A Great Day 4 a Party

We got together with a few little friends to celebrate Anthony's 4th birthday.  

Okay, more than a few.

Maybe 35 preschoolers was a bit much.

But we love all of our little friends- how do you not invite all of them?

Birthday hugs

and high fives.

Lucky for us, The Playground Gym has the capacity to accommodate a group of this size and rambunctiousness. The kids played and played.

There was an obstacle course and lots of swinging, jumping and climbing.

Wow!

The rock wall was definitely Anthony's favorite. Maybe we have a future mountaineer.

Then it was cake time. The amazing staff at the gym not only got the entire roomful of kids to stop playing and come sit at the table, but they got them all to wash their hands first!  

Showing how many fingers old Anthony is.

Yum!

Yay for 4!

The gym staff said it was the largest group they ever had for a party, but also the nicest. I believe that.

4 Years Old!

4 years ago today, this little guy arrived in the world, a little earlier than planned. We got to take him home 3 months later and he hasn't stopped since.

I can't believe he's 4- that sounds so old.  He's most definitely a preschooler now. He's becoming more and more independent all the time. He has very definite ideas about what everyone should be doing all the time. Maybe it's because he knows 4 is a big deal, but in just the last few weeks he seems more mature.

His favorite music to listen to right now is the soundtrack from the musical The Book of Mormon (!). Don't worry- we fast forward past the inappropriate parts- which is most of it.

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He's learning his letters, numbers, colors and some sight words. He has so many signs now, we can't keep track of them all. He picks up new ones right away. He's still working on his talking words and is making good progress. He can say how old he is, which is important when you're 4.

This was the year he mastered walking. He's well on his way to running and jumping now. Today he started something new- gymnastics! He needed help, but he did great, especially on the balance beam.

He also decided a few weeks ago that it was time to start using the potty. He got tired of Mommy and Daddy doing something about it and took matters into his own hands, so to speak.

Today's activity is a trip to the zoo. Most likely there will be cake at some point too. Tomorrow we party at The Playground Gym. Stay tuned for details of this completely over-the-top extravaganza, which will either be a complete disaster or a lot of fun- probably a little bit of both.

Happy Day, Anthony!  We love you so much!

Daddy Rocks the House

After only a few months of lessons, Paul had his first guitar gig yesterday!  He joined his guitar teacher and fellow guitar students onstage at the Alberta Rose Theatre for a rousing rendition of "Baby Beluga." 

It was part of the Music Together Teacher's Concert and Scholarship Fundraiser.  

Paul is sitting up front on the stool.  That's teacher Maggie on the far right.  Maggie is not only Paul's guitar teacher, but also Anthony's Music Together teacher this term. Maggie teaches beginner guitar and banjo for adults, and a lot of her students are Music Together parents.  

"Is that who I think that is up there?"

We love Music Together.  Anthony's been going since he was 8 months old. This will probably be his last term since we've gone through all the collections and are repeating the first one now-- that's 11 ten-week classes in all.  It's been a great experience, and now Daddy can play all the songs for us!

Preschool Valentines

The kids at Anthony's school can bring in Valentines for their friends, so here's what we came up with.  

Everyone loves bubbles, and these bottles were just the right size and color.  

There are 23 kids at school.  No one gets left out.

No names allowed, only the sender's.

Next year he can make his own, but I think it's okay for Mommy to help for one more year!

Rompin' and Stompin'

Saturday was the "Romp to Stomp" snowshoe fundraiser for the Susan Komen Foundation. 

This is such a fun event.  We were glad they moved it back to Mt. Hood.  It was held at Mt. Bachelor for a couple of years and that's much farther away from us.

Breakfast before hitting the road.

This was Anthony's second Romp. He's grown up so much since his first one, when he wasn't quite 1.

And it was Grady's first.  We participate in the event in honor of Grady's Grandma Kris.

Grady with his Mommy and Daddy, looking very cool!

Thumbs up: Off we go!

Trudging across the tundra.

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These pictures make it look like The Endurance, but actually the weather was great.  Not much sun, but lots of snow and temperatures in the mid-30's, with a light snow falling- nice!

Mommies

Daddies

Daddy got the hard part of the walk, and I took over for the second half (all downhill- sweet!)

We really need to get up to the mountain more often!