Four!

Otto is four. And is he ever. If he does something tricky or cool and you tell him, he says, "yeah, that's 'cause I am bigger now, I am four". It seems totally corny, but I swear on his birthday last Monday he woke up bigger. I keep looking at him trying to figure out just how to put into words what makes him look and seem older and I can't figure it out. He is growing out of clothes at a lightning fast rate, but he often does that. I just bought him some new pants and shorts and I ordered size 5/6. The kids legs go on forever! His ability to sit quietly and play with Legos gets longer everyday. We now spend most of our time at home building with Legos, reading about Star Wars or dressing up and acting out scenes of fantasy having to do with Star Wars.

Otto still continues to be a wonderful big brother to Mette. He really cares about her. He is often sad when she has to take a nap and is so excited when she wakes up. Having her around to play with really is an important part of his day. They are still playing really well together. He is getting better at explaining with whole sentences how he wants Mette or I to play with him. Instead of just "Mette, follow me!" I am trying to help him tell her why he wants her to follow him. And where they are going. If she catches wind that he is too eager to play with her she shuts down and won't play anymore. Just to piss him off. She is a little stinker this one. But, if he can sell and exciting adventure she still idolizes him enough to want to follow along. With Otto I feel like I am giving him good life skills for dealing with women and people in general. With Mette I am not at all worried that I am setting her up to follow along with the program. Mette is never going to be a person who just goes with the flow. Of that we can be very certain.

We are establishing quite a lovely tradition of quietly celebrating birthdays at home with just family. Eric, the kids and myself and grandparents who can make it. I am really hoping we can keep this up for many years to come. It is so relaxing and much more fun than a big party. Next year we will be in London for the kids birthdays so it will be easy to do there!

We celebrated Otto's birthday last Saturday with presents and cake with Grandmom and Grandpa. Otto was just a LITTLE excited!!

You may notice there was a bit of a STAR WARS theme. Legos, dishes, sheets, books. He got it all.

Just talking about cake and ice cream got this:

Actually seeing it come through the door:

Getting closer....

Here it is. The Hoth cake. A buttercream winter wonderland.

Making sure those are real Lego guys.

Tasting a bit of the icing.

I love this shot.

Complete with a Wampa in the background.

Happy Birthday Otto. Four years, they are flying by. I am looking forward to this next year coming up. We have a lot of adventures in store for us. You really are turning into a wonderful little boy.

Much love,

mom