Gove's Birthday

Gove's fourth birthday was a couple of weeks ago. We took him to Peter Piper Pizza for lunch and a little party with his family. He had a great time. He was so excited to go to Peter Piper - we drive past it on the way to Trader Joe's - he has wanted to go in and eat pizza and play the games for a long time. On the way there he kept asking, "Will there be boy games?" He was happy to see all of the "boy games" and all of the boys had to be reminded to eat before they played. I wish I had a picture of the look on his face when Nolan brought all of the presents in and set them on the table. He was smiling as big as I've ever seen and couldn't take his eyes off the gifts as they made their way from the door to the table. Last year we took him to Amazing Jakes, but Peter Piper was really a lot better suited for a boy his age. It was quiet and more simple. He is hoping to go back for his next birthday.

Gove opening one of his gifts.

The Lincoln Logs Gove has been asking for since Christmas

Gove and the Tiger cake I did not make!

I can't believe my sweet little baby boy is four. This is the first birthday that has made me feel a little melancholy. A couple of days after his birthday, I was taking him, Karson and Ricky to school and they were all talking about how they were going to be five on their next birthday. In my head I was yelling, "No you're not!" He is growing up so fast. He is my oldest, but only by 22 months, so he has been a big brother most of his life. I think about the little two year-old boy who sat patiently on the arm of my chair while I nursed his little brother - he seemed so big then, but he was littler than Max is now. I feel like I missed part of his babyhood because I was so distracted by a demanding baby, and started feeling a little guilty about putting him in the position to be big when he was so little. Then, I took the boys to the park to play and noticed how they were with each other. There were a lot of kids at the park and Gove and Max stuck together. When Max would wander away from Gove, or Gove from Max, they would stop and quickly look for their brother. What I realized was that they felt stronger together than seperate and that they needed eachother. Gove likes having a brother so close to him in age and I shouldn't feel like I was depriving him of my attention because he doesn't care. He likes having Max. He is such a good boy and I am thankful for my sweet Gove.