Trip turns 4!

I still cannot believe that my first-born is FOUR now! How did that happen? We had such a wonderful day yesterday. Thank you to all of our friends and family for celebrating with us from near and far. Trip had a great day. He started off the morning with his breakfast of choice...pancakes! And, he got to open his presents from Pitty and Grumpa. I don't know which he liked more, his very own Calvin and Hobbs books or the race car that Grumpa had to put together for him. I don't think Grumpa quite realized what he'd gotten himself into when he picked the gift out. After lunch, Kaki and Grandad arrived, and Trip got to open more presents. He was so excited about his big bin of dinosaurs! I was shocked that Trip actually slept when Kaki put him down for his nap, but glad, because I think it helped him enjoy his party even more. Kaki came with me to help set up and everyone else followed about 30 minutes later. The party was so much fun. Trip loved being with all of his friends. They played in and out of the playground until dinner was served. We had 13 kids and about 17 adults! We took over Chick-fil-a! Trip loved his dinosaur cake; he requested to eat the head, which was just a big clump of icing! Then, the Chick-fil-a cow came out and hung out with the kids for a while. They loved it! We even had a Santa sighting! There was this sweet older man, who looked just like Santa eating a few tables away from the party area. I bet he probably works as Santa somewhere this time of year, but all the kids were sure it was him, even though they were a little thrown by the lack of a bright, red suit. Once we got home, there were still more presents to open. Our living room looked like it had been hit by a tornado. Trip was up until about 11 pm the night before his birthday and then he stayed up until about midnight the night of his birthday. He was just so excited and had so much fun, he could not settle down and fall asleep. We all know he gets that from his Dad!

We finished off the weekend of fun with our church's kids' Christmas program this morning. Trip was supposed to dress up as a cow and be a part of the kids choir. I got him in the costume, which was actually much easier to do than I expected. But, that was as good as it got. He watched the play from Daddy's lap, never once setting foot on the stage. Oh well! Mady will be the star next year when she is old enough. :-) In fact, she tried to go up on stage a few times today. She can be the center of attention and Trip can be the one in charge behind the scenes.

Being Trip's mother the last four years has blessed my life in so many ways. Sure, it's not been all sunshine and roses, but I thank God every day for him, even when he doesn't want me to be his mommy anymore. His sweet and innocent way at looking at the world helps me remember to slow down and appreciate every moment, big and small. I still remember the night he came into our world, how crazy and scary it was. I remember those first few days at home, that seemed to last an eternity. I remember wanting to throw him out the window because I couldn't get him to stop crying and I remember just staring at him as he slept in my arms, watching his sweet little chest move up and down with each soft breath. Mostly, I remember being so amazed that God chose this perfect, little boy to be mine (and TJ's) forever. Thank you, God!