Birthday Boy

 

This wonderful little boy had a birthday this past week and went and turned 4 on us.

This kid was one of the happiest babies I have ever known.  Seriously happy.  He hardly ever made a peep and always had a smile for you.  He was a champion sleeper, and was always content to just hang out and watch all of the happenings going on.  And he was the best snuggler.  Definitely my snuggliest baby.

Then around the time he started walking, his snuggling days were over, and he turned into the busiest kid I have ever known.  Busier than all of my other 3 kids put together at that age.  There was a time Trent and I didn't know if we'd be able to make it without pulling all our hair out.  It seemed like all I did all day was go from one mess to another to clean up.  And we're not talking little messes.  We're talking an inch of water on the wood floors (yes, they were a little warped), or a bucket of flour dumped all over the kitchen floor, or everyday having to wade through the pile of tupperware on the kitchen floor to be able to get to the fridge or stove.  And then there was the stage he went through where if he found any type of writing utensil, it was sure to be on the walls, couch, or whatever he could find in his reach to color on.  And the climbing.  Oh the climbing!  I can't tell you how many times I walked into the kitchen to find him standing on the counters, or saw him with a stool on top of a chair and him standing on top of it all.  It's amazing my heart hasn't stopped by now.  Once he figured out he could climb other things, it took him no time at all to figure out how to climb out of his crib, which ended his champion sleeping habits for the next 2 years.  While Preston was still a very happy boy (albeit destructively happy), he also started to have some seriously insane temper tantrums.  I had never seen anything like it.  And they would come on in an instant, with no warning whatsoever.  And of course, him being a toddler, there was no reasoning with him.  At.  All.  (My mom always wished a kid just like I was on me, and I guess I got one.)  ;)

The last six months there has been a big change in him.  He is easier to reason with.  His tantrums are fewer and don't last as long.  He'll stay in his bed now to fall asleep.  He still climbs things a lot, but I am more confident in his climbing and balancing abilities now, so it doesn't bother me as much. ;)  He is super snuggly again and comes to me all throughout the day for hugs and kisses.  I can take him to the store again without anymore embarrassing episodes, and without losing him.  He is much better at staying with me now. :)  Most of all, he just makes me laugh.  He says and does the funniest things every day.  I am so grateful for the day he came to join our family.  He has been such a joy, and I don't think I would be as patient as I am now if it weren't for him.  (Not that I am super patient or anything, but more than I was before Preston became a toddler.)  :)

This year for his birthday, Preston asked for a Choo Choo Train cake.  Whenever I would ask him what he wanted for his birthday, that was his response.  "A Choo Choo Train cake."  He had seen one that my friend Cheryl had made for her son on his third birthday, and there was no swaying him.  That was all he wanted.  Now, there are several things I can do, but cake decorating is not one of them.  The fanciest I get is two round cakes stacked on top of each other, and even that doesn't turn out so well for me sometimes.

Like last year for Preston's birthday, for instance.  The cake totally fell apart on me!  So when I told Preston that I didn't know how to make a train cake, this didn't sway him at all.  He said, in his matter-of-fact way of speaking, "Cheryl knows how.  She can make it."  When I told him I wasn't going to ask Cheryl to make his cake, that didn't deter him.  That is still what he wanted.  The ONLY thing he wanted.  So I sweated over how I was going to make this cake for about 2 weeks.  Cheryl was so kind as to email me the directions, thank heavens, otherwise I would have had no idea where to begin!

Four sheet cakes of the Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Sheet Cake recipe, and about 6 tubs of frosting later, we had built a Choo Choo Train cake.  Preston was thrilled!  And I was thrilled when it was finally done!  I went a little overboard on the size of the cake, so if he ever asks for another one, I will know to make it a bit smaller. :)

He got a little shy and embarrassed when we were singing "Happy Birthday" to him.  He had his face covered the whole time.

He got over it in time to blow out the candles though.

He was very excited about his new remote control monster truck.  I have accidentally called it a remote control car a few times, and he is always quick to tell me, "It is not a car.  It is a remote control monster truck."  All in a disgusted tone of voice.  ;)  Sorry buddy... I'll get it right one of these days.

We of course had our balloon launch, but everyone was too quick to let them go before I could get a picture, so here is the after picture.

 

Happy birthday sweet boy!  We sure love you!

Christmas Break

We had a very fun and busy December this year.  Here are a few of the highlights.

Vivi and her friend Brooklyn were in four different dance recitals together.  (And they were all in one weekend!)

Colson had a choir concert, which he had a solo in, and Trenton had a band concert a few days later, but I don't have any pictures. :(

Preston's Joy School class had an adorable Christmas program that they did for all the parents, and they got to go to an assisted living home and perform for a whole bunch of grandmas and grandpas.  (Preston just hid behind the food cart the whole time for that one.  Little booger.)

 Trent's parents surprised us all with a carriage ride around downtown Denver.  So much fun!  The kids absolutely loved it.  Cousin Trey was in town, so he got to come too.

My favorite part of the ride... Seeing the City and County building all lit up.

We spent Christmas Eve at mom and dad Stock's.  Mom made a delicious prime rib dinner, some stories were read, we sang Christmas carols together, and Santa popped in for a surprise visit!

And the kids all got to open one present that night.

New pajamas of course! :)

 They had a great Christmas.

All the boys.  (Except Preston.  He was done with pictures by this point.)  Note the smile on my brother's face.  (Top left)  He is not a fan of getting his picture taken, and I was giving him a really hard time about never smiling for pictures, so he gave me this cheeser grin.  Enjoy it now folks because it is probably the last one you will ever see.  We are lucky if we can even get him to look at the camera, let alone smile when one is pointed anywhere near his direction.  Little turd. ;)  (You know I love ya Dus.)

 A few days after Christmas, Trent took Cal (for the first time) and went with his dad and a few others on a little hunting trip over to Colby, KS.  They had a great 3 days trudging through weeds and grass up to their waists, and shooting  birds.  Cal was in his element.  The poor dog's feet were cracked and bleeding, and his face and chest were red and swollen from the weeds and grass, but he didn't care.  He would have kept going and going if Trent would have let him. 

The glory of the hunt. ;)

The day after he got back from hunting, Trent took the three oldest kids on their first ski/snowboard trip.  The were having a great time until Trenton and Colson both threw up on the ski hill.  They weren't even together when they did it.  I don't know if the altitude had gotten to them or what.  So they ended up coming home early, which Vivi was totally bummed about.  The good news is the ski school gave them all rain checks, so they can go back up and try again.

 New Year's day, we took the kids over to a fun hill by grandma and grandpa Stock's so they could all try out the new sleds they got for Christmas.  (Since it had finally snowed!)  Again, no pictures.

It was another wonderful Christmas break for the Stock's.  It is always so hard to want to send my kids back to school after having them home that long. (I always enjoy a little break of not having to have a schedule.)

Baby Cakes

 Dec. 13, 2010 was the day of our big ultrasound.  We had decided that this time we would find out the sex of the baby.  Trent had mentioned to one of his co-workers, Claire, that our ultrasound was coming up, and she told Trent, "You have to get a baby cake!"  We had never heard of a baby cake before.  When she explained to us what it is, we loved the idea, especially since it involved all the other kids.

The idea of a baby cake is to not find out at the ultrasound what you are having.  What you do is have the ultrasound tech write it down and put it in an envelope, then take it to a bakery and have them make a pink cake if it's a girl and a blue cake if it's a boy.  Then you can get the whole family together and all find out at the same time.

Instead of taking ours to a bakery, we had our ultrasound tech call our friend Cheryl (who was so sweet to make the cake for us) and let her know what the baby was. 

That night after dinner, we got the family all together, and Cheryl and her family came over, cut into the cake to find out...

It's a girl!

We are so grateful to Claire for this great idea!  It was so much fun.  And we are especially grateful to our wonderful friends, the Lees, for making and decorating the cake for us!

Thanks Cheryl!

California: Day 6

Our last full day in California was spent at Legoland.  Out of the three theme parks we visited that week, my kids repeatedly said that this was their favorite.

 There were dinosaurs, animals, cars, and many, many other things built out of Legos throughout the entire park.  Trenton and Colson both decided that they both want a job at Legoland when they grow up.  Then they can build Legos to their hearts content (one of their most favorite things to do) and get paid for it at the same time. ;)

 Vivi loved being able to drive a car by herself.  She did really well.  I'm still not looking forward to her being 16 and having her driver's license anytime soon.

I opted out on this ride.  But I sure had fun watching everyone soak each other.

 There were a couple of rides Preston couldn't go on, but he kept himself amused by going down this slide no less than 14 times.

 We saw more princesses.

 This was my most favorite part of the park.  They had entire cities built out of Legos!

The Lincoln and Washington memorials.

 

 

All of the above are from Washington DC.

Now on to Las Vegas.

Parts of New England.

 We went on a boat tour to see different attractions from around the world.

 Half of the New York skyline was being redone, but it takes over 6,000,000 Legos for the whole thing is built.  Whoa!  As we were leaving, we saw a sign that said over 30,000,000 Lego bricks were used to make all of the different animals, dinosaurs, buildings, robots, etc. displayed throughout the park.  It was amazing to see all of the things that can be made out of Legos.

So that concludes our week in California.  We had so much fun!