Our now FOUR YEAR OLD Boy

After a hearty celebration on Saturday, Hunter was pleasantly pleased to find out we'd get to celebrate again on his actual birthday - January 26!!! The four of us went out for a breakfast picnic at 7.15am...  Of course originally Tony and I had thought to go out for breakfast to that not-so-healthy place we sometimes go that starts with the letter M... then I thought to save money and just go to the bakery for something 'special'... in the end it was just our regular cereal with milk and a banana that we ate - but the change of location and the baseball game we played afterward made it truly special (and the sunshine). It was a good lesson for me that we don't always have to spend more or eat something to make an occasion special!

Once we'd finished philosophizing over our views of "special", we came home to unwrap a few gifts that we'd saved for the day - the ones from us and the grandparents!

 

 I got the idea for the car track after watching Hunter spin his creative wheels at his friend's house the other day... I knew 4 was his year to get into cars... and boy was I glad I chose this simple one! He/they LOVE it!!! (As well as the Cars stuff from CA, the book with CD and coloring stuff from Auckland and the "Marbleous" sets from Christchurch - thanks everyone for the great gifts!!!)

Tony headed into work but we weren't too far behind. After morning tea, we took a trip into town on the train to meet baba!!! Our buddy Thomas was spending the day with us so all three kids had a blast...

 The ticket collector on this trip was very experienced (though he was quite young)... he gave me three individual tickets that amounted to the fare required (even though only 2 of us were paying customers- does that make sense?)... he said he saw the three kids and figured they'd all want a ticket! Boy was he smart!

Once we made it to town, we walked up Featherston Street and met Tony outside his office. The motley crew headed over to the waterfront where we picked up celebratory ice-blocks (popsicles) and headed to the Frank Kitts Park to play on what was an absolutely stunning Wednesday afternoon!!!

 

 All of the kids love this huge slide here... it's heaps of fun and Hunter FLIES down it at mach speed!!! Unfortunately we had to say good-bye to Tony - well, he had to say good-bye to us first. We stayed and ate our lunch (I know, ice blocks before lunch... I've changed!), tried to fly a kite, then headed back to the train station.

 

 

 I chose to walk along the waterfront, though I must admit I was freaked out much of the time with water on both sides of us. Thankfully Helena was securely fastened in her stroller, it was just Tommy and Hunter who were potential water hazards. In my freaky-outy-ness, I did happen to notice our reflection in the restaurant window so I made us all sit down in order to capture the moment (or was it just to catch my breath after telling the boys continuously to be careful). I did try pretty hard to get a shot that didn't make it look so obvious that I was taking the photo but you can see that Helena's stroller is a bit further from me than I would've parked her... when she started wandering backwards I knew it was time to just move on - photo or not!!!

Back at the station we waited patiently for our Johnsonville train to arrive. My little four year old was pretty tired by this time but the promise of watching Cars upon return was enough to keep him going til we got home. He did get to watch his movie and he did get to eat his dinner on his special birthday plate (thanks Aunt Amber and Uncle Jason) and all in all - it was a pretty rockin' birthday!!!

Our four year old boy is someone special. He is an encourager. He is inquisitive - always asking 'why' (I think all kids do this but gee when it's you getting asked over and over and over you begin to think your kid is especially inquisitive). He loves to laugh. He loves to wrestle. He loves his sister. He wants to be a baby again, though he insists he's a big boy now. He's an excellent scooter-er. He thrives on time with other people. He's a good host. He's got a loud voice - a really loud voice. He's got amazing brown eyes that could trap you if you'd let them. He's a pretty good little helper. He loves soup, chinese food, pizza, apples, pears, milk, plain toast (with something on it), cheese, pancakes, cereal (not porridge), chocolate cake. He has an incredible memory for places and events. He can watch Thomas episodes over and over and over and over. He loves to play games. He likes colored baths. He loves red and blue. He loves to drink water. He likes to play with trains, cars, lego/duplo. He's an avid book looker. He turned his birthday cards into "computers" on which he sent emails to his friends. He loves the sandpit at Kindy. He prefers to play with toys than actually swim in the pool or the sea when at the beach. He likes to sleep with Lamby. He sucks his thumb. He takes an asthma preventative med two times a day. He still likes to ride on the back of Tony's bike. He is friendly. He gives good hugs. He likes to sit on my lap still. He kisses his baba. He sometimes just sings songs to himself. He likes to listen to stories on cd. He asks questions about death, dying and Jesus. He prays for his friends. He still asks about friends in Taiwan. He likes to look at our blog. He's starting to not always tell the truth. He is learning how to obey and respect and honor. He is not our boy. He is a gift. He is on loan from heaven. He is a great responsibility. He is good soil. He is loved. He is now four.