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Lucas’ 4th!

Now that I revived the blog, I may be doing some “throwbacks”.

Last November, we celebrated Lucas’ 4th birthday. Here is his last night as a 3 year old!

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Donut surprise for his birthday breakfast and Paw Patrol decorations.

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It’s amazing how much different he’s changed since then. He’s loosing that baby/toddler look in his face. So not ready for 5!

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For dinner we went to Mesquite BBQ so he could have a corn dog and fried okra.

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Then is was back home for cake and gifts.

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Pink cake, of course.

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His big gift was a scooter from us. He also got some map and maze books, a helmet, a marble run and butterfly wings.

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A little about Lucas….

He likes fruit, graham crackers and cream cheese, breakfast tacos, toast, cereal, waffles, pancakes, yogurt, cheerios, raisins, chips, pretzels, tomatoes, donuts, cupcakes, ice cream, popcorn, pecans, almonds, granola, kombucha and cheese pizza when he’s in the right mood.

He LOVES his stuffed animal friends. All of them have to be in bed with him and I think there might be about 20. Bears, dogs, alligator, fox, school bus, Roxy (a shrunk T-Rex), Gold (a monkey), his other monkeys, turtle…..all of them. But I especially love how he makes up stories about them, how he cares for them and their feelings. It’s the sweetest thing that I never want to end.

He loves to play LEGOs with brother which usually means finding all the tiniest pieces there are and hoarding them in a bag or his pockets. His favorite are LEGO men.

Last fall he was super into dominoes and marble runs. Now he just likes to carry the marbles around. We find them everywhere.

He really enjoys books with lots of details and things to study. He will sit for a good while staring at the same page, just studying. Both he and William are into LEGO City books and the Bernstein Bears plus Mo Willem’s Gerald and Piggie books.

He is doing awesome on his balance bike and I think we’ll be moving him to something bigger by the fall. His legs just need to be a bit longer. But he can really keep up! He loves the park, taking walks and climbing the thunderdome in the backyard.

He’s really at a point where he wants to do so much more and a lot more by himself. I try to allow that but he’s my mischevious kiddo. If it’s too quiet, time to check on him!

He’s done so well at school this year and loves his teachers. The best thing is to hear him singing songs he’s learned in chapel. When he is at home with us, I try to include him in our school as much as possible or have some work all his own. He’s just beginning to read 3 letter words and does a great job sounding them out!

Lucas, you are Mommy’s sunshine boy. I love your happiness and how you can quickly loose the blues and be back to all smiles. You are so sweet and caring and I hope you never loose that. I love your imagination and your snuggles. I hope you always dance to the beat of your own drum and never worry what other’s think of you. You are a free spirit with a zest for life I envy but love to see. Love, Mommy (I can hear you calling from your room so rest must be over!)

First Day of Preschool | 8.29.16

I decided to send William to a mother’s day out program last fall. It was very last minute but it’s proven to be a great experience for him. I especially love his teacher!

He was never nervous or anything. Just super excited to go to his school and make new friends.

It’s only two days a week but I have really enjoyed the one on one time I’ve had with Lucas while William is at school.

I can’t believe we are almost into May and coming up on his last few days there. My baby is five now and ready for kindergarten!

Out of this World Birthday Party | William Turns 4

James has always been a space geek so it’s no surprise that is William’s current favorite thing…well, he likes rockets. He also likes Space Racers now so I thought doing an outer space/rocket theme for his party would be fun.

We were originally hosting the party at our house, but after a week of rain our backyard wasn’t in any shape for kiddos, so we moved to our neighborhood park. It was a beautiful day! The past three years, William has always had rain on his birthday or day of his party. 

I used an idea from a Kraft recipes site to make the shape of the rocket cake. The boys gave their input on design and I had to add the Falcon 9 logo somewhere as well. William declared the cake beautiful! The space tablecloth was a $5 find from Amazon.

A lot of my original decoration and activity plans were cancelled since we moved locations but I did stick to making jet packs for all the kiddos.  So happy my sister, Jessica helped me with these! They turned out so cute and the kids loved them. A lot of the tutorials I found online suggested using a 2L soda bottle but I went with the 16 fl oz ones instead. They were a much better size for the 2-4 year olds.

Here they are in action!

Wagon rides were the hit of the day….a big thank you to all the parents who took turns pulling the kiddos around the park!

The wind made it difficult to get the candles lit but with 6 hands involved it worked!

I love this photo. It makes me smile….opening presents. How close can everyone get?

What a fun day with family and friends! I am so happy with how everything turned out, the beautiful day and easy clean up. Score! I know the birthday boy had a blast too.