Harrison-O-Saurus!

When I asked Harrison what he wanted to do for his 4th Birthday, all he wanted in the whole wide world was to dig for dinosaur bones! Luckily we live in Alberta and only 1 1/2 hrs away from the Royal Tyrrell Dinosaur Museum in Drumheller, allowing me the power to make his wish come true! I love a happy ending! There's my lil dinosaur hunter fighting off a fierce and hungry dinosaur waiting to gobble up the unsuspecting tourists as they approach the entrance to the museum! Oh wait~this may not be a happy ending afterall.......

June 16th happened to fall on a Fri this year, which was perfect for my plan. I got my mom and dad on board, then convinced my sister Shelley and her boyfriend Shahab to join us on our dinosaur-sized adventure, and even got Mike (Harrison-o-saurus's daddy) to come out for Sat, as we headed to the Badlands of AB for the weekend! We all left Fri after work and spent a fun family weekend in Drumheller searching for ancient dinosaur bones, splashing in the hotel pool and even snuck in a trip to Reptile World where Harrison got to see every kind of reptile known to man from around the world before cuddling up to the resident Boa named Brittney!

For his bravery I bought him the t-shirt that says "Brittney Hugged Me"....the kid hugged a snake, the least I could do was buy him the shirt!




We even had time to fit in a little party with presents and cake in the hotel room! I think this was his most amazing birthday yet, especially since the celebration went on all weekend...he thought his birthday was 3 days long...and I guess it was!

He had so much fun discovering dinosaurs and learning all about reptiles. I felt on top of the world, making his only birthday wish come true, and watching his face light up as he turned every corner in that museum only to find something new to discover, then watch him beam with pride as he came off the waterslide at the hotel and master his back float unassisted. It was like I took a baby to Drumheller with me and brought back a Preschooler. He literally grew up overnight. As much as I want him to grow and change and learn everything about the world, I hate to see him so independant and so grown up.

Every year on his birthday I am happy to see him enter a new phase of growth, but sad when I reflect on how quickly the time passes and how a full year of memories, life lessons and learning is gone forever. I can only hope I have done enough to prepare him for the new and exciting adventures that await him in the year ahead. Four will be a big year for him as he begins french immersion pre-school in Sept and heads towards his 5th Birthday, which for me is such a huge milestone and already has me stressed out, as 5 means one thing and one thing only....school is just around the corner! I can't bear the thought of only having one more year with my baby! However, until then, I vow to enjoy every minute of him being 4 while it lasts, and to hold him close every night while he still fits into my arms and wants to be cuddled up! I guess this story really does have a happy ending!

PS He did a great job of fighting off that hungry dinosaur in the first picture, as we made it out unscathed!