4 years old already

"I'm a grown up now." My 4-year said the week following his birthday. My 5-year old was happy to correct him. He explained that he's older and he's not a grown up yet, so little brother was definitely not a grown up.

Last year we celebrated with a big cowboy party complete with a horse. How could we top that? A whole petting zoo? At that rate we would be going to Disneyland for his 10th birthday, not to mention his sibling's birthdays. So I stopped trying to come up with a better party.

I made his birthday dinner special with guests that included his grandparents, decorations, cake, games, and presents. The menu was the usual Iowan cuisine of ham, cheesy potatoes, calico beans, and Jello. This hearty meal was followed by a nap by grandpa and the birthday boy cuddling on the couch. Grandma, or Elmo as the grand kids call her, fell asleep on the other couch while my husband gave our oldest a lesson on the Super Nintendo. Mario Brothers made for good birthday fun.

After everyone was refreshed from their rest we ate birthday cake, which was a homemade vanilla cake complete with homemade vanilla frosting and strawberries. The birthday boy had a 3 layer cake all to himself. Each layer was actually made for each one of the kids. The largest bottom layer reserved for the birthday boy.

This sugar induced excitement made tearing into wrapping paper a snap. Weeks before his birthday he proclaimed he wanted a xylophone for his birthday, which I can only thank Curious George for, so his grandparents started off his musical talent with one. Hotwheels cars, a whistle, coloring books, and Legos were also added to his toy collection when we told him to open the front door. "A bike!" He exclaimed as he opened the door jumping around. The Spider-Man bike was ridden around the living room even after the guests departed.

As evening fell on his birthday the kids put their pajamas on and we drove to the drive-in movies to enjoy The Beauty and The Beast. The birthday boy seemed to enjoy making blanket nests around our mini van better than the movie.

His birthday didn't need horses or cowboy hats. It just needed all of us together doing our normal things like eating and napping with a little extra frosting.