Happy Birthday You Little Pirate!

Dan strikes the Iron Man pose

Oh wait, grandpa got that wrong.  You were a pirate last year for Halloween.  This year you specifically told me that you're going to be IRON MAN!  The seasons and years roll by so fast in granddad time that it's easy for we old coots to get confused.  Last year you were only three and really not ready for the responsibility that comes with being Iron Man.  But now, since you receive your four year-old promotion this coming Tuesday, you are almost certainly qualified to don the mask and save humanity, or maybe ring a few doorbells for candy come the 31st.

Four years old!  Grandma and I can't believe that you've gotten so big in so little time.  We sure do enjoy having fun with you.  You're quite the conversationalist these days and always have a refreshing take on the stuff of life that we grandparents have come to take for granted.  Your assessment of baseball: "they throw the ball, catch the ball, hit the ball and then run around the bases" is as prescient as any I've heard.  It's obvious that you are destined for a play-by-play job in the major leagues should that be on your career radar.  At four, professional horizons are limitless.

"Beware evil doers!  Iron Man is on the job.

This birthday you have lots of accomplishments to celebrate.  Pre-school two days a week has given you  even more lessons in cooperation and respect for your contemporaries.  I realize that you were already an excellent sharer of toys and playground equipment, but now you also are learning about working with other kids on fun projects like gardening, dinosaur history, and play dough creations.  It makes your mom and dad proud to see how well you get along with other children.  You're a friendly guy, but Grandpa knew that all along.

leading the pack at Legoland raceway

On your way to birthday number four you also earned your Legoland driver's license.  Maybe this is just grandpa bragging, but I thought you looked like Mario Andretti as you zipped around the oval at what has become one of your favorite places on the planet.  You could have lots of fun driving race cars when you grow up.  Just make sure to always buckle-up!

Pit stop for root beer

Potty training goes into the plus column as you hit "the BIG 4".  It's a little embarrassing for gramps to confess that staying dry at night was not something he had conquered by four. Mom and dad appear really happy about checking  that one off the old "to do" list!

Lessons like looking both ways before you cross the street--WITH the green light--and always checking for cars exiting parking garages are both important achievements you mastered this year.  Those two will go a long way toward keeping you around for birthday number five.



Like so many learning experiences, grandpa accidentally gave you the valuable knowledge that a cape doesn't allow you to actually fly.  Grandma and I bought that Super Hero outfit for you with the idea that it might work for Halloween.  We didn't know that you just assumed that it made you into a kid with super powers.  As you now know, only with mom's help could you get airborne.  She's a great mom I know, but asking for a "lift" of more than a block would seem to be out of the question.  You'll have to walk, pal.

This cape should have me airborne in minutes.

There are SO MANY things you've mastered on your way to this birthday it's hard to remember them all.  You have been cramming your brain full of all kinds of information that will serve you well in the years ahead.  (Great haircut, by the way!)

So, Danny, old buddy, have some cake and maybe a root beer or two and enjoy mom and dad, your friends, grandparents,  even cousins,  on the one and only day you will ever be four years old.  You are much loved by all who know you.  As the birthdays continue to arrive, remember to always plunge into life and move with it.  It's a dance that you seem to be mastering well.

Love,
Grandpa

"Faster mom! There is a damsel in distress!"