Dear Cash

Cash-man, Cash Blast, Nut, Cash Cash, Blast, Cashew

Today you are 4. I don't even know how that happened.
We celebrated with the family on Sunday night at Lolli and Pop's house with a cookie cake. And of course this morning you woke up to donuts (by request).

You are amazing.

You have an amazing zest for life and for fun. And for thrill seeking. You have this magnetic energy that draws people towards you. You look just like my dad when he was little and like Pa. I love this about you. I was 4 when Pa passed away, but always felt so close to him and like I had a special bond with him. I love that I, in a sense, get to see Pa in you every day.

This birthday is sad and exciting at the same time. You are no longer a baby,but a boy that is fearfully and wonderfully made. Although it is sad to me that the time is going so darn fast, it is such a privilege to watch you grow and change into this young boy who I know is going to do amazing things.

You can cuddle like nobody's business!  You are in my lap, in my arms, touching me, holding my hand, and generally just as close to me as you possibly can all the time. You have come around and will love on Dad too now--he loves it and will stop everything else going on when you come and show him affection.

You are caring and thoughtful, hilarious and sweet. Im not gonna lie, you control me 100%. I can't handle the cuteness of your face!

You are crazy and wild and constantly make us laugh!! I feel like these picture are a glimpse into your college years. I am scared.

You love to make people laugh! Just tonight at dinner you were slurping noodles, and acting like a total goofball just to make Eli laugh!

I fear you will be an adrenaline junkie (just wait until you see your birthday present!!!).  You can skateboard and ride your bike like a champ. You have such a great sense of your body and are very coordinated and pick up on any and every sport you have tried. You give me mini-heart attacks daily.

You have an interesting sense or style and dress yourself every day. You just don't care what people think and always have interesting accessories or outfits that are so random.

That's a bruise, not a dirty face. And yes, he watched Eli's basketball game like this

You can fall asleep at the drop of a hat when you are sleepy.

You and I have soooo much fun together!

You really adore Eli and Owen--the feeling is mutual. You call them "your bruders" and that is how you refer to them often.

You are still a vegetarian (aside from bacon), and its difficult to feed you! You love being outside and riding around or helping your dad work outside or in the garage. You are anxious to tag along with me no matter where I am going or what I am doing.  Ducky (aka Duhshee) is your main squeeze and goes with you every where. Mr. Pups is a close second to Ducky. We got Mr. Pups on our trip to Vegas this year. You dress yourself everyday, sometimes you change multiple times. You are always switching shoes during the day and know what you want. You tell me I am pretty or that you like my outfit- what 3 year old does that?!?! You are in our bed every night and make sure I am right next to you, you grab my hand and cuddle with it, or randomly reach out in the middle of the night to make sure I am still there. It is hard to sum up your sweetness in writing. You have an amazing sense of humor and we joke all the time. You are really shy at first around new people and places, but when you warm up, you are totally in it. You are so tough. You are brave, totally independent, strong and adventurous.

You are remarkable human with so much going for you. I am honored and thrilled to watch this next year as a 4 year old. Happy birthday to my baby!

I love you too much (like I tell you every night and you tell me)-
Mom

Summer Update #1

A few weeks back we met Ethan at Mayfield Park. There are so many hidden gems in Austin that we have yet to explore.  I don't think I have been to Mayfield park since I was little but we had a great time exploring, hiking, and befriending the peacocks!

And speaking of hidden Austin gems, a few weeks later we went and checked out St. Edwards Park.  Ethan had been back there and gone exploring so he took us out there to show us around.  

Beautiful!!!

Of course they took their nets and were on a mission to catch some fish in between swimming.

Another place we checked out was Riemer's Ranch. All of the kids from our cul-de-sac went out there together for the afternoon.

The boys set up their first Lemonade stand in our front yard.  What sweet neighbors we have! It was so great to see so many people stop, tip and be so sweet to the boys! They raised a whopping $22.

We have hit up the skate park a time or two.

This last time, Cash had a little mishap and his face had it out with a concrete corner.  Neither of us saw him actually fall, but we knew it was bad by his cry. Within a minute of it happening his cheek was swollen to twice its size.

The pictures really don't do it any justice on how terrible it actually looked, but over a week later and there is still a lingering bruise. So if his face looks messy in the following pictures, its just a bruise.

My grandmother also took a fall that week when she was walking to get her mail.  We usually pick her up on our way to my parents house every Sunday and hang out with her but since my parents were out of town, we did not have our usual Sunday dinner. Ethan, Rachel and I still picked her up and all had lunch with her and she and Cash compared bruises. She also took her first selfie.

We kept Lola for the day while Ra and Hobo went to San Antonio for a funeral and she just followed Cash around the whole day.

We also took them to check out the Austin Aquarium for the first time this summer.

One of Blaine's friends from High school, Travis and his wife Valerie, were in Austin. We met them out for Coffee at Jo's and then went to see my dad at the store.  The next night, they came and stayed at our house for the night before heading back off to Oregon.

As always, they parked it at Janie's desk and played with her calculator with a paper roll...and wasted a whole lot of it.

We have done some game nights and movie nights...the boys love doing this!

We really have been keeping busy in between our two Port A trips with random outings, getting together with friends we don't always get to see and just taking in the easy, no-rush mornings. These are just a few of the highlights on the last weeks....aka, the only things I have remembered to take pictures of:)