Seth in December 2013 - 4 years 6 months old

Seth turned four and a half on Christmas Eve. He was a little disappointed he didn't get half birthday presents, but 1 - it's your half birthday, and 2 - it's Christmas tomorrow. He was pretty excited for it, though. Life continues to be up and down with Seth. He is really moody and predictably unpredictable. Starting preschool was ... an adventure. The first day was a bit rocky - we ended up staying in the hall for a bit. The second day was even worse. It was a special Christmas Tea and Seth didn't want to dress up for it (fine), but then he would not go into class. I refused to leave, so we all sat in the hall for at least a good 30 minutes until Seth's class came out to go and take Christmas tea pictures. We followed along with a sad, crying Seth, but he eventually nudged closer to the kids - they were so cute and sweet and interested in him. By the end of the pictures, he went to Chapel. He ended up staying in the hall or visiting Logan's Mother's Day Out class the entire time, but he made it through the day. The next two days were fine (even though his main teacher was out of town), but the next week had a couple of rocky days again. But I think we've made it through the worst. He is never going to be the kid that loves it and wants to rush out the door, but I can tell that there are parts that he likes and it is good for him and his growth. Surprisingly, Seth volunteered to be Joseph in the class performance for their Christmas show. So, he was Joseph. It was so cute. His class dressed up as the nativity and sang "Away in a Manger". The girl next to Seth thought he was singing too loud and kept trying to shush him and tell him to be quiet. And Mary was probably about a foot taller than him. But he sang out loud and strong all the songs - and there was probably about 9. He knew the words better than anyone and he was only there for a couple weeks. I was very proud of him. The last day or preschool, he brought home a whole bunch of gifts for us (ornaments and pictures and things) and he was so proud to give them to us. So sweet. On a related note, Seth has been going to Sunbeams by himself every week! Yay! The day the Primary was supposed to sing for the Christmas program, Seth told me over and over he wouldn't do it, but when the time came, he went right up and sang. His teachers were so proud of him. His sunbeam teachers were so sweet. One of them made stockings up for all the kids full of candy and little toys and Seth couldn't wait to open it on Christmas, too. Seth was very excited about Christmas. He gets really into things being just so. For Advent, the four Sundays, we read scriptures and share treats. We were a little slack about the readings (and I really wanted to get an advent wreath, but couldn't find one), but Seth would not let us forget about the treats. We had to have them every Sunday and he would pick one out each week at the grocery store. He really enjoyed his presents on Christmas - Lincoln logs, legos, a remote control car, and other odds and ends, but he wasn't satisifed until he opened all the Doraemon comics from Ji. Then, he was in heaven! FUN THINGS THIS MONTH -Dentist, no cavities, and some special xrays. It all looks good! -Ward party. -Seeing Santa -Christmas program at preschool. - CHRISTMAS!