Happy Birthday, Alex!

Today, Alex is 4 years old. Just four short years ago we were rolling up the sleeves on preemie outfits and begging him to stop screaming. Now he can go to his closet, pick out his own clothes and get dressed all by himself (with a little less screaming, usually!)

He can also run, jump, skip, hop, talk a million words a minute, count to 20 (at least), say the alphabet, write a few letters, draw a circle, color in the lines, sing songs, put his clothes and toys away, watch out for his little brother, ride a bike (with training wheels), ride a scooter, eat with a grown up fork, be silly, tell jokes, laugh and be the best big boy in the whole world.

He's more than a little stubborn and a lot opinionated, but he is the kindest four year old you'll ever meet. He tells me every night, "thank you for making such a delicious dinner, mommy" and is the first one to notice when someone gets a new outfit or haircut. He says please, thank you, and sometimes "yes, ma'am." He smiles and laughs and finds humor in the smallest, silliest things. He gives hugs and kisses before bedtime and calls his brother his "bestest bud forever".

He can make me laugh, he can make me scream, but most of all he makes me proud to be his mom. Here's to many more years of laughing and screaming with ya, kid. Happy Birthday!

And now, a few pictures from his school birthday party today.

Alex's birthday party

Alex celebrated his 4th birthday (a day early) on Sunday with all of our family. The weather was beautiful, so we had cake and ice cream outside. Alex got tons of great gifts and had a blast.

Alex's birthday liftoff

Alex got a great early birthday surprise from Aunt Kath today. He had a ton of balloons delivered! He loved them right away and wanted to go riding in the wagon with them. Tonight we put them in his room so he could see them first thing in the morning when he wakes up.

Alex plays soccer

Alex had a "make-up" soccer game today since most of the season has been rained out. And, this time, he actually got out on the field and played! He got to kick a little bit and did a ton of running. After the first half he was pretty much worn out and spent the rest of the game on the sideline. But, at least he played! We got home and he said his favorite part was running, kicking and playing. Yay!

Dancing with the "stars"

I love Dancing with the Stars. And, as we learned tonight, so does Alex. Usually, I watch it after he goes to bed, but it came on tonight while we were playing in the den. He tried to do all the "moves", but he didn't want to do any girl stuff, just the boy stuff. Reed even got in on the action.

Please note the way too small shorts and the flowery flip flops. This is not what he wore to school!


The lift was his favorite part. That and spinning around, and around...


I think Reed's got the "look" down, don't you?

Chad Run

Saturday we were up early again for the Chad Eatherly Memorial 5K Fun Run. Alex was tired, so he and I stayed back while Brian and Reed went to the race. We had a blast as usual at the race, at the Black and Gold and back at the hotel afterward. Here are a few pics of Reed making friends with Caroline and all the boys playing trains in the lobby.




Even the rainy drive home on Sunday went really, really well and ended with the most perfect rainbow I've ever seen.

St. Louis, Day 2

Friday morning we were up bright and early and headed for the St. Louis zoo. It turned out to be a warm, sunny day, and I think all the animals were out enjoying spring. We saw everything the boys wanted to see and then some!

First we rode the carousel and went to the kids zoo, where they got to pet guinea pigs and do some other hands on things.




Another favorite was the monkey house. Alex and Reed both did their best monkey noises, which are apparently better than I thought. This monkey came right over and put his foot up against the glass - he must have recognized their calls!


One of the coolest things we saw was a baby giraffe and an ostrich playing together. They were running all around and Alex and Reed thought it was hilarious (so did the adults!)


After the zoo, we headed to Forest Park for lunch with Grandma, Pops, Aunt Christie and John. The boys had fun running around and getting rid of some energy before the ride to Columbia.


Finally, we had our annual dinner in Columbia at Bambino's, where Alex and Reed decided to work for their dinner - I could get used to this!

Magic in Missouri

Every year we venture up and back to Columbia for the Chad Run. This year, we decided to extend the trip a bit and spend a few days in St. Louis for our first "real" family mini-vacation. And boy, I'm glad we did! We had an absolute blast. The entire weekend was a huge success and just about perfect.

On our way up, we stopped for lunch at Lambert's in Sikeston, Missouri - you know, the place where they throw rolls? Well, Alex and Reed had a blast, but all I can say is "wow", that place is crazy. This is Alex anxiously awaiting his roll.



After we survived Lambert's and made it to St. Louis, our first stop was the Magic House, the children's museum. It was absolutely one of the best afternoons we've ever had. The pictures speak for themselves, this place was GREAT.











We ended the night with a great dinner outside on the patio and two exhausted boys. Perfect!

Bruiser

Please note the large red gash above Reed's eye. This was our first real "seek medical attention immediately" injury. Reed was climbing along the fireplace as usual, and Brian was telling him not to, as usual. He got down successfully, but took a couple of steps and landed face first on the edge of the brick.

So, we went to the Urgent Care and found out that he didn't need stitches (thank goodness) and that he is a pretty tough little kid. He did great and was flirting with everyone there. We'll keep ointment on it for a few days and it should heal just fine.

On the other hand, Alex was worried sick the whole time Reed and I were gone. He still looked scared when we got back, but when he saw Reed smiling and laughing, he was fine. Such a good big brother!

Happy Easter!

We have had a wonderful Easter weekend! First, the Easter bunny left treats for Alex and Reed. Reed loved his chocolate covered graham crackers and bendable bunnies, and Alex was really excited about all of his candy and his Spiderman watergun (he "shot" it all morning in the sink!).

We got a couple of pictures before church - boy, it's hard to pin down two crazy boys for a picture.


After church, we went to Grandma and Pops's house for Easter brunch. We had a quick egg hunt and managed to get a good family photo. The weather was great and we had a blast.




Finally, Moz came over (we missed Gramps because he had a cold), and handed out more Easter treats. What a fun day!

The help

This year I am making a serious effort to improve the landscaping in our front yard (we'll tackle the back yard sometime much, much later). With the help of my master gardener and two guys with tiny shovels, we should be finished in no time.

Alex and Reed both love to be outside doing anything, so digging in the dirt works just fine for them. Alex also loves the azalea blooms and finding worms in the mud. Reed just likes to climb the front steps over, and over, and over... The only problem comes in trying to get them inside for dinner. Ahh, I love springtime!

Easter egg hunt

We went to a pre-Easter, warm-up egg hunt this weekend at the Coles. Alex and Reed loved hunting for the eggs, and they both had a great time playing outside with new friends. Thanks to Roger, Sara Ella, Airey and Campbell for hosting such a fun event and for all the great treats!

The first soccer "game"

I use the term "game" very, very loosely. Alex has done a great job in practice of listening to his coach, running on the field, kicking the ball, etc. And he seems to really have fun. But, Saturday, at his first game, he wouldn't even get out on the field!


Brian had a ton of patience and tried to get him to just step out there, but no luck.


Finally, at half time, Pops got him to get out on the field. But, as soon as the game started up again, he wanted no part of it.


We decided that it would be best to stay the whole game anyway, and so he spent some time reading books and some time on the sideline. The coach assured us that this was normal and it might take him a few games to warm up to the idea. He did seem really excited by the snack at the end of the game, so we'll keep our fingers crossed for next time!

Funny fools

This afternoon, Alex, Reed, Grandma and I went to the Dixon to play outside in the gardens. They had a great time running around, waving to the statues and smelling the flowers. It was a fun way to spend April Fools Day!

The dog boy

Isn't our dog boy cute? Well, it's a good thing.

Oliver has recently started having some pretty serious separation anxiety and has literally been trying to eat his way out our laundry room door. I truly believe that one day we will come home and he will have made it through the wall and into the garage.

So far, we have tried to hang something on the door in front of the spot he scratches, spray the door with bitter apple spray and have him outside more to play with us when we're out. Nothing has worked. Today we tried the kong filled with peanut butter. Our next step is a crate or medication. I'm just not sure that I can tell people that I have to medicate my cockapoo.

All of this is to say that I hope we are better parents to 7 year old kid boys than we are to a certain 7 year old dog boy. Good thing he's cute...