4 Years of Life

Happy birthday, Elias!

4 years ago, our Elias Michael was born into our family. He came into the world kicking and screaming, and he’s still a little ball of energy! Now, he’s not the baby of the family anymore, a big brother himself, turning 4 years old, and growing up way too fast.

Elias loves to laugh and to be goofy. He loves to hug and cuddle, and will climb on your back and squeeze your neck if you sit down long enough to let him. He loves to eat and is quite passionate about watermelon and chapati (an African version of tortillas).  He has a love for animals that compels him to build homes for lost caterpillars and chase kittens through the back yard just to hold them. He loves stories of knights and superheroes but can’t seem to remember characters’ names for even one minute (“Who is Peter? Who is Susan?”). He is quick to rebel and quick to repent. He loves babies and often kisses my belly and makes sure our baby is well taken care of. He looks up to his big brother and often prays for Judah to be strong and big and have his own house and car. He brings us unspeakable joy (and sometimes incredible frustration). He is usually found sweaty, scratched up, and covered in dirt. He is our Elias Michael and we love him more than words could ever say.

 

Here is his birthday interview with 21 Questions for Elias:

1. How old are you? “You already know that.” (“Tell me anyway.”) “Four.”
2. How old is Mommy? “33” (pretty close)
3.  How old is Daddy? “33” (right on)
4. What is something Mommy says to you? “Ayayay!” (Haha, I found myself saying it that same day when I walked into their messy room and realized Elias gets to hear that quite a bit… when he climbs on bookshelves…or picks up enormously heavy rocks…or brings dead lizards into the house. Ayayay!)
5. What makes you happy? “When it’s my birthday now!”
6. What makes you sad? “When it’s never my birthday.”
7. What makes you laugh? “When someone tickles me.”
8. What is your favorite thing to do? “Play.”
9. What’s your favorite thing to do outside? “Build a fort with Wile and Dani.” (the neighbor boys)
10. Who’s your best friend? “Judah, Caleb, Jonny, Asa, Jackson…everybody.”
11. What are you really good at? “Running and doing this…” (he jumps in the air and claps his hands under his legs while giggling like crazy)
12. What’s your favorite Bible story? “David and Goliath.”
13. What is God like? “With a beard and He wears a white shirt. And He’s nice and shows kindness.”
14. Which superhero do you want to be? “Spiderman!”
15. What’s your favorite food? “Cake!”
16. What’s your favorite book? “Star Wars.” (No worries, we don’t let our preschoolers watch Star Wars…and we don’t even own a Star Wars book.)
17. What’s your favorite movie? “The Lord and the Rings” (And we certainly don’t let them watch LOTR either.)
18. What’s your favorite song? “Christmas songs.”
19. What’s your favorite color? “All the colors. And green.”
20. What’s your favorite animal? “Baby puppies!”
21. What’s your favorite toy? “All the animals. But we don’t have a bunny…that’s too bad.”

    

   

Happy 4th birthday, Elias!