since he is so strongly influenced by his sisters.
Still likes music, but not like when younger: We aren't sure where Jack's love of music came from, but it was super cute to see him strum his guitar and sing when he was younger. In the past year some of this passion seems to have faded away, despite the fact that we were part of a music class on Saturday mornings. He still enjoys music and often asks me to turn on "fast music" so he can dance, but he probably won't be the next musical prodigy 😉. This is fine with us as we believe it's good to be well-rounded, plus Micah and I don't know much about music ourselves!
Wants to be a nurse or a doctor: Ever since he was diagnosed with low platelets two years ago, Jack has said he wants to be a nurse (and sometimes he says doctor). He has a strange obsession with needles, probably because he's been poked so many times already in his young life. He doesn't play 'nurse/doctor' as much as he used to, but all three kids still like to play with their medical toys on occasion. Thankfully, Jack has only had his blood drawn twice in the last six months, and this last time the doctor told us he seemed better and that we didn't have to continue to have his blood drawn to check his count! We are so thankful that his platelets have been in the normal range for the last year, and that he seems completely better!
Pickiest/ most reluctant eater: Jack is tiny, which is stressful for us. He is not a very good eater and he always has more important things to do. We go back and forth between feeding him ourselves at each meal and trying to make him feed himself. At this point in time, though, we need to do whatever it takes to get him to eat and grow since he is starting to fall off the growth curve, so I've been trying to feed him as much as I can (which isn't easy with a newborn!).
Sweetheart: Many people comment on Jack's sweetness, and it's true. Although he can be a wild and crazy boy at times, he is also a complete sweetheart. He often gives hugs and kisses to his sisters, his baby brother, his grandparents, and us. He also is quick to help me with stuff, whether it be killing bugs in the house or getting a blanket for Graham.

All Three at Age 4...

Love trucks and cars: One thing about having girl and boy triplets is that they have access to toys that are considered to be 'boy toys' and 'girl toys.' In the last year all three have really enjoyed playing with trucks and cars, so much so that this was the theme of their 4th birthday party. I have noticed, though, that they play with the vehicles as if they were playing "house" as they assign them roles such as papa, mommy, grandpa, and baby.
Love their grandparents: Our kids are fortunate to have two great sets of grandparents. They get really excited when grandparents come to visit, they love going to Colorado to visit Daddy's parents, and they talk daily about going to Michigan to visit my parents (which we are doing in a few weeks). I love watching our kids with their grandparents as their relationships are really special despite the distance.

With my parents when they came to help out before Graham was born

With Micah's mom

Balance Bikes: All three have become proficient on their bikes and they love to ride them in the backyard, at parks, and around the neighborhood.

Pretend Play: Daily I am blown away by the extent of their pretend play. All three seem to know their roles and they can play well together for hours! (Although there are also hours where they can't seem to get along for three minutes). In general, Faith is the mommy, Jack is the papa, and Alexis is the baby or the doggie. They play many variations of this game, and it's so cute to listen to and watch (when I have a moment).

Always Play Together: Although once in awhile one child will play separately from the others, for the most part they are always playing together, or they are at least all doing the same thing such as reading or coloring. This is good when they are getting along, but this is frustrating when they are annoying each other. I also worry that they don't know how to play alone since they have had built-in playmates since birth. When we do separate them for errands and such, they seem to enjoy the one-on-one time but they also miss their siblings. We have found, though, that if one child is gone the other two at home play great together as there is less to argue about.

This is how close they sit when they watch tv shows. They love each other so much.

Help Each Other: When one child is upset or hurt, when someone doesn't dare to go upstairs alone, or when someone needs help with something, all three are usually quick to help each other out. This has been especially great since Graham was born since I am less available to help at times. I hope this never changes!
Gaining Independence: At the end of March I moved all of the kid dishes from a high cupboard to a low cupboard so the kids could get them when they needed (I also thought this would help visiting grandparents since the kids could pick out their own color dishes instead of getting upset with whoever didn't have the color scheme memorized). I also moved some snacks to a lower spot in the kitchen. We worked really hard in the months leading up to Graham's birth to encourage the kids to dress themselves and put their own shoes on. They still need reminders to find their own dishes, grab their own snacks, and get dressed, but they CAN do it which is a quite helpful for me now that I'm focused on feeding and taking care of a baby. They are also becoming independent in other ways as just the other day Alexis figured out how to unbuckle her own car seat, and she can help Faith unbuckle hers (they know not to do it until we are parked). And the last couple of days Faith picked out all three kids' outfits by herself, and she did a great job coordinating the clothes! I have a feeling the kids will become very independent in the next year.
Clothes and Hair: I'm excited that the kids are becoming more independent, but with independence comes opinions. I can get the girls to wear dresses and have their hair in ponytails for church, but as soon as we are home from church they change into t-shirts and the ponytails come out. They have so many cute dresses and I wish they would wear them more often, but I know that I was very particular about clothes as a kid (and I still prefer comfy clothes when I'm at home), so I can't blame them. As far as the hair goes, I wish they would let me do more with it but I'm not very good at doing hair, so it does take some of the pressure off of me. Maybe they'll learn how to do each other's hair in the next couple of years and I'll never have to learn! Jack is more easy going with his clothes. His main preference is that his pants or shorts have pockets.

This was St. Patrick's Day and Alexis refused to wear the green shirt I had picked out for her. This Snoopy shirt is her fav.

Ready for church!

Dresses on and hair in ponytails before church

Bedtime: Jack goes to bed easily and falls asleep quickly almost 100% of the time. The girls, on the other hand, share a room and it's a little harder for them to settle down and fall asleep. Most nights they are up for about an hour past their bedtime playing in their room, but eventually they settle down and fall asleep in their own beds.

It's been fun to watch Alexis, Jack, and Faith become funny and intelligent 4-year-olds. Although there are days that they absolutely drive us crazy, they really are great kids and we are lucky to be their parents. Here are some other pictures from the last few months: