Our Speed Racer Turns 4!

This boy delights me with his enormous grin. He was a darn cute baby, but I swear he grows cuter every year. Three definitely had its challenges (Terrible twos have nothing on the tornado that is 3), but he’s grown up so much over the past year. I love spending my days with him, hearing about preschool activities, and wondering what question he’ll ask next.

Ezra is full of energy, interested in all things mechanical, endlessly curious about how things work. He adores monster trucks, cars, airplanes, tractors, and anything with wheels. I only grew up with sisters and my oldest is a girly girl, so he’s introduced me to a wide world of books and movies about the workings of monster trucks, how buses are built, the inner workings of our bodies, and so much more. Because of Ezra, I am an expert Geo Tracks builder, I can line up toy cars with the best of them, and endlessly fix the ramps on the Hot Wheels toy garage.

Ezra is a bundle of contradictions and could probably be said to have my temperment, more than his easy-going father’s. This kid is so generous and shares so effortlessly and naturally. The other day, he came home from getting a hair cut with a balloon and a lolipop for his sister because he didn’t want her to be left out. He came running up the stairs the other day to proudly tell me how he’d shared half of the candy bar he was saving with his sister (she duped him into having one and half to her three and a half).

If he doesn’t know you, Ezra can appear reserved, but once he does, watch out. He loves to share news, will push for his turn to talk, and can talk and talk and talk (and talk!). He’s still my mini Incredible Hulk, but he’s working on it. I adore how he’s someone managed to reign in his temper when it comes to his baby brother and his pent up frustration is channeled into grabbing Kai by the head and kissing him. I hope he’ll continue to protect Kai as they grow older, showing him how to be gentle and kind.

We are so blessed to have Ezra and loved celebrating his birthday with a low-key party this weekend. In fact, he and his four little friends ate pizza, then cake, then opened presents, then decided to play trains. I didn’t have to pull out any party games and the simplicity of it all was a delight. I did, of course, let him pick out a special birthday cake and I made it for him with the help of a dear friend. We used marshmallow fondant, which is now my favorite way to decorate cakes!