happy four year old

Oh my, can it be - Stephen is no longer three!

Stephen's self-inflicted haircut.

For his birthday, I decided to interview him at lunch.  We sat down with sandwiches and he said, "I don't like sandwiches".  I told him to please take a bite.  I told him that I made it with daddy's favorite meat and cheese and ranch dressing on his favorite bread.  He tasted it and said, "Huh.  Not bad at all."  This is the the kind of stuff I get from him all day long.  For simplicity, what I said is 'normal' and his responses are italicized:

Today is your birthday, Stephen.

Oh

How old are you?

Four!

Do you feel different now that you're four?

Nah.  When it's my next birthday I'm going to be five.
What is your favorite color?
Blue.  Blue still.  When I'm bigger my favorite color is green.  Right now my favorite color is blue.
What is your favorite animal?
I'll tell you in a minute.  (takes a bite of sandwich).  My favorite animal is elephants.  Gray elephants at the zoo.  The zoo is closed.

I don't think it is.  Do you want to go to the zoo?

Only with the kids.  Not just with one kid. 

I know how to sing happy birthday to you.

Can you sing it, now?

Only if someone has a birthday.

Well, today is your birthday.

Someone has to sing happy birhtday to ME.  For my cake.

What kind of cake do you want this year?

A blue cake!  With yellow frost.  A yellow moon and a yellow star and some blue sky.

That sounds like what you had last year.

This year I want the moon and the star together.  Together on the cake. 

We have cupcakes.  Can I put a moon and a star together on each cupcake?

Uh huh.  I actually like cupcakes.  And cakes.

Well, before we have cupcakes, what do you want for dinner?

Steak.  Steak.

What else?

I want steak for my dinner and cake for my dessert.  Write steak and cake.

OK.

Which one says steak and which one says cake?
(I point at each as I ask) Are we going to have ice-cream with your steak or with your cake?
CAKE!

Let's take a picture of you on your birthday.  (he follows me to the family room to get the camera).  Smile:

Daddy did his best to fix his hair on Sunday.

Take a picture of my gum like this.

The "Birthday Bear" gave him gum this morning.  He's been chewing it all day.

Take a picture of my foot now.  Just teasing.  I'm just teasing, mom.

I love this kid.

STATS:  Height = 41" (75%) Weight = 32.6lbs (15%)  So...all his pants are either too short or falling down.

ETA: The birthday cake.  Cupcakes were leftover from Brennan's birthday party (thanks, Katie) updated with some blue frosting I whipped up and topped with white-chocolate covered star pretzels leftover from Ruzenka's Christmas Tea (thanks Kristi).  They're arranged in a star on a yellow "moon".  PLUS we got a picture of Stephen giving us a REAL smile!