Finally Four

The eagerly-awaited day finally came, and David officially turned four (and I'm finally posting about it).  This birthday was unique in that David was so aware of what was going on and was SO excited about all of it.  Last year when he turned three, he enjoyed his special day, for sure; but his level of enthusiasm was minimal compared with this year!  :)

We kept his birthday dinner simple by just inviting one family over, the Sacras; I didn't have the energy to try to do a bigger party than that (oh, Kevin, the painter, was here for dinner, too; but that's been the norm during the past few weeks as he's worked around here!).  However, despite the lack of a big party, we did have beautiful daffodils on the table as a bright centerpiece (David calls these, "the flowers that smell like Play Doh")...  :)

...and David did get to lick the icing off the beaters--beauty for the eye, beauty for the tongue.
He tried to fit the whole beater in his mouth, but it didn't quite fit.  :)
When I asked David what kind of cake he wanted, he was very specific: chocolate cake...with green icing...and sprinkles...and four dinosaurs on top!  :)
He managed to get the candle blown out by himself as Jeff held the cake for him and we all sang "happy birthday" -- again -- to him.
We enjoyed our company very much.  It was the perfect way to cap off a very special day for a very special boy.  He even got to stay up until almost 11:00 PM that night, a huge treat for him.  :)

Before I sign off, I have to jot down one other thing about David.  Recently, I've noticed that when he wants me to watch him do something, he will say, "Watch me the whole time!"  He's old enough to realize that, unfortunately, my attention sometimes slips away from him by the time he finishes whatever clever thing he was performing for me; and by the time he's done, I'm only paying attention to whatever had occupied me previously.  In this coming year, I pray for the grace to slow down and show him the respect he needs by really focusing on him and helping him to be convinced of how much he means to me by my willingness to stop whatever I'm doing and give him my undivided attention...and when I can't do that immediately, to let him know when I WILL be able to watch him--the whole time!  :)