Catching Up #3 - Reed Turns Four!

Well, I just can't believe it - Reed turned FOUR.  I know I say this every single year, but four?  I mean that's like a kid, no longer a toddler.  He really is just the cutest thing and we are so very blessed to have him in our lives.  He is so sweet and caring, cute and happy.  He is always giving everyone hugs and kisses, telling people that he loves them.  He is so good to his sister and loves his family.  He is a true joy in our life. 

As mentioned before, Grandma and Papa came to visit for his birthday.  Sunday was the big day, we got up and went to church.  Before we left, however, Grandma and Papa gave him the gift they got for him - a brand new peddle bike! 

He was excited about it but was a bit afraid of riding it.  We will have to spend a little time with him in a flat parking lot to help him get the hang of it.  It's quite a step up, but he'll do great once he gets the hang of it. 

Nora hanging out while Reed checks out his new bike.

We went to church and had a picnic after.  It was a nice warm sunny day, a nice time to spend outside.  Unfortunately, it got a little rainy and chilly in the afternoon.  We decided to move the birthday celebration inside for the evening.

When we got home from church, it was nap time and when he got up, he opened his presents from us.

Lala got him an easel to do art and some other goodies.

 He loves spiderman

 A new soccer ball

 

Reed asked for a Spiderman cake, so that was easy.  We only had 3 of his friends over for his party (last year was a tad overwhelming for him and we wanted to keep it small this year).  Sorry for anyone that didn't get to come, I just had to limit!  Anyway, we did an art party.  Reed also asked for a treasure hunt, so we put together a little scavenger hunt that ended in art party!

 Prepping for the party - added a few more spiderman's to the cake. 

 Nora helping to set up?

We started the party with the hunt.  They would get a clue and have to go to the place to get the next clue.  They were so cute working together to figure it out.  It took a few stops to get the hang of it, they were so excited about the last few stops once they figured it out.  Here they are getting clue number 2.

My clue was the last one, so I made them take a picture before they got the clue.  From L to R - Ava, Reed, Jane and Liam.  They are all within a few months in age.  They are so cute together!

 

 So off they went to the final clue which was the garage where we had a whole art studio set up. They each got a goodie bag of art supplies and went to town. 

Ava

Jane

Liam

Reed

Even the little kids did a little art - but not much.

 They lasted a good 20 minutes or so before they claimed that their art was done!  Then it was inside for hot dogs, brats, chips, fruit salad, coleslaw and capri-suns! 

 Nora was ready for some cake!

Next up, cake!  

 I love this picture!

 I have to tell a cute story about this picture.  Reed was getting a little bratty prior to his birthday so the night before I had a little talk with him about people saying Happy Birthday to him the next day.  He was starting to get really bratty when people were saying it to him and he would just shy behind my leg and look at the ground and ignore people.  So the night before his birthday I told him that people were going to say happy birthday to him all day the next day and that he needed to be happy about it and politely say "thank you" and look them in the eye.  We even practiced around the house.  So the next day, he was doing a great job with it.  I was so proud!  We get to this moment, singing the birthday song and when we sang the line "happy birthday dear Re-ed...", he interrupted us and said "thank you" as we sang the last line.  That is a true description of this kid!

 Well after the cake, it was play time and wind down.  Reed opened his gift from G-Pa later (forgot it in the basement earlier!) London likes to help.

 

 A couple days later, he got his gift from Gabby in the mail!

 

We really do love this kid.  I hope he felt loved and appreciated on his birthday.  He is pretty darn excited about being four, he mentions it often.  I now use this as an eating technique - well you're four, you have to have four more bites.  He has accepted this very well so far.

Some things that I love about this little boy:

• He has made up a few phrases that are really funny - "I magiced it" meaning he made it disappear or reappear.  "I win you up" meaning I will race you and will win.  "I wish I want" then fill in the blank.  
• He is really sweet to his sister most of the time.  He likes playing with her and loves to make her laugh.  He gives her kisses and hugs.  I love that almost most of all.
• He always tells us (and most people) how much he loves them.  He'll say "hey mom, guess what?  I love you" or "hey mom, did you know that I love you?".  
• He will also talk about his family a lot.  How there are 3 boys (including London) and two grirls (that's how he says it). How he loves his family.
• He is very adventurous.  See below photos, he was absolutely launching himself off the rocks in our yard.  He jumped off the high dive in Moab not once but four times.  He did the big waterslide (which is pitch black most of the run) at least 25 times.  He skis really fast.  But at the same time, he is cautious. 

Thank you to everyone that made Reed feel special and loved not only on his birthday but every single day.  I can't wait to see what the next year brings and what kind of person he grows up to be. 

Catching Up #2 - Grandma and Papa Fogg Visit

I'll address Reed's birthday specifically in the next post, but this one is dedicated to Grandma and Papa Fogg visiting.  They obviously came for Reed's birthday, be we also did a bunch of fun stuff with them while they were here.  It ended a bit rough, but we'll get to that.

G and P came in on Wednesday evening.  They stayed with the kids on Thursday while Fogg and I worked.  Friday, we went down to Thanksgiving Point south of Salt Lake.  I was hoping to hit up a baby animal birthday party event they had listed on their site, but apparently there was an error on their part and it was later in the day.  Thanksgiving Point has all kinds of activities, a little shopping area, a dino museum, a farm area, a garden area.  We went first to the farm area with about a bajillion kids on field trips - yuck.  The day was a tad blustery and started to rain later.  When we made it through the farm area, we had a quick lunch then went to the dino museum. The kids loved it all. 

Wild animal!

 Both kids enjoyed the pony ride

 Grandma and Papa took them on a hayride

 Reed found a dino at the museum!

 Water table fun!

They dug for bones at the end

 Friday night Penguins game, all decked out!  Reed is holding his Pittsburgh Penguin for this pick too!

After the museum, we visited Cabela's for a little fudge then back home.  Fogg and I went on our Anniversary date that evening while G and P watched the kids. Saturday was also cold and rainy so we decided to head to the Treehouse Children's Museum in Ogden.  We forgot there was the Ogden Marathon that day (those runners are tough, it was cold and wet!).  But we had fun at the museum then to Costco for lunch and then ran some errands for Reed's party on Sunday. 

President Dick Fogg and baby Nora holding down the Oval Office at the Treehouse.

 

 Serious artists!

 

 See next post for birthday events on Sunday!

Monday we took the day to run some errands, Reed's 4 year well check, a doc appointment for me, groceries, hanging out. Reed's well check went great, he wasn't too excited to begin with but he warmed up to it by the time the doctor came in.  He weighs around 35 pounds, is 42 inches tall, meeting or exceeding all milestones.  And not even any shots! 

Fun with G and P

Good thing everyone loves strawberries, Papa gave them lots to eat!

That evening, Fogg's parents took us out to dinner.  We had a great yummy meal and then went to Farr's ice cream for a little treat.  By the time we got home, Papa wasn't feeling too good, thought he had eaten too much.  He had been fighting what he thought was a cold for the past few days too.  Well, they were supposed to leave on Tuesday morning early.  I got up early to drive them to the airport and learned that he had been up all night very very sick.  They ended up taking him to the hospital for some rehydrating and found that he had a pretty serious infection.  Needless to say, they didn't make their flight that day, or the one the next day!  He ended up spending Tuesday and Wednesday night in the hospital!  I had to fly to Denver on Wednesday for work, so I was pretty much absent that whole day.  He got released on Thursday and they ended up leaving on Friday morning.  Probably not a welcome adjustment for them, we didn't mind having them around a tad longer!  I got them off to the airport on Friday morning then we headed to Moab for the long weekend.  Papa is feeling better and recovering from that scary event. 

Thanks for visiting Grandma and Papa, we love when you come to see us!