Our FIVE year old!

12/12/09 right before he was whisked to the NICU

Ian Alexander was born on 12/12/09 weighing 6 pounds 1 ounce, which was rather big considering he came 6 weeks early. He was born with brown hair, but within a few months he had light blonde hair. Considering he came prematurely, the first things he had to learn were how to breathe without a CPAP, how to maintain his body temperature, and how to nurse (at first he was on a feeding tube). My favorite Christmas gift that year was the fact he was discharged from the NICU in time for us to all be at home on Christmas Day!

6 months old (June 2010)

He weighed only 9 pounds when he was 4 months old, but he gained more than 6 pounds during the next two months, which put him at 15.75 pounds when he turned 6 months old. At 6 months old he wasn't sleeping through the night yet, didn't have any teeth, and hadn't yet learned to sit independently.

First birthday (December 2010)

By the time he turned 1 year old Ian had learned how to sit, to crawl and to sleep through the night. His naps were still VERY short (20-30 minutes), and he was not eating much at all by spoon. He could drink out of a sippy cup or bottle, and I was still nursing him 1-2 times a day. He had two teeth when he turned one year old. He had his first urological surgery before he turned one.

18 months old (June 2011)

At age 18 months he had four teeth and was mostly living off of EleCare, as he had been diagnosed with Eosinophilic Esophagitis. He weaned himself at 14 months. He wasn't allowed to have any eggs, nuts, soy, or milk. He had his second urological surgery and his first endoscopy surgery shortly before he turned 18 months old. He was running all over the place at this age!

2nd Birthday (December 2011)

At 2 years old, Ian had 12 teeth that had at least partially broken through! He had one more endoscopy, but thankfully since that surgery (August 2011) he hasn't had any more operations (even though the Allergist wanted him to have MANY more endoscopies). He hadn't learned how to take a nice nap, but he was still sleeping through the night. Around 20 months old his expressive vocabulary really took off! He had learned some of his shapes (oval, circle, triangle, square, diamond, and rectangle), could count to 13, could do peg puzzles on his own, could identify a few letters of the alphabet correctly, and knew some colors. He still wasn't really eating solid foods yet aside from coconut milk yogurt.

2 1/2 years old (June 2012)

A few weeks after he turned two, Ian was easily daytime potty trained. When Ian was 28 months old he spent four weeks in an intensive feeding program in Hershey, and through this he chewed and swallowed for the first time in his life, and they also helped him transition from his FAVORITE sippy cup to an open cup (a small shot glass at first). The first food he fell in love with was an Oreo cookie. He was promoted from a crib to a twin size bed before he turned 2.5 years old. He knew the names of an incredible amount of animals.

Third Birthday (December 2012)

At 3 years old Ian really loved pirates and trains. He was night time potty trained before he turned three, and he also learned how to go up and down the stairs independently. He had weekly OT for almost two full years, and this came to an end right before he turned three. His third birthday was the first one in which he ate CAKE! Before he turned three, he became a big brother! He adored Oliver and liked to "pet" Oliver's head. His favorite cereal was Cocoa Puffs, and that is still true today! For the first time in his life, he started taking nice naps (meaning longer than 30 minutes) in his bed shortly after he turned 2 1/2. What a relief that was!

3 1/2 years old (June 2013)

At 3 1/2 years old he could do 24 piece jigsaw puzzles by himself and would work on 100 piece ones with others.  Milk, soy, peanuts, eggs, cinnamon, and oats were back in his diet, although he wasn't allowed to drink milk yet. He was still drinking warm EleCare. He participated in the summer musical and VBS and took swimming lessons for the first time!

Fourth Birthday (December 2013)

At 4 years old still loved pirates, but his newest fascination was Monsters Inc. He was drinking milk and getting himself dressed and undressed. Even though he wasn't a fan of cold food, he had started eating soft ice cream. To this day he still won't eat hard ice cream or popsicles. He LOVES using the iPad. The app "Endless Alphabet" was his favorite at this age. He was completely independent with going to the bathroom. He took a t-ball class before he turned four and he also started participating in Cubbies. He could do 50-100 piece jigsaw puzzles all by himself. He had made a LOT of progress with eating, but he still wasn't feeding himself very much. He was beginning to read the first book of the level one reading program and also some BOB books. He could write the letter "I".

4 1/2 years old (June 2014)

At 4.5 years old Ian was definitely into superheroes. The kids had watched all the episodes from Spiderman and his Amazing Friends (from 1981) at least once. He also was very interested in Star Wars, even though we said he has to wait until he's six to watch the first Star Wars movie. He made a LOT of progress with feeding himself! The two vegetables he would eat without a fuss were carrots and green beans. At this point he could write all the uppercase letters of the alphabet and had learned to enjoy playing games with rules (like Candyland, UNO, Bingo, and Sorry). He wasn't taking a regular nap any longer although to this day he is very prone to fall asleep in the van. He was sitting with Nadia and I through the entire worship service on Sunday mornings. He became a Christian a month after he turned four years old! He was finally tall enough to reach all the light switches in the house, and he loved to use this skill.

At 5 years old he's still loving superheroes and Star Wars, and his newest fixation is playing with Legos many, many hours a day. He's feeding himself, but the next thing I want him to accomplish is to learn to eat a meal in 45 minutes or less. Each meal typically takes him 1-2 hours to eat. The list of foods he likes to eat has continued to grow and now includes things like tuna noodle casserole, macaroni and cheese, and pulled pork. His favorite food is pizza! He can now read most of the stories in the second book of the first grade reading program. He played on a soccer team for the first time this fall. He no longer rides in the stroller; he has walked a distance as long as three miles with Nadia and I! He has gotten braver at the playground, but he still isn't as brave as his two-year-old brother. He won't walk across the rope, for example, but now he enjoys jumping on our trampoline! He also is doing much better at riding a two wheeled bike with training wheels. He is no longer sitting on a booster seat at the kitchen table. We love this little guy SO much and are so thankful that God gave him to us! We're looking forward to seeing all the ways he will grow and change in the coming year! Happy 5th Birthday, Ian!