John at four years old

     I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around the fact that my sweet little baby is four years old. Well, officially he will be at 11:03 tonight. I sometimes wish I'd started this blog when he was an infant so I could have done those "you're 3 months old today" posts. With the post-partum depression I was suffering, however, I'm not sure I'd like to read what I might have written then. I'm in a much better place now and this post is for you John. I am so blessed to be your mama and I thank God for you every day. In bulleted form, this is what you are like at four years old.

• You are so smart and constantly ask questions. You want to understand everything and your thinking is so very deep for your age. Daddy and I have never "baby talked" to you and your comprehension is incredible.
• Right now your favorites are Scooby Doo and superheroes and your play is so imaginative. You play great on your own and you also love playing with us or with other kids.
• You are so open with people and everyone responds to you when we go anywhere. You have a sweet personality that just draws people in and makes them fall in love with you.
• You are a very sweet, loving boy. We went to the chinese buffet for dinner tonight and the waitresses sang to you for your first time and you were thrilled. You kept saying how nice of them it was and how special.
• You love to give hugs and kisses, even to people you don't know. Your joy is contagious and you spread love wherever you go.
• You have been dressing yourself for months. You are quite independent and love to do things on your own. You recently started opening the car door yourself and buckling your own car seat. You love cooking with me and you are a big help to Daddy. You love working with tools and helping Daddy fix things.
• You recently got glasses and you have adjusted well to them.
• Your laugh is contagious and it just cracks me and daddy up. You have started saying "get it?" about things that make no sense to us but you think it's hysterical.
• You are learning compassion for people from seeing us do things for others. We cook meals for Nana and Pop several times a week and you love to run in the door shouting "meals on wheels!" We brought food to a sick friend and when you hear that someone is sick you tell us we should bring them soup and cookies.
• You are very generous and giving. You and Daddy were at the hardware store the other day and you saw a hummingbird spinner ornament and you told him you wanted to get it for me because I love hummingbirds. You were so pleased with yourself when you brought it to me and I was so touched. When your friends come over you share all your toys, even though we give you the option of putting away ones that are special to you.
• You love watching tv and we have to limit how much you watch. We borrow movies from the library every week and you can hardly wait to get home to watch one. You also enjoy playing on my computer and you are so good at controlling the mouse.
• You have always been a great eater. You love my cooking and especially my baking. You are good about trying new things and you love most vegetables.

• You are my sugarlump and you will always be my baby, no matter how big you get. I love you with every fiber of my being and I am so grateful that I get to be your mama.

Wonderful Day

     Today was a great day! It was one of those days that you store in your heart and wrap yourself up in the memory of when things are difficult. Russ was off today and we decided to take John to a zoo for the first time. We went to a small, private zoo that Russ and I used to go to years ago. You can feed the animals and we knew he would love it. Boy did he ever! He thought it was hysterical to see the monkeys wait at the bottom of the tube for their treats. I fell head over heels in love with one of the monkeys and could have easily spent all day feeding her by hand. She was so sweet and gentle and would take each piece from my hand so delicately. She had the softest, sweetest little hands, oh my goodness I wanted to take her home. Seriously, I am a sucker for animals. Omg those tiny monkey fingers! Ok, moving on. The zoo had a fire recently and tragically a mother and baby giraffe were killed. They are rebuilding the giraffe house and the surviving ones are at another zoo until it is complete. We promised John we could go back and see the giraffes when they return. The weather was just perfect and we really enjoyed ourselves.
   
     After the zoo we went to the flea market because one of the stores sells party supplies and I wanted to get some more things for John's party. We also bought donuts from the Amish market which are sinfully delicious. While we were having lunch, one of the Amish girls walked by texting on a pink smart phone. I know that the Amish ways have changed but I didn't think they had changed that much! It was just such a shock to see that, and I don't know why but it made me a little sad too.

Our town has started a farmers market on Fridays and when we got home we decided to walk downtown and check it out. There were very few stands but there were paddle boats and we decided to take John for a ride on the lake. He loved it! It was wonderful to see his face just beaming, enjoying himself so much. On our walk home I heard someone calling our names and I turned to see a guy on a motorcycle making a turn but I didn't recognize him. Russ didn't hear it but I told him that the guy nearly tipped his bike trying to see us. I said I'll bet he comes around the corner and sure enough he did and it was our neighbor from when we lived here years ago! We haven't seen him in years and he thought we were still in Virginia. We spent a few minutes catching up and made plans to get together soon.

     Each moment of today was so special and it was wonderful to spend time enjoying my family of three. My heart is so full right now and I am grateful for God's blessings in my life.

    

Party planning and pictures

     So John has chosen Sco.oby Doo for his party theme. He was waffling between that and superheroes for awhile but I finally had to make him choose so I could start ordering things and planning. I've found some really cute ideas online and have a few of my own, so I think it will be awesome. Since we haven't been here that long and he's not in preschool yet, he really only has two good friends and one will be out of town the day of the party. But we have family coming and I know he will have a great time. He's so excited about it!
     I took John to the mall to have his picture taken on Friday. We're not ones to get professional photos taken but we do it for his birthday. Call me corny but I like the giant plastic numbers they have! He has always been "difficult" when we take him. I don't know if he gets nervous or what but they really have to work to get a good smile out of him. This year was no exception. The girl kept trying to get him to smile and show his teeth but he kept pursing his lips. I told her it was fine but she kept trying to tickle him to get him to grin and he would but she would miss it. I'm also not a fan of some of the goofy (in my opinion) poses they do so I wouldn't let her force him to do it. I want a photo that reflects him, not how they think he should pose. I have plenty of candid photos of his big cheesy grin.
     We went to a free "youth appreciation" day at the Elks lodge yesterday. He had a ball on the inflatable jumping things, enjoyed eating junk, and got his face painted for the first time. Love this boy.

My knight in shiny armor

     As predicted, John loved the Renaissance Faire! It was a very small one, but he was thrilled. They had jousting and he was so impressed. There were battle demonstrations and the actors actually let him play along. He even got to try on a helmet that probably weighed as much as he does! I love to encourage his interests and to see him enjoying himself so much made it such a special day!