He is 4! B-day party was great. It’s even better now that it is over. And now we have another year break before the next party.

Soon Ezra will be four and the sippy cups will be no more for we have told Ezra that four is too old for sippy cups. We have a straw cup for his night time millk drinking, and he’s mostly been using cups and glasses aound the house, so getting rid of the sippy cup won’t be like getting rid of the binky.

I have taken upon myself to slowly transition Ezra from Duplo LEGO blocks (for ages 1.5 to 5) to the small normal LEGO blocks (ages 4+) by getting him a small 113 piece fire fighter LEGO set for his birthday gift. Although he will likely still play with Ezra Duplo LEGO blocks beyond the age of 5, I am excited to show him the many types of LEGO blocks that only come in the smaller LEGO size

His preschool friend C for some reason thinks it’s funny to throw playground bark-chips at me and thinks it’s okay to throw bark-chips at me as long as Ezra throws bark-chips at me. Then they both throw bark-chips at me and I step away saying, ,,Please stop,” ”Your being rude,” and, ”It’s not nice to throw things at people when not play catch.” After it happened the second time, I had talk with Ezra on the way home and told him Ezra that it was rude to throw things at me or anyone without them wanting to have some thing thrown at them.

Today when I got Ezra from preschool his friend C tried to get Ezra to throw a rag at me, but Ezra looked at his friends said, ,,No.” His friend tried to get Ezra to throw bark-chips at me. Ezra said, ”No.” And on the way home I told him how proud I was of him not doing what his friend asked him to do because he knew that I didn’t like him doing it.

We smiled.

I reprized my roll as Sheriff during the rainy morning. It could be the come back performance of Sheriff as Sheriff has been away for almost three weeks after being silenced by interest in baseball and being outside.

During The Return of Sheriff, Sheriff got to wear the special Siren Hat which is one of his favorite hats. Sheriff even was able to live in the Glass House built by Ezra and -v-.

Now, I remember how hard Sheriff’s voice in on my throat, but I didn’t forget the voice having had spoke it often during past months and by having a phrases, ,,Where’s my hat?” to help find the voice and become the Sheriff.

He offered to help set the table, so he carried the plates, bread and tomatoes to the table. Then he served the tomatoes and poured his own milk.

I smiled.

He took the Skuut bike to the park. He pushed the Skuut bike up the grassy hill to the slides and swings. He slide and swung then we left.

During the departure, he wanted to Skuut down the very steep part of the grassy hill on his Skuut bike. I shrugged. ,,OKay.”

The bike began to roll down the steep hill, and he fell off the bike on butt and back. The bike rolled down the hill.

He stood and said he wanted to go down the hill.

I smiled, got the bike and walked the steep grassy hill next to Ezra, put the bike on the hill. I held the bike until he gripped the handle bars and said he was ready. Then I let go.

And Ezra rolled down the steep hell coasting far from the steep hill.

Ezra got a robot arm from Smith and Edwards. It has a grip that moves to pull a rod that moves clicking gears that moves two pinchers that shut to grab something.

He has been using the robot arm a lot. He used the robot arm to pick-up crushed news paper from a cardboard box holding his great great grandomother’s clock then he released the crushed paper to paper bags for recycling, so the clock could be unpack from the cardboard box, so he could use the cardboard box as a place to reach and grab things with his robot arm.

We went with Uncle D to see the baseball game the Owlz versus the Raptors. After a few pitches a foul ball was hit to the far end of the field and rolled near where we sat. We sat around Ezra as he stood there with mitt. A player warming-up along the side got the foul ball and tossed it at Ezra. Uncle D caught the ball for Ezra. Then Ezra got the ball signed by the Raptor’s mascot. I was jealous for I have been to more baseball games than him and never got a foul ball, but I was able to enjoy through Ezra getting a foul ball.

Ezra has some great words of independence for me. ,,I can wipe my own butt,” he said to me. Then he showed me, and then I realized this is more proof of Ezra’s independence!

-v- began the game where they were pirates searching for buried treasure using the treasure box Ezra made while at friends birthday party at the Children’s Museum. I drew the first treasure map of where x marked the spot where one hid the treasure box. Ezra traced over the map and hid the final treasures for -v- and me to find. A few times he put the treasure box where X marked the spot, but the last few times he put the treasure box in some other place that where X marked the spot. …So he was probably the best pirate of the three.

He was done arting after drawing a picture of mom, dad, him and the two cats. Mom is in the middle with her brown stick figure arms out and palms open looking like she is wearing two baseball mitts or has bear claws. I am a purple stick figure standing to the side of mom and across from Ezra. He is a blue stick figure about the half-height of mom and dad. The cats are ovals with stick legs and tails and circle heads.  Triangle hears perk on top of head of scribbles.

We all have smiles for we are happy.

Ezra was helping me read Clifford, El Gran Perro Colorado, by pronouncing the many words I could not pronounce

Ezra got a baseball mitt yesterday, and now t-ball is a thing of the past for he wants to play the catcher, and a catcher only exists in little league. Now with mitt, he wants to play pitcher or fielder instead of just hit. It’s great, but Ezra still needs to learn to use his mitt to catch the ball.

Today was a game day for t-ball. Yesterday was supposed to be a game day, but it got rained out. The day before was a game day for soccer. And the previous six days were game days for t-ball. Tomorrow and for the next weeks/months/years will likely be game days for Ezra.

-v- and I have already talked about who will be taking home to soccer practice and who will be taking him to little league practice. And I have already realized for one of the many sports Ezra is likely to want to play if his enthusiasm for playing sports remains that I may become an assitant coach. I am ready to accept that position for any game day with Ezra.

After leaving the daily t-ball at the park while we watched little league, I went home to clean-up after dinner while -v- and Ezra played more t-ball. I finished cleaning the went to the pub. I met Ezra and -v- on the walk to the pub as they walked home. Ezra was happy to see me, but wondered why I wasn’t walk the same way to home as them. I told him I was going to the pub. He asked why. I replied honestly, ,,To see my friends.” He seemed confused and seemed to questioned why I needed to go to the pub to see my friends. I tried to explain, but then realized explaining to Ezra that dad sometimes needs to be around people is own age that most of who have kids and go to this pub and who want to go be with other adults at the local pub to talk about sports and movies and anything but sheriff and Cars.