Emilio - 4 years

Emi,

You have grown so much. The last year has flown by with so many changes. When you turned 3, you had just been weaned and you went through that rough  night terror phase. That lasted a few months and thankfully, we have figured it out and now we know that rest needs to be a priority for you. You just literally can't stop having fun!! you just go, go, go and sleep is like a huge punishment to you, so we are always making sure you are not too overtired or else you will be up in the night screaming and crying like a mad man.
Interestingly, even though you are weaned now, sleep issues are still a big part of our life. Besides the terrors, you seemed to have gone back to having big difficulty falling asleep. You always have to fall asleep eating something and will wake up pretty much every night asking for food. If you do get a snack during the night, then you will sleep in. Otherwise you will wake up really early even if you didn't have a good night sleep, and you will be cranky as hell.
Speaking of sleep, you have also dropped the nap about maybe 6 months ago. You were staying up way too late and so now for the most part you don't nap, unless you have been since too early. This helps you go to sleep early around 7.30 or 8 at night but you are usually pretty tired and miserable in the evening.
Moving on to happier topics, when you have had good sleeps you are so fun to be around. YOu are cheerful, sweet and super helpful. You love helping me around the house and one of your favourite passtimes is helping me prepare dinner or lunch. You just love cooking.
When we go out, you always love going with me anywhere as long as you are not tired or hungry. You are cheerful and chatty and people always comment on how happy you look and how chatty you are.You are very friendly and the kids on the street love hanging out with you. They know they can count on you being willing to play.
You love dancing and always want to be listening to music in the car or wherever we are. You are incredibly active. You even know how to ride your bike without training wheels already!! you are amazing, although you can't still ride for long distances because you get tired but you are really good at it.
You will be starting Kindergarten next year and I have to admit I am a bit worried. You are an incredible kind, respectful and sweet little boy, but I am not sure that the amount of structure in the school systems is designed to help little boys like you. You are incredibly active and have trouble sitting still. You cannot focus for too long and sometimes you have trouble controlling your temperament. You are very emotional and certainly don't like to hear the word "NO". You have no interest in activities such as drawing or anything that requires sitting down for long periods. You mostly enjoy reading books, pretend play, and even building games, but only if somebody is fully engaged with you. Otherwise you get bored and move on.

Little Emi you are such a sweet boy and I love how you always look after your brother and even me when we are sad. You are helpful and just fun to be around. I love you so much!
Mom