1st Sprinkler Day of the Year!

On Fridays we normally do movie day with the daycare kids, but during the summer months we switch our movie day to sprinkler day! Surprisingly, we had very warm weather a week ago (June 3rd) and so we kicked off summer with our very first sprinkler day of the year! The kids had a blast, but they were a little disappointed I didn't have a picnic planned for them (normally we do on sprinkler days, but I just wasn't aware that this Friday would be nice enough for sprinklers). Cross your fingers there will be many more sprinkler and picnic days for us this summer!!!






Here is Nate discovering just what sprinklers are for the first time...

He was not very amused.

Look at that face! He looked at me as if saying, "Why did you put that thing where I play?!"





Still very upset about the strange contraption spraying water in his face...

The swing always cheers him up. :)


Nate definitely prefers a big bucket of water with toys to play in, than the sprinkler. It will take time, but I'm sure he will come around this summer.

The best I could get for a pic...maybe not one of his prouder moments. :)

Look at that handsome and very dirty face! You would not believe how dirty they get on sprinkler days!

ET's Four Year Stats...

ET went to the doctor on Friday, June 3rd. Here are his stats...

Height: 3' 8.25" (99.10%)
Weight: 43 lbs. (91.96%)

WOW! That is one big four-year-old! No wonder everyone always says he looks so tall and so much older. He grew four inches and gained seven pounds over the last year!

He did such a great job at the doctor. He made sure to show off all he knows to the doctor and even bragged that he ate apples for lunch! :) He received one vaccination, and didn't even shed a single tear, just winced a bit. He is getting so big!

One concern I brought up to his doctor was his feet still turning in when he walks. At this point it has been nearly a year since we started therapy and I really don't feel there has been a great amount of improvement. He walks down stairs a little better than before, but still trips quite a bit when walking or running. The doctor felt I had a valid concern, and so she decided to refer us to Gillette's for a second opinion (we were going to Children's Hospital before).
Jay brought him to Gillette's on Wednesday of this week. The doc looked ET over very thoroughly and even took many measurements. He received a lot of information about this being pretty common among young children. The doctor even showed Jay recent articles written on the subject and information showing us we were pretty much wasting our time and energy on the straps, therapy and shoe inserts. This doctor strongly feels it is something that he thinks ET will grow out of (because the statistics strongly show this). ET will go in for another check up two years from now, but the doctors wouldn't even consider surgery until ET is around 10-12 years old.
I have to say I am a little relieved to hear all this. With Children's I really felt like ET was a mystery to them, and they were just doing a lot of trial and error experiments on him. I hated putting his straps and shoe inserts on him, and so I am relieved that we are officially putting them to rest. I am also a little bothered that I wasted so much money and time on them though. I guess I can say I am glad we at least tried them, and so I know we exhausted all possible avenues for him. To sum things up, ET will now be switched to Gillette's and Jay and I feel pretty good about the doctor's there.

Compare the two...

Check this out! I think it is just remarkable how much ET and Nate look so much alike at the same age!

Do you know who is who?













ET is the first pic, and Nate is the second.

Memorial Day, Mother's Day and 3 Birthday Celebrations...

On Monday, May 30th (Memorial Day), we had my family over to celebrate ET (4), Matt (17), and Andy's (11) birthday's, Mother's Day, and Memorial Day. The weather was absolutely perfect! We grilled burgers served alongside many delicious sides.






ET received an outside safari exploring kit and the movie "How to Train a Dragon" from Gma Terri and Papa Jim. ET had been asking for this movie after seeing it once at daycare.






ET also received two starter Lego kits from the Gallik family.


I made ET a brownie trifle for his birthday cake. A little nontraditional, but what can I say? He loves brownies!


My sister also made the boys red, white and blue cupcakes for Memorial Day!



We also celebrated Mother's Day (a little late, because mom was out of town).

The day was truly gorgeous, even just a bit too hot...I don't dare say that though, after such a cold spring. The boys played baseball a bit, and ET and Andy played with squirt guns in the yard.

ET wasn't going to let Papa leave without a ride!

May 29, 2011...

For ET's birthday this year we had a lot of things that were going to keep us busy. First we were supposed to go to church, come home and eat lunch, lay Nate down for a nap, prepare food for a BBQ, and then attend a BBQ with friends from the church. Looking at our schedule for the day, I realized that with all these things planned it really wouldn't have been much of a b-day for ET. So instead we decided to just cancel everything and give the day entirely to ET and whatever he wanted to do. He chose to go the MOA. He was so excited to go see the alligator at the Rainforest Cafe and so we stayed a while and ate lunch there too. I realized when we got to the mall that I had forgot my camera, so we paid the $7.00 (crazy!) for the picture they take of you before being seated at the table.



After seeing the "VOLCANO" cake with the sparkler candle delivered to so many other tables, ET insisted on ordering one for himself. The waiters and waitresses all sang "Happy Birthday" to him. I wished I could take a picture of him...he was so happy. :)

After lunch we headed over to Nickelodeon Universe for some rides. I laid Nate in his stroller and told him to go to sleep. He actually listened! Within two minutes he was out like a light. :) ET wanted to go on all the rides with Jay, so after watching a few I went shopping for just a bit to pick up some things I needed.

Again I forgot my camera so we paid for the $6.00 picture that they emailed us of the two of them on the Log Chute (it would have been $12.00 if I wanted a hard copy of the photo - WOW!).



After the mall, we headed home so ET could open his gifts.

Here is ET with his new tiger he got at the Rainforest Cafe. He picked it out and just fell in love with it right away. We told him he could have it, but that he should put it back and we could pick it up before we left. I wanted to make sure it wasn't just an impulse buy for him. As we walked around the mall and through Nickelodeon Universe, he found other things he wanted as well, but when compared to the tiger he still said he would want the tiger the most. So just before leaving we went and bought the tiger. He named it "Emmett." It sits in his bed with all his other animals and he has taken such good care of it. I think it is so sweet how much he loves his animals.



One thing ET has been asking for is a radio and a CD of all his favorite songs. I cannot tell you how happy he was when he opened this! Since then, he has listened to his music everyday and brags about it to anyone who will listen. He feels like such a big kid to have a radio in his bedroom.





Lastly, we purchased ET his first new bike! He was with us about two weeks ago when we bought it, because we wanted to size him next to one. It was so fun for him to ride it around while in the store and then ride it right out of the store after buying it. It has been sitting in our garage for two weeks now. Jay and I told him he could not ride it until his birthday, so he was pretty happy when we told him he could go out and ride it for the first time. :)




After opening gifts we headed to the backyard for our first campfire of the year. We cooked hot dogs over the fire and roasted marshmallows for dessert. It was the perfect ending to a great birthday for ET!

ET I LOVE you because...

- I love your adorable dimple when you smile!
- I love staring at your eyes, your knobby knees, and your hands.
- I love when you flex your muscles and show me how strong you are!
- I love the way you giggle, and when you really laugh you sound like daffy duck and you always get the hiccups.
- I love the way you talk serious about something, and how your eyes get really big and your head nods up and down because you are trying your best to convince me of whatever it is you're telling me.
- I love how incredibly smart you are!
- I love that you love to get "attacked by kisses!"
- I love that you love to play tickle monster with mommy and daddy.
- I love how proud you get of yourself when you do something new, like ride your new bike, get dressed on your own, zip up your jacket, pump on the swings, jump from the monkey bars, spell a word...I could go on and on!
- I love how brave and resilient you are. You show a respectful amount of fear, but for the most part you have entered into new and different experiences like a champ!
- I love how social and friendly you are to grown-ups and other kids you just meet.
- I love how much of a boy you really are - you love big trucks, "workers", going to Menards with daddy, and just plain digging in the dirt.
- I love to watch you eat something sweet..there is never a crumb left. You definitely have a sweet tooth, just like your mommy.
- I love that your favorite place to go out to eat is "Magarida's!" Las Margarita's is also mommy and daddy's favorite Mexican restaurant. :) Your second choice would be to get a cheeseburger at McDonald's. Two cheeseburgers to be exact, and no fries. Kind of strange, but you don't like french fries. I also love that you always want to drive through "the woods" on the way back home from Las Margarita's. :)
- I love how much you enjoy music. For your birthday you received a radio with a CD of all your favorite songs, and you will often slip away just to listen to them. You are already so musically talented, you don't even know.
- I love how you care for your stuffed animals! You set them all up so sweetly on your bed, talk to them, name them, and take such good care of them. It shows me you will be a loving father some day.
- I love how you adore your daddy, and look forward to the weekends when he is home all day with us. You are so proud to be daddy's "little buddy!"
- I love that you love it when daddy calls you "Emmett Bear," and mommy calls you "Honey Bunny."
- I love how sweet you can be with your little brother. You love to carry him, and show off how strong you are.

I tell you all the time that I will love you no matter what! Yes, even when you're naughty! Although you don't quite understand this one yet. Occasionally when you do something naughty you look at me with those big brown eyes so sweetly and say, "I still love you when I'm naughty mommy," trying your best to lessen whatever consequence is coming your way. :)

You are truly an amazing little boy, and words could never express the amount of love your daddy and I have for you! We are so lucky to have you in our lives, to hold you everyday, and to kiss you every night. We could never imagine our world without you. Please know in your heart, just how much we love you and that our love with never change!

Happy 4th birthday ET!
Love,
Mommy

Here are the many faces of ET...

ET and the monkey bars...

The rule at the daycare is that you have to be four years old to use the monkey bars. I feel strongly about this rule, because I believe it isn't until this age that a child truly understands his/her physical limitations and/or capabilities. Also, call me lazy if you want to, but I don't want to be standing at the monkey bars all day spotting 10 children - would you?! Anyways, because of this rule, turning four years old and being able to go on the monkey bars has truly become a rite of passage for the daycare kids. It is so fun to watch them use them for the first time.

Ever since ET turned 3 years old, he has been looking forward to going on the monkey bars. If you would have asked him, "What makes you most excited about turning four?" He would have replied, "GOING ON THE MONKEY BARS!" :)

I love how pictures tell stories...

BIG smiles! All ready to go!

Here I go! Mom, watch me!

Okay, now what? I'm just hanging here...

Maybe mom was right...that is a long way down.

I will not be defeated...

I must try again.

Here I go!

I fell...am I hurt?

No, I'm alright. Mom, did you see? I jumped from the monkey bars!!!!!


One day ET will be taller than me, and nearly as tall as those monkey bars. I will look back at these pictures when my little guy wasn't so big and reminisce of when the monkey bars were a big milestone for him. :)