I'm not really sure how to feel about this - my baby boy turning 4 years old. It's likely I'll be saying the same thing every year from now until college, but it really is amazing that 4 years have gone by already. Let me also just say that 4 is like the terrible two's on steroids. Oh holy heck has my son lost his marbles. I am going to need some serious strength to get through this next year if this is what 4 is all about. Why didn't anyone warn me?! Probably because no one has my spirited little monster. Little r is testing patience on a grand scale from morning until night - never a dull moment with this child.
To celebrate his Big 4, we had a big party for him at our house. It was one of those rare years where his birthday landed on a Saturday, so we actually got to have his party on his birthday. Pretty cool. I decided I wanted to get all Betty Crocker and try to make a cake worth remembering this time, especially since we didn't have a big party for him ourselves the past two years. I had plans of grandeur. Everything from bulldozers to Thomas the Train Engine were thoughts in my mind. At the tenth hour, I ended up going with just a train based on things I could find at the store to create my mini-masterpiece. HA! The best part about making his cake was that he actually helped me make it. That was fun, mostly, but he really thought it was cool to help make his choo-choo train cake.
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| Peep Peep - pretend this is Thomas |
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| Such a proud birthday boy wearing his new Jeff Gordon shirt :) |
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| He could barely wait through lunch to get to the cake part! |
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| but the presents were actually number 1 on his mind |
Little r ripped through his presents like nobody's business. It was hilarious to watch. We went to a 2-year-old's birthday party the weekend before, and she carefully opened each present. My crazy man tore through one gift then handed it off to me to grab the next like it was a race (everything in this boy's life is a competition to see who can "win").
After gift time, I setup my one and only birthday activity. Paint on canvas. Everyone told me I was absolutely out of my mind and a brave soul, but it really worked out great. I love nothing more than to bring art and music out of kids. They both love it and they need it. My German friend, Nina, picked up the small canvases at a local store near her house, and I found some kids' paint and Toys R Us, of all places. We used tall kitchen bags as smocks and to cover the floor, and small silo cups to separate all of the paint. The kids had a ball, and they each got to bring home a piece of artwork to hang on the wall. That is my favorite kind of party favor :)
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| Such a goofball! |
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| My little Van Gogh - Aunt Jessie would be proud |
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| It's a painting party! All my young artists hard at work! |
I think the party was a success. At least I can say that the kids all seemed to have a great time. My stress levels were incredibly low considering I had over a dozen small children scattered throughout the house. Honestly, I absolutely loved it because little r was having so much fun. The best part was that our German friends were able to stay for awhile afterwards, so we got a bonus visit in from friends we used to talk to every day and now rarely ever get to see. Such a great treat.
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| little r's room after the party ended - it took an hour to put the legos back together - lol |
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| Baby C adored all of the attention! |
So, now we enter a new year and a seemingly huge adventure with little r. If anyone has any tips on how to survive age 4 with a spirited little boy, I'm all ears!
xoxoxo
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