Adjusting to baby sister over the year was a challenge for Flynn. I’m grateful he was never violent with her or overly angry at her. He let his struggles show through screams and inflexibility. Like I said above he has grown so much! And we seem to be through the worst of the transition from youngest to middle child. I have learned that part of his inflexibility is just part of his personality. If you have read anything about the enneagram then you know what I mean when I tell you that Flynn is an 8 for sure! Don’t get me wrong I don't worship the enneagram as all knowing, but I do think it helps understand some different temperaments and where some behavior might originate. Basically Flynn is a “my way or the highway” kinda dude. He literally tries to give me directions as I’m driving, at 4 years old! Haha! He knows what he wants and he is very determined to make it happen. He hates the feeling of being controlled. It is hard personality to parent as a toddler. But I know it’s going to be great when he’s older, as long as he takes what other’s want into consideration as well and follows Christ’s example of humility.
Flynn still loves his blankets!! They are such a comfort to him! If he’s sleeping they are usually heaped up surrounding his head like the picture above. If he’s starting to feel a little overwhelmed he’ll say, “I need my blankets!” We usually have one in the car just in case he needs one to help him calm down. It’s like a little piece of home he can carry with him. Home is definitely where he is the most calm. I mentioned last year that it is the opposite for my other kids and not much has changed. He is getting better about calming down faster if he gets stressed outside our house. I have learned how to talk to him in a way that is more helpful for him and to stay calm myself. We both have our moments of not handling it well of course. We’re both still growing and that’s what matters most!
Flynn likes to be apart of the sibling crew! Whenever I go somewhere with just the big kids he’s pretty disappointed he can’t come along. It makes it ok if he gets to hang out at Marmee and Pappaw’s though. Jane and Flynn still share their excitable personality and they like to play some crazy games they make up together. Still because they have similar personalities they can butt heads when their emotions run high! They will both go back and forth saying “I don’t like you!” Sure they mean it in the moment, but it never lasts. They go back to playing their ridiculous games very quickly. Atlas and Flynn have started that brotherly irritation game! It drives me a little crazy. I find myself saying, “Boys! Quit!!” Often. Atlas will chase Flynn then sit on him while Flynn screams, but then as soon as Atlas gets up Flynn is running away again wanting Atlas to chase him! I wouldn’t mind it if they didn’t whine at each other so much! We’ll get there. Xan and Flynn’s relationship can still be up and down, but it’s mostly up now! They will run off to play dinosaurs happily and I won’t see them for an hour. When it’s down it’s because Xan is trying to mother him which Flynn does not respond well to. Haha! Piper and Flynn will play occasionally, but not much so far. He mostly just gets mad she is either getting near his food or his toys. He’s become a protective middle child! He’s got to keep the baby at arms length away from anything that feels like his. Eventually I’m sure their relationship with grow since they both seem to love climbing and being daredevils! I’m looking forward to continuing to watch all their relationships unfold! <3
Weight
Birth: 6lbs 6oz
1 Year Old: 20lbs 13oz
2 Years Old: 26lbs 4oz
3 Years Old: 30lbs
1 Year Old: 20lbs 13oz
2 Years Old: 26lbs 4oz
3 Years Old: 30lbs
4 Years Old: 34lbs
Flynn has never been big, but other than when he was first born he hasn't been super small either. I'm not exactly sure where he is on all the percentiles right now since we haven't gone in for his annual check up yet. He is solidly in 4t clothes though. I looked back at the rest of the kids weight at age 4 and he's pretty close to average for my kids. He's almost exactly Jane's weight when she was 4 and she was pretty close to the middle of the percentiles. That probably means for boys he's a little below average. For the grazer, never sit down to eat a full meal kid that he is, I'll take it!
Height
Birth: 20 Inches
1 Year Old: 28.5 Inches
2 Years Old: 34 Inches
3 Years Old: 36.25 inches
4 Years Old: 39.5 inches
I looked back at height too and he's taller than Atlas, shorter than Xan and again almost exactly the same as Jane. But they all came within just an inch or two, apparently all my kids stay around the same size at 4. If you look at height through the years he is steadily growing for sure. I have definitely noticed a lot of lengthening in his legs recently! Almost all of his pants are short this winter, but not quite short enough that I'm going to get out the next size for him to wear holes in before next winter. I think we'll make it through the short Texas winter with above ankle pants. ;)
A Year in Pictures: Firsts & Favorite Moments
I started a "firsts" section as part of a birthday blog post back when Jane turned 1 and I've told myself ever since that I could still find a "first" for every month of the year at least for the first few years of their life. The firsts I find grow more and more unconventional. And at some point I had to add in favorite moments to the firsts with a birthday blog post at some point. I realize now, sure, I do love finding the new experiences that they had through the previous year, but I think I like watching them grow and change more. It has become less about finding "firsts" and more about finding a picture from each month of the year. So I'm renaming this section again as A Year in Pictures! It never gets old looking back through pictures of the previous year to see how my kids grow and what they got to experience! Haircuts can age them immediately. Take a look at February compared to March! By the time July hit he gained the same look he still has now. I hope you enjoy watching Flynn grow through the year as much as I did!
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| Volcano! - January 2023 |
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| Riding in our own power wheel - February 2023 |
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| Playing with a bug! - March 2023 |
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| Strawberry picking - April 2023 |
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| Learning to potty! - May 2023 |
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| Pink Eye - June 2023 |
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| Video game! - July 2023 |
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| Woodlands Church Playground - August 2023 |
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| Camp Tejas/Mud pit - September 2023 |
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| Indian Restaurant - October 2023 |
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| Smashing pumpkins - November 2023 |
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| Volcano cake!! - December 2023 |
Favorites
Two things that have never changed about Flynn since he could move are that his smile/laugh are infectious and he seems to have an unending amount of energy! He enjoys everything he does to the fullest! He has a little trouble with very loud excited screams. I have trouble knowing how to discipline happy screams other than saying, "Hey, I know you're excited but that's a little too loud, Ok?" (If you have any tips on this let me know!) You know how everyone has a different volume of speaking right? I feel like Flynn is just going to be one of those people on the louder side! ;) That's alright with me. I love hearing him excited as long as it's not ear piercing. I'm very glad we are seeing improvement on the throwing fit screams. He calms down much faster and more and more often he will say, "awwww, ok." When I say no. Not all the time at any rate, but I have seen so much improvement and I am proud of how I see him trying!! He continues to love anything involving water or something that allows him to move a lot and be kinda crazy. He rarely stays still unless he gets to play the kindle. He’s either, running, wrestling, spinning, climbing, jumping or dancing! Since he is always on the move he still sleeps super well. Sometimes he’s asleep before I leave the room from putting everyone to bed. He will talk in his sleep from time to time and it’s fun to hear what he says! He is almost always making some kind of noise when he is awake, talking to himself, laughing, humming, screaming or singing! When we’re talking around the dinner table I have to remind him he has to be quiet to give someone else a chance to be heard. He’s getting better at listening, but it’s still a work in progress for sure.
I looked back at Flynn’s favorite foods from last year and it hasn’t changed almost at all! Snacks are his fav and he will ask for candy or other sweets at all moments of the day even though I consistently tell him it’s just after lunch and dinner. His favorite food of all is probably strawberries. He would eat a whole container of them in one day if I would let him. He only has a few main entrees he will eat at all. Grilled cheese and tomato soup is his number 1 or a burger bun with American cheese melted on it. He likes noodles of all kinds, like ramen and spaghetti. He got really picky on Mac and cheese and only eats Cracker Barrel white cheddar. My homemade cheesy bread pizza is the only kind of pizza he’ll eat more than I bite of. He does like breakfast! Probably because American breakfasts are usually sweet! Pop tarts, cereal, chocolate milk, yogurt and pancakes are favs. I am still working on his aversion to meat. At least he gets a good amount of protein from the milk and cheese he will eat. His lunch is usually a bunch of cheese and fruit and maybe a piece of bread.
I said I would never buy a Siren Head toy. Siren Head is a YouTube creature that Flynn loves. It's a humanoid monster that has a really slender body, long hands and arms and sirens for heads. It's just plain weird to me. But man, Flynn loves it. I finally broke down and got him a Siren Head stuffy for his birthday. He LOVES it. He barely put it down for a week. Other favorite toys are Dinosaurs, marble runs, cars, trains, volcanos, tornados, and Iron Giant. Let me tell you about about Iron Giant though. Flynn was so scared of Xan's Iron Giant toy that he couldn't even be in the same room with it. I read a book that talked about taking something that is irrationally scary to you and making it silly somehow to break that fear. We dressed Iron Giant up in Barbie clothes and made him do silly dances or fall down or say silly things and that did it!! Flynn was no longer scared of Iron Giant and instead became a favorite toy. We've tried this strategy for other fears and it doesn't always work, but it's always worth a shot because it really can work!
Flynn enjoys books, but he doesn't always like having to wait on me to read and turn the pages. (probably another thing about wanting to be in control) So he would rather have a wonder book that reads it too him and he can turn the pages whenever he wants. Or just a regular book to look at the pictures in his own time. The books he will sit long enough for me to read are shine a light books, I’m a hungry dinosaur, sticker books, flap books, anything with volcanos or tornados. He just got the Thomas the Train book called Flynn Saves the Day for Christmas and he loves it! He really gets a kick out of hearing his name in the book.
Flynn LOVES activities! Anything that allows him to stay moving or making noise he is all about! Seriously though, I don't know of anything he doesn't like that lets him be loud and active. As long as he is in control of the noise level. (He does not enjoy fireworks or loud vehicles) His favorite activity of all is probably swimming. Other favorites are jumping on the trampoline, swinging, playing catch, sliding, running, wrestling and playing chase.
Flynn has a very narrow view of what is entertaining to watch. He loves YouTube as most kids do, but the only time he's allowed to watch is during his special night with me which at this point is every 2 months or so. Sometimes he gets to watch at my parent's house, but not too often either. He will spend his whole allotted time watching previews and saying to me "Go over, Go over." Unless I demand he picks something or I'll turn it off will he finally settle on something. I think the sheer volume of choice overwhelms his brain. Some of his favorite things to watch on YouTube are Siren Head videos, Freeze Dance, PE Bowman, dinosaur toys or anything involving tornados or volcanos. I will give him the remote to pick what he wants to watch in the morning on Netflix Kids when I'm still working and usually he will pick Blippi, Ryan's world or as of late, Abby Hatcher. He also loves watching Teen Titan Go shorts on the kindle. I have to say I outlawed Blippi when Atlas was around 2 because the actor who played Blippi creeped me out and annoyed me. I thought to myself, what is this teaching my kids, that an adult man that acts like a kid and has no kids of his own at a place just meant for kids is your friend?? HEEELLL no. I also found out he was a gross YouTuber before he got in to preschool friendly entertainment. So yeah, I blocked Blippi on everything. I guess as they come out with new videos I have to keep blocking the new ones too. I didn't realized that and Flynn started watching them over and over on the Kindle. Because he loved it so much I caved and decided to watch a few with him. The actor was new and now they went to places usually without kids around now and I like when Meekah is involved. I decided to let it go and just talk about stranger danger a little more. I figured it was a good conversation to have that adults that act like kids and try to be your friend are to be avoided. So I finally allow Blippi, but I will still lead him to watch something else if I can.
Flynn loves to go places, but he also loves to be home because he knows more things are in his control at home. He will ask to go home from the park sometimes, but he still loves to be there! Usually he'll ask to go home when loud noises are starting to overwhelm him or it's too cold outside. His favorite place is Camp Tejas! He asks to go back allll the time! He looks so content in that picture above when we were visiting for Labor day. I couldn't barely get him out of the car at park day the day after we got home because he insisted we go back to Tejas right then! Other favorite places are Marmee and Pappaw's house, open gym, the library and the grocery store. He does not like having to wait to on curbside groceries and always asks to go inside the store.
Flynn is intense in practically everything he does. From his screams to his hugs. You get the good and the hard with a personality like that. For example, the good: just the other night when coming home from a mom's night out, it stood out to me that he is always the first one to greet me at the door and is so genuinely excited and happy to see me. This is true of anytime I've been away from him. I realized recently this is a similarity he shares with my late Grandfather, Papa Daugherty. Anytime, either when I walked in to Papa's house or he arrived at mine he always had the best greetings and the tightest hugs. I hope this is something Flynn carries with him his whole life. The Hard: Flynn is very loud and very persistent to have his way. (not reminiscent of my Papa. ;) Although I obviously didn't know him as a toddler, haha!) As a book helped me understand Flynn's super strong will is better understood as counter force. If you try to force him, he will force back just as much. As I escalate the force he matches it. So now I see it less as a will I have to conquer and more of a puzzle to solve. I will ask myself "How can I make a request or a command feel like less of a force he needs to challenge?" And if I really need direct obedience right away as you often do in motherhood, I know when to be a stronger, unwavering force that he will respect instead of think he can push over. It has made life a lot more pleasant and he so affectionate now! Hugs and kisses and I love yous all the time, which I rarely got before this year. He is such a sweet boy! I get comments all the time about how much fun he is or something like “He is a hoot!” And they’re not wrong!! Such a big personality makes parenting hard at times, but not bad. At the times when it's not hard, life with Flynn is really, really fun! He grows me in ways I never would have if he didn’t challenge me. I am grateful for my busy, crazy, silly, adventurous, loving boy!
Happy 4th Birthday Flynn Flynn!! We love you so much!
Colossians 3:23-24
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
