Greenleaf Sandwich: 4 is a lotta BIG!

It has happened. Koen has officially turned four! A major event at our house. We somehow ended up celebrating his birthday for an entire week. As a result, Koen is somewhat confused about when his actual birthday was. But that's o.k. An entire 'birth week' sounds better anyway.

His actual birthday started with a few presents and some very nice phone calls from family. When he talked to Nana that morning, he told her (with gusto) that "four is a lotta big!" You got that right buddy. He is rather obsessed with getting 'bigger' and asks us each night at the dinner table if we can see him grow with each bite.

I didn't realize how serious he was with this question until one day I jokingly told him (after he refused to eat his lunch) that I thought I saw him shrink a little bit. You've never seen a smile drop from a face so drastically. He sat staring at me, and then the wall for what seemed to be ages while I cleared our dishes from the table. Soon he began to wail, telling me to bring his lunch plate back so he could eat and grow.

Don't worry, I sat down and told him that what I had said wasn't true and that he wasn't going to shrink. Yikes! I need to be more careful with my jokes! He is a 'Literal Lou'.

After breakfast, we headed over to the gymnastics academy for some indoor romping with our friends. Wouldn't you know, the day before and the day after were terribly gorgeous and summer-like, but the day of his birthday was pouring rain...all day!

The boys in the foam pit.

Finn has gone kamikaze lately on the little slide that drops into the pit. I can hardly keep up with him...up, down, up, down. He goes so fast, that he sometimes starts sliding before both of his feet are in front of him. Needless to say, he's done a few trips down the slide with his legs in the splits.

Koen is getting more agile and daring with each visit.

It's been wonderful for his coordination.

But then again, he is a big four-year-old now!

He spent some time in front of the gym mirror,

checking himself out to see if he looked older that day. :)

Fearless Finn.

If I turned my head for a split second, he'd be at the top of a ladder.

We definitely have a climber on our hands.

After the gym, Koen spent an hour out in the rain trying out his new alligator umbrella that his friend gave him. He felt very special...and big, of course.

And, naturally, it wouldn't be a celebration at our house without an ice cream outing. We have a new place we like to go for frozen custard. Koen only gets chocolate anymore. That's my boy!

Midweek, we invited Collin and Shandy over for pizzas, cake and ice cream. It was low key and perfect. Finn and Collin logged some serious cuddle time. It has now become their little ritual, I'd have to say. Once Collin gets Finn into position, Finn doesn't move for at least an hour (or as long as Collin can stay put). He also doesn't make a peep. It's like Finn disappears into his uncle's lap. Very tender.

Mmmm...chocolate cake!

And to wrap up the 'Week of Koen', we threw a little birthday party at a local community center for a few friends. We ate, we sang, Koen opened gifts, and then we chased the kids all over the play gym. Koen loved every minute of it. And he was thrilled to be able to hand out balloons and handmade bookmarks (made by Koen himself) to each of his guests as they said goodbye.