Happy 4th Owen!

On Nov. 29th Owen turned 4! Wow, he had been waiting for that day for a year. Even his preschool teacher told me the day before his birthday, "He has been asking us every single week all year if it was his birthday yet, every Monday when we go over the week's birthdays." He pretty much walked around saying, "My name is Owen, and my birthday is November 29th." I found it kind of funny that he was so matter-0f-fact about it the day AFTER his birthday. Now whenever anyone mentions his birthday he tells them very seriously, "My birthday is over now." I suppose he has another entire year of anticipation ahead now.

I swear I usually limit the sugar intake for the boy, for fear of dire consequences, but on his special day I took him for his free Kids Club cupcake at Barnes & Noble. It was extremely rich, and he only ate a small part (and the rest of it was on his face and coat), and then made a face like he might be sick. We spent some time at the train table and Lego table in the store. He likes to build very tall towers. There was a little girl building too, and she built a very stable, low to the ground structure. Owen looked at hers and said, "Mine is taller." I thought that perhaps that is a good study in gender differences. His was definitely taller, but hers was built to last. Not to worry, when his fell over, he liked it even more.

And the Little Man finally fulfilled his year-long dream of going to Chuck E. Cheese. It had been many years since I had set foot in a CEC. I have some bad memories of them. But the commercials sucked him in, and it was all he wanted to do (OK, he probably mentioned a dozen other ideas too, but he always came back to CEC). We decided to make it low-key, however, and so we just kept it a family party. I was feeling some guilt about that, as Owen is so social and so aware of the whole party scene. Even the day before his party he was counting off all his preschool friends on his fingers and telling me they would all be at his party. guilt...guilt...guilt... That said, it ended up a wonderful idea to limit the party, I think. It was a Tuesday night, the place was virtually empty, and all 3 of the kids had a great time having the run of the place. They played every game with no wait, and even the noise level was completely acceptable - even for me. They had pizza and played, and had a great time. Then it was done. No mess, no completely-fried-from-too-much-stimulation boy. Wonderful. At least for me. Owen probably still wishes his friends had come.

Then we came home and had a little Superhero cake. A little! Don't even ask why we have a 1/2 sheet cake for a party of 5. Let's just say that I was a little scattered when I ordered it. Wow, that was a big cake. It sits here still.

And what can I say about my big 4 year old. He's a wonderful boy, still so full of life and love and energy. He's still a mover and a shaker, and is always out to make friends. Even when Aunt Amy arrived at the airport for her visit, he ran up to her and said, "Hi, my name's Owen, what's yours?" even though he knew who she was. He still makes me laugh and smile every day. I still get lost in those beautiful down-turned eyes that are the most magical color - blue in pictures, but in the sunlight you can see so many different colors - golden flecks, greenish flecks. Is that called hazel? I'm not sure. Just like the boy, the eyes have so many beautiful layers. Just perfect.