Happy 4th!

Caleb turned four this past week. He was pretty excited for his big day. The biggest excitement for him was that he finally got to go to Children's Worship and not the nursery at church for the first time on his birthday! (That was the thing he told almost everyone when they asked him how old he was and what was so special about being four.) He chose a fish cake this year (much to my delight) which was a nice easy one to design and put together. He enjoyed getting the mail all week and lining up his unopened cards and packages on the piano. Because we had to sing on worship team that morning, he waited to open his gifts and cards until after church. He settled into his little lounge chair with his feet up (thanks, Gomolkas!) and took his pretty time ripping every piece of paper off the envelopes and the gifts.

He did eventually get through his pile of cards and gifts and was one spoiled little boy! After the gift opening we headed to Mark & Jill's house to hang out with them that night and the next day. The kids all seemed to enjoy the relightable candle a little bit more than Isaac and his friends did for his birthday. ;-) I included two of our attempts at a group pix of the kids so you can appreciate what we (actually Jill) was able to catch on camera: Both boys got spoiled since this was our time to celebrate Isaac's birthday with them as well.
The next day we spent most of the morning outside playing frisbee and ball and riding bikes/trikes in the street. That afternoon Mark spent a couple hours taking the boys' pictures (thanks a bunch, Mark!!!). The shoot was uneventful other than the ants that swarmed Maddie's feet and legs when she stood for too long in a mass of them.

I can't believe Caleb is four already. It seems like only yesterday that we were trying to force-feed him and get him to sleep throughout the night. When I first typed his name on this post, my fingers kept typing the wrong spelling of his name which reminded me of the few different names he was called as a baby (mainly because his brother and friends had a hard time getting out his name): Ca-yeb (by Isaac), Cable (a little friend Isaac's age), K-Love (by a little boy whose family regularly listens to the Christian radio station).

Happy Birthday, Caleb! You definitely keep our lives interesting. We are thankful that God has blessed us with your independent and spirited personality these past four years. Thanks for all the laughs and joy you bring to our lives daily!