Honeymoon Memories

As promised, here's a quick rundown of what I guess I considered highlights from our honeymoon.  We took a ton of pictures, especially considering it was in the age of film, and these were the ones I pulled out, scanned, and posted on my now-defunct website.

We spent half our honeymoon in San Diego, with a side trip to Anaheim, and then finished up in Las Vegas.  It was such an awesome trip considering I hadn't been on a plane since I was nine.  Going somewhere so different from home was surreal, and it was just an added bonus that I was newly married.

As I said, our first stop was San Diego.  The weather was gorgeous and we stayed right on the beach.  We went to the zoo, of course...

I felt so bad...another couple offered to take our picture, and by the time we were done and they gave us their camera to take a picture of them, the giraffe moved!

We spent an evening on Coronado Island, enjoyed some time on the beach, visited an IKEA (sorry, I take my opportunities when I can get them), and we took a little trip to Anaheim so we could visit Knott's Berry Farm.  It's a great amusement park, and I figured I wouldn't get many opportunities to be that close to it.  It's also got some Peanuts themeing, which I figured Craig would enjoy...

The coaster I most wanted to ride was closed when we got there, but fortunately it opened right near the end of the day and I got to ride it.  Definitely a rush!  Mrs. Knott's chicken was delicious, and Craig had fun in the Peanuts store.  Too bad the trip there was marred by hardcore traffic, California style!

Then it was off to Vegas.  That was like another world.  We liked it so much we went back the next year, too.  Some of my favorites:

The view from the Venetian, looking out over the canal toward the Mirage.  We took a gondola ride, and it was pretty entertaining.

This was one of my favorite facades...very old school.  Too bad it's not there anymore :(

This is the ceiling of the Bellagio lobby.  I was very eager to see it because even then I was totally into Dale Chihuly's stuff.  So pretty...too bad the picture doesn't do it justice!

 

The view of New York-New York, including the roller coaster 

 

This was the view from our room in Treasure Island.  You can see most of the strip.  We got to watch 4th of July fireworks from our room, shot off from Caesar's a couple casinos down.  It was pretty fantastic.

The only downsides to the trip besides California traffic were the heat in Vegas (Craig mentions his issues with it often...or rather, how I walked him until he puked--not as bad as it sounds) and the trip home.  We got stuck in Chicago due to thunderstorms, had a long night trying to rebook our flight and find our luggage, then spent 2-3 hours in a cab line before finally getting to a hotel for a few hours of sleep.  We then got delayed again, missed our connection in Boston, and got home a full 24 hours after we were supposed to.  On the bright side, we did have this view on the last flight home...

It was quite a trip.  We had a blast and I was so happy to have the time away alone to enjoy each other's presence after the craziness leading up to the wedding.  Hard to believe it's been nine years today since we left on that trip.  What an experience...

Nine Years

Nine years ago today, Craig and I got married.  It's hard to believe we're just one year shy of ten, because that seems like a really long time.  We're not that old, are we?  Nine sounds pretty substantial, particularly in light of some marriages we've seen that ended much sooner than that.  We have a long way to go to match our parents' high standards--my parents are over 41 years, and we're celebrating Craig's parents' 40th this weekend--but we're well on our way. 

Part of me feels like we were much different people when we got married.  And most likely, we were.  I was very young (not even 25) and Craig was 30.  We'd only been together for two years, and Jacob was still five years into the future.  Parenthood changes things a lot, because you have to work together in a way you never have before, and it challenges your very identity.  Hobbies and interests take a hit because you're so busy taking care of a helpless little human, and suddenly you have moments where you're not sure who you are anymore.  If you can get through that intact, you're got something special, no doubt.

Our wedding day was an amazing day.  Gorgeous weather, no problems, surrounded by friends and family, and me wearing the most gorgeous dress I'll probably ever wear.  Back then I wouldn't have changed a thing.  Now I look back and there's probably a handful of things I'd do differently, but I know that at the time, it was nearly perfection in my eyes.  Hindsight is 20/20 and in some cases I just didn't know any better, but still...it was an amazing day.  It almost seems like another lifetime, though. 

Since I've never done this before on this blog (at least, I don't think so!), here's a rundown of the day:

Me and the girls--my two best friends from college, my sister-in-law, my cousin, my oldest friend, and Craig's cousin as our flower girl--she's in college now!

The boys on the church playground--Craig's roommate at the time, our co-worker, Craig's brother, my brother, and Craig's friend from college, along with Craig's cousin as our ring bearer.  He's in high school now.  We're officially old.

Me peeking around the corner at the church, waiting for my moment!  I was nervous about the ceremony but totally at peace with the commitment I was about to make

One of my favorite pictures of the day...

Toasting at the head table...this is the picture I have at my desk.  Oh, and I loved the flowers.  So pretty.

Dancing...which we didn't do nearly enough of!  Between visiting with people and whatever else, the night went too fast!

Our cake...it was so pretty.  You can't really tell here, but in the "gazebo" is a little figurine of Charlie Brown and Peggy Jean, depicting their first kiss.  It was so cute and perfect that we couldn't pass it up.  The cake tasted amazing, too, both on our wedding day and on our first anniversary!

Gotta love Polish traditions!  This one included a crazy hat and a song.  Definitely a new one for my side of the family, but Craig's older relatives were old pros!

The day went so fast and before we knew it, it was over.  We spent the night at a hotel, where we promptly fell asleep while trying to enjoy a few minutes in the in-room jacuzzi tub.  We probably would have gotten in there sooner if it didn't take me so long to take the 80 bobby pins out of my hair!  We got to spend some time with some family the next day at a reunion, then took off the day after for our honeymoon.  Hopefully one of these days I'll dig into the archives and pull out some honeymoon pics!  I know I have a few scanned, at least, but they're saved on our other computer.  Our honeymoon was fantastic.  Absolutely heavenly.  Other than getting stuck in Chicago on the way back.  Nothing like an extra day stuck in oh-so-scenic airports.  Ugh.  But there's no doubt the first week of our marriage was fun and eventful.  And the last nine years have followed suit!  We've come a long way.  We're still happily married, but that doesn't stop me from wishing we could recapture a little of the whimsy and magic that were so plentiful on day 1.  Moments like that are hard to come by all these years later--it's more of an even keel--but I'd love to transport back just for a few minutes and remember all of the emotions that made that day so amazing. 

Nine years later we spent our evening at a Japanese hibachi restaurant and used a Groupon to give Jacob his first hibachi experience.  It was a bit of a risk, for many reasons.  Taking Jacob out is always a risk, and this would be new food for him.  We'd never been to the place before, and the reviews were iffy, generally because of the place itself, not really the food.  But I love hibachi and the Groupon was a good chance to try it out for cheap.  In the end the place was a little dated (I felt like we were in a weird, low-budget movie), but Jacob liked the show and even ate some food, and it wasn't a half bad night overall.  It's a far cry from the biggest party ever with all the people we love, but hanging out with our little boy while he made our fellow diners and chef laugh...well, that was pretty priceless, too. 

Happy Anniversary to Craig...and here's to many more!

Honesty is the Best Policy

I mentioned briefly the other day that I'd had a minor run-in with another car in a parking lot.  Mine ended up with the worst of the damage, one big smile-shaped scratch (ironic) and a few screw head-shaped scratches, all on the bumper.  From what we could tell at the time, the only damage to the other car was a broken license plate frame and some easily removable black marks on the paint from the plastic rubbing against it.  It was minor, but annoying nonetheless.  I still need to find someone who can do touch-up paint well, because I'd really like to make my scratches less noticeable.  Anyway...

When it happened I was totally freaking out internally, but decided I had to do the right thing.  I walked around the restaurant until I found the person whose car it was.  That was awkward.  But, I felt like it was probably the best thing to do for my mental state, because worrying about later repercussions wasn't really something I wanted, either.  I honestly didn't even think of leaving a note, and I'm glad I didn't because it would have been an easy cop-out.  The girl whose car it was was very understanding.  And she was really relieved I came to find her.  Her car was a lease so she was obviously a bit concerned about making sure it would be in perfect condition when the time came to turn it in.  She praised me for doing it and was really nice about the whole thing, all things considered.  Heck, she felt bad for me because she could tell I was a little shaky when we were exchanging information!  She really wanted to avoid insurance at all costs, because she'd had an accident last year.  I did, too, of course, since I'm probably getting close to having my accident drop off my record. 

I emailed her that day just to give her any other contact info I hadn't in the parking lot, and emphasized that I'd be willing to pay for the license plate thing, at the very least, and to keep me posted.  Earlier this week she emailed me and said her husband was concerned so they were taking it into the dealer to get checked.  Ugh.  I was really concerned that they'd try to milk this for all it was worth, that even if the damage was minimal, they might try to eek a few bucks out of me, if only for perceived pain and suffering (or at least inconvenience and annoyance), you know?

Last night I accidentally left my phone in my car, and when I came out this morning there was a voicemail notification.  I didn't recognize the number but I listened to it as I strapped Jacob into the car, and it was from her.  And, hallelujah, it was good news.  The dealer found no problems with the car.  She said the license plate piece cost a just a few bucks, and said we could "just call it a wash."  She then went on for a while (again) about how great it was that I tracked her down, how she's not sure she would have done the same thing, and that it taught her a great lesson in honesty. 

Huh, who knew?

I don't feel like I did anything extra special, but I guess society has changed.  I'm glad she appreciated the effort.  It softens the blow of my stupidity a bit, and in the end I'm just relieved that mine got it worse than hers and happy that hers was pretty much fine.  Whew.

If there are any lessons to take from this experience (besides being obsessively aware of every angle of your car), they're a) if ever in doubt, err on the side of honesty; and b) if you're going to get in a car accident, make sure you hit a really nice person.  The woman I hit last time (four years ago) was also the sweetest, most understanding person.  She worked in the insurance industry, so she was well aware how much fender benders happen, and she was very concerned when she saw I was pregnant.  Both experiences have been relatively minor incidents, all things considered.  Yes, last time my car was totaled, but it was an eight year old Neon so it wouldn't have taken much.  Most importantly, no one got hurt.  The people have been easy to deal with and they both happened on lovely, warm days, so I guess I'm pretty lucky.  Still feeling pretty stupid, but lucky nonetheless.

I hope the honesty thing really did impact the woman whose car I hit, and perhaps her nice message will serve as a reminder for myself in the future that it pays to be honest, even if it's just the peace of mind of knowing you did the right thing.

Second Time Around

Going about this whole baby-making thing for the second time has been surprisingly different for me than before.  In some cases I guess that would be obvious, since I already have a child and that changes everything, but there are some differences that I guess I didn't expect.

Because I already have a child, my desperation to have another isn't quite as serious as last time.  I mean, I certainly want another baby very badly, but this time it's the difference between an only child and two kids, rather than a childless life vs. parenthood.  I'm grateful that I had a chance to have a baby at all, and while there would definitely be a period of mourning if we found out we couldn't have another, at least we have Jacob.  This is always such a snarky debate on infertility blogs because the infertile women with no kids get mad at the women with secondary infertility who already have a kid.  "At least you have ONE!" is a common refrain.  And I get that.  The women with no kids have every right to feel like they have it worse.  Whether or not they actually do is up for debate, since there are a whole new set of needs and wants that come with a second baby.  You know how amazing the experience is, and you want a sibling for your child...and knowing what you know now, the desire can be quite intense.  But in both cases (first or second time around) the woman believes her life will be somehow incomplete without a baby--but I'd side with the childless that that is the most heartbreaking path.  At least I know what it's like to be a mom, to see my genes take shape in another human being, to experience pregnancy and birth and the variety of emotions that go along with it.  Despite all of the insanity it brings, I know how surreal and amazing the whole experience is, and there's no way to communicate that to someone without them actually experiencing it themselves. 

Last time around I never really got to the point of "What lengths will we go to?" in the event that things don't go well.  At that time I wasn't as well-versed in the options, or as educated about the possible side effects or emotional roller coasters that come along with it.  This time around I'm more aware of that stuff, mostly thanks to blogs I've read in passing, as well as hearing stories about a friend-of-a-friend's infertility experience.  However, I'm still not sure I have an answer to that question.  So far things seem to be responding to the most basic of treatments, so hopefully I won't have to worry about it.  But if, under perfect conditions, things don't happen within the next few months, we're going to have a new heap of issues to discuss.  Do I want to go through physically-draining treatments?  Do we want to pay a significant amount of money?  Do we want to just enjoy the one child we have?  Or even, do we want to save up and adopt?  That last option would be a last resort, and I don't necessarily think that I'm the type of person to do it, but life is funny sometimes and you never know how your life might be touched and change direction. 

Needless to say, having actual confirmation that there's a reason why getting pregnant is more difficult for me (polycystic ovary syndrome, causing infrequent ovulation) changes so much of my perspective on things.  Last time I remember being so overwhelmed by the process in many facets of my life.  For example, I was nervous to buy clothes in the months leading up to getting pregnant because I was concerned about getting too big post-pregnancy to wear them.  This time around I haven't thought about that nearly as much.  I'm not sure if it's because I mostly got back into shape last time, or because I have more immediate wardrobe needs (as opposed to extra time for casual shopping), or if my clothing's generally more forgiving these days, or if it's just because I've subconsciously realized that nothing is a given and I just need to live in the moment, rather than worry about what might be happening months down the road.  I remember thinking about the process as a whole so much, constantly timing things out in my head or thinking that every little discomfort might mean I was pregnant.  I obsessed over taking pregnancy tests, and the letdown afterward was always harder than I thought it would be.  This time around it's definitely in my thoughts a lot, but I suppose I have far more to take care of in the meantime--Jacob, a bigger house, more in-depth tasks at work, this blog--and it leaves far less time to worry about things I can't control.

Another funny thing is that I've been far more open about the process this time.  I don't think I told too many people we were trying last time.  Close family and friends, perhaps, but that's about it.  This time I'm broadcasting it here and certain close family members know the ins and outs of the fertility help we're getting.  I've even talked about it with my boss, which is ironic since my bosses were nearly the last people I told last time.  My boss has a close friend who's gone through infertility hell, so it's come up in natural conversation.  I've also come to the conclusion that the main reason you don't tell people is because you don't want to have to go back and tell the world in the event of a miscarriage.  Well, if I had a miscarriage I'd obviously have to tell my boss since I'd be out of work.  So, no need to keep it from her because she'd find out anyway.  But in general I feel like this will probably be the last time we go through something like this, and I guess I just want to embrace it--record it for posterity, feel free to share it with those I deem appropriate (like another co-worker who's currently pregnant thanks to fertility treatments), and not have to feel like I'm living some crazy double life.

The whole process is still scary as heck.  With all of the attention we've paid to the process of trying to get pregnant, I feel like I might be overlooking the other problems we could run into down the road. They still scare me to death, but I guess they just haven't been the first thing on my mind.  Part of me is looking at this as more of an adventure this time around.  I know the adventure could go horribly wrong, but I'm a big believer that there's a reason for everything.  It'll be hard to keep that in mind if something does go wrong, but I truly believe it and hope it'll be a comfort if I need it.  But assuming everything goes right, this whole experience could be one heck of a ride.  I have a better sense of how those dizzying newborn experiences are just a piece of a far larger puzzle, that eventually that screaming baby is going to turn into a walking, talking person who's going to bring so much into our lives. 

It's overwhelming, but it's also pretty awesome.  I want everything to go smoothly, but I'm also eager to get the show on the road and see where it takes us.  For now, it's just a waiting game...

Oh, the irony...

Have I mentioned that Jacob is obsessed with the "Red Solo Cup" song?  Well, he is.  He saw the video once, completely randomly, when we were watching a country music video countdown.  I don't know why he latched onto it so quickly, but he did.  And he's been singing it ever since.  He's taught his friends.  He's changed the words to fit circumstances.  And yes, I'm trying to see the bright side of that last issue, because that's got to be evidence for some advanced level of cognitive function, that he can change the words, to the tune, to suit current circumstances.  Craig does stuff like that to song lyrics all the time, and apparently his son has picked up the skill, as well. 

I find the whole thing a little embarrassing.  I mean, he's four.  No, he may not know what, exactly, is in those Solo cups, but I'm pretty sure he gets that it is for a party, and based on our initial reaction, he probably has an inkling that it's a grown-up thing.  Ugh.

Anyway...tonight I was showing Jacob some pictures of his first birthday party.  That was quite the day.  I had never really thrown a birthday party before, and it was a miserably rainy, cold day, so the party was mostly relegated to our garage, and to some degree our basement.  We managed, not without hiccups, and ended up with horrific timing when it came to the two most important points of the party--gift opening and cake smashing.  Jacob was getting tired near the end of gift opening and totally lost interest, and then was completely cranky when we tried to do cake.  He didn't eat much of his smash cake, but he did inhale my piece of cake much later in the day, after a nap.  Oy.  I just figured Jacob might enjoy seeing old pictures of himself, and then I came across this picture:

And this one...

We miss you, Great-Grandma!

Apparently he's been into red Solo cups all along.  Who knew?  The cup was a lifesaver during part of the party because it was the only thing breaking him out of his cranky, nap-deprived mood.  I guess I should have known that he'd take to that song immediately since he's apparently always had a thing for red, plastic beverage receptacles. 

Let's hope his affection for them wanes by the time he's a teenager.  That's a hard enough battle to fight without him already being a fan of the cup itself!

Party Time!

The last couple days have been insane!  I took off Friday to try to get ready for Jacob's party.  I had some cleaning, yardwork, and cooking to do.  I knew I couldn't get it all done otherwise.  It was a very busy day--a quick run in the morning (figured it would keep me in a better mindframe), lunch with an old friend, an unfortunate minor car incident (scratches on my bumper, just a broken license plate frame on the other car--darn terribly designed parking lot), and a bunch of yardwork that culminated in scrubbing our siding.  Ahhh, home ownership.  Craig gets out of work early on Fridays in the summer, so he came home and joined me, and by the end the yard was looking pretty great. 

That evening we went outside with Jacob to enjoy our very warm pool.  He's now totally into the pool, thanks to his basketball hoop and new Puddle Jumper float.  He's been in three days in a row, probably four today!  We had a great swim that night and I spent the rest of the night getting things ready for Saturday.  Oh, and we tried out Jacob's new clock that night, too.  It turns color in the morning to let him know it's time to get up.  That also meant we took the safety doorknob thing off his door in case he wants to use the potty at night.  It's a bit of an adjustment having him able to get out of his room without us.  So far he's been pretty good about staying in, though I'm sure we're going to get some surprises.  It's been nice to have him get himself up in the morning, though! 

From the time I got up yesterday, it was non-stop.  Second batch of pork into the slow cooker.  Second batch of cake baking.  Preparing jello.  Frosting the first part of the cake.  Oh, the cake.  Last year Jacob's cake was a disaster.  I tried to do a rice krispie treat lacrosse stick to decorate his cake.  It didn't go well, for a couple reasons.  In the end we had to get a store-bought cake and I even managed to mess up that one because the condensation on it ruined the gel writing.  Ugh.  Each year Jacob's cake has created problems--issues with sticky icing (and absolutely NO decorating experience) for his first birthday, problems with getting red enough icing for his second birthday, and then last year's ultimate failure.  This year I was setting myself up for a disaster because Jacob wanted a soccer ball cake.  The good news is that our nephew has outgrown part of his egg allergy, meaning I could make the cake according to the directions, which would give me a much sturdier cake than usual.  I bought the spherical cake pan, and decided to use only half of it, just to be safe.  No need to risk a cake rolling off the table.  Anyway, decorating the cake would be a labor of love and it was my main source of stress leading up to the party.  I'll reveal it later, but I'm happy to say that all went well.  It took a while, but it was worth it.

I had a ton of work to do once the party started, but I had great help from my mom and Lori.  I couldn't have done it without them.  I finally had a couple minutes (literally) to venture outside, and it was a beautiful day.  The kids were having a blast in the pool, the snacks had been eaten up, and everyone was chilling in whatever shade they could find.

My Uncle Bruce had brought a couple water guns, one of which the kids were loving.  When I came out of the house, we dragged Jacob out of the pool to open his water gun in my presence.  We tried to get a good picture, but alas...distracted child.

The water guns were a hit, and I retreated back to the kitchen to finish up.  We had quite the spread--pulled pork, hot dogs, salt potatoes, broccoli-cheese-rice casserole (family favorite), pasta salad, fruit salad, layered jello, and cole slaw.  So much food, and all so good!  We also had apple pie and amazing chocolate chip cookies waiting in the wings. 

After dinner, we started into presents.  Jacob noticed golf balls attached to one card and gravitated to those immediately.  Next up was the hit gift of the day--my aunt got him a tank top and ironed on the letters "REF" to the front.  There was also a whistle in the bag, which finished off Jacob's referee outfit perfectly.  Jacob loves to be a referee--he has for years--and this was perfect.  He had it on first thing this morning and we've been hearing random whistle blows all day!

He put on his shirt and whistle right away.  Here he's showing off the second thing he put on this morning--his Spider-Man mask and jumpsuit.

 He also got a Lego fire truck...

And a Lego Batcave!

He got some clothes, a sprinkler toy, some football guys, and a nice boost to his bank account.  All in all, it was a fantastic haul.  It was great day, the pool was perfect, the food was delicious, and the company was lovely.  My biggest regret of the whole day was that I didn't get to spend much time enjoying it all.  I barely got to see people, but I did take a few minutes to eat dinner (lunch was basically a piece of excess cake!) and talk to whoever I could near the end.  It's fun having everyone to our house (a handful of guests hadn't been here before), and the house got rave reviews.  Nice to get that reminder now that we've been here a couple years.  So, the party was a lot of planning and a lot of work, but it was worth it.  I just wish I would have had a few more minutes to sit back and enjoy it all. 

So...back to the cake.  Fortunately the pans I bought to make the soccer ball came with really good directions, and by some miracle I actually did it right.  I made a two-layer yellow cake base, had good luck frosting it (minimal crumbs and no breakage), and then baked half a ball and made cupcakes with the rest of that chocolate batter.  Lots of frosting later, we had this:

Not gonna lie, I almost had tears in my eyes when I finished this.  It took four years to get a cake I was proud of.  This one was truly a thing of beauty.  Fourteen hours after posting the picture on Facebook it has over 40 "likes", so that was cool, too.

Jacob did well blowing out his candles...

...and ended up preferring his cupcake to the cake itself when it came to eating.

Must have been the sprinkles :)

I had a great clean-up crew and we got most of the mess taken care of pretty quickly.  It was awesome to not have the massive mess to clean up later, because we headed right out to a lacrosse game after the last guests left.  Craig actually left right after cake because he had to work the game.  The team he works for, the Hamilton Nationals, were playing against Craig's former team, the Rochester Rattlers.  Going to a game was probably the last thing we really wanted to do by the end of the day, but it was a gorgeous night and games are always fun, so we prevailed.  Lori came with us and we had a nice time. 

Today has been a lazy day.  We hung out in bed, put together Legos, and relaxed.  The fruits of our labor:

I put this one together--the middle panels flip up (DeLorean style), and the white doors open up, too.  It came with a flaming tree, as it's a forest fire-fighting vehicle.

And Craig's task...

The Batcave, complete with Bane's drill and a Batcycle, a jail, command center, "magic" quick change room, and a few characters.  Pretty awesome.

Maybe we'll motivate ourselves to do something later, or maybe we'll just play in the pool and nap.  Either way, it's been a full but fantastic weekend.  And it couldn't celebrate a more awesome little boy.  Happy Birthday, Jacob!

The Big 4!

Well, yesterday was Jacob's 4th birthday.  As you may have gathered from yesterday's letter, his birthday dinner was a little on the challenging side.  Fortunately, the lure of gifts was enough to get us through the morning routine with minimal resistance.  I always remember waking up the morning of my birthday and heading into my parents' room to open my gifts.  I'd like to do that with Jacob someday, too, but our morning routine is pretty tight on time so we had to get ready first and open gifts last, as long as there was time.  And there was...

His first gift was an Otto the Orange (Syracuse University) Pillow Pet!  He's always admired Pillow Pets in stores, and he loves SU, mostly because of lacrosse.  I happened to find this one on major clearance at Walmart and snatched it up for a third of the normal price!

HUGS!  He loves him!

He also got some Legos that Craig bought a while back and had been holding onto for the right moment.  It's Lex Luthor, his giant robot, Superman and Wonder Woman!

He also got some Mega Bloks.  He got a big box of them last year and enjoys building stadiums with them.  Then I happened to win a Mega Bloks prize pack through a blog contest, and decided Jacob could have the big pack of blogs to allow him to build even bigger!  The other two prizes are waiting in the wings, either for another baby or a gift.

He also got some cool clothes.  My theory on clothes at this point is that anything that he would have an interest in can be a gift, whereas boring old clothes that he needs are not given as gifts...yet.  I feel like it's my job as his parent to provide the functional clothes, so they're not really gift-eligible.  That may change, but right now he's totally disinterested in anything not sports or superhero related, so there's just no point in wrapping them up.  But things like the soccer jersey shirt (with a 4 on the back!) and the Gorilla lacrosse shorts I randomly found at Children's Place last weekend are totally fine to give as gifts. 

Man of many sports...

He also got an inflatable basketball hoop for the pool, as motivation for him to actually want to go swimming.  We got him cool Superman trunks last weekend, and coincidentally yesterday his new floatation device arrived--a Puddle Jumper, which many of my Facebook friends swore by.  Since we didn't have time after dinner last night to swim, we did make it out there tonight.  Jacob LOVED it.  It probably helped that the pool was so warm (almost 90!) and he discovered that his Puddle Jumper helped him float pretty well.  He's still got a long way to go to learn how to keep himself balanced and try to swim, but he had a blast in the pool and kept talking about doing it again tomorrow.  Such a far cry from a couple weeks ago, eh?  Thank goodness.

As for his day at daycare, I opted to buy his classmates each a cool funky straw water bottle.  He's got numerous allergy issues in his classroom--no nuts at all in the whole center, a couple classmates with egg allergies, and one teacher with celiac disease--so food treats are tough.  I'm not really a fan of the goodie bags full of crap, so instead I wandered around the dollar store and Walmart with a budget of about $1 each (there were 17 kids, after all).  In the end I thought the water bottles were the best bang for my buck (or 98 cents, actually).  They went over well, at least with the teachers! 

We went to Red Robin last night to get Jacob's free birthday meal, because it's his favorite place to go.  He loves their corn dog (I know) and mandarin oranges.  He was quite difficult to get ready to go, and then gave us fits in the restaurant.  Makes me miss the days of high chairs, let me tell you.  What I wouldn't have given for a strap-down seat last night!  Despite all of his antics, he ate his dinner like a champ and eagerly awaited his birthday ice cream.  I was primed and ready with the camera since I regretted missing the big grin on his face last year.  And a year later, here it is...

Happy boy who loves being the center of attention!

He ate his ice cream all by himself, and insisted that while he wouldn't share his, he wanted to share mine on my birthday!  Hmmm...not sure I like that deal!

So...now we have a four year old.  An energetic, enthusiastic, stubborn, athletic, defiant, enigmatic, curious, talkative, determined little four-year-old boy.  He keeps us guessing and doesn't make it easy, but he also brings us a lot of joy and keeps things entertaining.  It's been four years since we've felt well-rested, since we've eaten meals in peace, since we truly slept in, since we've had abundant free time, since we realized how a baby really does change everything.  And aside from the aforementioned selective listening issues, we wouldn't change a thing.  Happy Birthday, buddy.