Happy 4th Birthday, Sweet George!

It is hard to believe that not so long ago, our Georgie was the baby of our family!  Now he is a big boy - a good big brother, a clever, imaginative fellow and a complete delight to all of us! 

 He can be a total ham bone - making us all laugh with his antics!

 I call him my little naturalist, because he just LOVES being outdoors, collecting things like rocks, feathers, leaves and sticks.  He love nature and studying all about animals - but he is still terrified of dogs and any big animals.

 His big brown eyes are enough to melt any heart.  Combine that with his dimples, that adorable straight-line grin and his humorous, continuous speech...and he is quite the charmer!

 While George happily plays with Jack (and sometimes Joe) all day long, he is also our best kid for playing on his own and needing very little interaction from us.  His imagination is enormous and he can create all sorts of worlds and stories and characters out of anything...carrot sticks on his plate, his fingers and of course all of his beloved Hot Wheels, planes and trains.

 Here is an example.  Having a dogfight in the midst of bubbles!

 He can also be very serious when he is focusing on something new.  He has recently begun to blossom with artistic skills and has found lots of joy lately in drawing all sorts of silly faces and going through reams of paper!

 He loves to spend hours outdoors, exploring nature.  He and Jack often pretend they are the Kratt Brothers.

George is really a bright, bright boy.  He picks up on almost everything we do with Jack for school.  He knows his days of the week, letter sounds, the words to our hymn, and many other things.  He absolutely loves to read and his attention span for even long chapter books is amazing!  Recently he has developed quite a love for poetry - especially poems by Jack Prelutsky.

 He finds joy in just about anything and has a lot of enthusiasm for even the little things in life.

 On Monday, I took him for some one-on-one Mommy time.  At first, he insisted he wanted Jack to come along, too.  But I know he needs some special time, so the two of us went.  In the car he kept saying in the cutest voice, "Just you and me, Mommy...just you and me!"  We played "I Spy", he talked incessantly, asking me lots of questions and we just had a great time.  At the grocery store, he picked out a box of cereal for Jack.  (Always thinking of his brother.)  Then we went to Steak-n-Shake for lunch.  He ordered his favorite:  two mini cheeseburgers, French fries and ketchup (not much has changed since last year!) and a mint Oreo milkshake.

This picture is George in a nutshell:  :-) 

Today for his actual birthday, we went to our favorite kids' museum.  All three boys had so much fun!  This was the first time we've been since Joe has been mobile, so he had a great time. 

 When we got home, we let him open his big present from us so that he could enjoy it the rest of the day.  We discovered Playmobil history sets and have found a new love in our house!  George got a Viking set with a longboat, battering ram, several Viking men and a tent.  The boys played for HOURS with it and are already talking about saving money for more pieces to add to their collection!

 George has another love:  Curious George!  So, he asked to have a Curious George birthday this year.  It was so fun to do for him, since he is our own curious little monkey!

 This was my first time using fondant for a cake.  It turned out cute and George was thrilled.  (Though eating the fondant was not enjoyed so much!)

 We also played a "pin the birthday hat on Curious George" game...with Daddy, Mommy and Aunt Maddie participating!  It was lots of fun.

 George was happy to receive his own collection of Curious George stories.

 And brothers enjoyed opening some toys, too.

 Our 4-year old!!!

We are so grateful for our George.  He is such a special little boy and we treasure each of the ways he adds to our family.  Thank you, Lord, for our Georgie.  May he grow in stature and wisdom and in knowledge of You in this next year!  

Thank you for all of you who sent gifts, cards, texts and love our way!  George was thrilled!