Happy Birthday my big 4 year old!

We had a wonderful summer vacation at the cottage which culminated in Domingo's 4th birthday party.

While I'm not usually one to brag about my culinary exploits, I have to gloat a little about the dinosaur cake I made from SCRATCH! Grandma did advise on the shape, I was planning on a T-Rex, Domingo's favorite, but this Brachiasaurus just worked out perfectly if I do say so myself.


The table was beautiful thanks to the end of summer farmer's market in South Haven, beautiful and delicious multicolored tomatoes, local flowers, and enough chipa guazu to choke a burro. We also had Abuelo's secret recipe chicken that never fails to please. It was a wonderful party and delicious meal. Domingo has a pretty sweet set up with his birthday being on or around Labor Day every year. He got to celebrate again with the primas in Morris last weekend along with Abuelo!

I realize I have lapsed on the month day updates, but I may do a once a month update for both Domingo and Amalia, and I think a year in review at birthday time makes sense.
Over this past year Domingo has really stretched out, and this once super-duper chub is now a skinny, scabby-kneed, scruffy haired little boy.


While he is still obsessed with all things prehistorical (mammoths, dinosaurs, homo erectus) and animals, he is also developing new interests like "mythological creatures", Super heroes and other fantasy topics. We are raising quite the little nerd! (which is said with the utmost excitement and love)
We just finished a new chapter book called James and the Giant Peach, one of my very favorites when I was little (not nearly as little as him, but still). I see his imagination working full force when he listens to stories, and later acts out different scenes with his toys. Today he lined up his whales and prehistoric sea animals and said "this is like the battle of the Alamo, remember in Davey Crockett?" Early American history also seems to be strangely intriguing to him as well, either that or it's just the fact that it was a battle!
He is getting much better about playing with a sharing with Amalia and others. He almost never gets into fights over belongings with his primas, and adores his baby prima Lucy, sometimes even letting her play with his stuff!

School is starting up again, and he is excited and eager to go. He has asked me to be the helping mom and said that he really likes it when we are in his school. I love the school so much and am so glad we are able to send him there again. He is so curious and interested in learning about the world around him, how it works, why things happen. He is so careful and concerned about others, whenever I say "oh no" or "oh my goodness" he runs over and asks "what happened?" Or if Amalia is crying he always needs to know why. (Unless of course he's the reason, and then he already knows! And to his credit, he always fesses up when he's done something to make her cry.) But scuffles between them are also getting to be a fairly rare occurrence. He is starting to appreciate the total adoration of his little sister, and she is starting to develop interests of her own, so there are fewer skirmishes where we have to intervene.
He is growing so fast and so big, it almost happens before my eyes.
I want to slow down these moments grab him up in a hug while he still lets me and cover him with smooches. Fortunately for me, as he has gotten older, he has held on to the sweetness that he had as a baby. He spontaneously gives kisses and hugs. Out of nowhere he'll come up and say "I love you mom." And today he told me I was the prettiest girl in the world. How could I not just want this time to last forever?