My youngest son just turned four not too long ago. And let me be the first to say that I find that hard to believe! It seems like only yesterday he was born. Or perhaps just taking his first step or saying his first word. How can he be four!?!? That’s just not possible.

However, it’s true. He’s four. I have come to terms with that. And my oh my how he has grown. This past year alone he’s learned so much, and more and more he wants to be like his big brother. (Although there are plenty of times he can’t stand him, too).

Now that my children are old enough to make choices on how they want to party (and birthdays are something to throw a party for!), we let Asher make some decisions. This, my friends, is how a four-year-old thinks (at least mine anyway):

    1. He wanted to do nothing but play, play, play. And it was fun. There are two churches in town that have indoor play areas, and seeing as it was raining, that’s where we went. The one was our first visit and it was HUGE! We’ll definitely be going back. We also went to an indoor McDonald’s play place. I mean, we were eating there so why not play there!?!
    2. He wanted to eat out for each of his meals. This was okay as long as it was nothing too expensive. And really, at his age, he only knows fast food. Although he’s been to some sit-down restaurants, he’s still far too young (and active and loud) to frequent them. Therefore, he got a cinnamon roll for breakfast, Taco Bell for lunch, and the aforementioned McDonald’s for supper.
    3. He wanted his favorite comfort foods for his birthday party meal, which took place a few days later. That consisted of cheese pizza, cheese puffs, red grapes, and chocolate milk. Simple, and yet, somewhat, sort of, a little healthy. LOL!
    4. He wanted a Paw Patrol cake, which I’m thinking most four-year-olds do. We went to a new bakery, which I wasn’t crazy for after having eaten the cake, but they did a great job on the design! It looks big, but it’s actually only a 9×13″ size cut into a bone 🙂
    5. He also wanted to go pick out his own stuff to put on his birthday list. I was actually kind of glad because that takes a lot of guesswork out of it. I basically took him to a local store, went up and down the aisles, and then he picked out what he really found interesting. Then I wrote it down, and shared it with all those who buy him something. He was a happy camper when he opened those gifts! My oldest got something out of it, too! When I took our birthday boy shopping, our oldest did a miniature golf date with his dad. This is something that worked out well, and we’ll continue to do this.

Overall, I think he did okay with his choices. I know not all things may be the easiest or healthiest or smartest or cheapest or whatever, but you only get one day a year to celebrate. Why not live it up? It’s safe to say our boy did. And I believe it’s a good thing to let our children make decisions, I mean, as long as they’re not harmful/destructive in any way. Of course, with more important decisions, we’d be more involved, lol!

Anyway, it has been a blessing for our youngest to be in our lives! One of the best things about him is that he gets actively involved with church and can memorize scripture easily. I can’t wait to see where God takes him and how He’ll use him for His kingdom.