The morning of his birthday did not get off to the best start. Both kids woke up very early, and were very cranky. Jeff had planned to take the morning off of work so that we could all go to the zoo together, one of Juan Pablo's favorite things to do. By 8am though, it was clear that a zoo trip with the kids being as cranky as they were was not going to be much fun. Ana Luisa went down for a nap at 8:30, but Juan Pablo wouldn't fall asleep. He did lay down and rest though, so we decided to go to the zoo still when Ana Luisa woke up. Juan Pablo ended up falling asleep on the way to the zoo, and was well rested by the time we got there. It was a hot day, and the zoo was more crowded than we expected it to be on a Monday, but it ended up being a lot of fun. The kids especially enjoyed watching the new baby elephant, and Juan Pablo got to ride the carousel. (Side note: I got on the carousel with him, and after he picked out which horse he wanted to ride on, I looked on the horse's saddle blanket to tell Juan Pablo what it's name was. The carousel horse's name was "Tim". Is it just me, or is this a really funny name for a carousel horse? The ones around us had names like "Angel" and "Patriot" and "Dover"...and then there's Tim. I thought it was funny.)
We came home and had Juan Pablo's favorite dinner, chicken, then sang happy birthday and ate cupcakes:
Then the kids and I went outside to wait...
...and Jeff brought out Juan Pablo's birthday gift!
Juan Pablo was very excited to try out his new big boy bike:
He still can't quite peddle. Or steer. Or do both at the same time, for that matter, but he likes to practice.
And of course the little sister wouldn't be left out of anything. She was actually driving Juan Pablo crazy all day, singing "Happy Birthday to Juan Pablo AND Ana Luisa" and insisting that she was also four. Crazy little thing.
Since Juan Pablo's birthday fell on a Monday, we had his birthday party the weekend after. He had been planning this for months, at least since Ana Luisa's birthday party back in April. He was insistent that we needed to have "Balloons, and streamers, and party hats, and goody bags." So the day before the party we went to pick up all kinds of fun things for the party. Here he is with his buddy Gianna, sporting their awesome party hats. You can see some streamers in the background, and Gianna is holding a balloon. The goody bags were not handed out until after the piñata.
The kids played in the backyard despite the fact that it was infested with mosquitos. Then it was time for the piñata. The kids are old enough now to know what it's about and really try to hit it as hard as they can...but they are still too little to break it by themselves. Very cute to watch.
After a few rounds, Jeff took charge and broke the piñata. While the rest of Juan Pablo's friends scrambled to gather up all the candy they could, Juan Pablo grabbed a bag of peanut M&Ms and ran off to sit in a sled in the driveway by himself, so he could eat them in peace away from the all the commotion.
Then it was time for cake. Over the course of his months of party planning, Juan Pablo had discussed several options for how he would like to have his cake decorated. Some of his favorite animals (elephants, lions, monkeys) had been in the running, as well as dinosaurs-related themes. Finally, a couple days before he settled on the perfect idea: a jellyfish cake. Where that came from, I have no idea. Unless jellyfish cake mania takes over as a popular kid's birthday cake theme, I think this is probably the first and last cake that I will decorate with jellyfish. Funny, funny boy.
We had cake...
...and opened presents.
Ana Luisa's face in this picture pretty accurately reflects her mood during the party. Like on the day of his birthday, she was having a bit of trouble letting him be the star for the day. Thankfully he didn't seem to mind when she opened one of his presents:
His favorite gift was definitely the animal capes that Abuela made for him. He has a lion, a leopard, a cheetah, a zebra and a dinosaur cape that he likes to wear around the house now (and Ana Luisa does too). I love them because they are much easier to take on and off than costumes. He loves them because he spends all day pretending to be different animals anyway, and now he has costumes to wear for a lot of these animals too. Ana Luisa loves them because there are enough that she can always wear one too and that way she never gets left out of the game. Thank you Abuela!
And apparently, these capes make very convincing costumes. A couple days after the party, Juan Pablo went to the grocery store dressed as a leopard. Several people asked him if he was a leopard to which he responded, "No, I'm just a boy dressed like a leopard." He didn't want them to worry.
We are having so much fun watching our little boy (who is often dressed like an animal) grow up. He is never bored, always full of ideas for something fun to do or some great game to play. He is so creative and imaginative, and we love that about him. He is wonderful with his little sister, calls her his best friend, and loves to include her in the games that he makes up, even when she doesn't quite understand what they are all about. He is still very much a mama's boy, which I love because it means I still get lots of snuggles from him. He loves to play and be active with his papa, and also loves to help him in the yard and with the garden. He is constantly making us laugh. We can't wait to see all the ways that he will continue to grow over the next year. We love you Juan Pablo!
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