Happy FOURTH birthday!

Yikes!  Its officially happening!  Harrison is growing up too fast!  I can't believe that we just celebrated his fourth birthday!  Yes, on February 9th, my "big man" turned 4, and he couldn't be happier about it.  He tells just about everyone that he sees that he is 4 now.  Which is great, because the week before his birthday he was convinced that he was already 4 and that he would be turning 5.  Thankfully he forgot all about the 5 business the day of his birthday.
It has been a whirlwind of a few weeks celebrating with both of our families, so here is a run down of what we have been up to!
I just did not have the energy to throw a full-on birthday party, like we've done in years past, so I took the advise of a few friends and decided to have just a few of his little buddies over for a super hero themed play date/birthday party.  The moms dropped the kids off and they all did great.  I made all of the boys a reversible batman/superman cape to take home with them and to wear at the party so they could all be little super heroes.  They had to make it through the secret passage way to the bat cave (ie, HJR's room setup with all of his super hero toys)...

Raced in the super hero obstacle course outside (sorry completely forgot to take pictures of this!)

And of course, ate dinosaur sandwiches, sang happy birthday and chowed down on some cupcakes!

Before we knew it the fun was over and the moms came back.  Harrison had a great time and is still talking about his super hero party...which makes me crazed to think of all the work I put into his past parties, when a simple playdate was just as fun for him!  And probably less overwhelming!
The actual day of his birthday was a school day, so Davis and I met Harrison at school during snack time to celebrate his big day.  We brought brownies, sang happy birthday and stayed until it was time to go.

 It was fun to watch Ms. Sandy in action.

Davis was hilarious, he just fit right on in with the kids during snack time...

and had his own circle for show and tell...

It ended up being a bitter sweet day though...we were supposed to go to Chuck E Cheese for dinner that evening w/ his grandma and granddaddy Randolph, but Harrison was in a bit of  funk throughout the day.  After Davis' nap, we went to meet some friends at the park for a quick walk and to play on the playground.  Harrison wanted nothing to do with the stroller (which is really not like him at all) and ran half way across the park, away from me.  Then screamed all the way home.  I think he was just tired and overwhelmed, but needless to say, Chuck E Cheese was put on hold for another day.  We ended up bringing Mellow Mushroom here (which was better pizza in my opinion!) and having a nice, low key evening.  Harrison got to open his present from his grandma and granddaddy, which I have to preface with this story...
About 2 months ago, we were shopping at Target and Harrison saw this Toy Story garbage truck that he just "had to have".  He would not leave the toy aisle and melted down when I told him he might be able to get it for his birthday that was coming up.  That was not a suitable answer, so I told him we would take a picture of it and show it to one of his grandma's, so they know which one to get...

This was the best smile I could get...I told him that his grandma might not think he really liked that toy if he didn't at least smile!  Fast forward to his birthday, and you can see the excitement on his face when he "got what he always wanted!"

He was a happy boy!

Once Harrison moved on to another toy, Davis got a kick out of the garbage truck as well!

We got Harrison a Thomas puzzle, and a race track that pulls the hot wheels around the track, both were definitely a hit...

 This kiddo loves puzzles, and without too much help, he finished this in an afternoon!

We got to finish up the celebrating this weekend when my parents came back to do Harrison's birthday with him.  It was a gorgeous day when they arrived on Friday, so as soon as they pulled into the driveway, we decided to give Harrison his present from them...his very own big boy bike!

It took him a few trips up and down the sidewalk to figure out how to do the pedals.  He is used to being able to push backwards on the pedals on his little bike and it scared him at first when he realized that it would stop the bike if he pushed backwards.  It is a little big for him, but he loves it!  We took him up to the parking lot in front of our neighborhood pool and he had so much fun.  He had his first spill that same day, but popped right back up and kept riding.  The spill apparently came at the end of this video, but when my mom sent it to me, it cut it off.  He didn't really like granddaddy telling him how to ride the bike (I wonder where he gets that from??)  I can't help but laugh at the end of this!

Harrison and Grandmommy were buddies all weekend.  He loves this sparkly cross of my moms and we always laugh because he asks her if he can wear it every time he sees her.

It was a full week of birthday celebrations, and we loved every minute of it.  Harrison has grown so much this year, and we have his 4 year old appointment this coming week to find out just how much he has grown.  He has grown, not just physically, but quite a bit mentally as well.  He knows all of his shapes and colors and can recognize his numbers from 1- 10 (I think a few after, but that's still tricky for him).  He is learning quite a bit in Spanish which is so fun for me.  He can get dressed and undressed by himself, except for his socks, and he knows how to put on his coat and zip it up.  He loves to play outside, build forts,

 build towers,

look for bugs, dig in the garden and play blocks.  He still loves his trains and cars, but if left alone, he now tends to like to do activities where he builds things.  His imagination is incredible and he occasionally likes to try to get his brother to play with him.  One of their favorite things to do is scoot down the steps on their fannies.  They both think it is hilarious. 

He still insists on his "God our Father" prayer every night, and generally rearranges the chairs at the table 2-3 times a day, depending on who he wants to sit by...

He wanted Lance to sit on the other side of him.  It always makes me laugh, because when he decides who he wants to sit by, he literally wants you to sit right next to him, with chairs touching.
He is such a sweet boy and knows how to butter me up. He will say things like, "Mom, you always make me the best dinners!" or "You're the best mommy, I love you so much!"  Which always makes me smile and is nice to hear, because the size of his tantrums have grown as well!  Its nice to know that he doesn't hold grudges against me too long...yet! :)  Happy birthday Harrison!!  Its been a fun ride and I can't wait to see what this year has in store for us!