7 Years Young

Ethan's 7th birthday snuck up on us more than usual this year.  We had a house full of people earlier in the month and then with football, school and work, I think time just got away from us.  But we found a little bit of time to help him celebrate the big day.

He started out the day with Rick and went to his Punt, Pass & Kick competition.   This was the second level of competition and he was very nervous for it when he left.  He did a great job, but unfortunately did not advance to the next round.  Trevor, Cooper and I did not go to see him compete since Trevor had already missed one soccer game (on baptism weekend).  We gave Trev the choice of playing soccer or going to the PPK with Ethan and he chose soccer. 

After Ethan and Rick returned, we had a low key day complete with Ethan's dinner choice (homemade waffles & fruit slices) and of course opening a couple presents and eating cake.

 

 I normally have the "favorites" list for their birthdays, but since I am putting this on the blog WAAAAAAYYY late, I have lost the paper that I wrote them down on.







Just a little about Ethan for this year.... He is still (and I think always will be) our competitive one.   He joined Flag Football and LOVES it.  He's not big on getting aggressive on defense yet, but hopefully that'll come with a bit more play time and getting older.  He loves school and especially math.  He is a fantastic big brother.  He really enjoys sitting with Cooper and just talking to him.  He has the patience to do that!   He is still emotional (especially when tired) and simple, but important to him, things will set him into tears.  Unfortunately, it's normally his younger brother that will help set those emotions into motion. 

Happy Birthday, Ethan.  We all love you very, very much!

The Big 5 for Trevor

Another year gone by! 

Our baby - well, he's not our baby anymore so I guess I have to say our middle child - has turned 5.  The big 5!  A whole hand... full of fingers 5! 

Trevor has changed a lot this year.  He's more independent yet at the same time still likes to have help some days so he pretends like he can't do it.  But most days he is a strong-willed, independent 5 year old.  Getting dressed on his own, liking to pour his own drinks, getting his own snacks, showering more than he is taking baths.  Loving sports, loving letter writing, loving animals and babies.  He is an amazingly wonderful BIG brother and a superb LITTLE brother.  Although, some days the little brother becomes that little brother who likes to annoy his big brother by pushing just the right buttons. ;)  He shows us new things - things that he thinks are "cool" - and feels so awesome when he can get his big brother to follow him to show him something.  He is tough!  He is very, oh so very talkative, yet can be the shyest little fellow when in a new situation.  He is sneaky (well, I'm not really sure that's the right word for it) - he knows answers to things, but will 'play dumb' about it.  For example, he will tell Ethan that the color of his crayon is blue, when he well knows that it is RED.  And he will continue the "No it's Blue" against Ethan until we intervene because Ethan is there saying, "Trevor, it's NOT blue, it's RED!"  and Ethan gets more and more mad as the discussion goes back and forth each time.  So, it's that kind of stuff that he does so very 'well' and knows EXACTLY what he is doing!  Sneaky... Sly.... just not sure what to call it.

But he is our sweetheart. He has a heart of gold.  He's fun-loving, silly, sweet, hilarious, smart, and as always, our miracle child!  We love you Trevor and hope you love being 5 as much as you did 4!

Now, for the annual favorite things list....

Favorite Things

Favorite Color

Green &; Orange

Favorite Animal

Shark

FavoriteWii Game

Pick-up Basketball

Favorite Non-Wii Game

Uno Attack

Favorite Thing to do at School

Play in the Science Area (with his friend, Michael)

Favorite Outside Thing

Shooting hoops

Favorite Sport

Soccer

Favorite Song

On the Ridge (by Dierks Bently) and Blue Suede Shoes

Favorite Food

Grapes

Favorite Ice-Cream Flavor

Vanilla

Favorite Pro Sports Team

Packers and Chiefs

Favorite Thing to Learn About at School

Alphabet with the Alphabet Book

Favorite Book

Go Dogs Go!

Favorite thing about being 4

 - happy that he learned how to whistle (just a few days ago)

 - happy that he'll be able to be in t-ball next summer (that's more of a "being 5" favorite thing, but he is very excited to finally be able to play next summer)

What Did We Do When I Turned 6?

Oh man, I wish I had an exciting story like Trevor did for his birthday this year!  He got to go to the air show and see all the jets.  I had to go to school!  I really like school, but that's not much fun for a birthday celebration.  But it was a good day even though I didn't get to go some place like Trevor. 

I was up early enough and got to eat breakfast with my Dad.  He was the very first one to say "Happy Birthday" to me that day!  I went to school in the morning and brought some really cool treats that I helped Mom pick out.  They were Green Monster Cups!  See they looked pretty neat!  All the kids in my class and the teachers at school liked them a lot. 

After school we came home Trev and I played upstairs and I tried to sneak a peek at my presents, but Mom made sure that I didn't get a chance to do that!  Every time I thought she wasn't looking she somehow knew that I was trying to be sneaky and get a look at what was inside and would catch me!  Ugh... I never did get to see them until later that night.    Daddy came home a bit earlier than usual and after we ate dinner - my choice this year was Pizza Hut pizza - we got to go outside because it was so nice.  I wanted to open all my presents, but Mom and Dad said that we should start outside with something that was in the garage.   Can you believe it..... this is what was waiting for me in the garage.

We played outside for quite awhile and I loved my new bike!!  It felt weird to be riding a bigger bike and I had to be careful, but it was fun.  I even forgot for a minute or two that I had cake, ice cream and more presents to open inside.  It was a good thing that after being outside for almost an hour mom and dad reminded me.  We went inside and finished up my birthday with my neat Jersey Cake and ice cream and of course the rest of the presents!  So many awesome things from everyone.... I loved them all!!

After opening presents Trevor and I just played and played.  We put together Lego's with Dad, we played with the Zoom shooters that Rhiannon and Jon gave me and had a lot of fun with all the toys!   Even though I didn't get to go some place cool like Trevor, it was still a great birthday!!  What birthday isn't great when it has cake, ice cream, a dinner that I get to pick AND presents? 

Hooray, Hooray Ethan is 6 Today

Six years ago our lives changed FOREVER!  Ok, they changed when we brought our lab puppy home 7 years ago - that was Rick's first step at parenting, however, things REALLY changed when we brought home our 8lb baby boy named Ethan.  He was ours. He was ours to nurture, ours to cuddle, ours to teach right and wrong to.  Ours to listen to as he screamed at night, ours to laugh with as he giggled, ours to discipline, and ours to love unconditionally!

Six years, where did they go?  I say that, but at the same time, it seems like he should be 10 already.  He has truly been a joy for our family.  Sassy and trying at times, but so loving, caring and funny all the other times!  This past year we have seen a big change in him.  He is absolutely loving school and is excelling in it as well!  He loves to write his numbers from 1-100, writes sentences about everything and anything, and loves to show us how he can read!  He is doing so well and we can only hope and pray that his love for school and learning continues like this for the next 12+ years.

Now, I say that he loves school; however, if you give the boy a choice between writing sentences and playing a sport - sentences will be left behind each and every time!  His love for sports has continued and has grown tremendously over the last year.  He will play any sport you give him - basketball, football, baseball, tennis, golf, and he even gets "some" wrestling in there with his brother many days.  But he just loves playing.  He's competitive like his mom and dad and likes learning the "right way" to play.  He showed that in his soccer season this Fall.  He was one of the older kids on the team so his coach made sure to give him a few extra instructions on where and why to kick the ball to a certain place, how to pass off to his teammates while on the run, and how to play and work hard every moment of the game/practice!  It was so much fun for Rick and I to watch him improve and really think about what he was doing while out on the field.

Other things that we've seen change over this past year.... Ethan likes to help his younger brother do things (like getting dressed, showing him how to make shapes or write letters), he will make his own bed in the mornings (if you ask him to, of course), he has gotten better at helping around the house (picking up toys (when asked), feeding the dog, putting dishes away after a meal, making sure toys are put away outside before coming in, etc), he has learned that he can talk ALL day long and not lose his voice.   Seriously, this child rarely has a quiet moment unless sleeping; he's either talking or singing and when he's not doing that, he'll just be making random noises (I think he takes after my brother who had the nickname Motor Mouth when he was little).    In addition, he has realized that we don't get to see our family in WI as much as he would want.  He used to notice it after we had visitors or when we would go home for a visit, but recently, he's been mentioning at random times how he would like to see them again!  Funny how all of a sudden it clicks that we don't get to see our family as often as other kids in his class get to see their families.

You're six today, Ethan!  Getting so big!  We wish we could keep you little forever, but we know that's not possible.  So we hope you continue to grow and mature just as you are right now because you're doing a great job at it!  You're a sweet little boy and we're proud to have you as our son!  We love you.

Now for some of Ethan's Favorites this year.... as answered by the Birthday Boy himself.

Favorite Color: Red

Favorite Animal: Sharks

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Cherry Dipped cone from DQ

Friends that you play with this year: Anna, Colby, Ethan S and all my classmates in Kindergarten

What was your Favorite Thing about Being 5: Having a little brother to play with

Favorite Thing to do Outside: Play football

Favorite Thing to do Inside: Play football upstairs and play PBSKids on computer

Favorite Song: Up On the Ridge (by Dierks Bently) 

Favorite Thing about Birthdays:  Eating cake and opening all the presents

Favorite thing to do with Daddy: Going to golf course and playing catch

Favorite thing to do with Mom: Playing catch

Favorite Food:  Chicken Taquitos, candy

Favorite Sport: Football, Baseball, Basketball

Favorite Thing from the summer: Going to the pool and golf course

Favorite Thing about School: Playing with friends at recess and gym class

Speed and "Thunder" for a Birthday

On Trevor's birthday this year, we had a great activity planned!  We had been waiting for it since it was announced earlier in the year and it had been on our calendar ever since.  It was the Wings Over Whiteman Air Show at the Whiteman Air Force Base which is located about 1 hour from our house.  This air force base is an active base and is the home to all B2 Bombers and many of the A-10 Thunderbolt fighter jets among other things.  We have the privilege of seeing the jets and B2 fly over our home quite often and all of us run outside to see if we can find them in the sky.  So to see them all up close was awesome for all four of us!

The gates of the base opened at 9am on Sunday and we were there promptly at 9:15am.  (and just to jump ahead a bit, we didn't leave there until 5:30pm.)  It was a long, but very fun day for all of us.

We saw many different jets and cargo planes; we saw new and old airplanes; we saw helicopters; we saw the Golden Knight parachute jumpers and we saw the B2 and Thunderbirds.  The boys did a-a-amazing the entire day!  There were a lot of static displays to look at, tons of people to watch, and they even got little foam basketballs from one of the vendors there.  That made their day because if you know them, a day is not complete if we don't get to play some sort of sport.  And those little basketballs kept them occupied during some down time that we had... so thank you to the man that rolled them the balls as we were walking by!

Now, I say that we had an amazing time, and we did, and we will definitely go next year if they have it; however, there was one downside to it.  And that would be that Ethan had a rough time with some of the bigger/faster jets as they would fly by and then turn in such a way that their engines were facing us, making the noise even louder.  We had ear plugs for all of us, but that just wasn't enough for him.  And when the Thunderbirds did their demonstration at the end of the show, Ethan was ready to go about three-quarters of the way through.  It wasn't until they did some fly by with 5 of the jets -- a really cool trick so everyone was watching them as they went by and then low and behold the 6th jet came by at top speed and scared the living daylights out of everyone in the crowd!  That one even made Trevor cry - and it shook Ethan's insides so much that he was ready to go right then and there.  We didn't leave right then and there, but when the Thunderbirds were done, Ethan was breathing a sigh of relief. 

Thank you boys for being so well behaved and we can't wait to go again next year!   Trevor, we hope you remember your 4th birthday for a very long time.  And if you happen to forget some of it, here are some pictures to remind you of what you did on that special day when you became a 4 year old.

This is one of the craziest aircrafts... the B2.  They had the various versions of it at the show and it was just amazing to see how it has evolved from what it was in the 50's to what it is today...

We had lots of time for smiles, giggles, and some not so happy faces as well throughout the day, but looking back at all these faces makes me remember what fun we had.  (And the one with Ethan doubled over in the chair looking at the ground was after that dreaded Thunderbird flyby that scared us all!)

What the pilots of these planes can do is so fun to see!  Just makes you sit in awe when you see them doing what they do best!

And then there were the impressive Thunderbirds.  If you wanted to see them perform you had to wait through the entire show, but it was well worth the wait! 

And you'll see some pictures that are of something other than the planes... these were taken jokingly after I mentioned to Rick, "Well, isn't that just every girl's dream man... tall, dark, handsome AND a uniformed fighter jet pilot!"  And being that they were setting stuff up for the show only about 10 feet from where we were sitting, I had ample time and opportunity to see these nice, uniformed men (oh, and there were a few women as well.  It was a tough job, but I'm glad I got a couple pictures for all of you to see.

Rick writing here -- And just so everyone knows...While Angie was taking the photos of the, as she puts it, "men in uniform", I had to keep her from singing, "You've lost that loving feeling...Ohhh, that loving feeling..."  I'm surprised she didn't start calling me Maverick or Goose.

And these were just some of the other random pictures from the day....

These last two are two of my favorite plane pictures from the day

And I can't forget to tell you about when we got home.  Trevor was just beat by the end of the day... both boys fell asleep soon after we started the drive home, but one difference was that Ethan eventually woke up.  Trevor on the other hand, slept and slept and slept.  We arrived home and since Trevor didn't have a Pull-up on I took him out of the van and went straight to the bathroom with him.  He sat on the toilet, went potty, but never woke up.  I laid him on the couch while we unpacked the rest of the van... he never woke up.  After we were all in the house, Kelty was excited to see all of us and even gave Trevor kisses on his cheek.   He never woke up.  Being that it was 6:30pm I decided I was going to put his pjs on and see if he wanted some birthday cake.  I laid him on his bed, took off his shorts and undies, put on a pull-up and his pj pants and the poor kid never woke up.  At that point, I said, you can just sleep in your tank top tonight, and I put him on his pillow.  He never moved.  Until 6:30am the next morning...

Celebrating My Birthday

Oh my --- I don't even know where to start.  My birthday this year - I turned 4!!  I was so excited.  Whenever anyone asked me how old I was before my birthday, I would say, "I'm 3, and I'm almost turning 4!"  I had to let them know that I was almost four and not just a little 3 year old.  But then my birthday got closer and closer.  Mom started asking me what kind of cake I wanted - I told her Iron Man or Thomas, but I don't think she liked those answers because she kept asking me what kind I wanted.  Almost like she wanted me to say, "I don't want a cake, Mom."  But she came up with a cool idea of making a #4 cake.  I was so exited to be 4, so I thought that was a pretty cool idea to have a whole #4 all for myself on my birthday. 

During the week, we had some boxes come from the mailman.  They had MY name on them!  And they were BIG boxes.  Mom let me look inside but didn't let me touch.  She set the boxes in the dining room and made me stare at them every day, all week long, but wouldn't let me open them.  Man... that was tough.  I just wanted to see what was in there!  But on Saturday, she finally told me that I was going to get to open some of them that night, and that I could even help her make the cake while Daddy was at work.    So that's what we did.  We made the cake, we made the frosting and it was yummy!  I didn't want to, but Mom made me share the beaters with my brother, Ethan.  I thought I should get all the yummy stuff since it was MY birthday, but my mom said I should just be glad that I got to like off one of the beaters!

After we went to church on Saturday, we got to go home and open presents and eat my cake.  I had such a hard time sitting through mass... all I wanted to do was go home and open those presents that were in the dining room all week!!  But I made it.  We got home, ate dinner, had a visitor surprise me with a special gift (thank you Allee, Pierce and Miss Amy... it was a wonderful surprise), and then they finally sang Happy Birthday to me so I could blow out the candles and eat the cake!!  Yummy!  Then it was present time.  but I didn't get to open all of them since it wasn't my birthday quite yet.  Mom said that we would open some Saturday night and then some others on Sunday night after we got back from the air show.  Yeah... an air show.  That's what we were going to do ON my birthday day.... how cool is that.  I was so excited to see all the neat planes.   But I think I'll let my mom tell you about that day because it was a LONG LONG day.  I was so tired that night.

But here are some of my presents...

I got some really cool stuff this year -- I must be getting bigger that I get the cool stuff like my brother gets.  I got a Leapster game, a remote control car, some more Trios so I can build a gigantic tower, a piano that makes some weird sounds (my mom likes it when I use the headphones so she doesn't have to listen to all the neat sounds), some Pixos and some sport clothes!  It was really fun opening my presents.  Thank you for all the neat stuff.

After playing with some of my toys it was time for bed so that we could get up early and go to the air show!  My birthday party was lots of fun and I can't wait til I turn 5... but for now, I really like telling people I'm 4.

4 Years and 1 Day

4 years and 1 day ago...

Trevor was born and blessed our family.

You might say, why 4 years and 1 day ago...well, you see, we were gone all day yesterday to the Whiteman Air Force Base to see an air show (that post will hopefully come out later today), and this slacking mom didn't pre-date a post so that it would go out on her son's actual birth day.  So, it's 4 years and 1 day ago today that I held my second bundle of joy in my arms for the very first time. 

I can't believe that it's been that long already.  I know I always say he's grown so fast, but it's even more so this past year.  Of recent, he's taken some different things ... things that make me realize he's getting older.  He loves to color and do dot-to-dots.  He waits to go to school on Tuesdays and Thursdays and enjoys doing matching type activities in workbooks.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to classify him as a book-worm type, yet.  He still loves to play sports with his older brother.  He loves to play cars.  He loves to paint.  He loves to get outside and ride his bike like a "speed racer".  He's all boy and fills the younger brother role to a tee!  He torments his older brother.  He gets in his older brother's face when at all possible.  And he knows how to do things (wrong, sassy things) and not get caught!

But he really is a wonderful little boy - minus the normal 3 or 4 year old stuff.  He is loving.  He is kind.  He's compassionate towards others, especially little babies and animals.  He makes us laugh multiple times a day.  He's a great little brother and looks up to his older brother oh so much!   And he makes us realize that miracles really do happen. 

We love you Trevor and hope you have an amazing year as a 4 year old!!

Now, here are some of Trevor's Favorites

(according to him on the particular day I asked him.  I can't promise that these answers would be the same today if I asked him, but hey, he had fun giving his answers...)

Favorite Color:

Purple, blue, yellow, green... but GREEN is my favorite

Favorite Animal:

Hippopotamus

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor:

Raspberry

Friends you play with:

Jake, Mia, Marley, Pierce

Favorite Thing about Being 3:

That I'm gonna be 4

Favorite Thing to do Outside:

Play biking with Ethan

Favorite Thing to do Inside:

Play soccer upstairs with Ethan

Favorite Song:

The Dinosaur Song - the one that goes, "The dinosaurs go marching, marching..."

Favorite Thing About Birthdays:

That there are presents in big boxes

Favorite Thing to do with Daddy:

Stay home with him

Favorite Thing to do with Mom:

Going to the dump

(I guess that's what I get when I take him there 7 times in one day with loads of tree branches and try to make it fun)

Favorite Food:

Froot Loops, honey and peanut butter sandwiches

Favorite Sport:

Basketball

Favorite Thing we did this Summer:

Liked being outside

Favorite Thing to do at School:

I clean up really fast with my new shoes on

What is something else you want everyone to know:

That I like to play football and I like going to school.

There you have it.  That's Trevor in a minute on his 4th birthday!

YAY!!!!  I'm 4!!!!!!

You can find him doing this with his cars quite often...

Occupying Their Time

Our wonderful friend's, the Thoresen's, sent a package for the Ethan's birthday. We received it after returning from Wisconsin for Rick's Grandpa's funeral and the contents of it were Heaven sent!! There were two things.... the first one - PixOs.

Ethan loved them. And it just so happened that his cousin, Jordyn, had made him a PixOs design when we were in WI. He thought it was so cool... so this was perfect timing. He wanted to sit down right away and make something. We did a couple simple things first and then he made the bike above. Not that you can play with these, but he has enjoyed having them on his dresser.

And then there's the item below...The Imaginarium Marble Race. The boys LOVE it and it was a great distraction during a time of getting back into the swing of things after being in WI for the week. The boys play with this marble maze like I've never seen them play before (or not very often anyway). There is no fighting, they laugh, they giggle, and did I mention there's NO fighting (I am writing this several weeks after receiving it, and to this day there has not been any fighting with this toy!!)

Thank you, Thoresen's! The boys love this toy and so do I!!!

Ethan's Birthday Cake

I made the school snack, but I ran out of time to make the Football Field Cake that Ethan wanted for his birthday. It would have been easy enough to make; however, I just plain ran out of time. So this is what we ended up with from one of our local stores. He loved it just the same. Next year, Ethan, we'll get back to the Mom Made Birthday Cake!!

So Alive And Five

At 10:56pm tonight, Ethan will officially will be 5 years old.

five!

Five!

FIVE!

I know I said the same thing about Trevor when he turned 3, however, having Ethan turn 5 has really hit me hard! I can't believe that he's 5 already! And now, with schools and sports being a part of his weekly routine, I know the next few years are just going to fly by!! But before they do, here are a few things that Ethan has done over the past year to show us just how much he's growing...

1. He switched schools (twice) and has made the transition beautifully. Switched preschools in Utah in August 2008 and then had to switch to his current school when we made the trek to MO. He has done extremely well and makes us very proud when he's thrown into all these changes.

2. He has made us laugh, uncontrollably sometimes.

3. No more training wheels. Thanks to the Villa's little 2-wheeled bike (12" wheels), Ethan figured out how to keep his balance. That transferred to his bigger bike and he's been goin' ever since.

4. He has become our negotiator. He knows how to twist and turn things so that Trevor will give in and think that he's doing something really cool when really he's just given in to what Ethan wants.

5. He's made us say "1 - 2 - 3 .... you're in timeout" more times that we like to admit.

6. He's learned to write his letters (has the upper case down pat and the lower case is coming along nicely)

7. He has officially become a big brother and knows how to torment his little brother without being blatantly obvious (oh-that's a fine art that he is going to have mastered in a couple years because he's already good at it!!)

8. He has been the sweetest kid and has continued being so compassionate towards others, he is loving, and is just a huggable boy!

9. (even though #8 is so true some days...) He has learned to be a true man and can turn off the hearing whenever he so chooses! Oh how that frustrates me. I was really hoping to start a new generation (or just one man) that would listen intently, 100% of the time, no mater the subject, to their moms, wives, sisters, girl friends, etc. Guess, I'll have to work on Trevor for that. (Oh, wait, he's already mastered it too! Dang it. Some other brave woman will have to try to tackle that feat for womankind.

10. He's lost 2 teeth since we moved to MO in August.

11. He has made Trevor laugh with the biggest belly laugh and has made him cry, scream, and fight the next minute...but at the end of the day, a "Good-Night, Trevor" is always said.

12. He has become a 5 year old that we love, cherish, and laugh with every single day (he would be great on that show "Kids Say the Darnedest Things")

Through the Years.....

4 hours old - 10/16/2004 Only 8 days old and we started him in on sports (guess we did it to ourselves...)
1 year old -2005

2 years old - 2006

3 years old - 2007

4 years old - 2008

5 years old - 2009

Favorite Things...
(as stated by Ethan this morning)

Favorite Sport - Football

Favorite Toys - Matchbox Cars

Favorite Food - Macaroni & Cheese (I really don't believe this one, but... it's what he said)

Favorite Color - Blue and green

Favorite Thing to do at School - Play with Toys

Favorite Holiday - Christmas ("The one where I get presents")

Favorite thing to do with Daddy - Build things, big things, like basketball hoops

Favorite thing to do with Mom - Build race tracks

Favorite thing to do with Trevor - Play STOMP (a new game they got)

Favorite Number - 100

Favorite Teacher at any of your schools - Dyl Pickles (that was what they called on of his good friends at his school in Utah. His name was Dylan)

Favorite Song to Sing - Ring Around the Rosie

Happy Birthday, Ethan! Keep up the good work and the good manners! You make Mom and Dad very proud when we hear how much you like school and learning and when we hear your good manners (especially when we're out in public). You're a great big brother to Trevor and he will realize that some day when he's a bit older. He's very lucky to have you as his brother and we are so blessed to have you as our son! We love you and can't wait to experience the next year with you!!

Pre-K Treats

We were going to make something simple for Ethan's school class since they have had a plethora a birthdays (and therefore, sugar) the past couple of weeks. Seems like October was a very popular month for births in our town. Something simple.... Rice Krispie treats! Very simple, not too much sugar or frosting. Perfect. But, it was just a bit too boring for me to send with him. What did I do? of course, I went online and started looking for options to spice up a Rice Krispie treat! And the internet came to the rescue AGAIN!! I found this cute idea called Chocolate Pumpkin Eaters and it was simple enough for the kids to even help while making them.

We started with just the Rice Krisipes. Then moved to sticking in the pretzel rod and having to reshape the Krispie "pumpkins". Time to cool and then put the chocolate and sprinkles on (of course, this was the kids favorite part. I know, that's hard to believe, isn't it?!?)
We wrapped them up in the plastic wrap and put a yellow ribbon on for a bit of decoration. Super easy. Super fun for the kids. And hopefully NOT too super messy for the kids to eat.

Trevor's Birthday Day

Today was kind of an uneventful day for a 3 year olds birthday, but it was still a busy day. We started the day with Trevor waking up, walking out of his room all groggy with his bear as he normally does. I was sitting on the floor and immediately said, "Happy Birthday, Trevor!!" The sleepy boy quickly disappeared, his eyes widened, and he said, "I want my birf-day now," as he walked directly to his 2 boxes of presents that had come in the mail from the grandmas & grandpas. He did very well with them sitting in the corner for over a week, but it was d-day and he wanted to open them all!

Unfortunately, Rick had to work in the morning so we had to save most of the presents until the evening; however, I told him he could open one present just to curb his longing desire to open those darn presents that have been staring him in the face. After opening the present it was time for breakfast. Nothing special there... just waffles and fruit. In the mean time, I had started making frosting for the cupcakes that we needed to decorate. I was planning on just making the frosting and putting it in the frig until later in the day, but the boys wanted NONE of that! They wanted to help make the frosting, they thought it was the coolest thing to see it turn from white to the desired color before their eyes, and they loved helping frost the cupcakes as well! Oh yeah, and getting to eat frosting, M&Ms and gum drops after breakfast was a bonus, too. This was the final product after frosting and decorating was completed... (once again I am cursing Blogger because it rotates my picture when I don't want it to - anyone? help?)
This was surely something I wasn't expecting to do at 7:30am while we were all still in our PJs. But it was fun and passed the morning by in the blink of an eye. So much so that we had to rush to get dressed, and out the door to Ethan's soccer game at 10am. We ventured to the soccer game, cheered Ethan on as he played hard, and then came home to lunch and play time outside while I cut the lawn in the front yard. Naps were in order for both boys so we made sure NOT to miss those. Ethan had a birthday party to attend after naps, but Trevor took a longer than normal nap so Rick stayed home with him as Ethan and I went to the party.

Meanwhile, Trevor woke up, ate dinner with Daddy and played his little heart out in the yard. When Ethan and I got home it was showtime.... presents, song singing, and cupcake/ice cream eating time!! Although, I do have to say we were the "bad parents of the year" during this time. You see, when moving, the moving companies will not transport matches. I am not sure where the matches from Utah went, but I quickly found out that we haven't bought any since moving here. Great time to realize that, huh!?! So, Trevor got to blow out imaginary candles tonight after we sang happy birthday to him. Poor kid. He'll forever be scarred from not having candles to blow out (or "fire" as he called it) on his very important, 3rd birthday. Sorry, Trevor. But it was safer that way anyway. That's how I'm justifying it to myself. Following all of that fun, it was time for PJs, book reading and lights out.

Happy Birthday, Trevor and we hope you had fun today. Tomorrow morning it's back to normal, kiddo.

T-T-T....Trev Turns Three!

I can't believe I'm writing another one of these "birthday posts" about our Little Man, Trevor. It seems like just a couple weeks ago that I was writing about Trevor Turning Two. Now, here I am saying that he's 3! He's 3...

He's changed a ton over the past 3 years. Here's a glimpse at those changes.

Trevor just minutes after being born Here he is 5 days after being bornBirthday #1 - 2007Birthday #2... 2008Birthday #3.... Today.... 2009

During this past year he has done a lot for a two year old. He's started running (and walking without us worrying every step of the way), he was "discharged" from Physical Therapy of the Up-to-3 program. He's climbing like a mad man, his vocabulary is getting bigger each day and the sentences are rolling of his tongue like crazy, he knows his colors, he can sing alphabet and can count-when he wants to. He understands when someone is teasing him and responds by saying, "Awe, you're silly!" He is totally, no doubt, 220% Daddy's boy! and is still a carbon copy of Daddy as well. He started his first "school" when we got to Missouri (and loves it)! He's kept the long eye lashes that every woman dreams of. He warms our heart each and every day (even if the temper is boiling) and has learned to stand up for himself with the big brother. He loves sweets and fruits and still HATES vegetables.

Here are some of Trevor's Favorites (as answered by him this morning)
Favorite Foods - cupcakes
Favorite Song - Where is Trevor (sung to the tune of "where is thumbkin")
Favorite Sport - golf
Favorite Cartoon - The Alphabet Movie (Sesame Street ABCs)
Favorite Color - blue & pink
Favorite Thing at School - playing with the glue (I'm hoping this doesn't turn into sniffing the glue as he gets a bit older)
Favorite phrases to hear him say

(as answered by Rick and I)

"Essan" aka Ethan, Zuri for Missouri. "I not" when you ask him not to do something and he doesn't think he's actually doing it. "Me am" when you ask him who's having a birthday today. "It's too hard to drive" - when we were only 1/2 hour into our 20 hour drive to Missouri.

I know I have said this before but he is truly our miracle child. In no way did we ever think on September 19th, 2006 that he would be doing everything that he is today. We had always hoped, but didn't really expect it. That's just the honest truth. We are pleasantly surprised and thank God every day for the blessing that he is and for all that he has overcome!
Our goal for this next year - potty training. Wish us luck. Trevor, I'm really hoping that you'll work with us on this wonderful new goal...Please, oh please cooperate with us! I promise there will be lots and lots of treats for you if you do!!

Happy Birthday, Trevor. We love you and we are so proud of all that you do and all that you will continue to do in your future! You put a smile on our face each and every day...

Love, Mom & Dad