I seem to be instagraming much more than I’m blogging these days. There are things I like about instagram – I like that I can easily capture moments with a picture and a few words. I like how it forces me to curate down to a single image, rather than posting 100 shots from the same moment. I didn’t like that it wasn’t preserved in my blog-baby-book, which is why I found a way to record these moments here as well. I’m also not sure how I feel about the fact that my phone is winning out over my good camera recently. And I’m not particularly fond of missing the opportunity to tell longer fuller stories about my favorite little guy. I’m sure these habits will continue to grow and change, just like Brendan does.
I have to say… four is pretty great – in fact, it may be the very best age. I know I’ve said it before, but this time I have PROOF. There was a little four year old boy that I met at DeAnza pool when I used to swim there with my friends almost every day in the summer. He was such a sweet and cool little guy. So funny, so full of life and play – even though we were 10 years older, he made our days more fun. His name was James, and I remember him to this day. Now that I have my own four year old, I can say that he is all of the things I loved about James and more. He is on that cusp between baby and kid – still so sweet and innocent with no embarrassment, just wonder. Still very little sass, but starting to have his own ideas on what is cool – on what he wants to do and wear – what he wants to learn about. We took him to see “Inside Out” the other day – and as a personal aside, I literally laughed and cried my way through the movie – but it caused him to think about memories and emotions. What great talks we have had since that movie. It gave him a language to talk about his thoughts. I asked him to think about a “joy” memory – and he thought of something from when we were on vacation in Hawaii (which even though I instagramed to death, will have it’s own post later…) and it turns out his favorite memory from the trip was hunting for ‘coconuts’. I choked back tears. I love that he loved that. I’m so very glad that although at times I would have rather been swimming, I took the time to wander the grounds helping him look for coconuts – and then helped him set up a station on our balcony to give the coconuts a bath. That is Brendan being four. That is what was important to him and brought him joy. And what brings me joy, is learning more about what brings him joy. It’s the greatest gift I’ve ever gotten to unwrap.
But I digress.
We had a fourth birthday party!
And this year it was time to let him invite HIS friends. This made for a very different birthday party. Equally fun, but different. He thought he wanted to have a soccer party, but then changed his mind and went with a pool party at our local pool. What an awesome idea he had! Many of his friends live in San Francisco where there are not an abundance of outdoor pools because it’s foggy and cold most of the year. It was so fun to let his birthday be an explosion of summer! We invited lots of folks because as we all know, lots of people won’t be able to come. Except most of them came! It was great. The more the merrier. Once the friends started arriving, I didn’t see much of my son until the cake. And of course, Grandma came through with an amazing cake once again – complete with a swimming pool and cake beach balls. A couple people admitted that they would not miss Brendan’s party, if only to get a piece of Grandma’s cake. We did forget matches, but turns out it’s just as easy to make a wish and then pretend to blow out your candles. Plus, then you get to make MORE wishes when you blow them out later from home. I’m very fortunate that Charlie’s Dad and some other good friends captured the day in pictures for me.
There were only a couple bummers… of course we wished our family from Boston and from Iowa could celebrate at the party with us, but they were certainly there in spirit! But the absolute worst part of the day was that Brendan got his first sunburn. It wasn’t a HORRIBLE burn, but it wasn’t good either. Rob and I felt so bad – we applied sunscreen before the party, but we didn’t think to reapply in time – and with our little fish in the water most of the day, and with the decision to keep the rash guard off so we could admire his cute little four year old body, we ended up with some pink shoulders and cheeks. I’ll hope this is the last one he gets for a long time.
The take-home message, both experts said, is that when you click on the buy button you are not taken to a page that requires you to fill in your credit card and ordering information but they also have http://amerikabulteni.com/2016/02/09/bugun-new-hampshire-onseciminde-bakmaniz-gereken-7-sonuc/ order cialis online a privacy policy as well which will keep information about you and your health safely tucked away. Feeling commonly begins to cheapest viagra prices return within a few weeks (only if a man has moderate ED). It boosts your viagra pharmacy physical strength through improving absorption of nutrients. You can take some steps to avoid these effects like amerikabulteni.com super generic viagra you may feel headache and upset stomach.
Each year is so different from the next. Some friends are on the cusp of a second baby in the house and it caused me to especially think back on all the stages. I’m well aware that I think each stage is the best one yet, and it is! I have loved every one of them – and while I would love to relive each day with him again and again, I would never go back because I so enjoy watching Brendan become more of himself every day. Besides, he told me the other day, “Mommy – I will always be your baby, even when I’m taller than you!”. But between shared sentiments like that, and the fact that often times out of the blue he will lean over and whisper to me, “Mom – I love you!”, I’m pretty convinced it will be hard to ever top having a four year old Brendan.
P.S. There are few things more stressful than trying to serve Grandma’s birthday cake to a mob of hungry 4 year olds while they carefully watch you and wonder who you are going to grace with the next piece of cake.