a little bit of our story: charlie at four years old...

The party was a huge success for the big man. He was going nonstop from the minute we arrived. Eric and I decided to arrive a bit earlier than everybody else to get a table since it was on a Saturday and we did not have a "reserved" party. I was a bit worried when we pulled into the parking lot and it was already packed at 11am. We didn't have much trouble finding a table, although we were not in the actual party area. This was not a problem for us since it is so noisy over there and Charlie didn't seem to care. Eric and I were deciding how many tokens we should get as Eric slid his card into the token machine. Before we had a chance to decide, Charlie promptly reached up and pushed the $20 worth button. Ugh! We filled our pockets with over 100 tokens and got right to the action. Charlie rotated through the games accompanied by one grandparent or another. Then we ate mozzarella sticks and pizza, opened presents and ate cake. A few more games and then we were out of there. Although Chuck E. Cheeses is not my favorite place and it was crowded and noisy, it was nice to not have a big mess to clean up at my house!

The ridiculously expensive food...$35 for the pizza, cheese sticks and 3 drinks! At least I did not have to cook.
Telling/showing us that he is four years old!
The cake was a big hit. Charlie had been telling me for months that he wanted a white cake with yellow frosting, but he picked out the Thomas theme a few days before the party at Sam's Club. The cake in the center was white and it was really. really good. The chocolate cupcakes were just okay...good way to go to please both white and chocolate cake lovers.
Although he said he wanted white cake, he picked the chocolate cupcake and then only ate the frosting anyway. Eric and my mom were dying that I let him just eat the frosting, but come on, it was his birthday...what is a little extra sugar on your birthday?
Opening presents with Grandma P. He got a few board games, an art set, a Wall-E light for his room, some activity workbooks and crayons, a BSU jacket/pantset and some games for his Leapster 2.
Mom and Grandma Anita on Cannon duty. I know they were totally bummed that they didn't get to run around with all the hyper kids.
The little man taking a bottle break. Many other moms told me I was very brave for having him at Chuck E. Cheese being so little. I didn't see that I had much choice. It is a little crazy that he has not been out in public very much, and then when he does get out I take him to one of the biggest germ factories around! Oh well, we washed our hands frequently and he seems to be fine. :)
A few facts about Charlie at 4 years old:
- He is approximately 31 pounds, 37 inches tall and size 3T.
- His favorite color is yellow. He loves tuna sandwiches and orange juice. His favorite shows are Super Why and Word World. And he says his favorite song is "Womanizer" by Britney Spears after only hearing it once on the radio in the car! Uggghhh.
- He can read about 75-80% of anything he sees. Whether it be a sign, billboard, magazine, kids book or on TV, he can probably read it. He sometimes gets overwhelmed if there is a large paragraph, but has no problem reading short sentences.
- He is left-handed and is working on writing/drawing and using scissors. He does not like to write/draw so he will usually tell you that he does not know how. We are trying to work on it everyday.
- He loves to surf the internet and visit PlayhouseDisney.com and PBSKids.com. He knows how to use the mouse, how to log in to the computer, how to start internet explorer, how to print and how to toggle between two windows. He would play the games for hours if you let him. We recently had to revoke his printing priviledges because it was getting out of hand. He also loves to watch videos on YouTube, but knows that he is only allowed on YouTube with the supervision of an adult.
- He is a charmer. He steals the hearts of every one he meets just by showing off his little personality. He is not nearly as shy as he used to be, especially since Cannon came around. I think he is dying for any attention that he can get nowadays :)
- He will very rarely get out of bed on his own. If he wakes up, he will just lay in bed and sing songs and jabber until we come to get him. This has it's good and bad aspects. Of course we love that he is not up all night or during naptime playing with his toys, but it is proving challenging to get him potty trained during the night.
- He surprises me everyday with the things that he says and has figured out. He told me today when we were watching Martha Stewart making a recipe with eggs, "Hey mom, chickens come from eggs and then they turn into nuggets." Such a smart little guy.
- He is very sensitive. His feelings are genuinely hurt when he gets disciplined. If you use a stern voice with him, he gets sad and says "You can't talk mad to me!" He is also very sensitive to sound. He hates the vacuum, the hair dryer and especially the loud toilets and hand dryers in public restrooms.