Birthday fun at Mercury Gymnastics

I finally started getting pictures off our camera, and boy, are there some old events to blog about! We held Joseph's 4th birthday party at Mercury Gymnastics, where he's been taking weekly lessons. He loves going, so we knew it would be a hit. And I loved the simplicity of the party planning - they do most of it for you!

 

We invited a handful of the kids his age from the neighborhood, his best friend from preschool, Mason and Maddie. I was a bit concerned about the little kids and how they would do - I shouldn't have been worried at all!

Maddie and Mason were right in the thick of things, bouncing and running around. I hardly saw Joseph during the hour of play time, as he was constantly running from one thing to the next with his friends.

All of the parents stuck around, too, which was great when the random 4 year old issues popped up.

Jennifer was hoping to play on the equipment and was a bit bummed when she learned that adults couldn't use the trampolines. She found other ways to have fun, though!

After watching Aunt Toots, Joseph wanted to take a turn. He fit a little bit better :)

Then it was Elliot's turn. Somehow he got stuck with the little boys trying to push him, so he spent a lot of time upside down while waiting for them to get enough momentum to move him!

 

Running down the big trampoline and leaping into the foam pit was quickly a favorite activity.

Even Maddie wanted in on the foam pit action. This child has no fear, especially after watching Joseph do what she wants to do!

Our attempts at a group picture didn't work out so well. We never could get all of the kids to sit still for long enough!

After an hour of playing, we headed upstairs to enjoy cupcakes and open presents. Joseph had said he wanted trains and dinosaurs at his party, so I opted to go with cupcakes decorated with a small dinosaur on top. They were a hit!

The birthday boy! I can't believe how old he's getting :)

I love his friends Luke and Scotty attempting to blow the candle out too while sitting next to him!

Mason had no trouble putting a chocolate cupcake away...Just don't even think about trying to take it away from him! Oh, those eyes :)

Just before the party ended, we opened gifts. The staff party helper suggested having each kid sit next to Joseph when he opened their gift, to help with remembering who gave him what and so that kid could see up close. Such a great idea!

I love how genuinely excited he got opening the gifts. Some got a bigger reaction than others, but he was so good at telling each friend thank you and spending a few minutes with them checking the gift out before moving on to the next one.

Such a fun afternoon! I'm so glad his first "real" birthday party went off without a hitch, and that so many of his friends and family could come. Now if we could just slow down time!

Juxtaposition

Maddie is cutting the last of her teeth, including one molar. Her behavior becomes exacerbated by her age and ease at which she will throw tantrums anyway. It has been a rough couple of months! Last night she woke up around 10:15, and cried until about 12:15 am. Then this morning she was really unhappy being left at the gym child watch. Usually she calms down pretty quickly, if she fusses at all. Today, however, after throwing a kicking, hitting, screaming fit for 30 minutes, they politely asked me to take her home. Awesome. 

Joseph, being at that great age of questions and "big" thoughts, asked on the way home from the gym "mom? When can I see Jesus?" I told him he would see him someday, but not for a while, and reminded him that he can talk to Jesus by saying his prayers. I then asked him what he wanted to tell Jesus, to which he replied " I want to tell him thank you for making me." My heart melted a bit upon hearing this, and then I had to laugh when he followed it up by saying "it's ok, we can probably FaceTime him."

My days are never dull!

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!