He's FOUR!

We officially have a four year old in the house now!  Happy Birthday to my sweet baby boy!
We celebrated with a Star Wars Angry Birds birthday party, complete with a Piggy Death Star pinata lovingly made by Mama and Noah and exuberantly smashed to bits with a lightsaber.

Here are some fun things about our four year old:
-He weighs 31 1/2 pounds and is 40 inches tall.
-He is amazingly healthy overall.  He seems to be catching a lot of bugs this year, probably because we are actually doing more activities out in public for the first time...  But he always bounces back quickly and we continue to be so thankful and sometimes just amazed at his health and development when we think of where he started.
-He loves to talk.  His grammar is pretty much spot on and uses better vocabulary that many high school students I know.  Words that are heard on a regular basis include: perhaps, I believe, rather, prefer, actually, although.  I attribute this to reading so much, particularly classic Winnie-the-Pooh. :) Oh, and of course: why?  And one that is his own invention that I don't ever correct because it's just too stinkin' cute and actually makes perfect sense: amn't.  In sentences like "I amn't cold" "I amn't hungry" etc.  Can you tell what it means?  See, it makes sense.  He also says, "as a quarter of fact" instead of "as a matter of fact."
-He tells us that he loves us many times a day.
-His favorite stories are David and Goliath and Joshua and the battle of Jericho.  In the words of Noah himself, "I guess I just like stories about things that fall down!"  (This has also rubbed off on his little sister, who will fall to the ground whenever she hears the word "down.")
-His favorite thing is Star Wars Angry Birds and Star Wars characters, which he always calls "Star Wars Edition."  We have let him watch some clips from the movies and he picks up lots from the game and he loves it all.  He always calls Darth Vader "Dark Vader" and for some reason doesn't like to say C3PO, so calls him Cassiopeia (as in the constellation; he is very into outer space overall too), and his very favorite is Yoda.
-The things he notices, remembers, and puts together are crazy.
-Often quietly narrates what he is doing as he is playing.
-Loves to read.
-Loves to wrestle and roughhouse.
-Is definitely a firstborn and likes to know what is happening, have a plan, and be in charge if possible.
-Is a very good big brother overall.  Lydia gets into pretty much everything, and he does not like it when she gets to close to something he is working on, but is usually willing to share his things with her and is pretty patient with her.
-Is pretty emotional and puts on quite the dramatic responses for things...
-Says that he wants to be an artist and has reached the coloring stage, as in he will actually sit down and color or draw for a long period of time.  It is wonderful. :)
Four year old Noah in four words:  inquisitive, perceptive, sensitive, imaginative

I love my four year old!