Kids are strange...

I'm sure this applies to all children, but since I'm repeatedly exposed to mine, maybe it just seems more obvious with them? I don't know. All I'm sure of is that my children are a particular breed of, well, "special."

To illustrate my point:

Ethan decided that the spiked look was perfect for him.

The joys of having sisters.

Zoe and Anna wrapped Matt like a burrito and left him on the floor.

Anna walked around like this for thirty minutes until I agreed to take her picture.

At first glance, this seems like a sweet photo. Brothers, roasting things over a fire together...
Yeah, they're cooking a pickle.

I really have no idea what was going on here.

Anna didn't have anyone else to play Old Maid with, so Olaf decided to oblige.

(She's grinning because he has the Old Maid, but I think he ultimately won the game.)

Thank you, Grammy, for providing an abundant supply of nasty, fake teeth.

I looked in my rearview mirror in the midst of Austin traffic, and I saw this.

Nightmares, man.

(Note: I did not take this photo while driving. We did a dramatic reenactment upon returning home.)

Weird little buggers, aren't they?

Matt's Fourth Birthday!

It's so hard to believe that our little baby is already FOUR! Could it really be so long ago that we were with him in the NICU, watching him struggle to breathe, waiting to see if he would be okay, wondering when he'd be able to come home and be with his brothers and sisters? In some ways, it seems like it was only yesterday, but, in other ways, it feels like an eternity.

All the kids get a special breakfast on the day of their birth, and Matt's was themed after one of his current favorite things: Angry Birds!

This was, by far, the most difficult breakfast I've made.
(Note to self: pick something easier next time.)

No matter how hard it was and no matter how long it took, the look on this sweet boy's face made it completely worthwhile!

I hope he wished for something awesome!

(Maybe a maid service for his incredible mother?)

Instead of throwing the kids a birthday party, we've recently begun something a little more personal that I think will be a lot more fun. Each kiddo gets to choose whatever fun activity or event they would like, and we plan it out for them. Matt was very insistent that we all go to Chuck E Cheese's to play and eat pizza, so that's what we did!

No "cheese" for Mom, except on the pizza.

The looks that Zoe and Nicky have on their faces are the best part of this photo.

After several hours of games and food, we headed back toward home. There was, however, one more quick stop we had to make.

What's a birthday without cake?

And the cupcakes from Simply Sweet are definitely the best!

Open wider, Nick! Wider!!

I think Matt had a really great day, and he seemed to be overjoyed with everything. He told me several times how much fun his birthday was, and thanked me for every tiny little thing he could think of.

"Mama, thank you for driving me to Chuck E Cheese!"
"Mama, thank you for letting me wear this shirt."
"Mama, thank you for getting me a cupcake!"
"Mama, thank you for letting me eat some pizza."
"Mama, thank you for not making me take a nap today."

I'm just happy that my birthday boy had fun. I remember this day, exactly four years ago, and how unsure I was that my baby would even see his first birthday.

We are so incredible grateful that he's here with us today, four years later, happy and healthy! It's just as if those terrifying few days never happened at all.

Happy 4th Birthday, Matt-Matt! We love you so much, buddy!