Happy 4 You!

I'm a few days behind in blogging, but better late then...

We celebrated Ashen's fourth birthday last Thursday. He had such a great day. Woke up to balloons in his room (a birthday tradition) and proceeded to have an early AM helicopter flight. The boys had their first "birthday cereal", aka, Lucky Charms, which was (surprise, surprise) well received. After grandma arrived, I took the boys on a frigid bike ride through town to the running track, which necessitated a midday bath. The afternoon brought about a nap and then a Birthday playdate. FYI on the birthday playdate: this is the easiest "un-birthday party" ever! Just invite two friends and their younger brothers (yes, that means 6 boys four and under), add cupcakes, and my son is happy happy happy! Ashen chose hot dogs and homemade mac and cheese for dinner.

Grandma's creative airplane cake

Another family party with a sundae bar!

Ashen with two of his best buds from preschool. Can't wait to compare this to their senior year group photos!

The "coolest dad ever" flew the helicopter for the boys.

Ashen: My oldest, the first child to call me 'mama', the boy who stole my heart at first glance. Ashen is such a joy. He is kind and generous, especially with his brother. He is protective of his sister. He loves his mom and dad. The things he says these days keep us laughing and pondering (for example, he just asked me why the clouds are gray). He is always unassuming with his talents whether it be his physical feats like riding a bike at three, or mental milestones like when recently learned his letters and their sounds from watching this over the last two months (sidenote: totally recommend this to any preschool aged kid!), and this morning painted his first words (Ashen and Torin) totally unprompted by me...in fact, I have no idea how he knows how to write their names since I have not practiced writing with him. He has a very deep and mysterious soul--it is a delight to know him better every year.