4 Years

It was four years ago on this day at 7:35 am that this sweet little baby boy came into our family. In the time that has passed since that day, we've discovered how our son has lived up to his name:

M = Mischevious. I undersetimate the sneaky mind of my little boy sometimes. He has done things such as finish off a box of Oreos while I was in the shower, unravel a brand new roll of toilet paper, and hide his uneaten lunch under the bathroom sink without my knowledge. He loves trouble so much sometimes I wonder if we should have named him Dennis. (You know, Dennis the Menace).

A = Athletic/Active. Max loves to move! I swear it was all over the day he began to crawl. He LOVES to wrestle, play sports, dance, do cartwheels, jump of anything and everything, and run. During the Olypmics this past summer, Max would act out the events we watched on tv. From "diving" off the couch to doing gymnatics to playing volleyball. No lack of energy here.
X = Xciteable. If you take the everday moving Max described above and add people into the mix, you've got one eXcited litte boy. Max just can't control himself when we get together with family and friends. He is very social and doesn't take long to warm up.
W = Warm. Max definitely has a warm side. Although his snuggling may only last a few seconds, he is not shy to show affection or concern for others. He has been known to go and grab a kleenex unprompted for anyone who is crying.

E = Entertaining. Whenever we go to Craig's parents' house, we often find ourselves just sitting in the front room and watching Max do his thing. It's mostly comprised of his cartwheels and wrestling or other cool tricks he comes up with, but we also get some Batman beating up the bad guys in there. He's a pretender and has got a fun imagination. We could watch Max go and go for a while.

L = Learner. Max loves to learn about everything around him. He's in that stage right now where he asks "why" for pretty much everything. He'll ask such questions as why our car is black or where macaroni and cheese comes from. Max is really loving preschool and I get a kick out of the things he learns there from how to write letters to what hibernation means.

L = Loving. I will never tire of the random hugs and kisses Max gives me. I still remember a time when Max was only about 1 year old and I had been having a bad day. As I had him on my lap to put his shoes on, he simply reached around and touched my cheek as if he knew I needed a little TLC. It was such a sweet and tender moment. We are so blessed to have him in our lives.

We celebrated a little early and had a little party for him Saturday afternoon. We went bowling and then came back to our apartment for some presents, cake, and ice cream. It was a great time and we're lucky to have so many people around who love our Max. Happy Birthday, little dude!

(He changed his shirt to match the cake)