Sports Day

Matt's school had their annual Sports Day two days before Spring Break.  It's a fun-packed day filled with field games, races, gym events, and revelry that the  kids look forward to all year.  It brings out the competitive side of our son.

The three-legged race is always a hoot to watch.  Matt & Chris fared pretty well.

The parachute is always a favorite.  I remember it when I was a kid---that was the best day at PE.

Matt had a good cheering section for awhile---I stayed for a bit until it was time to go to Bible Study, and Steven & Tim stayed long enough to watch the baton relay before lunch time.

Here's Matt getting ready to receive the baton.

And here's a sample of the race.  You may remember the crazy dance he did last year, but this time around he was much more composed.  As if he was trying to suppress his excitement and play it cool.

Ms. Sanderson's class!  Yes, Matt's the only one not wearing a smile on his face.  And no, there were no winners or losers---everyone won.  This lasts until the the 3rd grade, and then there are ribbons awarded and actual 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners!!  Yay.  Matt can't wait for that.

10 months!

Another month has flown by, and my baby is now in the double digits!  He is growing and changing by leaps and bounds, it is astounding.  He's sleeping for nearly a full 12 hours at night now----I believe due to the fact that his brain is growing and he's processing all these new tricks he has.  But, he's still handsome as you can see.  :)

Johnny really enjoys playing in his room, and he's got 7 years' worth of toys to explore everywhere he turns in there.  His favorite though is probably the ball popper.  It plays music and sends balls popping up everywhere, and he squeals and kicks with delight.

Last month he was beginning to crawl, well now he's officially mobile.  He is all over the place.  I knew once it started that there was no looking back.  Hold on to your hat everyone, because this kid is all up in it.  He can get to pretty much whatever he wants now.  He's pulling up too, but isn't exactly steady on his feet.  He mostly comes tumbling back down because he'll stand on his tippy toes.  He's getting better though, and no doubt by next month he'll be cruising all over the furniture.

He's learned that food is really tasty, and he's anxious to try it all.  He'll eat pretty much whatever I throw at him which is a blessing, and I hope it stays that way.  His favorites are pears, bananas, hummus, and guacamole.  He's super happy to be with us at mealtimes and enjoys his spot at the head of the table.

This boy loves to be wherever his brothers are, and he is hot on their trail.  He's figured out that he can get to Will's precious cars and interrupt whatever race Matt has started.  He's already frustrating them.  It's only just begun.  He's losing more interest in me, which is fine, it's about that time anyway.  Most mornings when I go in to nurse him, if he hears his brothers he will sit up and start squealing and kicking, anxious to go play with them.  He's a blessed boy to have such fun playmates around.  Will & Matt do a great job entertaining him, and are doing their best to divert his attention when they don't want him all up in their business.

This is a good video of him crawling.  It's fitting because you can hear him panting as he crawls, and then he reaches for the camera and then for Steven's magazine.  And Steven gets a little choked up.  Good stuff.

He's babbling like crazy and continues to experiment with his voice.  He says "Mamamamama" now, and it's the sweetest.  He doesn't know what he's saying, but it's still nice to hear.  He cut one tooth on top this month, and I feel the other will shortly follow.  He's already up to the naughty business too---he's found that he can turn the Blu-ray player on and off and eject the discs.  So, we've realized that he knows his name and the meaning of the word no.  He likes to lock the wheels on his highchair too.  And knock down all the magnets he can reach on the fridge.  And throw the cars out of the bucket one by one.  And spread the Legos far and wide.  And chew on the couch when he pulls up.  So the fun has begun!

Let's go racing!

Last Saturday Steven took Matt & Will to Circuit of the Americas to see a race and watch all the cool cars.  Johnny & I stayed behind.  I didn't think a loud race track was a great place for an infant.  So we had our own fun!  It was a beautiful, but chilly day.

Before the race they got to explore pit lane.  Matt found some treasures.

They got to take turns holding the checkered flag.

They got to look inside the race cars and see all the complicated buttons and steering wheels and such.

They both said they had a good time.  Does Will look like a future race car driver?

I'm not sure how interested they were in the actual race.

In fact, Steven said a lot of what they did was fuss over the bag of snacks I had packed for them.  And then Will did some crazy martial art-like poses for a good 30 minutes.

It was an adventure, and I'm thankful to have a husband who loves his boys enough to take them to such events even if it means he has to carry them, mediate fights over snacks, listen to whining about not getting ice cream, and dealing with their underappreciation of the scene they are observing.  They'll look back one day and realize how really cool it was and what an awesome dad they have.  I think they already know that.  :)

Know what's weird?

What's weird is that Matt is losing his teeth just as Johnny is getting his.  Sunrise, sunset....as Steven would say.  So, both of Matt's funky grey teeth up top that have been that way since he was 3 both fell out within two weeks of each other.  He looks super funny now.

What's weird is that my brother of all people won our Fantasy Football championship.  So not cool.  And then he wasn't even there at the Super Bowl party to accept his trophy!  The atrocity!  Sarah got him on speakerphone to give his acceptance speech.

The kids were super cute as always; excited to all be together eating waffles, playing and having movie marathons while we watched the game.

What's weird is that Henry is 3!  And Will & Henry's friendship grows stronger and stronger.  They are the perfect pair and a hoot to watch.  Henry requested that Will wear his Superman suit to his birthday party and he in return wore his Luke Skywalker costume.  And then they fought each other with guns and lightsabers.  They are hilarious.

What's weird is this crazy inflatable hamster ball thing and Ava's wild static electricity hair.

The Rener kids came over one afternoon and they all had a blast rolling around in that thing.  Only a few tears but even those didn't last long.  Whoever got injured would suck it up and then jump back in for more.

It was a sweaty, stinky, grass filled ball by the end of the day.

What's weird is that all the first grade classes at Matt's school had a music performance in Feb. entitled "Lullabies".  And they wore their pajamas for the performance.  So did the music teacher.  Yes, that's a night cap.  Matt did great singing and doing all the hand motions.

What's weird is watching your son up on stage speak into a microphone clearly, loudly, and with confidence as he recites a few tongue twisting excerpts from the book Fox in Socks by Dr. Suess.  His class recited the entire book at a morning assembly to honor the great Dr. Suess on his birthday.  Matt did so great; he didn't stumble over any of those funny words at all.  I thought to myself that he sounded just like I did all those many, many times that I read it to him when he was younger.  Makes a momma proud.

9 months

Johnny is 9 months old!  What?  It's all going by so fast.  At John's 9 month check up we learned that he is 18 lb. 4 oz. and 27 in.  He's hanging in at the 25%ile.  We also learned that he had a double ear infection!  Mom of the year right here, I had NO idea.  He was showing a few signs of fussiness here and there throughout the week---a few night wakings (which isn't abnormal), irritability and a runny nose.  I chalked it up to teething.  He never ran a fever and never pulled at his ears or screamed in pain. Poor baby.  So we left the appointment with a prescription and he had 10 days worth of antibiotics.  He's all better now.

This boy is undergoing more changes and trying hard to grow up.  As long as I am nearby of course.  I remain his favorite person, and I will enjoy it while I can because I know it will change.  His oldest brother hates it when Steven is working in the evening because then he can't play video games with him.  But I'll read books with him!  That's fun, right?  Anyway, little J hasn't started crawling yet, but I know the day is near.  He will go from sitting to reaching forward really far and end up on all fours.  He'll rock back and forth but lacks the confidence or strength (not sure which) to move forward.  He can push himself backward on his belly.  He's making moves and really trying to get to things that are out of his reach.  Won't be long.  And then look out Matt & Will 'cuz he's comin'!

Little Mister is finally getting the hang of finger foods and the art of chewing.  I was about to worry that the day would never come, but just over the last week or so he's figured out how to chew without gagging on his food.  And it is glorious.  He's realized that there is whole new world of food items that he can now explore, and he is eager to try it all out.  So that means that whenever anyone is eating anything he will make a loud "mmmmmmmm" noise until you share with him.  We were in Central Market yesterday and he got so mad at me because he couldn't have any of the samples that were being offered throughout the store.  Matt & Will were sipping on soda samples and chomping on tortilla chips, and he was turning red with rage.  Pretty funny.

Johnathan has been experimenting with his vocal cords as well.  Not surprisingly, he has followed suit with his brothers and babbled "dadadadadadada" over and over again.  Sometimes soft and sweet, sometimes loud and fast and sometimes slow and dramatic..."daaaaaaaaaaaaada." It's cuteness.  On the changing table he will sing so sweetly and play with his feet.

Basically, this boy is pure sweetness.  He's at a really fun stage right now.  I just want to bottle his little baby sweetness and keep it with me forever!  I can't squeeze him or kiss him enough these days.  I am in love, can you tell?

William

For William's birthday, we made the brave choice to get him a drum set.  Drumming is one of his very favorite activities, and he finds whatever materials he can and turns them into drums.  He drums on the desk with pencils, uses the drumsticks and drums on the pillows and his napmat, uses sticks to drum on empty plastic plant containers outside, etc....you name it, he'll turn it into a drum.

Well, he loved them.  He drummed all morning long loud and fast, slow and dramatic.

He drummed with such vigor, in fact, that he fell asleep in our bed.  I went to take a shower, and when I came out I found him asleep in our bed.  Crazy kid.

After he was refreshed, he drummed some more.  We have since moved the drums to his room, and he complains about it.  He wants to have an audience at all times while drumming.

We had a celebratory birthday dinner at Phil's Icehouse complete with ice cream.  How can this boy be 4?

At his 4 year check up we learned that Will is 28 lbs. and 35 in. tall.  He has grown over the course of the year, but he's still off the charts and charting his own curve.  He got two shots at that visit and took them like a man.  He looked at that nurse like how on earth could she hurt him like that, shed a few tears, then walked it off.  Such a big boy.

Recently, Will has really taken off on the Strider balance bike.  You may remember that that was his birthday present last year.  He liked it at first but then ended up sticking with his tricycle for the year and Matt dominated the Strider.  He made up his mind that he would ride it, and with a little practice he's gotten really good at it.  And he looks adorable riding the thing.  You should hear the reactions from passers by.  They of course probably think he's 2.  He scares me to death though because he loves to go careening down steep hills picking up ridiculous speed.
Check him out...

Some of Mr. William's favorites are:
Food: yogurt, cheese, applesauce
Movies: Cars, Cars 2, Incredibles, Despicable Me
Shirt: skateboards or his Yo Gabba Gabba shirt
Jammies: the ones with the race cars on them
Books: all the Pixar movies that are in Little Golden Book form (Cars, Nemo, Toy Story...), and he still loves all the old board books
Activities: racing and crashing cars on the couch, playing with the Lego superheroes, going to school and the gym, swinging, riding his bike, drumming, napping, annoying Matthew

Will is a sweet, sensitive, active, physical, intelligent little boy.  I get the most frustrated with him because sometimes I feel like he doesn't understand English---when I've made something as plain and simple as I can make it in terms that I know he can comprehend in that little cotton head.  For instance, we were at Academy the other afternoon, and he asked me, "Mommy, what we are doing today?"  I told him we were at Academy and then we were going to go home and have dinner.  "No!!!  Where we are going today?"  Well, we're here at Academy right now and then we're going home to have dinner, take a bath and go to bed.  Tomorrow is Henry's birthday.  "But where we are going today??"  Followed by tears.  Ugh.  Maybe I'm the one not understanding!  We have conversations like that all the time.  Basically, Will likes to be going places.  Except when I'm ready to get out the door and he's in the middle of some serious car crashing or Superhero reenactment.

This boy melts my heart.  Something about his tininess combined with big brown eyes and sweet expressiveness that gets me.  Every morning he says in the sweetest voice, "Good morning, Mommy!" and gives me a big hug.  He is empathetic and thoughtful.  He's a loving big brother to little J and adores him.  He's the perfect little brother for Matt...annoying, contrary, silly and fun.  What really gets Matt is when Will agrees to do a certain activity like race outside and then he changes his mind within seconds.  I swear he does it on purpose because it sends Matt through the roof.  Another favorite is when Will initiates a sword fight and then comes running to tell me that Matt hit him.  Yep.  It's a sword fight, you get hit, buddy.  He's our sweet William, and we love seeing his personality develop and look forward with excitement as to what the Lord has in store for this special boy.

FOUR years

Somehow, William has turned 4 already!  Unbelievable.  We celebrated his birthday last Saturday.  He requested the same party we always throw...backyard bouncy house party.  The blow up fun house arrived on Friday, so we got some extra bouncing fun in.  Will's friends played along and dressed up in their superhero gear, it was awesome.  I like that Henry went for the Super-Luke-Skywalker look.  It works.

SuperSteven!  Or is it Captain Steven?

And we were surprised with a visit from SuperGrann and SuperPoppi!  That wig on my dad is still cracking me up...and creeping me out a little.  They definitely won the prize for playing along!  It was awesome.

Even little J got into the spirit.  That's Matt's Superman onesie from his first Halloween.  Nice one, Nicole!

So, when we were discussing possibilities for Will's birthday, Will told me he wanted a Superman cake.  And then he also told me he wanted 2 cakes.  "A Superman cake and a January cake, Mommy."  Wait, what's a January cake?  While in Dallas recently, my dear friend Alison lent me this amazing vintage Wilton superhero cake pan from 1977.  Clearly, I had to use it.

Superman needs his gun while he eats his birthday lunch.  I came back to get his plate, and found that the chips, popcorn and cheese were gone, one bite had been taken from his Chick-fil-A nugget, and the grapes were untouched.  Classic Will.

Lots of hijinks in the bouncy house.

Adorable children eating their lunch.

It came to cake time and Will was all smiles.  He was beaming as everyone serenaded him, and he looked at all the singing, smiling faces with great pleasure.

I felt a little weird cutting through Superman.  This is me going "Aaaahhhhh!!!" all gruesome-like.  Superman was a strawberry cake per Will's request, and the Superman logo cake was white per my request.  :)

Henry likes cake!  So does Joy.

The Batman pinata took a beating.  The little guys went first, and then one of the big boys finished it off.  I think it was Luke.  And then they all pounced.

The party died down, Will opened his presents, and then I was able to convince him to take a nap.  And then we had our after-party family bouncing fun.  Very enthusiastic as you can see.

I LOVE these guys.  They are super fun.

This is my favorite from the day.  Matt gets his easy, natural posing skills from his devastatingly handsome father.

Steven and his boys.

And, it always ends in wrestling.  It was a pretty great day celebrating our William Henry.