(This was written around his bday but it took me forever to add the pictures…..I can’t believe how late I was!!!)

And just like that…we are officially out of the baby/toddler stage. I guess 4 is a little old to be considered a toddler but Max has enjoyed being the “baby” of our family and still acts like it sometimes! lol! To be honest, this has been a really tough year with this guy. I’m not sure if I’m imagining it but it feels like his temper has gotten worse, his tantrums louder, and his patience for imperfection is almost non-existent! These hard moments are mixed in with a lot of amazing moments though and when he’s good…he’s so easy! He has the sweetest and most loving demeanor that you just can’t stay mad at him for very long. Even though we complain that he is the difficult child, the whole family just loves him to pieces and we would not be complete without him!

He can literally go from the above picture to below in the blink of an eye. I can’t even remember what set him off but I remember it was something very silly. Like maybe me taking a picture with Emma first and not him? Yup…..that’s what we’re dealing with here folks!

Aside from that, he’s the total jokester in our family and his giggles instantly brighten my mood. I think I will miss those most when he grows up. That innocent and infectious laughter of his! He’s your typical boy too who just loves words like fart, booty, and butts and will work it into every day conversation just to get a laugh out of you.

Max is still way into Star Wars and guns (he’s always begging for another bigger nerf gun!). He also enjoys driving his car he got for Christmas, dancing hip hop (we had him in a class for awhile!), family vacations (especially the ones where we go in an airplane), and playing with his sister!

This past year, we transferred Max to a new preschool closer to home that is associated with our school district since his teacher was retiring and we wanted him have the same school schedule as his sister. He had the most sweet teacher named Mrs. Theresa and I still remember about a month in, he confided to me that he wanted to marry her lol! He loves learning and would always tell me the big words he was learning and their definitions. He can sort of read small words, loves math problems, and has really been excelling in art/drawing! In fact he even got the best artist award in his class and got his drawing submitted in the district’s art show!

We still need to figure out what Max’s extracurricular activities will be. He has an interest in sports and I signed him up for flag football for the fall. For now he is just doing swim and practicing ninja moves at home. We are looking into putting him in some type of martial arts program but man….they are so expensive!!!

For his birthday this year, we asked him if he’d rather have a birthday party or go to Disneyland/Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge. He decided to pick Dland so we are going on Friday! I also had enough points to secure a night at the Marriott Courtyard that is a 5 minute walk from the park entrance. I will definitely be posting more details about our staycation and share a bunch of photos after we go!

On his actual birthday, since we didn’t have a party, I thought we could invite a few of our friends that live nearby just to stop by for cake but it ended up almost being a full fledged party! Some other friends wanted to hang out that day and a friend from Max’s school also ended up coming. We asked people to not bring presents but of course they did…so the lucky birthday boy ended up getting a quasi birthday party AND Disneyland!!

Max’s year in pictures:

This was the year Max learned how to ride a bike!!!

Here are the answers to his birthday questions this year with my comments in parentheses.

1. What is your favorite color? red
2. What is your favorite toy? laser tag (he got some laser tag guns for his bday this year and is obsessed with them!)
3. What is your favorite fruit? watermelon (always and forever!)
4. What is your favorite tv show? STAR WARS (same as last year and the year before :))
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? happy meal
6. What is your favorite outfit? my Japanese Star Wars tshirt
7. What is your favorite game? Dungeons and Heroes
8. What is your favorite snack? Lunchables
9. What is your favorite animal? bird
10. What is your favorite song? every song (this is true, he loves to favorite every song he hears!)
11. What is your favorite book? Star Wars (noticing a theme here?)
12. Who is your best friend? Mommy (he’s going through a major mommy phase right now but I think Emma is truly his best friend)
13. What is your favorite cereal? Marshmallow milk (This is when he takes Lucky Charms cereal and eats everything but the marshmallows and adds them to milk)
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? ride my car
15. What is your favorite drink? watermelon juice
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Chester (so sad, he’s lost his attachment to Woofie!)
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? egg sandwich
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? cake
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? a scientist