Josiah's 4th Birthday Party

Though his actual birth date is not today, we celebrated Josiah's 4th Birthday today. He invited all six of his friends from school over to play with sidewalk chalk and riding toys. Four of his friends were able to come, and those kids had a blast playing together! Kameron and Josiah riding in the red car. Those boys are best buddies.
Our driveway full of fun.

Another view of the driveway with the party underway!

Josiah and Kameron decided they were tired. They climbed into the tree house and sprawled out to rest! Too funny.

Josiah requested an orange cake. (Actually, orange and black, but orange and blue was easier for me to do...he seemed 100% pleased with it!) He wanted dinosaurs on it, but the dinos we found were too big to fit on the cake, so we stood them all around the cake! He loved it. He chose a chocolate cake and I made homemade buttercream icing to go on it. (Disclaimer: I am NOT a cake decorator, nor do I claim to be! I simply had fun making a cake for my little man that met his specifications.) :)

I also made some chocolate iced cupcakes to be sure there was enough for everyone. Here's the whole gang, minus some moms who were standing near me. We had Lexi, Kameron, Mackenzie, Josiah, Brady, and Ava. Fun crew!

The wind blew Josiah's candles out. He was satisfied with that as he seemed to have no desire to do it himself. He was very pleased with his cake, surrounded by dinosaurs. :)

As Josiah opened his gifts, he paused between each one to admire each new toy. It was priceless. He'd toss the unopened card to the side, open the package, and spend several moments admiring the toy. All the moms loved it, and I was pleased because each gift was truly appreciated.

Josiah opening the gift from Kameron.

Then Josiah disappeared. We found him in the living room, sprawled out, surrounded by new toys. He was totally enjoying them! The other moms got a kick out of this, too. Good thing we opened presents last, or he would have spent his entire time in the living room instead of outside with his friends. ;)

It's so hard to believe that he is almost 4 years old. I am so proud of him. He has a loving heart and is sensitive to others. He is good with his hands and likes to build things and put things together, like legos and star wars toys. He loves to gives hugs and I love to be the recipient of those cuddles he hands out through the day! He is a smiley, happy kid who rolls readily with the punches. He can write his own name really well and without prompting. He can count to ten in Spanish and twenty in English. He has known his entire alphabet for quite some time, but he now knows all the phonics that go with each letter, too. He is an eager learner and a good listener in a group setting. He entertains himself well with his toys, and likes to help out around the house. He is a sweetie, and we are so thankful for him. He has a well child check up later this week. I measured him here at home, and I think he's about 37 1/2 lbs (67%) and 41.4 in tall (79%). He's a handsome little fellow! Happy Birthday, Josiah.

And, last Thursday night Mackenzie learned to ride a two-wheeled bike! She was extremely frustrated to discover that she could not learn it on the first attempt. She came inside and cried. I sat with her and we talked. It was a wonderful conversation! We talked about her personality and how she likes to get things right the first time around. I talked to her at length about how it's okay to fail, as long as you get back up and try again. Lots of things in life take practice, and that's okay. I also told her stories about when I learned to ride a bike, so many years ago. The conversation was much more in depth than that, but suffice to say that by the time we were finished talking, she was ready to go back out and get back on the bike. I was so proud of her! She kept right on practicing until she did it. I am thankful she did not give up after that first attempt. She talked about how she knows kids younger than her who can ride a two-wheeler, and since she's a first grader now, she wants to do first grade things, like be able to ride a two wheeler! Precious conversation. We even talked about how each person has different strengths. Some kids learn to ride quickly, and some kids have to try harder. That's okay. We're all good at something, but not necessarily the same things. That's how God designed it. Use the strengths He gave you, and don't give up.

She got back out there...and she did it!