The Newest 4 year-old!

Today is Daniel's 4th birthday. Scott & I "won" (for those of you who haven't seen the prior post about my other auction win, this simply means we crazily agreed to plunk down more money than anyone else did!) a firehouse birthday party at one of the school auctions we attended this past spring. I'd fully intended to have the party in July, even after we learned Scott was going to be deployed, but life has a funny way of changing things. Daniel's two best friends aren't here this summer because their daddy is up in Seattle for work, so they went up there with their mom to spend a couple of months. I had the sudden realization that if we did his party in July, not only would his dad miss it, but his two best friends, too. So, I sat down with my 3 year-old & explained the situation. He looked a little crestfallen until I explained that if we waited a couple of months, they'd all be able to come. He immediately perked up & said, "I want to wait." I went over it all again & even counted out the months he'd have to wait & there was no changing his mind, so his party will be delayed until all important parties have returned to the area :)

Needless to say, when you're 4, the party is a HUUUUUUGE part of why you love your birthday so much. So, I did all I could to make sure he really enjoyed his birthday. We started out with candles & singing, and everyone had a chocolate cupcake for breakfast, even Colin.

From Daniel BD

From Daniel BD

From Colin pics

From Colin pics

There were birthday hats and noise blowers, too. Colin even figured out how to make the blower work!! Again, I got it on video, but will have to upload in a later post.

From Daniel BD

He got a few presents from the family, including a couple of LEGO sets as well as some "Target money" that we had to spend immediately!

From Daniel BD

From Daniel BD

One of the LEGO sets was a little above Daniel's head, so he asked William to put it together for him. I was all prepared for mucho frustration, but William was SOOOO patient. He read the instructions (called it the "recipe"--can you tell we've been cooking???), figured out how many of each part he needed for each step, and then patiently attached all of those teeny-tiny LEGO parts where they needed to go. There were only a couple of steps he needed help with, and to be honest, it took me a minute to figure out what they wanted you to do, too! Here is the LEGO master working on it:

From Daniel BD

And, the finished product:

From Daniel BD

Later in the morning, I'd gotten a sitter for William & Colin, so Daniel & I took off to the mall to take his 4 year old pics at JCPenney. He did GREAT!! As a reward, he rode the train & the carousel. I had to ride the carousel with him, so no pics of that, but here he is on the train. He was so excited b/c it used to be green, but now they've gotten a new one & it looks just like Thomas the Train!!

From Daniel BD

Check out this grin!!

From Daniel BD

Next, it was off to lunch at Red Robin. We ate there with Nana when she was in town & they now have a fried cheese stick appetizer. Daniel LOVES, LOVES, LOVES cheese sticks, so he wanted "lots of cheese sticks and a pile of grilled cheese" for lunch! Who's going to argue with the birthday boy? Not sure what a pile of grilled cheese looks like, but he was satisfied with the mere sandwich they brought to the table ;)

He insisted I sit next to him & is very into silly faces right now. Here are all the silly faces I managed to capture (please excuse my tonsils--the camera apparently ended up on level with my wide-open mouth!):

From Daniel BD

From Daniel BD

From Daniel BD

From Daniel BD

Notice the cherry he's holding in one of the silly shots, and here is another. We've been making "cherry sprites", otherwise known as cherry limemades at home, so the boy wanted some cherries in his apple juice at lunch. Again, who can say no to the birthday boy, so the waitress very kindly bribed the bartender to give away some of his garnish to make one four-year-old very happy!!

From Daniel BD

A couple of smiley shots of the two of us, but I had a hard time getting him to smile & look at the camera at the same time!!

From Daniel BD

From Daniel BD

Red Robin is one of those restaurants that loves to sing obnoxiously, ummm....I mean enthusiastically, if it's your birthday. I was worried that Daniel would be freaked out by it all, and to be honest, he looked a little nervous when the 8 grown-ups came around in their red shirts & started clapping, but as soon as the singing started, he lit up like a Christmas tree!! His little expression was so cute, I laughed until I cried :) Here he is with the massive ice cream sundae they brought out. He took down 2/3 of it AFTER eating 3 cheese sticks, his entire cup of apple slices, one slice of his grilled cheese "pile" and half of the other slice!! I couldn't believe he had room left, but he truly must be my child b/c he couldn't turn down ice cream.

From Daniel BD

The waitress brought him not one, but two, green balloons because green is his favorite color & he was sweet enough to bring them both home so William could have one & they could let them go off into the sky together. Sweet birthday boy!!

From Daniel BD

We finished our lunch with our tradition at Red Robin--driving the car video game just inside the door! It's the most fabulous parent trick ever--they get to stare at a TV screen & turn a wheel & they think they're playing :) Totally free entertainment!! I'm sure I don't have much longer until they figure it out, but for now, it makes them soooo happy.

After lunch, we ran to Target where he insisted on spending his entire gift card on a set of Toy Story 3 toys. He & William spent the afternoon playing with Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Hamm, Rex, and Bullseye. When Colin woke up from his nap, we went over to the Simmonses' house for some dinner & swimming. The boys got more cupcakes & there was more singing!! All in all, a great birthday, I think :)

July 13-20th

So, after Wisconsin, we drove back thru Chicago & spent the night to break the trip up, and also to pick Robin up. She came back to visit for a week since her hubbie was going to be on a work trip. My mom flew in the following Tuesday, so we had a fun-filled week with lots of visitors!!

Mom, Robin, and I all went out to dinner one night at Paulo's at The Mansion. If you live around here, be sure to check it out. The food is FABULOUS!! Here we are all dressed up:

From Mom's trip

And at the restaurant:

From Mom's trip

From Mom's trip

We were all looking great, but we ate so much that I had to get out of my dress immediately upon getting back home :)

We mainly just hung around the house during Mom's visit. We hit the pool a time or two:

From Mom's trip

From Mom's trip

From Mom's trip

From Mom's trip

While Mom was here, William learned how to swim without his life vest. He's been hovering on the brink, but in true William-fashion, has been very hesitant to go all out. We were "practicing" & I just kept backing up while telling him he was fine & was swimming. When he got to the other side of the pool, he shouted, "I did it!" and that was that. He's now swimming like a little fish all over the place. Daniel won't be far behind! If I could get him to stop giggling in delight, he might even have gotten it already :) I've got videos, but I have to figure out a new way to post them, so hopefully, they'll be up soon.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!!

My hubbie turns 35 today! Unfortunately, he's halfway around the world so we didn't get to wish him a happy BD in person, but the boys were so excited to talk to him on the phone! We love you, Daddy!!

July 3-9, Vol. II

Wisconsin was awesome. I don't know any other way to put it. The four of us slept in one bedroom, there was no A/C, and 8 people shared one bathroom. Sounds like something you'd run screaming from, right? WRONG!!! First of all, we hadn't seen Dawn, Ryan, and the kids in almost 2 years. We spent almost every waking minute with them for the 7 months we were stationed together. Just getting reacquainted was fabulous. The kids immediately jumped into shooting each other with water guns:

From Wisconsin

From Wisconsin

I think Daniel caught the brunt of it all!

From Wisconsin

We took walks around the lake & the boys got to throw rocks into it. Little boys & rocks--that's all I'm gonna say about it!

From Wisconsin

All four kiddos actually sitting still at the same time! William (5), Alayna (4), Calvin (6), and Daniel (3). Little man is pouting for the picture & I could NOT get him to smile. As we were walking off afterwards, I quietly asked him what was wrong. He got all pouty & said he never got any rocks IN the water! He's pretty much been too little up to this point to really get the point in most of the activities he participates in, LOL! He just goes with the flow & does what everyone else does, so I was surprised he'd been so intent on actually getting one in. I thought he was just having a blast throwing rocks for the sake of throwing. A little later, we walked over a bridge & he was able to get one IN the water. Problem solved!!

From Wisconsin

And, boys, being boys, found the biggest puddle on our walk & immediately began to kick water at each other. Daniel managed to fall in the puddle (imagine that!) and they were all soaked before we got back to the cottage.

From Wisconsin

This is Dawn's parents' cottage. She grew up heading here for the summers & that's what prompted them to buy their cottage when it became available. I didn't manage to get a picture of their cottage, but here you can see how adorable they all are!! I think Scott & I might have to put ourselves in the market for a cottage on the lake in Wisconsin!

From Wisconsin

There is a little beach for use by all of the cottage owners & we headed there on our walk, then came back later in our bathing suits to play properly.

From Wisconsin

A tree had fallen during the rainstorm & we got to stand & watch while some men cut it into pieces with a chainsaw. Alayna & William stood there holding hands while they watched & then continued to hold hands on their walk. It was pretty adorable!!

From Wisconsin

From Wisconsin

Clean boys in PJ's. Calvin & William being silly:

From Wisconsin

C-man having a snack. Calvin LOOOOOVED Colin & kept insisting Colin wear his Milwaukee Brewers hat. Colin would wear it happily for a few minutes, then start to chew on it, which flustered Calvin to no extent. But, he kept giving it back to him & the cycle would begin again! Doesn't he look so cute???

From Wisconsin

The big boys got to ride in the rowboat & Mr. Ryan even let them "oar" for a little bit:

From Wisconsin

From Wisconsin

The majority of the time was spent in the lake. They grabbed noodles & swam around:

From Wisconsin

Leapt off the floating dock & had races to the ladder:

From Wisconsin

From Wisconsin

And, went down the slide after shouting "1, 2, 78!" (a throwback to Dawn's daddy's football days--that was one of his favorite "hiking calls"). My kids now "1, 2, 78!" everything, BTW!!

From Wisconsin

Pretty Alayna climbing up the ladder to take her turn at the slide:

From Wisconsin

Daniel doing the same:

From Wisconsin

And, of course, we roasted marshmallows to make s'mores:

From Wisconsin

From Wisconsin

And, the obligatory "open your mouth and show me all your chewed up food pic"! What is with kiddos and that?????

From Wisconsin

And, then just because I've missed her so much, a couple of snaps of me & Dawn. Please excuse the lake hair and the no make-up ;) I don't think I saw a mascara wand for a week & it was fabulous!!

From Wisconsin

From Wisconsin

The only downside to the lake was that it was either overcast or raining almost the entire time we were there. Made the cottage cooler, but unfortunately, the lake was, too! Dawn's kiddos were completely used to it, but mine would get purple lips inside of an hour & have to come out & dry off. Maybe if we get invited back next summer, we can put in a request for some sunshine?!?!?!

July 3-9, Vol. I

My husband is deployed for those of you who missed that. Gone for the whole summer, leaving me and the boys to our own devices. Now, I generally love my life as a military spouse. When Scott finally separates/retires from the military, I will likely look at him after 3 years & ask, "Isn't it time for us to move?" The moving & making new friends every few years is usually exciting. That being said, the main thing I absolutely cannot stand is the short-notice stuff. When you find out mere weeks ahead of time that you're moving or deploying. That is what happened to us this summer. Scott was supposed to deploy in August, so we made lots of summer plans. BIG mistake. We found out on the 10th of May that he was leaving on the 28th for four months. So, my options for the summer were to 1) scrap all of our plans and sit home with 3 crazy boys by myself, or 2) pack everyone up & take the trips by myself. Option 2 was much more appealing, so off we went. See the posts from June 8-12 for our Kentucky trip, & the second "mini-vacation" was supposed to be to see our friends the Bakazans at their new cottage on the lake in Wisconsin. Dawn & I met here & quickly became friends and we were lucky enough to have the husbands hit it off, too. That is pretty rare in the military. Usually, either the wives or the husbands really hit it off & the other set just "tolerates" each other. Ryan and Scott were very disappointed when Scott was unable to come, but such is our life. So, when I had to make the trip alone, I decided to head to Wisconsin by way of Chicago & stop over at Robin's house for a few nights. Robin & I went to college together & have remained friends for over 15 years (wow, that makes us sound old!). We took off on July 3rd to make the 4.5 hour trip to Chicago. I can honestly say it went well. The boys were very well-behaved & we only had to make one stop. The first thing we did at Ms. Robin's was head across the street to the cookie shop that makes vegan cookies. Since vegans refuse to eat any animal products, William is good with vegan stuff as long as it excludes peanuts. It was a very retro-mod store with these adorable orange chairs my boys LOVED!!

From Chicago

My sweet pea was very excited to find a yummy cookie he could eat without getting itchy!!

From Chicago

And, then the "neat" eater. He truly is my neater eater, although you'd never know it from most of the pics on this blog!!

From Chicago

After tummies were full, it was off to the park around the corner from Ms. Robin's. My boys were very excited to get a glimpse of city life. They couldn't believe we got to walk everywhere & were fascinated by all of the sights. Both of them insisted on holding Ms. Robin's hands on the way, so C-man and I totally got ditched ;)

From Chicago

This one is blurry, but it's too cute not to post!!

From Chicago

The park had a water station, which we were unaware of when leaving Robin's house, so the boys got to play in their shorts. Made for a loong, wet walk home, but they were happy :)

From Chicago

Look at those smiling faces!!

From Chicago

The next morning, we got up, fed the kiddos breakfast & headed out into the city to ride the "L". If you know my kiddos, you know William's fascination with anything with wheels!! He was super-excited about riding the "L" and wanted to see if it was cooler than the Metro we have here in St. Louis. Colin seems to be taking after William, and he was a complete hit on the train. Lots of the commuters thought he was a hoot as he held onto the rail, jumped on my lap, and giggled his little heart out in delight! A few quick snaps of us riding the Brown line around the city. It goes in a circle, so we got to see the sights & didn't have to exit & enter again with three crazy kiddos. Bonus!!

Look at the complete joy on that little face!!!!

From Chicago

Robin has a gated patio just in front of her condo that was perfect for the Colin man. We rolled out her rug, threw some toys down, and closed the gate. We got to sit in the sun & visit while he crawled/walked around & played.

From Chicago

Then, since she's on the first floor, the big boys had access to the stairs leading up to her building & the little walkway in front. It's gated also & they were amazingly excited to run along her little path & play hide & seek with each other. Don't think it would have lasted more than a few days, but the little stone path kept them entertained for HOURS while we visited & Colin played. Yay for city life!!

From Chicago

From Chicago

And, this one just because it's cute! Colin LOVED, LOVED, LOVED Robin's husband Nick. I think we might've thrown a wrench into their "let's have kiddos" plan just by our sheer craziness, but the baby and Nick at least hit it off!!

From Chicago

And, then it was back to the park on the afternoon of the 4th. This time, we were smart & put the boys in their swimsuits--WAYYYY more comfy for them!!

From Chicago

From Chicago

(That is one of my all-time favorite pics of William, BTW!!)

And, the C-man was just worn out after a couple of days of not sleeping too well!

From Chicago

And, on the way home, we "caught an L"!! If you look closely, you can see the train on the elevated track. This portion of the tracks is a mere block away from Robin's house. Every time we walked under it, the boys ran ahead to stand there & look WAYYYY up to see if they'd "catch an L". You could hear the train from Robin's house & every time one rumbled by, all three of my boys would freeze & shout "EEEELLLLL"!!!! Needless to say, when we managed to "catch" one, it was humongously exciting.

From Chicago

On the morning of the 5th, we left Robin & Nick in peace and took off for the 4 hour drive to Wisconsin. Stay tuned for that adventure!

Just because it's cute!

From Big kid pics

Here's an adorable pic of my two "cool dudes" playing with their bubble guns in the backyard. Maw-Maw Lin gave us these last year & the boys were so busy playing with their new bubble machine that I never pulled them out of the package. They got put away with all the summer toys at the end of the season & I came across them the other day. Needless to say, they are a HUGE hit! You fill up the little container of bubbles, attach it to the gun, and pull the trigger. Voila! BUBBLES!! So, enjoy the super-cool sunglasses pic they were so nice to take the time out of their busy schedule to allow me to snap ;)