Lane is 4!

Middle one has turned four! So hard to believe. With Owen just 18 months behind, I barely have babies anymore.

I adopted some birthday tradition ideas from my friend Ashley. We celebrated Lane's birthday for several days before the actual date. Each morning he would wake up and there would be a wrapped (dollar store) gift to start his day. I also made a sign that said, _ more days until Lane's birthday and each morning filled it in accordingly. This year all gifts were themed spiderman because that's what my little man is into these days. He actually has never seen the show or movie so knows very little about who he is. But somehow all boys innately know he is cool.

On his real birthday, we skipped school and went to Busch Gardens as a family. The next day at school his teacher said, "Lane you were playing hookie at Busch Gardens yesterday!" And Lane said very adamantly, "I didn't play hookie-they didn't have that game there."

And now I'm going to brag on my boy for a few moments. We had his 3rd quarter parent/teacher conference today. His teacher said he is ready to go to kindergarten! (He still has another year and a half until he's old enough though!) Academically, he has surprised me unbelievably. I guess because he had such serious speech issues, I never got to notice how smart he is! His speech teacher said he has met every speech goal and now the only sound that remains incorrect is "r" which is actually age appropriate and alone would not qualify for speech. His OT & PT teacher said he was the most stimulable child they have worked with because even though he rarely knows how to do the task at first, he immediately catches on once shown the correct way. He is writing his first and (long) last name and went from knowing 3 letters in the fall to all of them at this point.

Emotionally, Lane is still my most sensitive child. He is super sweet and always saying thank you for what ever he is appreciating at the moment. "Mommy thank you for taking me to Busch Gardens" or "Mommy thank you for taking me to Wyatts birthday party." He is also the most likely to have an emotional blow-up when he feels misunderstood or that something is unfair. He always thinks of his sister and brother when he is away from them and wants to bring them back one of whatever he is getting. He is finally at the age where he and Amelia can play peacefully for long periods of time. (Throw Owen into the mix and it is still constant fighting).

His sentimental spirit can be seen in his toy choices also. He still chooses stuffed animals over most other toys and he has them all named: Alex, Bud, Nana Bear, and Otis to name a few.

While on the skyride at Busch Garedens he turned to me and said in the sweetest most innocent voice, "Mommy, I feel like I could reach right up and touch heaven."

He is such a special boy and Jason and I are so blessed we have been entrusted with him!