Birthday Parties

It seems that turning four is officially a big deal. This is the first year we are having a birthday party for Riley, and it's the first year that many of his friends are having parties too. There are 4 other kids in Riley's class that have May birthdays. Today was the first of the 5 parties. Riley was so excited about picking out a gift for his friend, Grace. When we first asked Riley a few weeks ago what he wanted to get her for her birthday, I was not all that surprised when he said "a fire truck". After all, it is one of Riley's favorite things. However, when we went out to actually buy a present for Grace, we asked him again what he wanted to get her. This time his response was "a princess". Grace is a sweet but rowdy girl that definitely can hold her own with the boys, so Casey and I were sort of surprised by this choice. When we arrived at the party, the entire theme was princesses. When we were telling Grace's mom the story of picking out a gift, we laughed as we told her his first response had been a fire truck. Her reply, "Grace LOVES fire trucks." It seems that our boy has already grasped the art of listening to what girls want -- he knew the exact two gifts that would've made her day.