John Turns 4

We have now hit the wild and wonderful 4's.  We have the wild part down and are constantly working on the wonderful part.  For the most part, the horrible fits are gone and what remains is a child who knows what he wants and will use any means necessary to get it.  Despite how he goes to bed, he always wakes up in a good mood, even if it only lasts for 5 minutes.  I love that he is easier to console and easier to reason with.  It makes for a better day.  He hasn't been 4 for a week and I already love this more than 3.

John was of course spoiled for his birthday.  I'm pretty sure Hans and I would never have to buy our kids presents again and they wouldn't be the wiser as grandparents, great grandparents, and aunts and uncles make sure our children are adequately supplied with the best toys.  Aside from numerous trains (always a hit) the two biggest hits came this year from the grandparents in the form of the Deluxe Roundhouse and a Radio Flyer Scooter.  He loved all of his presents and is still very careful about letting Gus play with them.

John with all of his gifts.

Thank you everyone for making his birthday so special.

For the past 10 months John has been telling everyone that I was going to make him a dragon cake for his birthday.  Not just any dragon, but the Chinese Dragon from Thomas the Train.  I thought he would forget all about the dragon cake and ask for something else when his birthday arrived, but alas he did not.  So, this left me to have numerous nightmares about how to make this cake and what it would look like.  Hans was a big help this year in helping me carve out the head of the dragon.  This was only my third attempt at working with fondant so while I see every mistake, I am proud of the fact that it actually did look like the dragon.

John enjoyed "helping" me make the cake.

When John saw the dragon the morning of his birthday he got so excited he ran from the room to find the Chinese Dragon train.  He brought the train into the room, held it up next to the cake and said, "Let's compare."  And then, "You did a fabulous job, Mommy."  The late night and all the worry was worth it to hear him say he liked the cake.

 Enjoying the first bite.