Mobility

Alex is crawling...and cruising, and pulling up, and climbing stairs. Get the baby gates, quick! This baby is on the move and I wasn't quite ready for it yet. No longer is it a good thing when he's quiet in the other room. He is very fast and determined and loves cords, paper, folded clothes, stale Cheerios, cardboard, Barbie shoes, and Transformers' arms and legs left strewn about from battles to the death. Let the toddler years begin!

My sister Kim had a scar on her forehead for a long time as a result of falling against a brick fireplace edge as a toddler...so I've been a little paranoid about this one in our family room since we moved in. When Alex got mobile I went out and found this protective foam; it's not even that ugly once it's on. One afternoon I came in and found him like this...SO effective! Now he thinks it's great fun to crawl over and pull it off.

Springtime!

We have enjoyed an early and mild Spring this year - we are so thankful for it and try to take advantage of the nice weather as often as possible! Some fun we've had lately:

Jake and I drove downtown one day to get a look at the flooded Red. It wasn't as bad as last year, but still pretty impressive.

Our ward's annual talent show, which Rob was in charge of this year. He performed several songs (above with our talented friend Mary), and Haley and Jake performed "Queen of the Waves" from Barbie in a Mermaid's Tale. Haley sang, Jake danced...I'll try to post video soon...too hilarious to not share.

Our first picnic of the year - the kids and I LOVE picnics and even though it was still a little chilly we decided it was time.

Six Months of Eating Your Veggies...

Last fall when we were at the Mall of America, Jake was just barely too short to ride on the bumper cars. He was so very disappointed and so we gave him the whole Popeye story, which he took to heart. Almost every night at dinner for the past six months you could hear us saying, "Bumper cars, Jake! Think of the bumper cars!" And what do you know...

This weekend we finally got to take our trip to the Cities, and Jake finally got to ride the bumper cars. Over and over and over again. Hurray for peas! And zucchini and green beans and broccoli and cauliflower and carrots...

The weather was beautiful while we were there so we spent a morning at the wonderful Como Park Zoo. It was chilly but quite a few of the animals were out anyway. It just felt good be outside in the sun! We have felt like caged animals ourselves these past few months.

I thought this was so cute. I told Jake he had to finish his graham cracker because the signs said "No Food or Drink." Of course, he asked why and I told him maybe the animals would be jealous of his snack. The inevitable, "What does 'jealous' mean, Mom?" I explained and a few minutes later I saw him standing in front of the seal tank like this.

Jake...More Than Meets The Eye!

Jake has been waiting for this day for a LONG time - 364 days, to be exact. It has been an excruciatingly long couple of months as he and I discussed and planned his party. We were supposed to be in Minneapolis for the weekend so he could go on the rides at the "Mall-a-ca-merica" but since most of us were sick we postponed the trip until next week. Jake has been drawn into Transformers and all their fabulous good vs. evil battles since we downloaded the old-school cartoon series for him to watch on the I-Pod last year. So today we celebrated at home with Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, and all the other Autobots and Decepticons. Balloons, cupcakes, and a birthday dinner at Space Aliens rounded out the celebrations.

Usually I feel nostalgic or surprised when I think about how big the kids are getting, but this time it's a little anticlimactic. For so long Jake has been telling people that he's already four (or five or six) and wanting so much to be a big kid that it's almost a relief that he is getting older! According to Jake, 4-year-olds:

Eat lettuce on their turkey sandwiches.
Play soccer on a team (he's signed up to play this Spring).
Go to preschool (he'll go in the fall).

Jake has been a firecracker since he was born, and continues to surprise us with his intensity, persistence, and energy. He is also so sweet, and loves to give hugs and "nuggle". At 4 years old, Jake loves cars (and especially the movie Cars), construction trucks, trains, Transformers, space and rocket ships, super heroes, music, sports, the Wii, playing with friends, and Fruit Loops. He is a consummate little brother when it comes to tagging along and teasing Haley, but also a wonderful big brother to Alex, quick to get him a toy or play peek-a-boo with him. Alex starts laughing when Jake just walks in the room, and it's no wonder. Jake is wild, silly, and cracks us up with the things he says. A few gems of late:

-To himself, with amazement and wonder as he munched on some mini rainbow marshmallows I finally bought him, after months of begging every time we went to the store: "This is the BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!"

-As he stomped into the house after I told him "no" for some thing or another: "I am Mad, Mad, Mad-agascar!" (The movie is one of our family favorites.)

-While driving home one day last week we were exclaiming about all the melting snow and how Spring was finally coming: ""We've been waiting for YEARS!"

Happy 4th Birthday to our sweet Jake!

O.B.L.: Official Beater Licker

Jake is a very focused and efficient un-wrapper.

"This is the Optimus Prime I always wanted!"

Check me out, ladies...Ka-chow!

This was the ONLY face Alex would make for the camera today..."Uhh..."

A bunch of new Transformers means lots of work for Dad...he has to memorize the steps so he can "fix" them after Jake has semi-transformed them.

Oh, how Alex wanted that cupcake. He just knew it had to be something good.

Yes, grandmas and sugar-patrol, we gave him one. Not even just little nibbles, but plopped a whole one right on his tray. There was no hesitation, that cupcake had no chance of survival...needless to say, he LOVED it.