Phoenix turns four

P has been chatting about this birthday since, oh, when he turned three :) He loves everything about birthdays, particularly the song and the surprises wrapped in pretty packages. And after going to his first bday party this year (the twins') he also loved the idea of helium balloons. So I knew that including those three things would make his day. We topped it off by surrounding him with two of his uncles and an aunt and his day was golden. Despite the raging fever....

Birthdays bump up against our ethical code for living, creating a crazy pull between experiencing real joy with our child and kicking ourselves about balloons, wrapping paper and consumption :) But I had the feeling I'd been veering too far towards My ideals on His birthday when P sighed one day and dreamily asked if I thought he might, maybe, get a present with pretty paper and a bow this year :) (Wha? Those plain, recycled cardboard boxes don't seem festive?) Unfortunately, his pirate ship wouldn't fit in a pretty package once assembled, so we tied a bunch of helium balloons to it and left it in the middle of the room (hoping he wouldn't be up puking in the middle of the night and ruin the surprise :)

After a restless night he emerged, excited but bleary eyed, to see an apparently overwhelming site. He stood, transfixed, in one doorway, looking at his ship and balloons in the next room. But it wasn't clear what he was feeling, mini-enigma that he is. Having really thought through this surprise, I was just beginning to question myself when he bellowed for BB. Only once his monster joined him at his side did he crack a smile of extreme pleasure. "Look BB. Look at that." And he pointed and grinned as the monster oooed and ahhhed. Then he grabbed BB's arm and rushed to his present. Phew. Nothing worse than disappointing your four year old on the first birthday he'll probably remember :)

P gives into a grin:


Little BB takes a ride:


Before the fever was an issue we had asked P his hopes for his birthday. Musuem? Pirate ship tour? Hiking upstate? Nope, he just wanted to hang at home all day and play with us. So his fever did little to deter our plans. Little BB fit perfectly on the pirate ship and he sailed around all morning. P opened from Grams after lunch (party paper and bows and all) and we played his new games for the rest of the afternoon (he Loves games lately). By the time evening rolled around his fever was spiking and his energy dwindling. Seth and Alicia arrived to find him lethargic on the couch, too sick to open his presents without help. It was pretty pathetic.

Hating to offer medicine that would give him the comfort to jump and wrestle all evening only to crash harder later, we did it anyway - for the sake of the bday:) Within the hour he was enthusiastically shooting the spinner Uncle Bric gave him and strumming his guitar from Seth. He also shared his new pirate tattoos with everyone and stood in the dark bedroom to watch them glow. He was so surrounded by love and thoughtfulness he was practically glowing himself.

P helps Aunt Alicia with her tatoo:


One proud P:


Papa and P:


His chosen dessert, after many, many changed minds, was pumpkin pie. I shocked him silly by having candles and we all sang his favorite song. Forgetting his fever, I encouraged him to blow his candles out and then looked on in illuminated horror as I saw germs spew all over the pie. Brave family that they are, they all ate dessert :)



After that, our worms were somehow brought up and E was finally fully alert :) He grabbed his babies and proudly showed them off. P loves the Idea of our worms, but, perhaps because of their extreme numbers, he's always been a bit shuttery around them. Digging in the park, he'll rescue worms and build them little homes, but pull out the compost and he just "ewwws." His newfound fourness found him proudly holding a red wiggler worm... until it suddenly squiggled and he squealed and jumped. This got a big laugh and prompted more shenanigans. Ending with E kindly letting a worm walk on his head....




After reading one of the new books Aunt Alicia gave him he zonked, hard, only to hold onto his fever for another two days. Fortunately for us, she had also given him "The Inventions of Huge Cabret," all 550 pages of it. Told in story and pictures it instantly captured Phoenix's fascination, and he burned through it while waiting for his fever to abate, generally breaking only to play his guitar :) By the time we left town at the end of the week we only had 30 pages left, and I'd guess we'll start right back at the beginning as soon as we finish it.