Drew Turns 4

I could begin with all the cliches: "It goes so fast....Where has the time gone...how can my baby be 4 already...it seems like just yesterday he was born..." blah blah blah.

And although they are all true, this is truly a time for celebrating. I think this is the first year that Drew really understood that today was all about him. For weeks he has been picking out "things I want for my birthday" at the store, and counting down the days til he could have cake.

Today was Drew's day and he knew it. He started his day with a cinnamon roll off the special plate.



It amazes me how both kids know when something is worthy of using the special plate. Days prior to scheduled special days: first day of school, birthdays, holidays, etc. the kids mention who gets to eat off the plate and what special meal will be chosen. Perhaps even more fun though are the days when the special plate gets to be used unexpectedly for random reasons: scored goals, helping friends, lost teeth, good check-ups, etc. It was a fun tradition and my family and I love to see the kids enjoy it just as much.

Then we moved onto opening some presents. Surprisingly, and happily, we didn't go overboard with presents for Drew. Izzy picked out a gift for him, Pete and I got him one "big" gift and a couple little things, and then he got gifts from all the grandparents!

The gift from Izzy:




From us: The Joker House and then a couple guys to go with it.


This happens to be one of the gifts from Omi/Papa, and I love the look of concentration on Drew's face...and that he and Pete worked on assembling his Lego creations together.


Grandpa Dave sent me some money to get Drew a gift and I bought Drew the "Chuck" truck. Drew has played with it so much that I had to hide it because I was tired of listening to it talk and move on it own. Drew has wanted this truck for quite some time, but in my opinion is was too much money for me to justify buying. I thought it would be to babyish for him. HOWEVER, it was the PERFECT thing for someone else to buy him! ...not to mention he really wanted it and LOVES it! Thanks Grandpa Dave :-)

Grandpa and Grandma sent Drew one of his most prized possessions...a Lego Batman shirt. Do you hear the angels singing? I think a halo rose from the box when Drew unwrapped the package. Anyone who knows Drew knows that he is all about Lego Batman on the Wii. So much so that I have had to pack up the Wii (it is off for a Wii checkup). For anyone who knows me, I do not buy my kids character shirts, or I didn't use to, but for others to buy them or in pj form it is fine. Grandpa and Grandma also sent him SpongeBob pj's which are supercool to Drew too! ...again, if you know me then you know my kids aren't allowed to watch Spongebob...but pj's are fine :-) I should probably clarify that I am not a character fan on clothing. However, I do dig the Batman, Superman, superhero type vintage looking shirts...so those I will buy.

Presents were opened right after breakfast so there was lots of time to play with them before lunch! Lunch was pb & j in the shape of #4.



It was a rainy day today, and since we had no plans but to play with Drew we broke out an oldie but goodie - play-doh!



We love play-doh...and although I am OCD about some things, I could care less about the mess, or if the kids mix colors. ...and if it ends up on the floor, so be it! And if we play so long that it dries out, no worries, we can buy new! Play-doh rocks!

We had pizza for dinner...no biggie. Then it was bathtime. The kids painted for a good while before taking their actual bathes.




The only time I was a little sad for the birthday boy was after bath time when he said, "I wonder why none of my friends wanted to come over for my birthday?" ...guess I should have better explained his party would be at a later date. He wasn't sad for long because we busted out a cake!



Look at this sweet face blowing out his candles.


The celebrating doesn't stop here though...he has his birthday treat to take to school tomorrow and then his party with friends in a few weeks.