Walker turns Four!

Wow, what a year!!  And what a difference six months can make.  The change between 3 and a half and four is huge!  Walker's little devil horns are starting to come out. He went from rarely getting into trouble to now getting into trouble every time I turn around.  He gets into everything!  But in spite of his michevious ways he's still a sweet, loving, cuddly, mama's boy.  

 A few milestones since last year: 

~ he moved out of his crib and into his bunk bed in May.  His crib was still in his room up until September and it was a very sad day for us both when it was gone.  Every now and then he will ask for his baby bed and get teary-eyed because it's gone.  Savannah now sleeps on a toddler mattress in the corner of his room because she gets scared sleeping on the top bunk.  Most nights Walker still wakes up and comes into my room to sleep in the toddler bed next to me.

~he's still not a great eater.  He's a great snacker though.  He loves his cliff bars and applesauce but not much else.  His favorite meal is still pizza and he loves bologna, waffles, and pancakes.  And he's a major chocoholic.  

~as far as school goes, he could take it or leave it.  I think he has fun when he gets there but getting there is a battle every morning.  And he sometimes stays for lunch bunch which is another battle.  

~he became completely potty trained at the end of July just before we left for Texas.  We only recently stopped wearing pull ups at night only because he's never woke up wet.  In fact, he's always come to wake me up whenever he needs to go during the night.

~we are still working with Ms. Ann on his speech.  He has a large vocabulary and he talks constantly but it's often difficult to understand his words which leads to him getting frustrated because he thinks we're not listening to him.  I often hear him say "you're not listening to my words!!".  

~he has quite the temper like his sister but instead of yelling and screaming, he tends to act out by hitting and scratching.  

~he loves to roughhouse with his friends.  There have been several visits to Mrs. Stickley's office for fighting in class and on the playground.  It's mostly between the same little boys and they're not being mean to each other; it's just how they play.  We witnessed this a lot during his birthday party.  

~he's been fairly healthy this past year.  After getting the tubes and removing his adenoids in May, he's been snotty free.  

So now let's get to the birthday festivities.  His last day of school before break was on December 16th so he participated in the musical program and then had a little party in his classroom.  Later that evening while I was getting ready for a Christmas party, he took it upon himself to give himself a big boy haircut.  I nearly died! So my innocent looking 3 year old became a rebel looking 4 year old overnight.      

S came to watch the musical and enjoy the party

he sang all the songs and smiled the whole time

his version of a haircut

Sunday morning started before the sunrise.  He and Savannah rushed downstairs and immediately wanted to open presents.  There were more trains and a couple of superhero items to add to his collection.  After a couple of hours playing, it was off to get his free birthday donut at Dunkin on the way to set up for his party at the country club.

yay of birthday donuts! 

 He wanted to have a superhero theme this year so I decided to have it at the club and I'm glad that I did.  Three and four year old boys are WILD! They ran all around, tackled everyone, and basically looked like they were trying to kill each other.  We had a couple of bounce houses and a table to play-doh for the more hesitant party goers.  I also set up a couple of tables to decorate capes and masks.  

another amazing cake from Baker's Cakes

It was such a fun day and I think the birthday boy was thrilled with everything.  I can't believe he's four!  I'm not ready to lose my toddler! Thankfully he still loves to be babied and he often wants me to hold him; however, at 44 pounds I can't hold him for long.  Gosh, I sure love this sweet, loving, fun little boy! 

All About 4 Year-Old Walker

1. Favorite color: blue, red, pink
2. Favorite song: Over the River, Deck the Halls, Up on the Housetop
3. Favorite toy: Dinosaur eggs, trucks
4. Favorite food: chicken rolls
5. Favorite drink: smoothie
6. Best friends: Waite, Colin, William
7. Favorite game: MouseTrap
8. Favorite book: lots of books
9. Favorite place to visit: Noosie's house
10. Favorite place to eat out: Jason's Deli
11. What do you want to be when you grow up?: a cook
12. Favorite Holiday: Christmas and Easter
13. Favorite dress up costume: Buzz Lightyear
14. Favorite movie: Toy Story
15. Favorite tv show: Paw Patrol

Height: 41.6 inches

Weight: 44.6 lbs

Clothing size: 4t-5

Shoe size: 11-12

Celebrating the Season

Ahhhhhh, the most wonderful time of the year! This is the one month that we wait all year for.  It's the season of love, peace, joy, giving, family, and magic.  It really is the most special of all months.  

Our little elf friends returned a little early this year and brought along a new friend, the Saint Bernard that we named Rudy.  They also brought yummy snowball donuts.  On December 1st they brought the Advent calendars.  Then they joined us on our annual trip to NYC.  They put themselves in mason jars so that they could be safely carried on the airplane and to our hotel.

We arrived in NYC on Thursday, December 1st in the late morning so the kids and I spent most of the day playing in the park.  We went to the zoo, watched a 4D Rudolph movie, played in the Children's zoo, and climbed a lot of rocks.  Then we walked around midtown and took in all the seasonal sights.

plane ride to NYC

Our elves returned the next day ready to spend the day shopping in the city.  Savannah wanted to wake up early and try to get on the Today Show.  Unfortunately the crowd was way too big so we went for a run around Central Park instead.  Then we returned back to the hotel room to shower and get ready for our lunch at the American Girl Cafe.

This year we decided to visit Santa at Macys on Friday night instead of trying to beat the rush on a Saturday morning.  So after dinner at Del Frisco Grille we headed to 34th Street.  We didn't even need to use our Santa reservation because the regular line was so short.  Once we made it in to see the jolly man both kiddos took a seat on his lap and I didn't even have to get in the picture.

Saturday we were able to spend the day with Oscar playing in the city.  We took the kids ice skating in Bryant Park and then we took the subway downtown to see the 9/11 Memorial.  We also managed to fit in a Shake Shack lunch---my fav!  Dinner that night was also another fav---Balthazar.  

Santa in our hotel lobby

After returning home we had lots of holiday fun things to do to get in the Christmas spirit.  Our elves always surprised us with their silly shenanigans.

undies instead of stockings

a wrapped potty with green toilet water

Santa at the SECU gingerbread workshop

baking cookies

Santa at the Country Club

movie night

painting our annual Christmas pottery

hot chocolate bar

caroling to a recovering friend 

Elves brought tickets to see Disney on Ice

picking out a real tree to put on the porch

decorating the gingerbread house

and elves lunch

S's gymnastics performance

live show of Rudolph

Santa at Southpoint mall

time to get those final lists to Santa ready

delivering toys to the Ronald McDonald house

happy birthday mom

caroling in Southpoint Manor

All that's left now is to wait for the big day, although Christmas Eve is always my favorite day of the year.  The kiddos argue with me saying that no, it's Christmas Day.  I love all the traditions that we've created during this special time and I love watching the kids become more involved and excited about them.  Experiencing the magic through their eyes is really something special.  Oh how I wish they could stay this little forever.