Apparently he thought she was confused about what was wrong with him. I just had to laugh.

He gives me tips and advice all the time. He really likes to be in the lead so he will often tell me to go around other cars so that I can win.

All in all it is seriously adorable and I am amazed at how well he does on the wii, but a wii license has nothing to do with real driving! Trying to convince Paul of this is harder than you might think.

Today was Paul’s feast at preschool. 3 years ago I sat at this feast with one big thing on my mind. Our agency had contacted me just before to see if we could move our timeline up and be in Ethiopia that weekend to pick up our little man instead of the following week. The same little man who kept climbing into my lap and snuggling me today wasn’t even home yet. He has changed our lives so much!

The feast was perfect . . . end of story . . . just perfect.

“Yes, of course.” ~ Mommy

“Like from monsters, zombies, and other scary things.” ~ Paul

“Definitely, if we see any monsters or zombies I will keep you safe.” ~ Mommy

Good thing they aren’t real and this will be an easy task. Some days this little man just makes me laugh.

We all have a couple from our childhood that we look back on and wonder, “wow, really?!?” Now they offer all kinds of photographs and different angles but I just go with the standard photo so that I can get a good gauge of how they are growing and changing each year.

Paul’s Preschool Photo

Madeline’s First Grade Photo

Kimberly’s Second Grade Photo

Annie’s Second Grade Photo

I love how cute they all are. I explained retakes to Annie but she didn’t want to have her photo redone because her earring was so shiny. Crazy girl. Now we know that one day she has a picture to look back on and wonder, “wow, really?!?”

I thought it was so cute that Mimi and Paul picked matching pajamas when we were out shopping. That night they chose to put on the same ones. So cute!

P.S. That was twins in a Danny Devito/Arnold Schwarzenegger kind of way.

I was getting a pedicure this morning and the woman was massaging and tapping the bottom of my feet. Apparently Paul was ready to defend me.

Paul never minds going with me to get a pedicure. I always buy him fries and let him play his DS while I sit there. He is so well behaved during this event that I don’t mind taking him. He was playing his DS so intently that I was stunned that he even noticed the lady hitting the bottom of my feet.

It was a brisk day up there so we all wore long pants and brought sweatshirts.

We picked perfect pumpkins.

Pretended to drive tractors.

Pet animals in the petting zoo.

Took a hay ride and ate kettle corn.

Found our way through the corn maze.

Took pictures next to the cut outs.

Measured ourselves.

Paul was the only still young enough to ride the mini tractors.

Annie and Kimberly were even brave enough to dance on stage!

We waited patiently for a train ride.

And had some delicious apples!

Perfect day. Perfect weather. Perfect family.

When Paul was sleeping the doctor was able to really poke around on his bottom tooth. When he was able to do that he found that the divot and discoloration on the tooth were pitting rather than a cavity.

Pitting rather than cavity is a good thing because it means that the tooth can remain in Paul’s mouth. This tooth represents both of Paul’s lower middle teeth and without it he would have a large gap for at least 2 years. It is not a great thing because it indicates that not only was Paul malnourished but the water he did have had unsafe chemicals in it. As I have said many times this is hard information for a Mother to process.

My boy had unsafe water. There is no easy way to say that.

He is home sleeping off the effects of the anesthesia.

Apparently he wanted “real” pants. I thought he would be more comfortable for his procedure with comfy pants on. Who knew?

On the first day of preschool they walked out of the elementary school, after dropping off the sisters, hand in hand.

For Paul’s birthday Ellie drew him a picture in his card.

So adorable!

The other day Paul told me that he loved Ellie. Mimi giggled at his choice of words.

Geoff was over today for a play date. I listened as this conversation played out, very curious how it would go. I think Geoff’s answer was typical of a 3 year old, most don’t know their place of origin (none of my daughter’s did at this age). Funny how even though Paul is just 4 he has a very different perspective on life. Where are you from is a very typical question he hears from strangers.

The Brown Family went down the big slide together.

Paul shot a million hoops in the basketball bounce house.

They crowned him King for the day.

And all his friends gathered round him.

He enjoyed his chocolate cake. (Which as a side note at Costco he ordered the EXACT same cake 2 years in a row. Guess he really enjoys chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling with a big dinosaur on top!)

He was so tiny, fragile and unhealthy. Today he is so much bigger, healthier and I can’t think of any part of him that isn’t tough and sturdy.

This summer while shopping at the grocery store and to my surprise I found a red chair. Of course I HAD to purchase it. Today I HAD to take a picture of my little man in the red chair.

Paul is one of the most precious things in my life. I am amazed when I think of how much he has grown and changed in these 3 short years. Seems like I have known him so much longer than just 3 years, like he was always one of us.

“haha” ~ Mommy

A while back I went out shopping with the kids and Grammy. When we were helping the Girls find bathing suits in the clearance section Paul was wandering around. This slight slip of the tongue seems very fitting for this tenacious little man.

Paul tends to think the world revolves around him. He behaves in ways that none of the other children did. Perhaps because he is our fourth child and we are more lax with him or because he tends to slide under the radar.

I often wonder if Paul is going to be the child that drives me to drinking. He tends to not follow the rules, he has major fits, and he really likes to challenge me. I tend to over think things and I am trying not to here but honestly I don’t remember the other kids doing this to me at the age of four.

I held out so much hope for four and now Pill is making me wonder how much longer until this wild horse is tamed. Wish me luck and feel free to refer to Paul as Pill until further notice.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s great having a pool in your own backyard. You can act on a passing desire to go swimming and we control the chemical balances, keeping it nice and gentle on the eyes. On the other hand, you miss out on the melting pot that is the public pool. I think it’s important to get to one at least once a swim season.

His helpful sisters were so excited for him as well. Kimberly made him his waffle. Mimi put on his tennis shoes while he was eating, even though he was still in his pajamas.

He worked on all the items on his checklist and got ready for school. This isn’t very hard for him to do because he has been doing this for years because he has to be ready to take the older girls to school in the morning.

Daddy was able to work from home this morning to drive Paul down to school and pick him up.

As expected it was a super easy drop off and Paul was off playing before we left. So proud of the little man.

After school this afternoon I interviewed him. Here is what he had to say about his day. (I have included the Girl’s videos because they are just so tiny and sweet.)

Paul’s video
http://flickr.com/gp/fivebrowns/1Nt4TN

Annie and Kimberly’s video
1st-day-of-preschool (better quality)

Mimi’s video
http://flickr.com/gp/fivebrowns/ZN05LD

This is it. Everyone in our home sleeps in a big bed.