a humble glimpse of the life God has graciously widdled out in our little neck of the world
The other day C captured Little A and some of her sillies!
I had picked her up to get a hug…
And a kiss…
Then (while giggling) she started pointing to my mouth…
Nose…
Eyes…
Ears…
Chin…
Mouth…
Which precipitated a pretty silly episode of laughing!
Oh, how I could eat this nugget (and her big brother) up!
So sweet, and yes, so silly!
Be blessed.
The other day, the nuggets joined me on a mission to find C some more work shirts.
To B’s delight, we found a shirt similar to the one’s we had found for C in his favorite color!
Later that evening, while C was trying on our finds…B was quick to ask if he could be like his dad and try his on…
Little A didn’t get a shirt…but wanted to be a part of the action!
Be blessed.
Gigi and Papa ventured up to the ‘frozen tundra’ of our neck of the wood to celebrate B’s birthday!
After picking them up from the airport, we headed to the Rainforest Café (per B’s request) to celebrate his birthday a touch early. Little A was thrilled to have Gigi as a walking companion as we ventured towards the restaurant.
B was impressed by the pretend thunderstorms, gorillas and myriad other entertainment that the restaurant had to offer. Little A wasn’t as impressed, but seemed to enjoy some of the aquariums.
Papa was quick to create some silly and fun inside games with the nuggets while waiting for B’s birthday breakfast. The three giggled and giggled as they played together.
B wasn’t shy about opening his birthday gifts after his party guests headed home. He enjoyed discovering what gifts Gigi and Papa had brought all the way from Texas…
And was super excited to finally know what was inside the packaged that Auntie B has sent in the mail a couple days before his birthday!
The day after B’s birthday was St. Patrick’s Day…in typical our neck of the wood tradition, the kids (really just B) enjoyed green milk and Lucky Charms (the sugary cereal took C and I back a few years!).
In effort to be a little more refined for our special house guests…we also enjoyed banana bread with Shamrock sprinkles on top!
After a fun couple days of playing and getting some good Gigi & Papa time in, Papa headed home.
Gigi was able to extend her time a bit and enjoyed quite a bit of ‘hanging around’ our neck of the wood with the nuggets.
There was a lot of reading that took place…especially in pajamas!
A trip to Chipotle…per the kiddos (and let’s be honest, C’s) request…
A trip to a new favorite dessert spot…
An impromptu sledding date with the help of a cardboard box…
A trip to swim lessons…
Lots and lots of fun playtime on the floor (something the B craves and doesn’t get much with his very pregnant momma)…
Watching a real tow truck come take Mommy’s car to the car doctor!
Story time at the table!
Little A’s first french braid (done by Gigi herself)…
And of course some good old fashioned piano time!
Our time wasn’t scheduled…it was laid back but filled to the brim!
Hopefully the next time we’ll see less snow and more (green) grass…regardless we’ll look forward to their next visit and are grateful that Gigi and Papa got to celebrate alongside out little guy.
Be blessed.
Apparently parenthood consists of lots of blinks…as it feels like it was just a few blinks ago that we met our precious B!
Those few blinks have somehow added up to four sweet years…oh, the memories!
When we asked B what type of party he wanted to have to celebrated his big day, he responded ‘I want the same party as last year’ in as matter of fact way that an almost 4 year old could respond.
So, we obliged (with a couple little tweaks) and celebrated truck-style once again.
B’s actual birthday fell on a Saturday…meaning he got to enjoy his party on the day he actually turned 4!!! Pretty special in this little guy’s mind.
This year, Gigi and Papa joined in the celebration (more on their trip in the next post)…which meant this little guy got to have a sleep over in their room (this allowed C and I to put the finishing touches on B’s birthday gift).
After waking up, our big 4 year old headed up stairs where he was surprised to find special construction cone sippy cups waiting to be broken in.
Needless to say, he and Little A were impressed!
B requested french toast and goop for breakfast…to his surprise, the toast had sprinkles and candles on top!
While we ate, we interviewed B on some of his favorite things…
What is your favorite memory from being 3? Having a sleep over
What makes you happy? When Gigi and Papa come!
What makes you sad? When people don’t share with me
What is your favorite color? Green
What is your favorite fame to play? Pattern game with valentine hearts
What is your favorite toy? Bruder Trucks
What is your favorite place? Texas
What is your favorite book? Good night, good night construction site
What is your favorite animal? Elephant
What is your favorite food to eat? Banana Bread
What is your least favorite food to eat? Corn
What is your favorite snack? Bananas
What is your favorite drink? Chocolate Milk
What is your favorite thing to do with our family? Play bakery downstairs
How has God made you special? By making me, creating me
What do you want to be when you grow up? A truck driver; a green truck that has a flat bed that hauls things
What is your favorite Bible story? David and Goliath-with the soldiers
What is your favorite Bible verse? ‘Do not be afraid’
What do you think will be your favorite part of being 4? Having people come to my birthday party, having my cake
While we ate and asked questions…this nugget displayed some delightful patience!
After breakfast, C and I unveiled B’s gift that we had worked to finish the night before…a garage for his trucks. We totally admit that we passed off some simple shelving for his birthday gift, and know this may be the last year we’ll be able to do something like this, but he really was and still is thrilled to have a parking spot for each of his trucks. Yes, each truck now has a particular place…if you ask, B will tell you where each one belongs!
He also opened his birthday B shirt…he had picked out the shirt and fabric as an anticipation builder the week before.
This year, we enjoyed an afternoon party with snacks as opposed to having a totally identical breakfast party like last year.
Some of the treats included Stop n’ Go veggies & fruit…
A Pretzel Pitstop…
Crosswalk Krispies…
Spare Tires…
J Walk Jello…
Dump Truck Dirt…
B was gracious to share his trucks as serving pieces again this year…one stipulation was that he help with the set up…which of course he did!!!
Gram made the cake…a traditional wacky cake (a cake that my grandmother has made for as long as I can remember)…she decorated it with candy rocks and other pieces of chocolate and trucks to make it look like a jobsite…
B’s apprehension about the birthday song seemed to diminish from years past we he was all smiles to see the chocolaty goodness in front of him!
Suffice it to say, he really enjoyed the cake…
So much he found a fork cumbersome and unnecessary!
Little A seemed to enjoy the cake too!
We’ve experienced a pretty chilly and snowy spring around our neck of the wood…so the piñata game planned for the backyard was moved into the garage. I can honestly say, I never thought we’d ever ‘entertain’ in our garage…C was gracious to clean it up a bit and it made for a great story and fun few minutes.
Gigi and Papa helped lay a roadway around the house the night before the party…B and his friends enjoyed finding any/every vehicle housed in our home to drive along the roadway. The chaos that the party brought was great…but so much fun!
After everyone headed home, these two despite their utter exhaustion, enjoyed some more road way fun.
Both nuggets…well, to be honest, all of us…slept well after the ‘big’ day.
It was so much fun to be surrounded by family and friends who love our little guy and quite a gift to see him in his element as he and his buddies played with trucks and consumed as much sugar as their little bodies could handle!
Be blessed.
___________
Sweet B,
You continue to bring such joy and delight to our hearts. You humble us in ways we couldn’t even count by keeping us on our toes and always reminding us the exact name of any and every type of heavy machinery. We are humbled even more by your growing love and understanding of Jesus. We love that reading your Bible is something we HAVE to do before tucking you into sleep…and we’re often amazed by how well you listen to and retain the stories we read when it seems like your too tired to even keep your eyes opened. Your heart is such a combination of tenderness and curiosity. You tell us often how much you love us and are quick to kiss mommy’s tummy and tell the baby how much you love them, you can’t go to sleep at night without a hug and a kiss from your adoring sister (she so looks up to you). Your questions keep us on our toes, we can’t hardly ever sneak anything or any explanation past you…oh, to get inside your head and watch those little wheels turn. Yes, there are moments when your desire for independence gets the best of all of us…when we all need to pray for patience and take deep breaths…but you’re figuring out your little world and where exactly you fit and that brings smiles to our hearts. We can’t believe that we’ve known you for 4 years…we are so grateful for all the special memories we have had together and so look forward to this next year and all that God has in store for you and our family.
We love you B!
Happy Birthday!
Love,
Mommy and Daddy
