Alex is FIVE!

Today, Alex turns five years old. Hard to believe that it's been that long since he was a tiny little screaming baby! This year, he will start real kindergarten and officially be a "big boy". He has absolutely thrived in pre-school and I know he will love kindergarten. We have a great year to look forward to.

In the last year, he has learned to write every letter of the alphabet, read some simple words and count to 100. He is a great big brother and loves playing with (and bossing) Reed. As always, he is kind and sensitive and sweet and funny. He has discovered the joy of bodily noises and has eagerly shared this joy with his little brother. He loves the color red and anything that has to do with cars or tools. He likes to play outside, can hit a t-ball over the fence and can almost ride a bike without training wheels.  He gets dressed by himself in the morning and puts his dirty clothes in the laundry basket. His favorite toy is his guitar and he loves to listen to music and play. He remembers everything and constantly amazes me with his knowledge. He is cute and smart and just plain wonderful to be around.

Happy Birthday to the best big boy in the world. We love you, Alex!

Alex's 5th Birthday

This weekend we celebrated Alex's 5th birthday with a donut party at Gibson's Donuts. He had lots of friends from his class there, and they all had a great time eating donuts and being silly. Alex was really looking forward to the party this year and couldn't wait for all of his friends to arrive. Reed was just excited about the donuts! (He ate at least two donuts and several donut holes.)

After the party, we came back to our house and opened gifts with Grandma, Pops, Aunt Christie, Moz and Gramps. We tried to get a family photo with the birthday boy, but he was having too much fun playing with his new toys. A great party to celebrate a great boy!

Weekend spent outside

We had a great weekend spent almost entirely outside! We started off Friday night with a visit from Kath (who spent the whole weekend in town!). The boys had some fun reading time before dinner. Then Saturday morning we had a garage sale at Grandma and Pops' house. The boys played with blocks and some wooden houses that Grandma was going to sell. After that we headed downtown and played in Tom Lee Park for a while. Finally, we grilled out and headed in for dinner.

Then Sunday, we spent all afternoon outside at the Redbirds first Sunday game. This was really the first game where both boys were old enough to enjoy the bluff grass. They had a great time running around on the bluff, eating ice cream and wandering around.

Fun weekend

Alex and Reed had another fantastic weekend with Moz and Gramps. They played in the dirt, played makeshift musical instruments, and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Reed even learned to ride a bike (with training wheels!) for the first time!

Alex's first purchase

Many, many months ago, Alex started saving money in his piggy bank. As an incentive to keep his bed dry at night, I told him that when he did it for several nights in a row, we could open up his piggy bank and go buy a toy. Well, he's finally keeping dry, and today was the big day. We opened up the piggy bank, and he had six dollars! So we headed off to Target to let him make his first purchase.

He had his money all ready in a ziploc bag, and I taught him how to read the prices. He thought he could get something really, really big for $6, but when he discovered the price of things, we had a long talk about the word "expensive"! We found some cars in his price range and he picked out one for $5. Then, he asked if he had enough money to buy something for Reed, too. We picked out a Hot Wheels for Reed, and we were all set! He paid at the register and brought his bag home. He was very proud and so was I!

When we were going to bed tonight, he said that he as thankful for showing God's love to Reed by buying something for him. Priceless!

Watching TV

Alex and Reed have a new favorite way to watch TV -- and it's adorable! They both sit together on the same end of the couch, and Alex puts his arm around Reed. Makes me smile!

Family of the week

Reed is family of the week at school this week. He was super, super excited to bring Betsy Bunny home and show off his poster to his class. He has gotten good reports all week and tomorrow he's taking donuts to his class for snack. He is loving being the center of attention this week!

Gardening

It's that time of year again! We got out the garden gloves and tools yesterday, and the boys helped me pull weeds and dig some holes. Well, Alex pulled weeds and Reed dug giant, messy holes. About what I expected!

Easter at the lake

We had an absolutely beautiful weekend at the lake! We started Good Friday off with an Easter egg hunt at the Cole's house, then headed on out to the lake. The weather was fantastic and we played outside all weekend. We played games, threw rocks in the water, and even put our feet in! We cooked out, went to church and just had a great time. Reed and Alex shared a bedroom for the first time, and that went really, really well.  Aunt Christie made fruit pizza, which Alex proclaimed to be "better than the lake house" - and that's saying something! We haven't been to the lake for a while, so it was a special treat and a fun way to start off spring.