Truman's Fourth Birthday!

It is hard for me to wrap my brain around, but for the past week we have had a four year old boy at our house!  Truman's fourth birthday was a big one for him.  For weeks before Audrey's birthday he was talking about his birthday and telling me all about the party he was going to have.  This little man of ours was excited to turn four.

On Thursday, November 7, Truman's preschool had a Chuck E. Cheese night and Truman really wanted to go.  We weren't doing a big party this year so as part of his gift we took the family to Chuck E. Cheese for dinner and lots of game playing.  Truman got an extra 100 tickets because it was his birthday and had a great time playing with all of his friends.  I, however, forgot the camera and do not have a single picture of the event, which is doubly sad because it was also Genevieve's first (real) trip to Chuck E. Cheese.  

I do, however, have these awesome pictures taken on the rides at Chuck E. Cheese.  So in memory of the night, here are my three babies, starting with the birthday boy.

Friday, November 8, Truman woke up to some simple, yet perfect decorations put up in his honor.  Matt and I prepped everything the night before so that we could all enjoy Truman's big day.  It had been a busy week and I was determined not to be so busy on Truman's birthday.

We had a big family breakfast together of homemade angel biscuits and gravy.  This is one of Truman's favorite breakfasts so we got up a little earlier than usual so we could all share it with him.

Truman wore the birthday crown he got from preschool all day.

After breakfast Matt left for work, we got Audrey off to school, and I cleaned up a little.  Soon, the doorbell rang and Truman ran to answer it.

It was Sister Wilkins!  Truman's Sunbeam teacher!  She brought him a gift and stayed for a little visit.  Truman was so excited to see her and open his gift.  It was some very cool Hot Wheels cars that he has played with quite a lot since he received them.

We all love Sister Wilkins in this house and were happy to have her visit.  She is a wonderful teacher and Truman adores her.  She also brought us a loaf of homemade bread.  On Sunday we all sat and ate almost the entire loaf for our Sunday dinner with butter and jam.  It was delicious!

After Sister Wilkins left we went to the library for story time.  Truman wore his crown and Miss Erika had everyone sing "Happy Birthday" to the boy.  He thought it was pretty neat to have everyone sing to him and enjoyed story time.

The rest of the day we ran a few errands and played and waited for Matt go get home.

All day Truman kept asking when he would get to open his presents.  It was hard to wait until after dinner, but he did.

Finally, Matt got home and we had Truman's special birthday dinner.  He requested spaghetti and meatballs, corn, french bread, and chocolate birthday cake.  I also made strawberry lemonade because I knew he would love that.

Dinner was a casual affair and we all ate in our jammies.  Truman really wanted a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse birthday so we had Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cups and napkins.  After dinner it was finally time to open presents.

Grammy and Grandpa sent a Monsters University DVD and some money for Truman's college account.

From Audrey and Genevieve he got a Skull Island play set.

Mom and Dad were sensible and got him a bike helmet--Spider-Man, as requested.

Genevieve tried wearing it too, and although it might seem like a good fit, it was a bit large for her.

Grandma and Grandpa sent a very cute sweater that is perfect for Sundays.

They also sent a Thomas train toy and a gift certificate to Target.  Truman was jealous of Audrey's gift certificate that she got for her birthday, so Grandma and Grandpa made sure he got one too.  A purchase has yet to be made with it, but nary a day goes by that I'm not asked to make a trip to Target.

After all of the gift-opening Truman allowed us to have birthday cake.  I made the cake the night before and was pleased with how it turned out.  I had planned on just buying a Mickey shaped pan and decorating it with stars, but I saw this on the Disney Junior website and thought I could probably manage it.  Truman really wanted a Clubhouse cake and I wanted to give him one.

We sang "Happy Birthday" and he blew out the four candles he and Audrey had placed on the cake.

I guess blowing out the candles made his four years official.  

A few days before his birthday Truman came and asked me if he would be four at the beginning of his birthday or after his birthday.  I guess Audrey had been talking about not really being a year older until the time you were born.  He was worried that he was going to have to wait until the end of the day (or next day) to be four.  I told him he was born in the morning and would be four when he woke up.  I guess technically he wasn't four until 9:45 A.M., but in my book the time doesn't really matter.  I thought it was very cute how concerned he was.

This is how the cake started.  I traced the pattern onto the frosting and then piped the colors into each section.  It was pretty simple and I was pleased with how it turned out.  Most importantly, Truman thought it was pretty great.

Then we all ate his yummy chocolate birthday cake.

After the birthday cake it was time to take all of those great gifts out of their packages and play!

Soon, we put Genevieve to bed and settled down for our last birthday activity of the night.  We popped some real popcorn with real butter and salt and let the kids choose a few Halloween candies to eat.  Then we all snuggled up with our four year old Truman and watched Dumbo together.

Our last surprise of the night came after the movie, after scriptures and prayers, and after teeth were brushed.  We told the kids that the next week we were going to Great Wolf Lodge!

Instead of doing a big party this year, we spent our money on that.  I think it ended up costing less or about the same as a party would have cost and was infinitely less stressful.  Next year I'm sure we'll have do do parties again.  The kids are already talking about them.  But this year it was awfully nice to go on trips instead.  

I had worried that Truman would be disappointed about not having a party this year.  He had been planning it and telling me about what he wanted and who he was going to invite for months and months.  I broke the news to him gently and told him we could do a small family party and have a big surprise instead of a big party for friends.  Luckily, this boy is easy to please and thought that sounded like a great idea.  So Matt and I booked our trip and finalized all of the details.

It was a little hard for the kids to go to bed right after being told about the Great Wolf Lodge trip, but eventually we managed to get out of their rooms and they passed out, ending Truman's birthday for the time being.  Luckily, we had another weekend of fun planned for the family in honor of Truman turning four.

I think Truman had a great fourth birthday and that it's one he'll never forget.

Truman Celebrates His Birthday at Preschool

On Wednesday, November 6, Truman celebrated his fourth birthday at preschool.  He was very excited for this particular celebration because he got to bring a special treat for his class.  For weeks Truman has been telling me he wanted to bring lollipops to preschool.  As the date got closer I started asking him what kind of lollipop he wanted to bring.   I soon realized that he didn't want to bring lollipops, he wanted to bring popsicles.  This summer we had some Otter Pops and Truman really liked them.  We don't often have popsicles at our house because I don't care for them and don't think to buy them all that often.  Anyway, the Otter Pops made a big impression on Truman and he really wanted those for his preschool birthday.

A few days before Truman's celebration we found out that one of the boys in his class was going to be out of town for his celebration the week after Truman's.  As a result, it was decided that both boys would celebrate on the same day.

 I tried to get back early enough to get pictures of Truman blowing out his candles, but I had to stop to put on Genevieve's shoes and socks before we came in so I ended up barely missing it.  But I was there for most of the snack time.

 Truman told me he was going to pick a green crown because that's his favorite color.  I love that his preschool does little things like let the kids pour their own drinks at snack time.  It really builds their confidence and skills.

 They also get to dish out their own snacks whenever possible.  We decided that in addition to the popsicles, we would also bring Goldfish.  Alastair brought fruit and cupcakes.

Both birthday boys and Lilly.  Truman really likes Lilly.  The other day he told me he had a big problem.  The problem was that he didn't know if he should marry Lydia or Lilly.  I thought it was so cute.  I told him he has lots of time and doesn't need to worry about that now.  Both of those girls are his good friends.  He really likes them and gets along well with them. 

 I think all 13 kids were there that day.

 Pastor Meeker came over from the church next door and visited with the kids during snack time.  He does this pretty often and all of the kids know him.  Truman often talks about him and tells me how he lives in the church.  He also tells me how Pastor Meeker's church is really big.  He's very nice and very good with the little ones.

 The popsicles were a hit!  Truman was so pleased with them.

While I was waiting I took some pictures of this wall of cute hands.  Truman told me all about how his teacher painted his hands one day.  He told me I would be "really surprised" by what he had to tell me.  That boy cracks me up.  I love these little hand prints and I'm sure they'll come home at the end of the year in Truman's portfolio.

 Genevieve made herself at home in the imaginary play section of the school.  It's a house right now and she loved playing with all of the dishes.  I think Genevieve is ready for preschool already.  She loves it there and I think I could leave her and wouldn't hear a peep out of her.  It's a good thing because I'm planning on starting her next year if all goes as planned.

A few minutes before school ended the kids went outside and played.  Truman loves this tire swing!  I don't know if he loves swinging in it or pushing other kids more.

 I so love this sweet boy.  And I'm so glad I had a couple more days with him as a three year old.

We'll have lots more 4th birthday celebrations to come!