Easter and Our 1st Attempt at Dying Eggs!

This year, Trey asked if we could dye eggs... I knew this day would eventually come, and he must have heard his friends at school talking about doing this, so I decided to go ahead and give it a shot.  Up until this moment, I had avoided this like the plague- it is a messy, complicated process, and to be honest with you, I didn't even know how to hard boil eggs.  So, I googled how to hard boil an egg and got a dozen eggs ready. Unfortunately, it didn't occur to me to put the hard boiled eggs back in the refrigerator, so the next day after we had dyed them, we were unable to eat them, since they had been sitting on the counter for the last 24 hours... oh well, now I know! :) I then had the confusing issue of how to allow the kids freedom to dye their eggs, without ruining their clothes, the furniture, the tile, the carpet,... My only option (at least in my head) was to lay brown paper down on every visible surface, and then to dress the children in the largest plastic bags I could find and spend the remaining time at the side ensuring no huge spill would take place.  I have to admit, the pictures aren't great, but the kids had fun and nothing got ruined! And, I honestly had a good time with them!

Easter Sunday we went to brunch with the Douglas family, like we do every year- I love tradition!  This year, I completely forgot my camera, so we didn't get a family picture until we got home that afternoon.  We switched it up and made reservations for brunch at Alton's Kitchen, instead of our "usual" Red Rocks, and it was awesome!!! The food was fantastic, and it was a little bit cheaper! Yay!!!

Easter Weekend with the Grandparents!

I had my wisdom teeth taken out the weekend before Easter, so my mom, dad, Grammy, and Papa all came down to "help" with the kids while I was recovering.  First- I should mention that having my wisdom teeth removed was awful! I have never been in so much pain and experienced so much bruising and nausea in my life! But, despite feeling like I was on the verge of dying, Trey and Carrington were having a blast with their Big Daddy, Nanijay, Grammy and Papa.  On one of these afternoons, I had come home early from work because I couldn't stop throwing up (this was a side effect of some of the medication), and had headed straight to bed to sleep it off.  I had just woken up, and I could hear the kids downstairs laughing and playing, so I decided to seize the moment and grab my camera to take a few pictures, and I am SO glad that I did! I am 100% certain that these brief moments will be something that I will forever treasure.

St. Patrick's Day Weekend

The weekend of St. Patrick's Day was a lot of fun! We spent all day Saturday going to birthday parties and spending time at the park in between (we didn't have enough time to make it home between parties, so we found a park to play at in the mean time).  And on St. Patrick's Day morning, Trey and his school class sang for the church during their service, and it was adorable.  Of course, Trey didn't actually do too much singing, but he stood there looking handsome, and that's good enough for me!

Trey's Birth- DAY: 4 Years Old!

Trey's actual birth DAY landed on a Wed. this year, so it was a school day for him.  The night before, Doug and I stayed up late putting balloons in his room to surprise him when he woke up.  Of course, when Trey woke up in the morning, he was still half asleep and didn't even notice the 50 balloons on the ceiling! I decided not to say anything, and as we were getting ready to go downstairs and get in the car for school, he spotted his bedroom, and screamed "Mom, there is a party in my room!!!!".  At least he was excited :). I made cupcakes the  night before for his class, and sent him to school with plates, juices, and cupcakes.  That evening, we took him out to dinner at Foster's, where he got his favorite: hotdogs! It was nice, since it was "kids night" at Fosters, and there was a guy going around making balloon hats for the kids.  Trey got a firefighter hat, and Carrington got a princess hat- so cute! Afterwards we went over to Toys R Us and Trey got to pick out one toy- which was a fire hero set with boats and helicopters (in addition to the fire truck and ambulence). 

That night, we also took a few minutes to ask Trey his "20 Questions" that we started last year.  Here are the questions and answers:

What is your favorite color? Brown and Gray
What is your favorite toy? A Firetruck and Extinguisher
What is your favorite fruit? Grapes
What is your favorite TV show? Fireman Sam
What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Hotdogs
What is your favorite outfit? Firetruck shirt
What is your favorite game? Fireman Sam on the computer
What is your favorite snack? Cheese and Chips
What is your favorite animal? Fireman Sam and Norman Price's Sheep
What is your favorite song? Fireman Sam song (which he then sang to me)
What is your favorite book? Firetruck book
Who is your best friend? Firefighter Penny, Mommy, and Ben, and Pearl (keep in mind this answer changes by the minute)
What is your favorite cereal? I like waffles
What is your favorite thing to do outside? Ride my bike
What is your favorite drink? Juice, water, and milk
What is your favorite holiday? Halloween and dressing up like a firefighter
What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Firehats (this is true, he does)
What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Waffles
What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Cake!
What do you want to be when you grow up? Firefighter

There may have been a SMALL theme of Firefighters and Fireman Sam going on here....

At Trey's 4 Year Well Check, he was so brave, and he did awesome! He chatted with Dr. Lods, aced his vision and hearing test, and when we got back to the patient room, I explained to Trey that the nurse was going to come in and give him 3 shots. I told him they would hurt for a second, but then he would be all better, and the shots would keep him healthy. And then I promised we could go and get ice cream right away. He got a really brave look on his face, came and sat on my lap, and watched as the nurse gave him all 3 shots.  When she was done, he cried for only a quick second, but said the bandaids helped and he was ready to go to McDonalds.  Whew!!! I was so glad that went better than I could have imagined!!! And, as promised, we went and had ice cream cones, just the 2 of us, before heading home. :)

Weight: 35 pounds (41%)
Height: 40 1/4" (53%)
BMI: 28% (this was the first time he had his blood pressure taken, and he really liked it :)

Trey's 4th Birthday Party!

As Trey's birthday drew nearer and nearer, I knew I was in trouble when I had NO desire to plan a party.  I think the biggest struggle was that he really wanted all of his school friends to come to a party, but we live 45 minutes away from his school, and I knew that was asking and expecting a LOT from the parents.  Luckily, it occurred to me that we didn't have to throw a big shin-dig, on a Saturday, for Trey to have a good time.  When I approached it from a much more basic standpoint, I realized that Trey: 1. LOVES Firetrucks and Firemen, 2. Trey wants to celebrate with all his friends, and 3. I don't want to spend a weekend agonizing over a big party. So, why not celebrate at a local park, right after school dismisses, during the week? And we can invite the local fire department to join us? I'm a GENIUS!!!!

On Friday, March 15th, and 1:30pm, all the kids from Trey's class met us over at Kilbourne Park for a birthday party, complete with Firetrucks! Getting the firemen there was a little more complicated then I had expected, but Doug was able to "call in a few favors" and it was awesome! I'm really not kidding- the party was perfect.  We had not one but TWO firetrucks show up, I made all the decorations myself, and I didn't even splurge on a special cake- I went to Food Lion an hour before the party and grabbed some mini cupcakes.  Thank goodness Uncle Adam came by the park early to help us set up, and then he went and picked up Trey, Carrington, and Allie, so Doug and I could do a few 'final touches' and we were all set! It was adorable, all the kids had a great time, and Trey had a party I'm pretty sure he will never forget. We loved it!!!