Day 696 | Guitar

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Robbe and I have been taking a music class since January and he's finally starting to get into it. Today he even wanted to wait in line to play the musician's guitar afterward (up until now he's been too shy). That's big. He waited very patiently for his turn and then walked up without hesitation to pluck away at the strings. And, although, he's not talking much yet, he kept bringing up the experience all day. So cute.

Day 695 | And He Turns Four

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I know you've been waiting for this...

Top 10 Best Things About Four-year-old Chase
  1. His compassion: this kid has the biggest heart you can imagine. He's amazingly thoughtful and generous and understanding. Much more so than you would expect from a four-year-old.
  2. His intellect: he's a little smartie, that's for sure. His little brain is just a sponge picking up so much from school (and a little from us). My current favorite example? Often he interjects in normal conversation, "hey, that's alliteration!"
  3. His deep interest in space: books, toys, videos, anything space related is a big hit. He told me yesterday that he probably can't fly to the moon until he's eleven, though. 
  4. His love for vacation: yes, we've taught him well. This kid definitely knows the appropriate amount of excitement, enthusiasm, and anticipation to exhibit when a vacation rolls around. 
  5. His super-expressive, unwavering love for mommy and daddy: he often turns to Chris and me out of the blue and says, "I love you, mommy/daddy." Other iterations are "I love you so much I believe in you" and "I love you so much and I like you so much" and "Mommy/daddy, you're my favorite (a family saying)."
  6. His love for school: sending him to full day three year old preschool was a tough decision. A tough decision. Man, was it the right one. This kid loves being a Bulldog (their classroom mascot). He loves all his little Bulldog friends. And the Bulldog teachers could not be better (not exaggerating). Not only has his mind expanded with all this classroom time, but socially he's made leaps and bounds this year (our biggest hope when sending him). 
  7. His imagination: this part of his brain is working in overdrive as of late. He loves acting out stories, coming up with new games, and including any/all of his family members in the productions.
  8. His kid-isms: kids say the funniest things, right? This guy is no exception. My latest favorite occurred when a penpal of his (thanks for coordinating, uncle Matt) sent him foreign currency in her latest card. He opened it and looked up at me in surprise and said, "How did she know I like money?" Hahaha. 
  9. His natural ability to be the big brother: we couldn't have asked for a better role model for sweet Robbe. Chase has already shown an interest in helping his little brother navigate life a little easier. He's patient with him, gentle towards him, understanding of his shortcomings, translates as well as I do, shares his toys, and genuinely wants him around. It's the best.
  10. His rule-following: yep, still going strong with his impressive ability to listen and follow rules. It's pretty amazing from a parenting perspective. And luckily he takes it with him to school, too. Not to brag but he's the only Bulldog to not have used the "take a break chair" (where you go when you need some time to compose yourself) at school yet. Fingers crossed he can make it to the end of the year. Maybe he'll win an award!

Almost exactly four years ago (to the minute), we welcomed this little baby into the world that changed every second of our lives moving forward. We couldn't be more proud of our amazing 4-year-old and the little gentleman he's becoming. We love you, Sweet Pea.

Day 692 | Moon Sand

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Birthday party prep is well underway for our fourth (and final) birthday in the last 7.5 weeks. Today's activity? Making a trial batch of Moon Sand for the big birthday party. I had envisioned making a couple of patches and then putting it out in a big tub for kids to play with and then put in to-go containers as part of their party favors (collecting Moon Sand, get it?).

After today's trial, I think I'm going to have to reevaluate. The recipe was super simple (just flour and baby oil [and food coloring, if that's your thing]), the boys enjoyed "dumping" all the ingredients, and they had a total blast playing with it. That doesn't seem surprising unless you consider that neither of my boys really prefer to get their hands dirty (I have no idea where that comes from). However, it was messier than I think I can justify for an indoor birthday party.  I'm not giving up on the idea...just brainstorming other options/tweaks.

Here's the recipe I used for it, although I did a half-batch and ended up using a lot more baby oil to reach the consistency I wanted.

Enjoy!

Day 691 | T-shirt Hack

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I made this pretty sweet gift for my niece's 11th birthday gift. I cut up a too-large t-shirt. Here's what I did:

  • I cut out the neck so it's more of a scoop neck.
  • I cut off the sleeves and then rolled them up and tied them with t-shirt scraps.
  • My favorite element? I cut three strips up each side and then braided down to bring the sides in so the shirt would actually fit.
I hope she actually gets some use out of it. I heart DC!

p.s. Sorry for missing my post yesterday. I have no excuse. We did literally nothing yesterday. I guess that's the problem, I just didn't have anything to report on and it didn't register to me that I missed it. My bad.

Day 690 | So Long, Farewell

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Chase: I'm excited and sad. 
Me: Why's that?
Chase: I'm excited we're going home but sad to be leaving Wee-sconsin. 
Me: I feel the same way. What are you going to miss?
Chase: I like seeing the grandmas and grandpas more. 
Me: What do you like about them?
Chase: They do nice things for me. That makes me happy. 

Special note: Both (both!) boys napped on the plane. I don't think Chase has napped on a plane since he was 3 months old. It was a Christmas (in April) miracle. I guess that proves how exhausting our week has been. I have to say, almost a perfect travel day from start to finish.