Four Years Old????

How did this happen?  And why am I so shocked?  I remember when you were a teeny tiny newborn and I thought 4 years seemed so far away and here we are.  You are in preschool now and Kindergarten is just around the corner.  You may as well be graduating, you are so big now.  But, please don't.  If I could freeze you in time right now, I wouldn't hesitate. :)

Stella says, "Mmmmm!"  X-man says, "Thank you Uncle Bubba!"

Daddy helping you read your Birthday card

I am so proud of the little boy you have become.  You are oh-so-sweet, polite and an amazing big brother.  You took care of me so well while I was pregnant with your sister over this last year, making sure both she (you knew you were having a sister long before we did) and I were OK.  You patted my back as I heaved over the toilet during horrible bouts of morning sickness, concerned that your little sister would fall out of my mouth.  I love the way you love...with your whole little being.  It is not unusual for you to jump out of your seat at the table when Gokey drops his cup or spoon on the floor to scoop it up and hand it to him, proclaiming, "here you go, buddy!"  If Jilly Bean starts crying and I can't come to her rescue right away I now walk into the room to find you fighting to hold her tubby little baby body (more than 1/3 of your weight) in your arms trying to soothe her from her tears.  If I wasn't around, there's no doubt that your little brother and sister would be just fine...you are a wonderful surrogate mommy!

And, wow...you are SO smart!  You have spent the entire last year asking every imaginable question possible!  Your favorites are, "what does _______ do?" and "what does _______ mean?"  It's exhausting sometimes, but I try my very hardest to answer every one of your questions, though sometimes you even have me stumped.  And you have a mind like a steel trap!  Nothing escapes you...especially the things I wish would escape you. :) You saw a marshmallow gun at a consignment event back in February and that has been your biggest wish since.  Not one marshmallow gun, but two...so Gokey can have one too.  What 4 year old makes sure that his little brother is accounted for as well?  Or is it just that you have figured out that only one gun would be pretty boring.  Whatever the case, I hope your wish comes true and you get your TWO marshmallow guns since you have been asking for them for nearly 9 months now.   I had thought that the "maybe for your birthday" answer would have helped you to forget about it at the time, instead you held onto that hope with all of your might!

Birthday Cake Bots

Make a Wish!

I hope it comes true... :) 

Oh, and PRESCHOOL!  You LOVE school.  You tell everyone who asks about school that you have to go to learn so you can be an astronaut and fly a spaceship someday.  Today you had your Halloween parade at school and wore that astronaut costume with pride.  A couple of weeks into school, Mrs. Castello commented that you are such a sweet boy!  Didn't surprise me a bit...I already knew it. :) As much as I adore your teachers and love that you are having so much fun and adjusting so well, it kills me a little bit to hear you singing a song or sharing a tidbit of info that I have never heard.  Until this point everything you knew came from me or your daddy and this new stage just means you are taking one more little step toward growing up.  You are doing it so beautifully and making it look so easy...a little too easy.





So...with a tear...made up of a LOT of joy and a little bit of heartbrokenness too...I wish you the HAPPIEST of Birthdays!  Four.years.old...how did that happen?  I love you, X-man!

My little man, just minutes old...shouldn't have blinked :)