My little chocolate monster is four!

Jove's 4th birthday is tomorrow but we celebrated last week with a chocolate party fit for any chocolate monster. He had so much fun and it was our first combined friends and family party. Jove has really great playmates and cousins and it was nice for all of them to meet and play together. I really enjoyed planning it and was relaxed enough to actually enjoy the party and experience it with Jove. All of the kids really liked getting to be chocolate monsters for a day.

We made chocolate lollipops in molds (Jove's idea), the kids topped their own ice cream sundaes, mixed up chocolate milk, they swam in the pool, made mud pies in the sandbox, hunted for chocolates (which I had to freeze since it was 85 degrees outside), had a water race and, of course, ate cake.


































I have been thinking a lot about Jove and Miranda's lives lately and how much they have changed in the past few months. Jove seems so aware of the beauty and joy of life and is making connections between his experiences: what he sees, what we read, things that have happened to us, the places we go, what he sees others doing or saying. He doesn't want to be left out of any conversation or trip anywhere. He is also trying to make sense of some difficult things to understand like lying versus pretending and the rationale for fighting (think pirates and knights). He really internalizes everything I tell him and I have to be so thoughtful about what I say to him. Above all, I want him to feel safe and secure in his world. It really is a gift to be with him everyday at this stage in his life.

Miranda is walking and talking up a storm. She wants to do everything Jove is doing, which he loves. She wants to eat everything everyone else eats. She LOVES animals and we just acquired some geckos and turtles that we will be pet sitting this summer and she likes to hang out and watch them. She is bringing books to us to read. Jove loves to build hiding forts and she loves to look for and uncover him. That is what they do every morning while I get dressed. She loves playing with water in the yard and bends over to stick her hands in every puddle she finds.

I am grateful for summer's arrival and Jup's last day of work being today!!
Jove has his first real friendship and it so fun to watch. His friend is four and a half and has a brother the same age as Miranda, so Miranda always has a playmate too when we hang out. They really enjoy each other and have similar dispositions and interests: making up songs and dancing silly, being outside and getting dirty and they both have gentle souls. We are going to stay overnight with them next week for a couple of days to escape the kitchen remodeling. We are all pretty excited, well, except for papa (and grandpa) who will be working on the kitchen. I keep telling myself the most helpful thing I can do is to get out of the way.