The Birthday Boy

Benjamin's biggest news, of course, is that he turned 4 years old yesterday. This was the first year that he was really old enough to remember what a birthday is enough to anticipate and be excited about it. He really enjoyed the "royal treatment" as opposed to some past years in which he has been pretty overwhelmed by the whole thing.

At church they sang to him in the "big room" (a children's church time for preschoolers) and then he got to be the helper and pass around the green cup for the offering. (He was pretty pleased with all of this. :) ) After church we got to go to McDonalds (the one with the slides) for lunch. While he was playing he ran over to me several times to tell me breathlessly, "I am having SO much FUN!" When we arrived back home we revealed the Lightning McQueen (from the Pixar movie "Cars") cake I had made him. He loved it! He speared the entire slice with his fork and devoured it in a few big bites!

By the way--to any readers who deal with allergies & gluten free diets--did you know Betty Crocker has a new gluten free line? They have yellow & devils food cake mixes as well as chocolate chip cookie & brownie mixes. The yellow cake was good. It wasn't crumbly like some other brands I've tried. I used powdered egg replacer for the 3 eggs and it worked fine. Just thought I'd share for those of you who might be interested.

Anyway ... after cake he had a great time opening his gifts. Other years this has been a very slow process, sometimes taking some coaxing and prompting. Not this year. He tore into each bag & package with great enthusiasm. He was thrilled to receive many of the Cars characters he didn't have, along with a large play mat with streets & buildings on it (he calls it his "carpet.") He spent the rest of the afternoon happily acting out scenes from the movie and zooming his cars up and down streets. He has also been excited about some new books and puzzles.

At dinner we took turns telling Benjamin how he is a blessing to each of us and what we like about him. It was a sweet time of expressing what Benjamin means to us.

Benj has also been learning and developing new skills. He is in our church AWANA program this year as a "Cubbie." He is learning Bible verses like a pro. It is such a joy to see him hiding God's Word in his heart. He is also becoming such a great helper and big brother. This afternoon I came into the living room from tucking Talia in for her nap and he was sitting next to Leila, who had previously been crying. He was holding a teething toy for her, which she was happily chewing on while gazing lovingly at her brother. Surrounding her were several other toys which Benjamin had brought to her. I was so amazed at his compassion (he didn't let her cry or call for me to make it stop, he helped her himself) and insight (he knew what to give her). What a mature little man!