A "big boy" now

Mason has been going through what I like to call a mid-child-crisis lately. Basically, it involves a lot of whining when things don't go his way, the occasional swift punch to baby brother's stomach, a new ugly rubber-faced frown/grimace he pulls when he gets a scolding, and a lot of acting up whenever I sit down with Bree for school.  So lately we've been really focusing on giving our middle child some much-needed "Mason" time, to let him know how much we love our "big boy." Because he vacillates between wanting all the fun benefits big sister gets, and acting like a baby so he'll get as much attention as Lincoln. So we're trying harder to show him that he's got a pretty cool thing going too.

Turning four was a big step in the right direction.

Because four-year-olds are big. Four-year-olds get dressed and brush their teeth on their own in the morning. They can even make their own breakfast. They can play Lego Star Wars all by themselves. And our four-year-old can be loving and kind to his little brother, making him laugh with raspberry-blowing an funny faces. He can play well with his big sister, even though her idea of playing Hot Wheels is pairing the cars up and marrying them off. He LOVES music and can sing remarkably on-key. He's got amazing hand-eye coordination and a great throwing arm. He can sing the ABC's clearly, where L, M, N, O, and P each make their own distinct appearance.

He loves all things boy, and the quiet little party we had reflected that.

A Cars Pez dispenser from Adam and Heather, with a treasured Lightening McQueen car.

Some awesome metal airplanes from my parents. Cash from Chad's parents. A Hot Wheels car from Bree.

A big book all about trucks from Chad and me.

And Uncle Adam himself, whom Mason idolizes.

All Mason really wanted for his birthday was a train cake with a "pointy thing" (cow catcher, if you will).

It was finished at the last minute, because illness had prevented me from getting it frosted ahead of time. So we literally cut it apart and ate it the minute I was done decorating.

Mason loved it.

And he got to eat the "pointy thing" part of the engine.

Happy birthday, my wonderful big boy.