4 years old

Happy birthday Joseph! 

It's hard to believe he is 4 already, but we have certainly enjoyed the ride thus far. Joseph managed to beat my suggested goal of being fully potty trained by his birthday, as he has worn undies to bed every night for the past few weeks with no accidents! Hooray!

He went to bed last night saying he wanted to get donuts for breakfast, but when he came downstairs this morning and saw presents on the table, he decided to just go for the gifts instead. 

This kid is so sweet; he unwrapped his first present and said, "look! A box!" He did get pretty excited when he opened said box to find a pirate playset inside.

He then proceeded to play pirates for about 20 minutes, shooing me and my attempts to feed him away. Finally we convinced him to keep opening presents as Joe was going to have to leave for work, so he obliged.

Again, this kid is just so sweet. Maddie was off playing in the family room when he opened her present, so after seeing what she gave him, he immediately hopped off his chair, running over to her to thank her with no prompting from us. Love him!

He was really excited to open his Easy Bake oven and refill kits from Grandpa Joe, Grandma Dianne and the Christensens. That came in handy as I think the first batch of cupcakes was all I could get him to slow down and eat for breakfast!

After his first easy bake success, I took the kids to the planetarium at Union Station for a quick movie of big bird, planets and constellations. Joseph was so amazed at the giant projection surrounding him and really seemed to like the movie. Unfortunately the model train display down the hall was under construction so we headed back home for his choice of lunch- grilled cheese sandwiches and a strawberry shake. 

After naps and some more playing with his new toys, we met up with Nana, Papa, Auntie T, Mr. T and dad at the T Rex Cafe. Joseph had his birthday dinner there last year and enjoyed it, so we weren't surprised when he requested it again this year. Maddie was amazed at the sights and they both enjoyed checking everything out. After eating, the waitress brought his cake out, and Joseph lost it!

We think he may have just been scared, but he ran off crying and screaming no while the candle just burned down. It was really kinda sad, but Joe got him calmed down and when he came back to the table he was open to us singing him the birthday song before eating cake. 

Then it was time for a few more presents- a fun book from the Bowlings and a Jake and the Neverland Pirates Lego set from Nana and Papa. 

I think he had a fun birthday, especially since I overheard him asking Joe if it would still be his birthday tomorrow when he woke up. He is the best little boy and we are so lucky to be his parents!!

Yup, she's our kid

Maddie wanted to continue reading Brown Bear in her bed after I put her down for a nap. Guess she was too tired to put it down fully before falling asleep!

Stick ball

After Maddie went to bed tonight, we let Joseph stay up a bit. The kids has been playing with the ball pit balls, and Joseph wanted us to throw the balls to him to try and hit. He has a t ball set that he enjoys, but this was the first time swinging at thrown balls. Although his form needs a lot of work, and a true bat would probably help, he actually did really well! His little giggles and commentary along the way were pretty cute too. 

Two Peas

Joseph loves to help me cook. He still doesn't ask to take the lead or complete many cooking projects, but is content to help measure and pour ingredients into the mixing bowl, stir, scoop, etc. It occurred to me a few weeks ago that the reason Maddie would fuss, grab my legs and scream to be picked up as soon as I would try to cook dinner or bake something is that she wants to help out too. Sure enough, giving her a full measuring cup or spoon to pour is right up her alley!

The other day I was making scrambled eggs for breakfast and Maddie wanted to help. I didn't want her sitting on the counter next to the stove, so I put her on the barstool across from the stove. Joseph hopped up to watch and they were quickly kicking their legs and giggling hysterically. They are just so cute together!

Additional Santa Visit Pictures

Here are a few more Santa pictures from Nana's camera that didn't make it into the last blog post. Joseph was just so excited, and Maddie wanted no part of Santa at all!

Seeing Santa

We were lucky enough to visit Santa twice this past Christmas season. Joseph was super excited, Maddie less so. The first time we headed to Cabela's with Jill while Joe and Gary were busy working on building the kids' play kitchen. We didn't know if we would make it in time, and the worker told us not to expect it. I let the kids wander around and check out the huge aquariums while Jill waited in line. 

They were amazed at the size of the fish and would have been happy to play there for hours! Jill moved closer and closer to the front of the line, so we went back to join her. At this point we had been waiting almost half an hour and has just a few families ahead of us, with just a few minutes left before Santa had to leave. 

 We were so lucky, and ended up being the very last family to see Santa! Unfortunately we had told joe and Gary that we probably would be out of luck, so they missed out. Maddie did not want any part of Santa until he offered her a candy cane, then he was tolerable. 

A week or so later, Joe and I took Joseph  to see a Christmas special performance at the Symphony. Joseph seemed to enjoy it, but you couldn't tell from this picture:

Afterward, we headed down to Union Station to see Santa's train with Jill, Gary and Maddie. Luckily the bad weather kept the crowds away so we didn't have a long wait. 

At first it seemed that Maddie was going to be ok with seeing Santa. She was an old pro now, right?  

Nope! 

This was probably the best picture we got. Oh well. Maybe next year she will learn that the big man isn't really all that creepy.