Mudgie Turns 4!

All week long, Mudgie was counting down the days until his birthday.  He kept asking how many K-K days he had left before his birthday.  When the day (Friday) finally arrived, he woke up and asked, "Is my birthday here?"  He was very pleased with my answer.  We had someone at the house doing work all morning, which threw off our plans to get cupcakes, but the boys were both very well behaved, and we played inside and out all morning.  After nap, we went to our favorite bakery to get some special cupcakes for Mudgie's birthday.  Mudgie was drooling over everything, and Aaron was practically licking the glass from the display case looking at all the treats!  We got a couple cupcakes and cake pops to bring home, but the boys also shared a cupcake at the store...it was Mudgie's birthday after all.  Then our old neighbors Lauren and Mikey came over to see the new house.  Mudgie had been waiting to show them the place since we moved in, so it was very exciting for everyone.  After dinner, we sang Mudgie happy birthday and he blew out the candles on the cupcake (mostly) by himself.

The rest of the weekend just seemed to fly by.  On Saturday we played and picked up decorations for the big party next week, and on Sunday, the boys were both SO cranky and whiney that they are lucky to still be alive.  Aaron was particularly off, and I'm almost wondering if he's coming down with something.  Here's hoping that it's just a full moon or something tonight, and they will both be more pleasant in the morning!

Mudgie continues to impress us with the depth of his thought process and understanding.  He and Dave were playing the game "I'm so hungry I could eat _______," and Dave said he was so hungry he could eat the whole Earth.  Mudgie told him, "No, Daddy.  Then we would have to live on the moon!"  That seems like such a big concept for a 4-year-old, but then later in the week Mudgie asked me, "Mommy, why are we on this thing that spins round and round really fast?"  I didn't know what he was talking about so I asked, "What thing?  The swing?"  He replied, "No, this," and motioned with his arms in really big circles.  I asked, "Do you mean the planet Earth?" and he replied, "YES!"  Then he followed up with, "Mommy, what is space, and what is in space?"  Of course I replied with a ridiculously complex and scientific response, which I'm pretty sure he was able to process at least half of.  He seriously amazes me!

Aaron, on the other hand, is a totally different kind of amazing.  Karen took the kids on field trip to the zoo this week, and Aaron was in heaven!  They had an exhibit where they had birds sit on people's arms, and Aaron thought it was so great that he started walking off the bird!  In the petting zoo area, Aaron was surrounded by deer happily feeding them, while Mudgie wouldn't go near the place.  These 2 boys have such different personalities.

The biggest change I saw this week was how well Mudgie and Aaron have started playing together.  It's certainly not all the time, but on several mornings this week, they entertained each other for a good half an hour.  Aaron quite often wants to copy what Mudgie is doing, but Mudgie is finally starting to realize that Aaron can be a fun playmate, and not just an annoying brother who destroys his roller-coaster train tracks.  I hope that this continues.  Not only is it really cute, but it's so much better watching that than playing referee!