Emrick Turned Four a While Ago!

Maybe it’s not exactly exciting to post about a birthday three and a half weeks two and a half months nearly three months after the fact, but Pookie needs some acknowledgement here! That kid is FOUR, and I can hardly believe it. His appearance, his speech, his attitude… they’ve all become so much more grown up lately. The last glimmer of “toddler” in him is finally gone. It makes me a little sad. Last night I was watching some old videos of him singing songs — posted on this blog in earlyish 2013 — and ohhhhh. My baby! He was so sweet, so round, so compliant!

But of course, it’s amazing to see him develop into a real “little boy”, one who can dress himself, get on the potty by himself,  and get his own snack. One who reads and does math, and whose print is at least as legible as Marcus’s! One who often can operate electronic devices better than I do. And one who says things like, “Mommy, I’ve changed my mind about those guys.”

Grandma Sorensen was in town the weekend before Emrick’s birthday, so we went ahead and celebrated then. We asked Emrick where he wanted to eat for his birthday meal, and he picked Carrabba’s. Believe it or not, we had not been to Carrabba’s in a while. Our local franchise (the only one in Utah) came under new ownership/management last year, and the service has declined since then, so we don’t eat there as often. Plus, we just don’t eat out as much — especially to full service restaurants — now that we have two kids. But this was Emrick’s birthday meal and he wanted Carrabba’s, so that’s where we went! (And it was good!) Before we left, Emrick was watching me get ready and asked me to put some stuff on his hair. So I used a combination of gel and hairspray to give him a comical hair do.

I lifted Emrick in my arms so that he could see his new hair in the mirror. When he saw himself he laughed and said, “I’m not the same boy anymore.”

LOLOLOL. I have no idea where he got that, but man did I find that funny. By the time we got into the car a short time later, his hair was starting to look more normal.

Emrick is loaded up and excited for Carrabba’s.

Emrick loves his bread and olive oil.

Holly had no complaints either.

After Carrabba’s, we went home to open presents. The only problem is that Emrick fell asleep on the drive home, and the prospect of new toys and presents was not enough to wake him.

I stuck a present under his arm while he slept, hoping to get his attention. Nope.

But eventually we were able to get him awake enough to remember that he had presents (!) and soon he was opening them.

Grandma Sorensen got him a felt pizza set, and he LOVES it.

I got him some books and a notebook with pencils. He likes to write out his letters, and sometimes he doesn’t always do it in the right spot. So I bought him a notebook just for that purpose.

And then we had cake and ice cream. For the past two years, Marcus and I have baked and decorated a cake for Emrick ourselves. But this year Emrick asked for a specific cake from the grocery store. Over the summer, Marcus had bought a slice of some fruity cake from the Smith’s bakery that had pineapple and mango in it, and Emrick loved it. So then either Marcus or Emrick got the idea that we should get a whole one for his birthday. Great! But when I tried to get one, I learned that that particular cake had been a seasonal item (no longer in stock, now that the season had changed) that was special ordered and not made on site, so it was a no-go. So I bought this lemony thing instead, and added some writing to it with red gel. It was definitely a no-fuss cake, but it was quite good and Emrick liked it a lot.

Happy Birthday (again), four-year-old boy. No matter how big you get, you are my Pookie. Forever and ever.

Love, Mommy.