You are now 4.5 years old . . . and boy do you ALWAYS include that "half" in there anytime someone asks you how old you are now. We have done so much in the past 6 months!
Up until this point, you were still having some trouble pooping on the potty. It became a big problem because you would just hold it in all day until you got home and got your nighttime diaper or pull-up on and you would take care of business there. This holding it in caused you to get stopped up and then it would hurt so you just didn't want to go ever. We promised you many things if you would just poop on the potty and FINALLY right after your 4th birthday, you went! Since you held it in for several days, it ended up being a pretty big one, so your dad had to teach you how to use the plunger.
And you couldn't wait to call Gram to tell her what you did!
Anyway, I had promised you a big toy airplane if you would just go on the potty, so it was time to pay up. We headed out to the Boeing store close to the airport so that you could pick out your airplane. You chose a Boeing 747 red airplane. While we were out there, we watched some planes again too!
With dad out of town so often, sometimes I take you guys to Taco Bell to lessen my load a bit. You really like Taco Bell and I know you will both eat without complaining. The Taco Bell we go to is often cold so you like to call it the "Winter Taco Bell". I asked the people working there about why it is always so cold in the summertime there. They said the air conditioner that controls the kitchen also controls the dining room, so that's why it is so cold all the time. Anyway, you guys love it there and I get a little break. Winter Taco Bell for the win!
We also went to a Cardinals game this summer. You had a great time cheering on the Cardinals and wandering around the stadium taking in all the fun of a summer in St. Louis!
And what's a summer in St. Louis without frozen yogurt? You love when we go to Ted Drewes and Fritz's!
Next we celebrated Declan's birthday. We had a great time celebrating at the Botanical Garden. You and Declan had so much fun at the Children's Garden doing so much climbing and sliding and you both loved the splash pad! You also conquered a fear going over many of the rope bridges that you were too scared to do last year! It was so much fun!
The next day we celebrated at our house. You had a great time with all your cousins, playing on the swing set and eating cake!
We also did your annual doctor visit this month. You are so good at the doctor! You do not like the shots obviously, but you do not seem to mind the doctor examining you and you are always very cooperative!
The end of August was back to school for many kids and back to football season too :) Your friend Hudson's sister is a cheerleader for the Oakville team, so we went to some games at the end of the summer. You had a great time cheering on the football team as well as the cheerleaders!
You also love to dress up right now. When we put your fire engine pajamas on you, you decided you needed to wear your boots and fire hat:
At the end of August, we went to the Museum of Transportation. You were very excited that there was a new feature there this time . . . the hand pedal trains! You had a great time on these! You weren't quite able to get all the way around the track by yourself, but with a bit of help, you made it!
Your two favorite stuffed animals right now are your whale named Blue and your dinosaur named Rex. You like to take Blue to school with you for naptime sometimes, so that leaves Rex at home. One day you told me that Rex was gonna "work from home" with mommy today. So I took a picture of Rex working from home so you could see him hard at work:
Around this time, mommy went out of town for a wedding, so you, Declan and daddy got to have a boy weekend. And what would a boy weekend be without a trip to Bass Pro Shop? Daddy and Paw Paw took you and Declan and you guys had so much fun seeing all the stuffed bears, geese and fish.
You also had a fun day with daddy and Poppy at Grant's Farm while mom was out of town. Maybe mommy should leave more often . . .
As summer wound down, it was time for soccer season. Daddy took you out and bought you your very own soccer shoes and ball and you guys started practicing in the back yard.
And then in September, you started playing Soccer with St. Margaret Mary. Dad was your coach. You had a great time playing and really learned a lot! We are hoping that next season you will be a bit more aggressive and run to the ball, but either way, you are at least having fun!
In early September, daddy and I got some really exciting news. We found out that you are going to be a big brother again!!!! We decided to tell you right away since mommy wasn't feeling that well and we needed your help. I'm not sure if it was the lack of a belly or what, but you didn't seem to quite get it when we first told you:
Rest assured you fully understand it now, and you are SO excited to be a big brother again. You go back and forth between saying you think it is a boy or a girl. You really don't care though, you are just so excited to hold the baby. Not much longer now!
To celebrate, we decided to go out to Eckert's to pick some apples. It was a very hot day for apple picking, but we came home with some yummy apples and had a great time picking them!
After apple picking, we decided to keep the celebration going with pizza and frozen custard later that night:
You still like to help me cook every chance you get. In mid-September we had people over to our house for dinner, so you helped me prepare the taco dip. Pretty much all I had to do was cut up all the veggies and I was able to leave the assembly to you!
You also like to help me with my Physical Therapy. You love my elastic bands and you like to try to imitate me with them:
Meanwhile at school, it was grandparents' day. Gram and Grandma Gerry had a great time seeing you and Declan singing your songs and doing your thing at school.
We did yet another Frisco Friday which you boys of course loved!
This time of year, there always seems to be some sort of festival downtown and we happened to run into an Agriculture Festival outside Ballpark Village after we went to Uncle Stormy's memorial service. You guys had a great time seeing the livestock, sitting in a big chair and getting your arms painted. But your favorite part was the trailer full of corn kernels! Who knew playing in corn would be so much fun?
You always go on an apple picking trip with school too. You had so much fun at Eckert's Millstadt farm with all your school friends. We had Emma with us that day. In addition to picking lots of yummy apples, you guys rode rides, jumped on the giant pillow, rode bikes, watched pig races, and ate kettle corn. It was such a fun field trip!
Around this time we started doing "Movie Fridays". You and Declan have begun to really love this. We order pizza and pop popcorn while watching a movie. Then dad usually goes out and gets some ice cream. It's become a fun thing we do as much as possible! These ones are pictures of you guys watching Robin Hood for the first time.
Every September the Museum of Transportation has a "Go By Train" Day. This year we went with your cousins Will, Harrison, and Louise as well as Gram and Poppy.
You absolutely LOVE to get your hair cut these days. We got your hair cut around this time and you had so much hair all over you, you kept picking it up and showing it to us! I guess we need to start getting more regular hair cuts from now on!
You have been going to a lot of friends' birthday parties too! Your friend Johnny had his birthday party at Bounce U again this year. You had a great time with all your friends bouncing around and eating cake and pizza!
At the end of September we decided we needed a vacation, so we drove up to Chicago to spend some time with our friends, "Aunt" Jackie and "Uncle" Willie and also see some of the sites of Chicago. Dad was already there because of work so you, Delcan and I drove up to meet him. You guys did GREAT in the car for the 5 hour drive! You were so excited to be in a hotel for the first time. Dad pulled out the bed that you guys shared that night and you had fun playing fort with it!
The next morning, dad had to work, so we decided to take a day trip to visit Bridget and her family in Milwaukee. You had so much fun playing with Jack and you just adored baby Anna! We hung out at Bridget's house for a bit and then went to the park to play and then out to dinner. It was a great, yet tiring day!
After dinner, we made a quick stop to see Kerri and her son Gabe. You had fun playing with Gabe, but by the end of the night, everyone was getting tired and it was time to head back to Chicago where we stayed with Jackie and Willie.
The next morning, we headed out to Shedd Aquarium. You were most excited to see the sharks and the whales.
The thing you were most excited about was riding on the trains in Chicago. Your dreams came true the next day when we headed into the city on the Metra. You were so excited about this and it ended up being your favorite part about our trip to Chicago.
As soon as we got off the train, we headed for the Willis Tower. Luckily we were able to get there early enough that we made one of the first trips up. The line was LONG after that, so we got lucky!
After the Willis Tower, we FINALLY got to ride the L. You really did like your ride on the L, but you seemed to like the Metra more:
When we got off the L, we headed over to the Bean. You guys had a lot of fun looking at our reflections and taking silly pictures:
Unfortunately, all the fun had to end sometime and we headed home the next day. You and Declan did great again on the car ride home! We are hoping to do another trip like this soon!
Before we knew it, it was October and we started doing fall activities. Hudson's Grandpa owns a nursery and they were hosting a pumpkin painting event. You really enjoyed painting your pumpkin and running through the maze they had set up!
Then it was time for your last field trip of the year . . . Pumpkin Picking at Stuckmeyer's Farm. You look forward to this one every year and were a little sad when it was over knowing you wouldn't have another field trip till summer time. You lived it up while you were there though!
We also had a Food Truck Friday event at St. Margaret Mary. I didn't get many pictures of that event, but I did capture a fun wagon ride you had with your friend, Lexi. You also had fun playing in the bounce house and eating all the yummy food from the trucks:
We have started going to The Magic House a bit more often as there have been some cooler days. You have really been enjoying the Eric Carle exhibit. Your favorite part is the tall grass:
We also took our annual family trip to Rombach's Farm with Braden and Cate. As usual, we all had a blast and it was a gorgeous day!
You and Declan love taking walks with Gram. There is a house in the neighborhood that always puts up inflatables. You guys just LOVE the Big Black Cat! It was there last year and you were so excited that it was there again this year!
Then we celebrated Halloween. You were Chase from Paw Patrol this year. You had so much fun dressing up at school and participating in the costume parade.
On the actual day of Halloween, we stopped by your cousins house to take some pictures first:
Then we headed back home for some Trick-Or-Treating in our neighborhood with your cousin Alyssa:
It was a wet rainy night, but you guys had fun and brought home a LOT of candy!
When November hit, we had more fun at the Magic House. You love the construction area and you also love serving mommy and daddy in the restaurant:
We also celebrated your cousin Louise's 2nd birthday this month. It was so much fun hanging out with your cousins and her cousins:
And Taco Bell continues to be a lifesaver for mommy when daddy is out of town! I'm glad you guys like it there and that I am able to get a break:
But of course, we do still cook a lot together. You guys love helping me make pizza!
We also took a trip to the Magic House with your cousins this month. You guys loved hanging out at the Branches of the Government section and pretending like you were judges:
You also love to help me grocery shop. Especially at Schnucks where you not only get a free cookie, but you also get to push around your own mini-cart:
We celebrated Aunt E's birthday this month too. She love chocolate cake, so I always make her the chocolatiest chocolate cake. You like to "help" me make this cake too . . . more like you like to lick up the remains . . . either way we have fun together!
And you loved singing to her and helping her blow out the candles:
And we finished off November with Thanksgiving. We started the day off at your Aunt Elizabeth's condo.
And then we headed over to Gram and Poppy's house. We were actually able to get a good picture of the family this year:
In early December we headed out to Eckert's to cut down our Christmas tree. You guys had so much fun riding in the bus to take us out to the fields and searching all over for the best tree:
And of course we used some of their backgrounds to get some pictures for your Christmas Cards:
Later that night, St. Simon was holding a Polar Express event. We decided to take you guys to that and although a MUCH smaller scale than the Polar Express event we went to downtown last year, it was so much fun! You guys LOVED the tickets and have saved them still. You also loved all the crafts, stories and cookies and hot chocolate. Declan didn't want to sit on Santa's lap, but you did. Santa told you to stay in your bed and you listened intently. It was awesome! You guys also really liked the Mini Polar Express Train that took you around the parking lot. Mom had to ride with you because Declan was scared, but you had a blast!
The next day we had Breakfast with Santa at Cor Jesu. You guys had a great time doing the crafts and playing the games. Per usual, Declan did not handle the Santa thing very well, but you loved it! We had a great time!
And the next morning was St. Nick's Day. You guys were so excited to see what St. Nicholas put in your stockings:
The next week, we decided to head out to the Museum of Transportation to see the Macy's Train display. You guys loved it! We also saw some live reindeer and you got to sit on Santa's lap AGAIN!
We of course have been trying to teach you about the real meaning of Christmas and we brought that to light this year with the Advent Wreath. You LOVED lighting the candles before each meal and got really excited as the weeks passed by and we got to light another candle. You also liked the "Light the Advent Candle" song we sang as we lit each one.
We also celebrated Christmas at your school. We had a nice time eating food together and I enjoyed watching you play with your friends!
We also had some friends over to our house to celebrate Christmas. You had a great time with Braden, Cate, Garrett, and Audrey.
Then Christmas was FINALLY here! We started off with Christmas Eve at Gram and Poppy's house. You had a fun time playing with your cousins and opening Christmas gifts:
Then on Christmas morning, we opened gifts from Santa at our house. You were so excited that you got a toy Metra Train just like the one we rode on in Chicago! You also got a new bike, although you liked riding Declan's around the house that day . . .
Then of course we celebrated New Year's Eve. We got out all the New Years stuff and you found the hat that you mommy and daddy put on you for your first New Years. You wanted to wear it again, so I put it on you and took another picture just like your first New Years:
Later that night we headed over to Beth and Drew's house to celebrate. You and Declan both made it up until midnight! We had a great time playing games and eating yummy food together to bring in the New Year:
In January, we celebrated daddy's 35th birthday! You guys loved the cookie cake we made for him and you really enjoy singing happy birthday!
We got a bit of snow around the middle of January and you and Declan were thrilled! School was closed so you went over to Gram's house and since Aunt E was off too, she came over and played with you in the snow! It was a great snow day!
You still love bacon and get really excited on bacon day at school. This particular day, you had just dropped your bacon and you were crying. The tears dried up when I brought you some more.
You and brother are really enjoying snuggling under covers this winter. You love to sit in your chairs on movie Friday and share a blanket:
You and Declan do a lot together these days. You both still really like The Jungle Book and you always make sure to scratch your back when that part of Bare Necessities comes on:
You also love to "read" to your brother. His favorite book right now is "A Crack in the Track" and luckily you have it memorized. You think it is so much fun to "read" it to him.
Life has been good and it just keeps getting better! I love you Alex!
Love,
Mom
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