That being said, our family did make an effort to make Dominic feel special yesterday, and all things considered I think it was a really lovely day for him! He woke up a little early, and Dave brought him down. We had blown up balloons and put up the HAPPY BIRTHDAY sign, so he was all excited. We had leftover cinnamon buns for breakfast with candles in it, and then we gave Dom his big present from us. Since the summer Dom has been saying for his birthday he wants a pedal bike. We got one off marketplace for him a few months ago, and brought it up to show him yesterday morning. It definitely needs a tune up, but for right now it is perfect. Dom is quite cautious about new things, so we didn't put any pressure to ride it or anything like that. Dave showed him how it works, and how the pedals turn the wheels, etc. Then Dom asked to ride it. Umm... okay?! We (Dave) pushed him around the kitchen a couple times, and then we brought it downstairs to lower the seat. They did a few laps around our driveway with Dom trying to learn the motor skills of pedaling. I am shocked he was so willing to hop on and give it a go! He'll be a pro by Spring or Summer I'm sure! It helps that he's been riding his strider bike (2-wheeler with no pedals) for a long time, and understands the concept of balancing and steering on 2 wheels.
We had a couple gifts that had been dropped off for Dom by people who wouldn't be able to see him on his birthday. When we said we were going to open the gift from Great Opa & Oma, he right away asked to Zoom with them for the gift opening. So sweet! We did a quick Zoom chat with them as he opened his gift and they wished him a Happy Birthday. I love that it was his idea entirely.
We came inside and played for a while, and made cupcakes. I had plans to give cupcakes to every visitor that came by, but I missed 5/9 people... D'OH! The weather yesterday was supposed to be a little dreary in the morning, and then sunny the rest of the day, so we planned for lots of fun outdoor visits. Mom and Dad came at 11:15, and it was raining, so they masked up and came inside. They brought Dom a helium balloon and a wrapped gift. From them, he opened his Lego Star Wars X-Wing set! We spent the next half hour building it and he hasn't let it out of his sight since.
Around 12:15 he got upstairs for quiet time, and then at 1:00 Scott & Ash came by for their Happy Birthday visit. They stayed at the door, but brought Dom a gift and a chocolate cupcake! At 1:15 Uncle Jeff showed up with an exchanged hockey net from Christmas (it came missing some pieces). We set it up in the garage, and he and Dom got some hockey play and rough-housing in. Dom needs this rough kind of play, and it totally filled his bucket. He hasn't laughed like that in a while. When he decided he was ready for a break Jeff and Dave played for a bit; I think that filled Dave's bucket too haha.
Only picture he would allow me to take of him eating his chocolatey chocolate cupcake from Scott & Ashleigh
Emilia was asleep for all of this, but I guess Dom told her about it, because all afternoon and evening she kept laughing and saying, "UNCLE DUNK!" (Dom used to called Jeff Uncle Dump for some reason so now they say it to be silly).
At 2:30, Grandpa came to visit and wish Dominic a happy birthday! He brought another Star Wars themed gift, and after he was gone, I spent some time playing with Dom and his Star Wars sticker book!
We didn't plan a birthday dinner for Dom, because I knew he would request pancakes, but we had just had cinnamon buns for breakfast. So dinner was just leftovers - nothing formal! He doesn't care though - his favorite meal is breakfast anyway haha. Just after dinner, the doorbell rang, and Aunty Rachel, Uncle Kyle and Rebecca had come to say Happy Birthday too! They brought Dom a gift, and we sat on the stairs to chat for a few minutes through the front door. We got a kids version of Jenga called "Wobbly Worms". It's already been played with lots haha.
Thank you to everyone for making Dominic feel special on his 4th birthday! Getting to see some people face to face (or mask to mask) was a special treat! Now let's all do our part so we can get these restrictions loosened and have a big family dinner to celebrate everything that was missed this year!
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