Cian is four years old, as of this past Saturday. Four. Out of his Terrible Twos, making his way out of the obnoxious boundary-pushing of the Tribulation Threes. I may be verging on melodramatic, but after Aidan and now Cian, I can verify, with certainty, that three is worse than two.

His birthday party was Sunday, and he made out like a bandit. Two-tier Avengers cake, Avengers toys, the new Optimus Prime from Transformer Prime (everything’s so spiky, now that they’re being hunted by Predaking!), some monster truck Hot Wheels, books, clothes, Raphael of the TMNT, and punching balloons. The party was great. It feels better each time that our friends and family gather together like that, even if a couple of them only came it out of spite. ;)

Cian, of course, loved being the center of attention for the cake, the presents, and the playtime upstairs. Acelyn loved being the center of adult attention. Getting her to give Kia space will need some work. Ace treated her like she was the coolest teddy bear EVAR.

It still boggles my mind that all upcoming birthday parties, family gatherings, and shindigs will be at a different house, with a different vibe, and different ways of doing what we do. Here’s to hoping that Cian’s birthdays in the new house, may they be many, will be even better than this one.