FOUR

Baby Ben is four. FOUR. I can't believe it. He is such a fun kid. His official birthday was really yesterday, but he's been waiting and waiting for his birthday this year so we kept it hush hush that we were actually celebrating a day late so Chris could be home for the party! At bedtime last night, I told him that when he woke up, it would be his birthday and he was SO excited. He had tons of questions, wanting to know who would be staying up to make him a cake and if there would be balloons and if the breakfast table would be ready for him, etc. etc. etc. I reassured him everything would be ready to go when he woke up.

At 5:13am, he bounced into our room and over to my side of the bed and said, "Oh, thank you Mom for decorating my room! Let's go downstairs!!!!!" I tried everything I could think of to get him to go back to sleep but nothing worked. He was dressed and ready to party.

 In our house, the birthday boy/girl gets whatever they want all. day. long. Ben started his day with all of his favorite things for breakfast.....Lucky Charms, Monkey bread, gum, and rootbeer. He followed that up with an early morning sword fight with his dad and then some dino building with his new blocks....

Sick.

Building a very complicated Teredactyl...

 After the big kids and Chris left for the day, Ben and I spent the morning together. We played Bendaroos and looked at the sweetest pictures of him as a newborn! I remember thinking he was so big back then, now he looks like a tiny little thing. This is one of my most favorite pictures ever....

four weeks old

He took Rice Krispie treats to pre-school for his classmates. It was cute watching him get his crown ready to pass out the treats!

Writing his name on the birthday crown

Passing out treats

 Once everyone was home, it was pizza and cake time. Ben really, really wanted a monkey cake, but wasn't too sure that I had made one. His face lit up when he saw it:

Working on his second piece of cake...

Bennie-boy, I love everything about you! You are so sweet and gentle yet so so sassy and tough when you need to be. You are smart and never forget a single thing. ever. Watching you do a puzzle is amazing...you actually see the pieces you need and very rarely pick up the wrong one! You are my buddy every day and I love all the little talks we have and the things you do and say. I love it when you tell me "That's what I was thinking!" or "Mom, you freegot (forgot)" or when you show me how to get someplace just using your hands. I love that I can't ever convince you to wear underwear and that you prefer to be sockless, even on the coldest snowy days. I love that you can eat more than both your brother and sister combined. I love that you can sit and color for hours (three hours is your record) but Primary is absolute torture and you just want to go back to nursery. I love how devoted you are to Charlie dog, always the first to come to his rescue when he is in trouble. I love the messes you make and the millions of times you have blamed it on Nick. I love your little smile and the way you say, "I was just trickin' ya" when you think you have really fooled me. Thanks, buddy, for so many sweet moments with you. I love you more than you will ever know. Happy Birthday, sweet pea! XOXO Mommy