Happy Birthday to my Little Man

Though it seems it can’t be true, my darling boy is now four years old! Oliver continues to amaze us with his keen observation, his energy and excitement, and his sense of humor.

I was talking to my neighbor about Oliver, and I was telling him how I wish I could hold his little newborn self just once more. The time passes so quickly, it’s hard to even remember what he looked like then. Yes, the pictures take me back to that time, but perhaps if I could do it again I would have cherished the moment more, had I known how soon it would happen that this tiny peanut would turn into a little boy.

My cherishing would be momentary of course, if my return in time relived itself exactly the same way it did the first time. Oliver cried the entire night he was born, and Joe and I have been exhausted ever since! I say this jokingly, but yet with an element on honesty…

We celebrated Oliver’s fourth birthday with dinner and cake at Toni and Avery’s house. Oliver opened a few presents, one of which was a super cool bike from his friends, and then we headed out to see Christmas lights. The City of Temecula does a tour of Christmas lights around town each year. So we hopped on a bus with a bunch of other folks, and drove all around to see the lights and enjoy the season.

Oliver quickly proved to be the life of the party, anxious to answer the tour guide’s riddles, win prizes with his raffle tickets, and make miscellaneous comments that spurred giggles from those around us. On the ride home, our guide was kind enough to indulge Oliver and had the entire bus sing happy birthday to him.

I am hoping that he felt special this night. He is special to Joe and Me, and Henry, and his family, every day and night. Even though he’s growing so fast, I tell him often he’ll always be my baby. He tells me right away, but mommy I want to grow up, or sometimes, it’s “Mom, I’m going to grow into a daddy”… but whether he’s four or forty, he’ll always be my special little man.