Officially 4

Well it is official, Nate is now 4. 

He had a pretty interesting day.  Daddy made him some special pancakes,

then we went and bought donuts to share with his class (can you say sugar overload?).   When we arrived at daycare the kids jumped out yelling and screaming Happy Birthday! - which was super cute but either scared him a little or simply overstimulated him and he began crying when I was trying to leave.  Not just the simple I-am-going-to-miss-you cry but the sob-to-the-core-of-my-soul cry as he hung onto the door with both hands so I could not shut it.  The kind of cry that makes a Mom feel terrible for not keeping him home and letting him watch TV all day, while eating ice cream, with only his underwear on, while Mommy bakes fresh cookies...because after all, it is his birthday.  So I took him from his class and spent a few more minutes with him (mainly trying to calm him down) and went into bribing mode.  Now, if you know me, you know I am not that kind of mom.  I don't think you should shut a kid up by promising him things...and yet, there I was begging him to stop crying and promising to try to get out of work early to take him for ice cream.   Sheesh.  And so it begins.....eventually another daycare worker got him to be her "helper" and Mommy slowly snuck out the back door, with her head hanging in shame.  Needless to say, he had a great day at school (and Mommy did not get off early). He was happy as a clam when I picked him up.  He was wearing his birthday crown, which is apparently a highly coveted accessory and had a bag with the extra donuts.  He went on and on about how he got special privileges today  and how his friends sang to him.  Then we did go to Chick-fil-a and got nuggets and a milkshake (see only one broken promise).  We came home to a large balloon on the door from our amazing neighbors, which really excited him (which could have also been a side effect of sucking down his milkshake at ridiculously high speeds). 

We then went over to his friends house where he was watched by his favorite baby sitter and hung out with his best buds while the parents went to small group.  However, he proceeded to hit some friends and spent most of the time in time out (again, we are probably partially to blame for allowing excessive sugar intake all day).  Overall I think he had a good birthday...we are really looking forward to the party on Saturday.