Dancer Family Tales: Paul is 4!

Our spunky middle child turned 4 last week.

He's been talking about having a birthday for months and months now. He has patiently waited through his siblings birthdays and now it was his turn. He wanted a yellow Thomas train cake, ice cream, salad, and his friends Tegan and Emily over for the party. So we did just that!

A few things about Paul:

He weighs 35 pounds.
He is so skinny and has no bottom, all of his pants fall straight down off of him.
He prefers salads, vegetables, fruits and bread over anything else to eat. He loves just a salad for dinner (he does NOT have his mother's genes!)
He is independent.
He is affectionate with me and loves to brush my hair, give me hugs and kisses and tell me that he loves me.
He is gentle.
He is fierce and feisty also. One wrong move that crosses him and he turns into the hulk. A padded room would be nice to have for him some days.
He does not let people bully or run over him. He is a man of his own mind and is not afraid to let you know about it.
He sees the joy in all of the little things about life. The snow glistening in the sunlight, calling it "glitters from heaven". Seeing the lights of the city as we go up a hill. Seeing the sunset. Watching fireworks. The twinkling of Christmas lights. A balloon. Anything simple, he finds such excitement in it. Yesterday we were driving home from somewhere at night and we came over the hill with the city on the other side and he said, "OH Mom, LOOK! The whole city! Oh it is beautiful! The lights! WOW!" He says this every time. I just love this about him.
He has an exquisite imagination and the ability to play by himself in his own world for hours.
If he doesn't get time to himself, he turns into the hulk. I am getting better at reading his cues and figuring out when he's had too much people interaction. He has an introvert personality.
He loves the water and turns into a fish when he takes a shower or bath.
His favorite toys are his Rescue Bots (and that's his favorite show), cars, trains, and trucks, stuffed dogs, and play kitchen things.
His favorite friends are Tegan and Grady.
He loves to drink coffee.
He is sensitive to smells. He smells all of his food and if there's a stinky smell he almost cannot function until he is away from it.
He is a hoarder, he sleeps on just a sliver of his mattress because the rest of his bed is covered in toys, books, and blankets all balled up everywhere.
He tells grand stories about going to Asia when he's 4!

To surprise Paul, I decorated the whole upstairs with balloons, streamers, and fun globe lights. He said, "WOW! It's my birthday house!!"

We celebrated with a grilled chicken sandwiches and salad for dinner, birthday cake, and ice cream. The kids played to the hearts content and had a great time like they always do!