Happy Birthday!

Saturday was Little P's 4th Birthday!

We have decided not to do birthday parties until the kiddos are older so for now, they get to pick the meals and activities of the day.  Little P puts a lot of thought into his birthday.  He has had it planned since February.  His plans were as follows:

*Waffle House for Breakfast

*Hiking

*Peanut Butter, Banana, and Gold Fish Sandwiches for lunch

*Pizza for dinner

*Yellow Castle Cake

When I say that he had it planned, I do not mean that he told us what he wanted and then waited for his birthday.  What I mean is that we heard about his plans, especially the yellow castle cake, almost EVERY. SINGLE. DAY!!!

When you asked him what presents he wanted for his birthday, he would sweetly but very seriously respond, "I only want a little. Just one thing. I want a Finn McMissile car who shoots missiles at all the bad cars. That's all I want, mom."

So, when this weekend came, I knew I was up against high expectations.  I set out to live up to Little P's birthday wishes and the joy that ensued was worth every single ounce of effort.

He was so happy to have his first chocolate waffle and TWO apple juices at Waffle House.

After waffle house he was so excited to be the 'team leader' on our hike.  Followed by our Peanut Butter, Banana, and Goldfish sandwiches (don't worry, the adults had meatball sandwiches).

While the kids napped, I set out to make the infamous yellow castle cake.  I have no clue where he came up with the idea of a castle cake but man was it a big deal.

After about an hour of working, I was reasonably pleased with the finished product.  It didn't come out exactly as I had hoped but it was still pretty good.

The afternoon was definitely my favorite part of the day.  While everybody played outside, I set all of Little P's presents out.  After this little boy talked so much about only wanting a little bit for his birthday, he was genuinely SHOCKED when he came inside to see a MOUNTAIN of presents waiting for him.  (Having lots of Aunts and Uncles really pays off!)

It was really fun to watch him open every present with such sincere excitement and appreciation.  When everything was unwrapped and there was no Finn McMissle to be seen, we asked him if he liked all of his toys and received everything he had asked for.  He politely said, "YES!"  Poor kid, you could tell he was a little disappointed but he didn't want it to show.  Seriously, this little boy has a ridiculous understanding of other people's feelings. 

It's crazy!

So, after a couple of minutes, we couldn't let wait any longer.  We asked little P to get up in the rocking chair as my husband drove his new remote control Finn McMissle into the room.  Seriously, I've never seen the boy move so fast!  He jumped out of his chair so fast that we couldn't even get a good picture of his reaction...it was AWESOME!  He was so excited!

The rest of the evening was full of bike riding, pizza, egg dying, and more!  After we finished eating, I was so excited to surprise him with his 'Castle Cake'.  We gathered everybody inside and called him in...

SUCCESS!!!

As I laid in bed that night, I couldn't help but think about how grateful I am for this little boy.  It has been so much fun to watch him grow from a baby to a little boy.  I am so thankful that he is the oldest with two little sisters.  He has this innate protection and love for his sisters that wow's us beyond belief.  He has such pride for them and even more when they learn new things.  He asks me for a new baby sister multiple times throughout every week.  He wants to name her 'sissy'.  He has a genuine love and appreciation for his siblings.  He wants to be just like his daddy often talking about what he is going to do when HE'S a daddy.  He already has a sincere love of Jesus and takes going to Church very seriously.  He thanks me EVERY NIGHT for making him dinner.

For some reason, God chose me to be his mommy.  I am humbled at the opportunity to raise him to be a fun, loving, responsible man.  But, for the time being, I pray that his dad and I can retain his incredible innocents and pure heart for as long as possible. 

Happy Birthday, Little Man!