This Boy is 4

My baby turned 4 today!  At four you are no longer a toddler.  I am no longer the mom of a toddler.  I am not usually a sentimental person, but I am having ALL the feels right now.  This goofy kid came into the world bringing so much joy to our family.

Excuse the painful, hard toothy smile.

Robin has been waiting to be four for months.  He was getting impatient.  Robin would tell anybody who asked (or didn't) that he was going to be four on his birthday.   After so much build up to the big day, it started out a little rocky.

Robin crawled into our bed before 6 am as he tends to do.  We said happy birthday to him.  Robin kindly informed us that he wasn't four yet.  He wouldn't be four until he had had cake with a candle and presents.  I guess all the pressure got to him.

Today was pretty much like any other day.  We all headed out the door, me screaming we needed to leave 5 minutes ago.  Linus baked him muffins the night before.  He had a great day at school and was very excited to work on coloring his bat when we got home.

Dinner was simple, spaghetti and meatballs.  Robin loves meatballs with marinara.  We let him open his presents after dinner so he would have a chance to play with them before bed.  Robin got a city road map rug with cars,  some more small Pokemon action figures, another Pokeball, some Pokemon cards, and a Pikachu lunchbox (complete with floppy ears and a shoulder strap) to carry around all his Pokemon toys.  He was so excited for everything.

Robin likes cake, but what he really likes is vanilla (ba-nilla) ice cream.  Instead of cake, we had ice cream sundaes with gummi bears, mini M & Ms, whipped cream, strawberry sauce, and chocolate sauce.  My parents joined us for dessert.

I love this little boy so much.  I love his little golden curls, the way he squeaks when he says, "Mm hmm."  I love how he has so many snuggles to share, and the way he still grabs my face between both his hands to talk to me or nuzzle my nose.  I love his sense of humor and marvel at the way he processes the world.

The first years of his life were marked by illness and the unknown.  Would he walk?  How significant was the damage to his brain?  These days Robin doesn't walk he runs (and then falls over).  But he always gets right back up.  He loves books and thanks to an app on the Ipad, can read fairly well.  He loves numbers and doing math.  We had to do a lot more direct instruction when it came to pretend play, but now he dresses in costume and lives in the land of make believe with the best of them.  Caspar Babypants is still his favorite musical artist.

I am trying to savor every moment, especially the times where he pretends to be a baby bird hatching or very quietly and sweetly says he's a baby Kindle puggle (he means Echidna puggle) and burrows into us.

I miss my baby Robin bird, but I wouldn't trade this one for anything.
Happy Birthday Robin Hoodie.  May age 4 be as wonderful as you imagined.

Robin and I at the Seattle Children's Theater production of "Go Dog Go" this weekend.