Happy 4th Birthday Joseph!

Last week we celebrated Joseph's 4th Birthday! I almost can't believe it. Here are a few pictures showing how much he's grown over the years:

Joseph on his 4th birthday, waiting for his friends to arrive.

When I asked Joseph what he wanted to do for his birthday, he said without hesitation, "I want a firetruck cake with blue and yellow candles." I was quite surprised by his answer, but after asking him the same question two or three times a few days apart, everytime he said the same thing. I figured that he really wanted a firetruck cake, and nothing else much mattered, so I got online and figured out how to make one, red frosting and all. Then he started asking about who would be coming to help eat his cake, and I did recall a few months earlier after he went to a friends birthday party, him telling me who he wanted to invite to his party, so I decided we should at least have a few friends over to share his cake. We gave out very informal invitations and invited his good friends, and their moms and siblings to come eat cake and icecream. Two days before his birthday, I was feeling extra domestic and I had oreos (to make the firetruck cake's wheels) and lots of whole milk I needed to use, so I decided to make some homemade cookies and cream icecream with our newly acquired icecream maker. Things went well until after filling it with ice, I discovered I didn't have enough ice for when it started to melt. So, I broke the Merkley family record by rushing to the grocery store, with both kids in winter weather, and making it back in less than 20 minutes. I was very impressed with myself, considering I am the worlds slowest grocery shopper! The cake went very well, except that I had to run and get "tasteless red" icing color so that my red cake wouldn't taste horrible. You have to use so much red to get white icing to turn red, that it tastes horrible unless you get the tasteless kind. Joseph was so thrilled about his cake!

The non-party went very well (I wish I got pictures of all his friends) and Joseph was the perfect little host. It was open-house style and Joseph went down to the basement to play with some friends after eating his cake, but every time a new friend arrived, I would call down to the basement and Joseph would rush up stairs as excited as could be and greet each guest with a very enthusiastic smile or exclamation! He is such a sweet little guy!

Here are a few pictures of Joseph blowing out his candles! Make a wish! Almost all of his friends came to his party and it was quite a full house!

After Joseph's "non-party"Kenneth came home from school and we decided to continue celebrating by going to dinner at Chuck E Cheese! Here are a few pictures! Needless to say, we all slept very well that night!

Happy Birthday, Joseph! It has been so much fun watching you grow into the kind, simpathetic, gentle, sensitive boy that you are. Mommy is so proud of you!