Post birthday post

Lucky for us, Matt is a kid who is pretty easy to please and entertain. This year however, his birthday wish was for a four-wheeler and a gun (nice, I know) and he was quite adamant about receiving these items. We tried on countless occassions to get different gift ideas out of him but he stuck to his guns...no pun intended...and continued to repeat the same wish list over and over. So we broke down and caved to the little shit.

We started the day out by letting him open up the smaller gift of the two...

And as I mentioned, because he's easy to please, he never thought twice about how this might be the only gift he was receiving. He was as happy as could be and off to the sitters he went that morning with the promise of birthday cake that evening.

When we arrived home, having no clue that something bigger and better was awaiting him, off he went to play while I emptied out diaper bags and back packs. A few minutes later he came into the kitchen with a funny look on his face as he announced the fact that he had found a "really huge present in the living room!" I know how badly he was itching to get his hands on that gift so I made him wait just long enough for Daddy to get home so that he could watch him open it as well.

No sooner did Bill walk through the door did Matt start tearing off the gift wrap on the coveted present...

(Yes, that's Christmas wrapping paper. So what? It's double

sided so only one side looked 'christmasy'.)

I wish that I had been able to get a picture that captured the happiness on this kid's face when he figured out what it was. After every stitch of wrapping paper was removed from the box, he proceeded to climb on top. After all...isn't that what you're supposed to do with a four wheeler?


We promised him we'd go out to dinner that evening so while I fed Robert, Bill opened up the box so that Matt could at least see the actual gift. Once it was out, he hopped on top again. Hey, who needs wheels and handle bars anyhow?

(Can you see the joy on this kid's face?)

So after dinner, we came home for some cake. Recognize this thing? Yes, it's the exact same God awful green smiley face cake that he picked out last year. (Honest, go back in the archives for those pics.) After that it was off to bed with the promise that we would put his four-wheeler together that evening after he was in bed and that he could ride it the next day when the battery was done charging.

Saturday dawns and with it comes torential downpours. Matt spent every available moment sitting on his ride and while watching the rain come down, he would occassionally look my way and tell me, "Mommy, I love my four-wheeler." Although we felt bad about the still charging battery, we felt worse about the weather outside.

(Can't you just feel the love?)

Finally! Around 4pm or so, the rain slowed down to a light drizzle and so we hauled the four wheeler outdoors so Matt could enjoy his new gift. And off he went...

Almost taking out the light post and stopping just short of my feet...

All in all, his 20 minutes spent outside before the rain came down again, was well spent. We brought it back inside for lack of a better storage spot for the time being and Matt spent the next hour wiping it down. The tires even got a good cleaning too!

The next day was the parade in New Haven for St. Patty's Day, which Matt still thinks is held for his birthday. We braved the 36 degree weather to sit on the street and watch a lot of drunk Irishmen and Irish-wanna-be's march up and down the street. A few hot chocolates and many full bladders later, we made our way back to Grandma's for his official birthday party with the family at which he made out like a bandit. It looked like Christmas all over again. But the funniest part of the day was the attempt that I made at making a fire truck cake for him. The concept was good but the final result left a lot to be desired. Bill said it looked like a bad Maco paint job. I think it looks like it got too close to a structure fire and began to melt. Oh well!