Benjamin's 4th Birthday

Benjamin turned 4 on Tuesday, August 5th. Each year we let the kids pick what kind of birthday party they want to have and Ben wanted a Speed Racer Party. They haven't seen the movie (it's a little too mature for their age yet) but they have watched some old episodes of the speed racer cartoon and they loved it. All of the boys are really into cars, race cars and anything that is fast so it was fun for Jacob and Joseph too. I couldn't find a Speed Racer Pinata so I bought a hot wheels one and disassembled it, reconstructed it and painted it to look like the Mach 5 car from the show. I told Aaron (after spending probably 3 hours over the course of a couple days) that one way to feel like you've completely misused your time is to spend 3 hours on something that will intentionally be destroyed in about 3 minutes. Oh well, he loved it and the expression on his face when he saw it was payment enough.




We had a family party on his birthday with just us and Papa and Grandma and then on Saturday we had a little party where he invited some friends. The only time we could do it on Saturday though was in the evening because of soccer games in the morning and the ward picnic in the afternoon so we kind of made it a birthday party/ BBQ with the families of the friends. It was a lot of fun despite the fact that it decided to downpour that afternoon. It did stop long enough to do the pinata outside though and Benjamin had a good time with his friends.

Benjamin has grown up so much this year. He has so many unique personality traits that Aaron and I have come to love and adore. I apologize in advance for being so wordy but I don't ever want to forget these cute things that he does. Here are just a few of them.....

1) Benjamin is a very "serious" little boy and although he can be silly and fun loving he tends to be a very sober child with very serious moods and expressions. He doesn't liked to be toyed with and if he even senses a hint of sarcasm when you ask him a question (especially if it's an easy one), he will answer respectfully but in a slightly annoyed tone, with a simple "Yes." He will have no expression on his face almost as if he's irritated that his intelligence is being questioned with these ridiculous questions. It is so cute.

2) Benjamin has an adorable scratchy "little man" voice that will melt anyone's heart. The reason it's scratchy, you ask? Well, I can't be certain but it may have something to do with the fact that he growls with his throat when he gets mad or upset and when I try to imitate his growl it almost makes me go hoarse. This is another funny thing that he does that is both cute and very irritating. Instead of getting mad at his brothers in a normal way by saying ("knock it off", or "give it back to me") he will simply growl this deep growl that sounds like a race car revving it's engine.

3) Benjamin is a little snuggle bug and we love it! He is so perfectly plump and has the most squeezable body. He sleeps on the top bunk and every night when we tuck him in he will lean over the railing and give us the tightest squeeze around our neck and plant a 5 second mushy kiss right on our smiling lips.

4) We often will catch Benjamin singing primary songs on his own and role playing with his race cars when he thinks no one is paying attention. As soon as we comment on how cute he is or how nicely he is singing he gets this bashful little expression on his face and immediately stops because he is embarrassed. He also does this cute little head shake when he is embarrassed. Instead of answering with a "yes" or "no" he will just shake his little head back and forth without saying a word.

5) Benjamin is a tough little guy. What once looked like a chubby cherub-like little boy is now a solid little ball of muscle. I guess he has to be tough to be the youngest of 3 boys but I am not kidding when I say this kid is strong. He's like a little bull; short and stout. I'm sure it won't be long before he's taking down his big brothers in a wrestling match- seriously. He also has recently acquired the nickname of "Big Arm Ben" because he can throw a ball so far. During baseball season Aaron would often practice playing catch and hitting the ball off the tee with Jacob and Joseph. Benjamin soon wanted to be in on the action too (even though he was too young to play on a team). Aaron came inside one day and told me to come out and watch this boy throw. I am not kidding when I say that when he was playing catch with Aaron he consistently threw the ball 30 feet with perfect aim right into Aaron's glove, and that was when he was only 3 1/2. Crazy!

6) Another thing about Benjamin is that he is a very hearty eater. He eats more than his older brothers do at breakfast and lunch. Lately he has been saying he's still hungry after eating an entire PB sandwich. And I'm not talking about a sandwich on soft white bread. I only buy the multi-grain or 100% stone ground wheat bread that is super filling. The other day he downed 2 of those sandwiches for lunch. However he has absolutely no appetite for dinner. Every night no matter what I make he turns up his nose at what we're having and chooses to not eat his dinner knowing full well he won't get a bite or drink of anything until breakfast the next morning. Sometimes we will try to bribe him by saying he has to finish his dinner if he wants to have a dessert we're planning to have later but nothing works. He almost always forfeits whatever we're having for dessert (which is so unreal to me) and chooses to wait until breakfast.

7) One more cute thing about Benjamin that I find so humorous is how grown up he thinks he is. All of my boys have gone through phases as far as what their favorite TV shows are. Usually their first favorites are Blues Clues and Dora (2-3yrs old), then it was the , Wonder Pets and Little Einsteins (3-4 yrs), then it was Backyardagins and Curious George (4-5 yrs), now they're into Arthur and Cyberchase. Keep in mind however that my oldest is 6 almost 7. So what Jacob was watching when he was Ben's age was Wonder pets and Little Einsteins. But if you tried to put one of those shows on for him today he would be completely insulted and would refuse to watch it. Why you ask? Well, his response would be ......"because it's a baby show." So even though he just turned 4 he has the mind and maturity of a 6 year old (or so he thinks).


So my beautiful Ben is growing up and I am starting to get a little sad that he is leaving his baby years behind and entering the age of boyhood. He is such a sweet little boy and I am so lucky to be his Mommy!

Happy Birthday Ben.