Jack is 4!

Our oldest little man turned 4 today!  Mr. Jack Christian was our very first born and has been such a joy to us from the very first day.  He's so sweet, compassionate, loving, funny and energetic.  I just love his passion for life - I seriously want to bottle it up and sell it!  He wakes up every day in a great mood, ready to conquer the world.  And despite his typical 4-year-old behaviors, he's an amazing kid and we are so blessed that he is ours. 

These days he's really into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, characters from the movie Planes, watching animated movies with his daddy and reading cool books.  But mostly, he loves spending time with his family and friends.  I mean, this kid really LOVES the people around him.  He's going to be such a loyal son, brother, cousin, grandkid and friend when he grows up.  He's a great big bro to Gavin and he absolutely adores his baby sister Dylan.  And he has such an awesome group of friends from school who have a really special bond for a bunch of 4 year olds.  Its really cool to see them together.  I am so glad he has them in his life.

He's such a big kid now and I was really starting to mourn the fact that his baby days are gone.  But God definitely works in mysterious ways because he brought us Dylan who is the spitting image of Jack.  They look identical as babies and in some ways they even have the same characteristics - she's chubby like he was, she eats like him, she cries like him and she even has the same dry skin on her forehead like he did. She even smells like him which brings back a flood of memories of caring for Jack when he was a newborn.  So I guess I can find a little comfort in that.  I definitely miss Baby Jack but I am so proud of the person that he has become.  I cannot wait to see what greatness lies ahead for him! 

We had an awesome day celebrating his 4th year with him.  Here's a little sneak peak into Jack's big day...

As you can see from the photo above, we got Jack a new Razor scooter for his birthday.  Here he is riding it outside for the first time.  He's actually pretty good at it.  Poor little Gav is always trying to keep up with his big brother...

Next up was lunch at Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor.  Jack LOVES this place.  We've been here a few times and they make a big deal about birthdays so Jack has been dying to come here for his own.  Jenny and the girls met us and we had a blast.  Here's the birthday boy...

Cousins!  I swear I never get a good picture of all of them...

Besties for life...

Jack's Big Ole Sundae...strawberry ice cream with caramel sauce and whipped cream!

Silly Daddy...

Gavin really liked his ice cream...

And what summer birthday celebration would be complete without a trip to the pool?!  Jack loves his new swim suit from Gigi and Papa...

 

Daddy and Jack always have fun together...



Our little surfer dude...

 

 

So it's my tradition to take a picture with Jack every July 16 at exactly 8:21 pm, the time that he was born.  It's such a special moment for me and it makes me stop and remember how I felt the day he came into my life.  I will take them and post them as long as he will let me.  Here are our special pictures from the last 4 years.  I love looking back and seeing how much he has grown...

 

 

Newborn...

First...

Second...

Third...

Fourth...

 

Happy Birthday Jack!  We love you!