Colt's 3rd Birthday

Colt's 3rd birthday yesterday was one of the best days of summer so far. We spent all day celebrating him and it was more fun than I ever could have imagined. In return Colt was so happy and excited all day long, always very appreciative of what we were doing for him and very well behaved.

 First thing we did when Colt woke up was go outside and give him his present from us. We got him a bike, Colt has been talking about a bike since Christmas. We told him he could get one for his 3rd birthday if he was potty trained. He has been potty trained since about February and constantly reminds us that he no longer needs diaper and so he should get a bike.

Trying it out for the first time. He was a little unsure on it and he has already fallen once but he is even better today at it than he was yesterday. I am sure before long he will be cruising around our culdesac.

Happy Birthday Colt!

We all went out to help him ride his bike for the first time.

My boys.

 For lunch Colt wanted to go to McDonald's, my mom had stopped by to see Colt on his birthday and she offered to stay home with Jax so we could just take Colt by himself. Colt and I went and picked Dave up from work and went to lunch. Colt had fun being an only child for an hour.

When we got back home my mom had made homemade strawberry jam as party favors for Colt's party that night. Colt helped her decorate the jars.

They turned out pretty cute.

My mom and dad got Colt this superhero cape. It says "Super Hero Colt" on the side of it. He ran around with it yelling "to infinity and beyond" over and over again.

The cake!

I went back and forth about what to do for his cake this year. He said he wanted a Spiderman cake so I was planning to call Dairy Queen and see if we could get an ice cream cake with Spiderman on top. However, I finally decided just to make one from scratch and figured I would buy some Spiderman figurines and put them on top of the cake.. Colt wanted a chocolate cake so I made him a chocolate cake with buttercream frosting. We went to the store to pick out the figurines, but when Colt saw Buzz and Woody he decided he would rather have a Toy Story cake. It turned out yummy!!

Ready for his party. He was so excited for everyone to come.

Poppi, Memah, Papa, Di Di, Uncle Andy, Aunt Kenzie, Camryn, Calvin and Aunt Dee Dee all came over to celebrate Colt's birthday. Colt asked for pizza so I ordered pizza from Papa Murphy's and made a big fruit salad and a big pitcher of fresh strawberry lemonade. The weather was really nice by evening so we all sat outside and visited (patio furniture would have been nice!).

Cousins and their favorite Aunt Dee Dee.

One of the many reasons why Aunt Dee Dee is a favorite.

Giving Poppi a wet hug.

After dinner and pool time Colt wanted to blow out his candles. He got so embarrassed when everyone was singing to him. It was cute.

Blowing out his candles.

Jax enjoyed Colt's birthday cake more than Colt did.

After cake and ice cream Colt got to open his presents. The first one he opened was a Buzz Lightyear, as you can see he was very excited.

Camryn wanted to open some too and she would very nicely ask Colt if she could open a present and Colt would just as nicely say "sure". It was fun watching them open the presents.

Colt got this deer to practice his bow hunting on and my dad thought he should give Jax a little ride.

Jax was so ready for bed by this time but he got some good snuggles from his Memah.........

...and had fun honking his Poppi's nose.
It was a great day and we ended it by watching Toy Story 2 with Colt in our bed. He asked me to cuddle with him and I happily did!

Colt is 3!!!!

Today my boy turns 3! 

Colt is an amazing little guy and in his 3 short years of life has taught Dave and I so much about love, patience, forgiveness and kindness. The past 3 years have flown by and I still find myself trying to remember what it felt like to hold him as a newborn. The memory is always there but the feeling is something I have a hard time holding on to, there are times when I want to go back to that day he was born and remember and feel everything perfect and surreal about it. However, part of life is growing up and instead of feeling sad and emotional I am going to approach his 3rd birthday with a feeling of excitement, joy and celebration.

This past year Colt has turned from a toddler into a boy. He talks in full sentences (and says the funniest things), knows his ABC's and recognizes many of the letters, is getting pretty good at counting, knows all his colors, wears big boy underwear, brushes his own teeth,gets himself dressed, puts his own shoes and socks on, puts his clothes in the laundry basket, is able to use the toilet with no help from us, is a great helper always picking up his toys and putting his dinner plate away, is a great big brother to Jax, knows how to use my I-Phone and the list goes on. He loves to read books, play outside, find bugs, shoot his bow, fight dragons, lions and bears, swim, ride his bike, watch movies (Toy Story and Shrek are favorites right now) and wrestle with daddy (I see a trip to the ER in our near future). He is full of love and always is telling me how much he loves me. He loves to wrestle with daddy but prefers to snuggle with mommy and that makes my day!

His birthday today was amazing and perfect. He knew the minute he woke up this morning that today was his birthday. We celebrated all day long doing fun things and in return he was unbelievably well behaved. He shared his presents with his cousin, said please and thank you after every gift and told me and Dave he loved us countless times today. It was wonderful to be part of such a fun day and watching my boy "grow older" that today was not nearly as emotional as I thought it would be. Instead, he just made me proud to be his mommy. I am looking forward to his next year of life and reminding myself to savor every minute of it because they really do grow up fast! I have so many pictures from his birthday that I will try and post tomorrow. It's late and my 3 year old just told me he was finally ready for bed. I only hope all his birthday's are this wonderful!

Seaside Oregon

We took a trip to Seaside, Oregon for my Dad's 70th birthday (he turned 70 in May). All of my sisters and their families came too. We each rented our own cottage for 5 days right next to the beach. We had the most amazing time! Well most of us did......my twin nieces Perry and Reese who are the same age as Colt both got the flu and were sick the entire time. Reese spent the entire time in the hospital because she was so dehydrated and did not get released until the day we came home. So I don't have one picture with Ann, Sam or the girls but I did get one of Karlee:). The weather was fairly decent, it was chilly (55 degrees) and did rain a little on us but we also had some really nice days too. It was so great to just be together and hang out with no real agenda. My older nieces did an amazing job of helping with Colt and Jax so it felt like even more of a vacation for Dave and I. Colt and Jax played so hard everyday that they slept amazing at night sleeping in until 7 one day (which is unheard of around here). Dave and I had a 2 bedroom cottage so Colt and Jax were in one room and we had our own room which also made it nice. We had our own kitchen, bathroom, living room too. Each family took turns cooking a meal and on Thursday night Dave and I made steak tacos and the weather was nice enough for us to eat them outside on the grass right next to our cottage. Dave and I went on a 16 mile bike ride Thursday morning and followed it up with a run (we are training for our triathlon coming up in July). The next two mornings Amy, Andy, Marni and I ran on the beach for 5 glorious miles, it was beautiful and an awesome way to start our day! I love getting together with my entire family, I wish we could do it more but am so thankful for the time we do get to spend together.

The cousins (minus Reese and Perry).

 Playing at the beach.

 Silly kids!

 Mads, Colt and I.

Mads and Colt playing in the sand.

Running from a wave. Colt had so much fun doing this but ended up crashing hard one time and got his shorts all wet. He ran around in his underwear the rest of the night.

He always has a stick (but calls it his sword) in his hand wherever we go!

I looked up and he was peeing. This kid pees ANYWHERE!

 There was a heated pool at the place and it was very heated. It had to be in order for me to want to go in it. We spent alot of time at the pool, Colt could have lived there I think. He would float around with his water wings on for hours if we would let him. We had to drag him out of the pool crying almost every time and his lips would be blue but yet he wanted to keep swimming. We would go back to our place and get in a hot shower and he would stand in there for another 45 minutes. The kid is a fish.

Everyday Colt would wake up and ask us when he could go swimming. He starts swimming lessons next week at Y and I have a feeling the instructor will have no trouble getting him in the water!

The town of Seaside was about a mile from our place and there was a nice little boardwalk that we could walk along to get there. We went into town a couple times but on Friday we all went and did the bumper cars, Tilt-a-Whirl, Aquarium and of course their Papa got them all ice cream. The kids loved the Aquarium and bumper cars. I tried to take pictures in these places but it was so dark and my flash was not working (I finally figured it out on the ride home) so all my pictures did not turn out. This was a very fun afternoon though and there were a lot of laughs and smiles coming from everyone. We stopped for fresh salt water taffy on the way home....yummers!

What a great way to start our summer vacation. I am looking forward to having some down time now before we leave for Chelan in July. It will be nice to just relax at home and spend time with the boys. I am teaching an online class this summer which requires about 3-4 hours of work a day (some days more) which means I had to work on this vacation. During the boys naps I would curl up on the couch with my computer and put some hours in. It was kind of a pain but at least this means I get to spend more time with my boys next school year since I will only be teaching in a classroom for 2 hours a day and spending the rest of the time with them!

Summer is HERE!!

Which means I get to spend alot more time with these two cuties!

First swim in the pool this year (Jax's first time ever).
We finally got some mid 80 degree weather this weekend so we took advantage of the sun and heat and cooled off in the pool.

Jax was a huge fan of the water.
Colt kept splashing him over and over and Jax would just splash back and laugh. He would even put his face in the water and come up sputtering then do it again. This guy has no fear!

 Almost a three year old!

Laughing with my baby. He is such a snuggler!

He gives pretty sweet kisses too!
I can't even begin to describe how incredible it feels to know that I have the next 2 months to do nothing but be with my family. It is a huge perk of being a teacher, especially if you are a mom! I have been looking forward to this day since I had to go back to work last November. I am teaching an online class this summer so I will have about 2 hours of work a day to put into that but I plan to do that during their naps or in the evenings. We have some fun trips planned for the summer with family and friends, Colt has swim lessons for 2 weeks at the beginning of July, and I am sure we will be doing some play dates with friends. My only wish for this summer is that it goes as S-L-O-W-L-Y as possible!! Looking forward to lazy mornings, sitting on the back patio drinking coffee and letting the boys play, trips to the park and pool, reading books before nap time everyday, cooking healthy dinners and ice cream cones before bed! Bring on the summer.......

Randee's High School Graduation

We drove over to Tri-Cities this morning to celebrate Randee's high school graduation. She is the baby in Dave's family so she is the last to graduate. Dave's parents had a graduation brunch for her so we got up early and arrived in Kennewick about 9:30. Colt and Camryn immediately wanted to play on the swing set so Dave and Taylor pushed them.

The weather could not have been more gorgeous (especially after all the rain we have gotten in the last 2 weeks!).

Jax and the graduate.

The rules were that you had to hold a baby in order to play ladder ball.

Cousins: Colt, Jax, Camryn, Calvin

After about 40 pictures the four of them were done!

Jax was happy to sit for a few more pictures though.

Checking out his......

...toes!!

My dad....

....and mom drove over too!

My mom was the typical elementary teacher, taking off her shoes and playing with the kids!

Dave's parents yard is the perfect set up for being outside. They have a huge deck with a gazebo, a fish pond, playground set, trampoline and a HUGE yard.

Cam pitching the ball to Colt.

Aunt Dee Dee read to kids one last book before leaving for graduation.

Random Friday Ramblings

• It's Friday! For me that means I only have 4 more days of work until summer. There are alot of things I love about my job but for now the part I love the most is summer vacation. It means 2 months of spending every day all day with my boys.
• We ended up spending a couple hours in the ER Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. Jax woke up about 10:15 wheezing and having a really hard time breathing. He got another cold when we got back from Olympia last weekend and he tends to get worse at night (as is the case with croup). We did what we always do when the boys have croup, sit in the bathroom with a hot shower running and let the steam try and settle down his breathing and then go and sit outside in the cold. We tried this for 30 minutes and he seemed to be getting worse so I headed to the ER and Dave stayed home since Colt was still sleeping. The scariest part for me was that I had to go by myself, I always lean on Dave to know what to do in scary situations but he had to stay home so it was just me and Jax. It ended up being fine, we got right in and they got him a breathing treatment and a steroid and by 1:30am he was sounding much better. Dave was waiting up at home for us and calling every 15 minutes to check in on how things were going. I think we all slept about 3 hours that night.
• I am loving Starbucks iced coffee with 2 splenda and milk right now. It seems the older I get (or maybe the less sleep I get) the more I enjoy stronger coffee. On another plus side it has very few calories since its mainly made up of water!
• Dave's little sister Randee graduates from high school tomorrow. She is the baby of the family and the last one to graduate. We are planning on spending the day in Kennewick tomorrow to celebrate and attend her graduation.
• I am very excited to only be working part time next school year. I will be teaching 2 classes at the high school and will be home by about 9:45 everyday. Dave is going to stay with the kids until I get home and then go into work and work later. I will also be teaching an online class to help supplement our income a little more. This is truly a dream come true for me, I have struggled so much the last 3 years with having to work full time with little ones at daycare all day. I am so thankful for my hard working husband that is making this possible!
• Looking forward to the next couple months, we have some fun vacations planned and I am looking forward to a slower paced life.
• Colt's birthday is coming up next. Dave and I decided that instead of a party this year we are going to take him and Jax camping for a night or two. Colt loves anything that has to do with the outdoors but especially loves fishing so we will include that in the trip.

Fun times ahead......