Carson Turns 4!!

Carson turned 4 years old on Monday!  Its hard to believe and I really wish could stop him from growing up any more.  But, of course, I can't.  :)

Birthday weeks are always so fun and this has been no exception.  On Monday, Carson woke up quite surprised that his socks still fit and his pants weren't too short.  He thought he'd have a major growth spurt in the night.  ;-)  He was also surprised that he didn't feel any different than he had when he was 3.  He also decided he could do several things on his own now, since he's such a big boy of 4 years old.  :) 

Carson got to spend time with Aunt Jeri and Uncle Mike on Monday morning.  They got him a big balloon and a special cookie.  Then he went over to Nana's and Papa's in the afternoon, where he got a really cool kite and Nana made him one of his favorite dinners (roast beef, carrots, and potatoes).  We had dessert at home and enjoyed several phone calls wishing Carson a Happy Birthday. 

Tuesday was a fun day with Valentine's Day celebrations - but I'll post separately about that. 

On Thursday, Mama took the day off of work so she could bring in birthday treats to Carson's preschool class.  Carson and Mama made chocolate chip cookies to share with everyone.  All of the kids were so happy to sing Happy Birthday to Carson and Carson was so proud to have his Mama in class for the last 15 minutes.  He got to sit in the special birthday chair and his teachers gave him a birthday crown.  It was really cute and fun!

After school, we went in for his well-child visit.  He was 36 pounds (50th percentile), so he's gained his weight back, plus a little, from having the flu a few weeks ago (he was down to 32.5 pounds that week).  He was also 40.5 inches tall (50-60th percentile).  So he's finally averaging out in terms of growth.  As usual, he is exceeding all of his developmental and physical milestones.  He had to get 4 shots and was such a champ with the first 3, not even flinching.  The last one (MMR) burns and aches quite a bit, according to the nurse, and he did start to tear up for that one.  He didn't want to move his arm for quite awhile, either.  Poor kid! 

After the well-child visit, Carson asked to have lunch at Burger King.  Since we never do it and because he had to get 4 shots and wasn't wanting to move his arm still, Mama agreed.  We ran into Carson's friends from class - Tanner and the two Carters.  So Carson forgot about his arm hurting pretty quickly and had so much fun playing with them! 

Now we look forward to spending time with family and friends this weekend for Carson's birthday parties.  He is very excited to have everyone at his house to play.  :)

We are still having girl drama.  On the way home Tuesday night, Carson tells me that "his life is ruined!" in a quite devastated tone.  I guess he has some competition for Gabi's attention now.  ;-P  He told me that his friend Ben wanted to sit by Gabi that day and play with her all the time.  So Carson decided maybe it was time to move on and has his sights set on a little blonde girl named Lili now.  :)  Although he still hasn't completely given up on Gabi.  I noticed they were sitting next to each other again on Thursday when I went into class... and Ben was at another table.  But Lili was also on the other side of Carson.  LOL! 

Carson has been having night terrors quite a bit lately.  He doesn't always remember what he dreams of, but a few times he's told us that a scary guy was chasing him and he was running as fast as he could, but couldn't get to Mama and Daddy.  He wakes in the night with them quite often and is too scared to sleep in his own bed for the rest of the night.  It's actually really nice to have him with us for the last few hours of the night, though.  Whatever makes him feel safer. 

We go in for our first parent-teacher conference in a couple of weeks.  We're excited to hear what the teacher has to say.  His teacher did tell me the other day that Carson is one of the smartest kids in class, if he's not the smartest.  She is quite impressed with his logical way of doing things.  She thinks he'll be an engineer or will do something science-based.  While we've thought this for years now, it was nice to hear from his teacher.  She also has remarked how impressed she is with his handwriting and number/letter recognition.  I have to say, we are, too!  :) So anyway, we will see what else she has to say in a couple of weeks. 

This past year has been another great year and it is so amazing to watch Carson learn and grow.  Three was a challenging age, attitude-wise, but it seems to be so for most 3-year olds.  We have heard nothing but good things about the age of 4, and we've already noticed such a change in Carson after being 4 for only a few short days.  So we are really looking forward to what this new year brings and how much Carson grows and develops.  Happy birthday to our incredibly sweet, caring, funny, smart little man!