Nathan's Fourth Birthday

In anticipation for his birthday, Nathan tried hard to be good. His only request was that we acknowledge he'd be turning 6 and not 4. Not wanting to lie, I would simply nod and then state all of the great things about being 4. The reason that seemed to catch his attention was that he would get to stay home with me one more year before starting kindergarten :) Truly I am honored.

Nathan's greatest anxiety on his birthday was that he didn't feel like he'd grown enough. We all tried to soothe this fear by listing all of his BIG accomplishments such as successfully using the toilet and being able to knock on the neighbor's door all by himself. This has become a boost to his ego since he now feels enabled to disappear next door without asking or telling me where he's going.

So, after much discussion, worry, and persuasion the big day arrived. Nathan beamed when he awoke to birthday greetings. He basked in the lime-light of his day. The worries subsided as he clung to the festivities.

We treated Nathan to his favorite breakfast: Pancakes. To make it more special Ray covered the entire pancake with whipped cream. Nathan was Happy!

We had planned a fun birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. Nathan had never been and wasn't too sure about going. He only was willing to get in the car because Emmy was riding with us. However, when we walked through the front door, Nate's expression said, "I Love This Place!". He was in little boy heaven. He enjoyed all of the games, the show, the rides, and the tickets. He has been relentless in trying to commit me to another play date with Chuck E. Cheese.
The highlight of my day was seeing all of my children gathered round Nathan to help him put his Lego set together. It was really cute.
Surprisingly, the boy who HATES pink, demanded a pink cake. So, I came up with a strawberry chocolate bundt cake with chocolate ganache frosting. It was sooo yummy that I was happy he'd begged for a pink cake :) With the cutting and eating of cake the knowledge that one's special day will soon be over. As a pretty smart guy, Nathan knew that eating birthday cake accompanies nighttime which signals the end of a wonderful day. With this realization, Nate asked if we would promise to have a fun birthday for him next year. No problem Nathan!
This is a re-take because the first pictures didn't turn out...and then the battery died...so Nathan was delighted to blow out candles twice, but first I had to sing "Happy Birthday" to him :)