Four!

 Wow, four has never seemed like such a big number before! Look at the big boy haircut! Well, half a haircut, to be fair, he ran off before I could get it really even... And he's been doing a birthday countdown for a few weeks now, until the day finally arrived. Almost. It hadn't really arrived at 5am when he got up, not even really at 6am when we talked about it again. It had just about crept over the sleep-deprived horizon by 6.45am when even the littlest girl gave up trying to keep her eyes closed and we began the celebrations.

 So this morning, our boy opened his presents from the family and then spoke to his Grandparents on the phone while we prepared for his party. He had some little friends and their siblings over for a fancy-dress party and it worked out really well! He was a fireman (but of course!), regularly taking breaks to be a builder with his new toolkit (thanks to a very tuned-in Uncle!) and mainly sitting on the windowsill watching for his friends to arrive. Luckily we had anticipated this with a lunchtime party - he'd never have been able to wait any longer!

His biggest sister declined the fancy dress but spent hours preparing food with me, blowing up balloons and applying facepaints to small children - a total star. His littlest sister whinged for most of the day, but looked incredibly gorgeous as a ballerina dragon.

 And the cake. A little standing ovation for the cake, please.

 I've never used roll out icing before, buttercream is my usual favourite way to cover up a lumpy cake - but now I know how easy it is, I'll be much braver in the future! A regular 8" two-layer victoria sponge cake, with an extra layer on top that was baked in the bottom of a round glass bowl (lined with parchment paper, after the first one got stuck!), filled with jam and cream and piled high before being covered in buttercream and then royal/regal icing (what's the difference? Anyone know or care?) and decorated. The chocolate button studs were a big-sisterly inspiration, and the number 4 in chocolate cooking beads (no, of course they're not nasty nestle sweets!) was a similar flash of genius. And the printed Fireman Sam decoration was a big hit, too - and very cheap! I'd been having nightmares about this cake, ever since my gorgeous boy asked me so sweetly for 'a hat cake, please, mummy' that I couldn't let him down. I was hugely relieved by how easy it was and how great it tasted - gluten free, too.

The children at the party loved making and decorating gingerbread men and had fun hunting for treasure in the lounge and playing dancing games with the two older siblings present co-ordinating the music. The food was a big hit and things just seemed to work out really well.

The afternoon was busy, with relatives popping in to say happy birthday - oh and fill our house with gifts... My little boy was on top of the world all day long, pausing every now and then to give a huge grin and say 'I'm so happy!'. He's so delightful and so much fun to be with, I'm so pleased he had a happy and exciting day. Tomorrow we're having a family day out which will hopefully be a bit more relaxing but equally fun, and maybe we'll even get five minutes without any rain...

I just can't believe he's been on the planet for four years. When he was born, I couldn't believe how tiny he was and how loudly he cried. He still cries unbelievably loudly, but isn't quite as tiny any more. I've so enjoyed his company in the last year and I love the way he's becoming so much more sure of himself and his place in the world. It's such an amazing journey, watching this boy grow. I feel very lucky to be walking beside him.