Will is FOUR!

Will turned four this past week, hooray! Words cannot describe how much we love our Will; he continues to be an absolute delight - 97% of the time :). He is sweet and hilarious and enthusiastic and imaginative and such an entertaining personality in our home.

Will has made incredible strides during the last year - particularly with his receptive and expressive language. He's very chatty - he loves to narrate everyone's actions and will usually repeat something until it's acknowledged by whomever he's addressing.

The most difficult aspect of his autism for us right now is his inability to be flexible if things aren't exactly as he thinks they should be. Every time we think we have all of 'his' details figured out, a meltdown erupts and we thus discover a new one :). For instance, Will's breakfast is almost always oatmeal - three packets in one of the white plastic (not glass!) bowls with a regular metal spoon. Last week Chuck grabbed a plastic spoon and that was met with a (fairly calm) "No, that not right. Try again Daddy!" We often have to have a second prayer (at a mealtime or bedtime) because the person who Chuck asks to pray initially is different from the person that Will believes should. The nights that the boys have baths before bed, Will eschews pajamas in favor of being wrapped in his (orange) towel and then his blanket on top. Whenever Will wears his beloved blue sweatshirt, the hood MUST be on. And just for fun, Clyde's hood has to be on as well, regardless of his personal preference.

Unfortunately, some missteps are not figured out as quickly or solved as easily. A couple of weeks ago the little boys and I attempted to go to my mom's church on a Sunday that Chuck was at work (our ward had Stake Conference) and NOTHING went right that morning. He didn't care for the church pants that I had for him and I had failed to bring along an alternative. So I did what I would do with Clyde - forced the pants on and waited for him to get over it.

He didn't. It turned into a really wretched day.

Which is why we very carefully choose our battles (which is something I believe in deeply, autism or no autism). Will eats three meals a day. Sometimes is it oatmeal for breakfast and dinner? Yes. Will goes to preschool fully dressed. Sometimes is it orange fleece pants? Yes. And that's okay.

We've learned to use Will's dependence on order to our advantage; we created a 'bedtime routine' list to avoid meltdowns and arguments about whether reading books with Dad comes before or after scripture study. We're starting to venture into potty training, so we have a dry erase board in the bathroom with a step-by-step process of what to do and Will LOVES it. He also responds really well to music, so I utilize all of my creative and musical abilities (very little indeed) to make up awesome songs such as "Will goes to school and Mom stays home". That little ditty helped immensely when Will was struggling with leaving me to get on the bus after Jack was born - we emphasize the last line "And Will comes home after school!!"

And even at the most difficult moments, Will is SO good at making us laugh with his little catchphrases.

* "Oh, dear." (Said in a very concerned voice)

* "Whoops a daisy!" (My mom referenced 'Notting Hill' after Will said this the other day and we laughed and laughed)

* "STOP crying!!" (to Jack, haha)

* "Yesss, I okay." (What he answers 99% of the time after getting hurt; the kid is so tough. Even if he's crying, he'll respond that he's okay)

* "Don't 'get about me!" (When he's worried that he's being forgotten or left out)

* "Mom, I so scared." (This is new, and random - especially since he never responds with what exactly he's scared of...)

* "I need a kiss!" (whenever he gets hurt)

followed up with

* "Oh, that feel better!" (after the kiss is given)

* "Wait a minute!" (this usually precedes the aforementioned "That not right, try again!")

* "I be riiight back..." (usually to get out of doing something)

Will's birthday was nice and low-key since we were just coming off a fun, family-filled weekend for Jack's blessing (more on that to come). I put crepe paper streamers in his doorway and throughout the kitchen and family room and a happy birthday banner above the couch and Will was delighted with his 'decorations'.

I stuck Jack on the couch to get some brotherly pictures, much to the mutual delight of Clyde and Will.

We also ventured outside to ride bikes/trikes for quite a while as we waited for Chuck to come home from work.

We had a gourmet dinner of pancakes . . . specifically yellow pancakes for our food coloring obsessed kiddo :). And Will happily blew out the candle four or five times.

And then he opened presents in front of his adoring audience (we were so glad Grandma Pam could come over!!)

A couple of days later Will had his check-up and the doctor and he is healthy and perfect. He and Clyde are both weighing in at about 42lbs, although Clyde still has a couple inches on his younger brother. I figure it keeps their wrestling bouts pretty evenly matched, so it works for me!

And now, here are a couple of videos from this past week.

This is from his actual birthday; we had talked a LOT about age and I was so excited that he seemed to get it!




This one is from a couple of days later and features three of his birthday presents: a little game called 'Hungry Dog' (from Daddy), a Tow Mater truck (from Grandma and Grandpa Izatt), and a white horse (from Grandma Pam).



And this one is after Will did a little sea animal puzzle. It's pretty classic Will.

We sure love our sweet four-year-old!