4 Years Old...I can't believe it!

Tyson is officially four years old...once again, where has the time gone? I was looking at pictures and video clips the other day when he was just a baby. At that time I remember wishing he was a little older so that we could play together. Well, that time is here and now I find myself missing my baby. It has been a wonderful four years and I love him more than words could ever express! He is full of so much energy and yet he still has that tender side that just makes my heart melt! He tells me all the time that he loves me and showers me in hugs and kisses, I LOVE IT!!!

I really try hard not to cry in front of him, but I will admit that there have been times for various reasons that I just couldn't control the tears. He so lovingly will stroke my back, arm or leg and tells me that "it's okay, Mom, it's alright..." and then he will give me a great big hug. He sits right with me and the look of love and concern in his eyes for me is simply Christlike. There is nothing better than to know that my son deeply and unconditionally loves and cares for me as I do for him!!! Tyson is such a blessing in my life. Whenever I am having a hard day I can always count on Tyson to make me smile!

Now that he is the big "4" he loves to help with everything. Anything from pulling weeds, unloading the dishwasher, folding the laundry, vacuuming, to helping with whatever Karissa needs. I'm sure he would even attempt changing her diaper if I let him.

He is also great at reminding me to do things...
"Mom, do you have your wallet?", before we leave for the store.
"We need to read the scriptures and say a prayer!", before bed.
"I need a bath tonight, Mom!"

Everything he does is, "Let ME do it!" It's good for him to be more independent, but sometimes it is just so much easier for me to just "get'r done"! I have to really restrain myself and just step back and let him do it. He finds such joy and a great sense of accomplishment when he has completed something. It's good for his self esteem!

Tyson was SOOOO excited for his birthday this year! I decorated the living room the night before so he would be surprised when he woke up. He LOVED it! He got to choose what he wanted mom to make him for his special day and he wanted "pancake balls", or ableskievers (not sure of the spelling). Of course half the fun of having ableskievers for breakfast is licking the powdered sugar off your plate, so he did a lot of that.





Later that morning we went with grandma and grandpa to the mall where Tyson and I rode the little train. He had been waiting for months to go for a ride on the train. We told him that he could on his birthday. It was so fun to see his excitement the entire ride! After that grandpa took him to ride the carousel (mom and dad can't handle spinning rides), then for another ride on the train and finally over to the play area to play with the kids while grandma and mom did a little birthday shopping for her. He had so much fun! Thanks grandpa (Doug) for making his day extra special!




Ben was supposed to cook me dinner for my birthday that night but he ended up coming home late so he brought take-out instead...Italian food, YUMMY! We barely got finished eating before family started to arrive for Tyson's little party. One of his gifts was a Nerf dart gun and I have never seen him get so excited over a toy before! That was definitely his favorite!


Tyson's very own slot car track. Daddy's is a little too big to set up in the house very often but this one is the perfect size.


Can you tell that he loves books?

The generic transformer cake, but Tyson loved it!


About a week and a half later Ben and I threw him a "friend" birthday party. He insisted on a Transformer theme so that is what we did. I made him a Optimus Prime cake, that actually turned out pretty well for my first time attempting a buttercream transfer. I put together a Transformer bingo game that we gave out for party favors (found the idea on-line), decorated, yet again, and invited five friends. There are quite a few kids Tyson's age in our ward but there is NO WAY we could have accommodated more than five other kids in our living quarters!


THE CAKE!!! It was kind of fun mixing all the colors, although I couldn't bring myself to eat the frosting. Black frosting just isn't appetizing!

Tyson had SOOOO...much fun! Ben made a pinata for the kids but ended up making it somewhat "kid proof". All the boys loved to take their turn in attempting to spill the enclosed treasures. Ben ended up cutting it open when the kids were starting to lose interest. I was amazed at how quiet it got once they had the candy. (You can see part of Ben's pinata in the picture).

Overall Tyson had a great day. He kept getting confused though when someone would ask how old he was. After all, you do turn one year older with every birthday and since he had two this year he figured he was five years old.