4 Years Old!!!

My goodness. My boy is getting so darn old. And he had a heck of a day. He woke up VERY early. His body is very ready for daylight savings to kick in tonight. Fortunately, his Grandma and Poppy were here to wake up with him and enjoy his company. I got up with the baby... And by the time I got down to see the big boy, he was hopping excited about opening gifts and having a party. By the time Randy got up, Cam got to open two gifts: A new backyard play tent (and it's huge and awesome) and a new set of kid-sized golf clubs. Those two gifts helped Cam stay busy running around outside all morning long.

By the way, God gave him the most perfect day outside. It was in the 70's and sunny. A slight breeze made it just perfect to enjoy the day outside.

After nap (and I have no idea how I talked him into to a nap... And he could only rest for an hour, he was so excited) he finally got to open the rest of his presents. He has new movies, cool Incredibles clothes, new T-ball gear, magnetix, a fire truck, clock, a bunch of Buzz Lightyear stuff... the list goes on. Another very cool gift he opened near the end of the day: A new bike that will help him learn how to ride a bike without training wheels. It's hard to explain and I'll post more about it another time.

Anyway. I worry about the excess... Cam got so much stuff. He said thank you... He soaked in the joy of gift opening. He got a little whiny. He wanted and wanted and wanted. But what do you expect when you're 4 and you're living the good life with so many family and friends who want to give you things. I actually really restrained myself this year on the gifts. I did spend many, many hours preparing for his party - including decorations for our home, at Chuck-E-Cheese's and his party that is planned at his school on Monday. He wanted a Little Einstein's party... And they don't make pre-made decorations. So I got crafty and made decorations myself. I also found a few things on eBay to help me.

So we did the Chuck-E-Cheese thing. It is a silly place. Cam got a little birthday cake and a song sang to him. But the coolest thing? His friend Eric came to the party. They had a blast togther. It was so great to see them happy and playing. His Mom and I got them to pose for a cool picture that looks like a sketch. I included it here because it is so sweet.

After the crummy pizza and insane children (we had 8 kids at the party), we all returned to our house to let the kids play outside, the adults ate real pizza (Shakespeare's!!) and the kids ate birthday cake (the big people ate some eventually).

I'm exhausted. Cam was exhausted. I think all the kids who came to the party were exhausted. There was a lot of running... Not a lot of crying or injuries. It was fun to see the kids having a ball. I also feel like my hard work was worth it. My kid and my friends' kids had a lot of fun. That's why we do this, right?