Birthday Boy!

Happy Birthday to my little Beaver today!

We celebrated tonight with a chocolate chip cookie cake, since Beaver wanted candles to blow out, but he is not actually very fond of cake.

Candles lit for the birthday song.

Blow them out!

Present time!

Beaver requested that I take pictures of him in various poses with his presents.

Bear joined in the fun.

T-shirt from G&G

Beaver spent the day trying to grasp the concept of turning four years old.  As we walked back from the bus stop this morning, he asked me, "Am I four?"  "Yes!  It's your birthday and now you are four years old!" I told him.  "No, I am still three, because I don't have any balloons yet." he declared.  As the day went on, he kept asking, "Is my birthday starting yet?"  Mike came home early to have dinner with us and to be there for Beaver's birthday celebration.  Now that he has blown out his candles and opened his presents, I think that he feels he really is four years old at last!

A few things about my boy in honor of his birthday:

Beaver really likes watching TV.  His favorite movie is How to Train Your Dragon (hence, the t-shirt). He often quotes lines from that movie, and others, and cracks up just thinking about them (I'm okay!  Less okay...).  I can't say that I am thrilled about this passion of his, but there it is.  I just try to temper it as well as I can.  He also likes sports, yogurt, motorcycles, snuggling with his "bah" while sucking his thumb, play fighting, wrestling, racing, hide-and-seek, animals, Diego, Backyardigans, and reading stories.  He has a goofy sense of humor and raucous laugh that we love.

Two funny things he said today: 

I was visiting a friend and Beaver kept interrupting us.  I told him repeatedly that he was interrupting.  Finally he said, in exasperation, "Mommy!  I am not interrupting because I am not a volcano!"

Mike was speaking Japanese throughout our dinner.  He said to Beaver, "Tabemasho!" (let's eat!).  Beaver responded, "Tabemasho, ne!"  This cracked us up, but it is only funny if you understand a bit of Japanese, so William (and maybe Samantha, too), if you read this you can laugh.

Beaver's birthdays are always bittersweet to me.  I just hate seeing my baby grow up.  And so, for remembrance sake, here is Beaver through the years:

Oh, little boy, how we love you!