4 is Fabulous!

On Sunday we Celebrated Ken, J and Cousin P's Birthdays. J and P were born one year apart on the same day, I think that's pretty special. So, Ken isn't a huge chocolate fan, the rest of the family pretty much are chocolate fiends :) and I made sure that one of the birthday cakes was Ken appropriate. That one that looks like a polar bear- yep that one- it is just what a man in his mid-thirties wants for his birthday cake don't you think? It was a coconut cake and it was SPECTACULAR! J liked what it looked like, but when it came time to cut the cakes he asked for a piece of P's cake- in fact he asked for a piece with a pink flower on top. That's okay, the coconut cake was a hit with just about everyone else.

And J was in HEAVEN with his gifts. Here is his new best friend- Mr. Buzz Lightyear. I think they actually kind of look alike. J has had lots of fun with his new buddy over the last few days. Yesterday Buzz took 3 or 4 naps, each time J put him down for a nap I was told "Shhhhh, my son is sleeping, you have to be super quiet" And I was super quiet but Buzz still woke up. oh well.

Ken and I set a limit of $20 for birthday gifts and so we try hard to look out for great birthday gift options throughout the year. We picked up a Super Hero dress up trunk on the day after Thanksgiving last year and kept it high up in our closet. As you can see, it too was a hit. In fact, Captain America came shopping with me the other day. He was the Belle of the WalMart Ball.

Yep, Iron Man and Spiderman were also in the trunk. We have one happy little boy.

J also got some fake mustaches! They grow up so fast, don't they.

My little baby boy is almost a Man! Just as an FYI, J had his 4 year old check up. He is 42 1/5 inches tall and weighs 39 pounds. He is in the 91st percentile for height and 78th for weight. Our Doctor was quite impressed with how muscular J is. J also showed off his imagination by telling the doctor lots of stories about how the lions wake him up at night and other similar things. And to top it all off, he pulled down his pants to show the doctor his big boy underpants, I assured the doctor that J doesn't show EVERYONE his underpants, but since that day J has discovered a love of peeing outside.....so I guess I am not quite done parenting. We love this little boy of ours. At times, like most 4 year olds, he can be quite frustrating, but most of the time he is just a big ball of pure joy. I can't imagine what life would be like without him.

New Towel Rack

I love my house- but there are a few things I will definitely be looking for in our next home. Storage of all kinds is very high on my list. We have 1 very small closet that is used for board game storage and towel and linen storage as well. Our bathrooms are also quite small. A friend of mine showed me a picture of a wine rack used as a towel holder and I knew I could definitely use something like that. Problem is, wine racks are kind of expensive, more than I could spend. So I just kind of put it on my list of things I would do if I could.

Then 2 days ago I had the thought that I should ask on Facebook if anyone happened to have a wine rack they didn't want anymore......and LO AND BEHOLD.....one of my neighbors did! Check It Out! 

Now I just need to put up some pictures  (you know those ones I took in Yosemite back in 2006 right after we bought the house that I said I was going to put in the bathroom because wouldn't it be hilarious to have waterfall pictures in the bathroom.....yeah, those ones) and 6 years after moving in I will have finished decorating the guest bath! YES!

10 minutes at the Duck Pond

Yesterday J was scheduled to go on a field trip to a farm, but his teacher got sick, so I decided that we would go feed some ducks. A neighbor told us about a pond not too far from our house and we grabbed our bag of bread pieces ( left over from the teddy bear picnic) and just a few minutes later we were there. 

Little B immediately Swan Dived into the lake- it was muddy and yucky and he was SO MAD at me for pulling him out. No, I didn't get a picture of him in the pond because he was on his belly in 6-8 inches of water and he was working really hard to keep his face out of the water. I, for once, was a good mommy and just stepped into the water and grabbed him. Then I took pictures of him all wet. Diapers can soak up an amazing amount of yucky lake water too, it was gross. I stripped him down for the ride home.

Soon we had lots of friends. Ducks, Geese and this Swan.

The swan was very brave, in fact I didn't get too many pictures because the swan came up right next to us and tried to eat my baby........., several times. Stupid Swan, little B is not made of bread. I pretty much sat there yelling at the swan and trying to throw pieces of bread farther and farther away from my delectable little B.

So, we spent about 10 minutes at the duck pond. We will return, next time  B will be on a leash. Maybe we will stay for 15 minutes the next time. All in all, it was pretty fun. I mean, I've never had to protect my babies from a rouge swan before......now I know I'm pretty good at it.

Our First Big Birthday Party

A few years ago we decided that our kids would have friend birthday parties every 4 years, at 4,8,12 and 16. We also decided that these parties would include the same # of friends as the child is old...so I started to ask J what 4 friends he wanted to invite to his party. He always listed more than 4, in fact he was usually closer to 8 and when it came down to it, I couldn't draw the line. We ended up with ELEVEN 3 and 4 year old friends and cousins It was a lot of kids and it was fun, but I think for B's 4 year old party (and future parties) I will keep it to the smaller number of friends. :)

See how excited my little J is!

We had a Teddy Bear Picnic, first we dined on Teddy Bear shaped sandwiches, fruit and trees from an enchanted forest (see those veggies up in the lower left corner of that picture- those are trees!)

Then we decorated Bear Masks!

Followed by lots of playing at the park.

We then opened lots of amazingly fun presents (I told Ken that J now had an embarrassment of riches, and it's true- WOW! ) and we ate teddy bear shaped cookies!

And finally Little B asked "So when is my Party?" Poor B, no birthday for you for a few more months, and your first party is 2 years away. 

4! the love of J

My little Baby is 4! WHAT? Yes, he is 4 years old and we love him so much. Here are some pictures from his birthday. What happens when you get too close to the beaters after Mom makes Black frosting?

You get black frosting on your head. What does your tong look like if you sample a little too much black frosting? Pretty much like mine.

Little B got in on the yummy black frosting eating as well.

Why did we need black frosting- Because J has been asking for a Polar Bear Cake- and I decided to practice. The real Polar Bear Cake- 2 layers and coconut flavored- will be made on Saturday for Sunday Consumption!

I made these little cuties for J's preschool, yes there were plenty of leftovers for little B (and several other family members who will remain unnamed) to swipe and eat.

This is J's polar bear "Frosty" who is the inspiration for our cakes/cupcakes/

J got to take a trip to the Dollar Store with his Daddy and he also got to pick what we would have for dinner. He chose that we would go to "Old McDonalds" for dinner, or more importantly, for Play!

And boy did we have fun playing. Our local McD's has quite the play place- they even have an area specifically for the 3 and under crowd.

Fun was had by all!

Kate

A few weeks ago Ken asked me what I wanted for my Birthday. At first I said I didn't know, but then I remembered a cute black dress I got at the DI and I told Ken that I wanted to go out for a fancy dinner. THEN I realized how much fancy dinners cost and I decided that I wanted to go to the Lehi Library Gala, it was a dinner and concert at the cost of $18 per ticket. AND IT'S A GALA SO IT'S FANCY RIGHT? Well, not so fancy. But we looked cute! Ate well and were very well entertained by Voicemale.

Oddly enough, even though there are 4 birthdays in a 4 day period in my extended family (3 of which belong to my immediate family) I was the only one who was celebrated this last Sunday- the other 3 get cake and presents next week. My Mom made me a cake and even found a really, really big candle.

My Mommy also got me this cute little patio table! It's perfect, I've been wanting a patio table for years. I think J is plotting for the table to be his someday.

On Monday night we went to Baskin Robbins and collected on our Free Birthday Scoops! J picked something that was green blue and purple in color and he enjoyed it thoroughly.

I gave B my scoop, I think we got him chocolate chop. He ate the whole thing, he's a good little eater. And don't feel bad for me- I replaced my free scoop with a pretty much free (used IHC Starbucks that I got for Christmas a couple of years ago- they can be used at Hospital Cafeterias or Salt Lake County Baskin Robbins locations) dipped waffle cone filled with peanut butter chocolate goodness.

NOW- I have as yet failed to mentions the most AMAZING part of my birthday. I haven't had much luck with sleeping lately, I wake up at odd times and on odd days and can't seem to go back to sleep. Sunday night was like that I woke up at 3:30 and just stayed awake. So when Ken's alarm went off at 5:20 I was none to pleased. Birthdays are supposed to be wonderful days, full of joy and happiness and mine was not starting out that way. I was exhausted. I cried under my pillow and right around the time Ken left for work- a little after 6, I was able to go back to sleep. At about 7:15 I woke up, AMAZED that J hadn't come in to see me yet, and sure enough a minute or two later I heard the bedroom door open. I fully expected to see J little face, to hear his voice as he lifted the pillow off my head (did I mention I sleep with a pillow on my head? I do) But instead I saw a Man, I lifted the Pillow and there was Ken?!?!?! "What are you doing here?" " I took the day off, I brought breakfast!" I can not express how quickly Ken turned my day around, what was going to be the worst day ever, was suddenly the best! Thanks Ken