4 Years Old and Legoland

Today we had Trenton's 4 year old well check, and then went to Legoland afterward.  He's getting bigger!  He weighs 34 lbs fully clothed and is 40.5 in tall.  We are monitoring a minor umbilical hernia (he's had it since a baby) to see if surgery is needed in the future.  They watch it until after 5 years old because typically they close on their own.  The doctor also said he has signs of environmental allergies....pollen, dust mites, grass, etc. with slightly darker circles under the eyes.  It is nothing to see an allergist about but he said Zyrtec might help periodically and you may go through times when allergies effect him.  (Isn't that everyone in the south?) All in all, the doc was happy and proud of this boy! 

 Playing at Legoland.

 Riding the ride with Granna.

Building with the giant legos. 

 Sliding

 Hi Mr. Giraffe!  Bennett loves statues of anything.  Opa built Bennett a car for the racetrack.

 Ready, set......

 Go!  Bennett pushes the start button to release the starting gate.

 He watches his car race down the track.

 And gets so excited everytime it happens!

 Opa takes Bennett to the high, inclined ramp.

 He has a good view of the track and his car from here.

 Building again with duplo legos.  These are the popular kind around our house, so both really enjoy them.

Thanks for taking us to Legoland, Granna and Opa!

MLK Afternoon

We spent the afternnoon outside once we woke from naps.  We walked to the neighborhood playground in the wagon and then climbed on the dome climber at our house. 

 

MLK Day at the Zoo

We couldn't have asked for a better day to go to the zoo, and lucky for us, Opa is now retired. (He's tired of working, according to Trenton.) We arrived right when it opened and stayed until lunch.  It was Bennett's first time to truly enjoy and take in all the animals and events happening around him. 

 Opa and Bennett watching the elephants snap bamboo with their trunks and then eat it. 

 We also caught feeding time for the gorillas later in the morning.  They were all running around and extremely active. 

 Mommy in the nest with her boys.

 Both boys enjoyed riding up and down on the carousel.  It was man on man coverage.  I had Bennett and Opa had Trenton for this ride. 

Then Opa got Bennett for the train ride.  He was very serious with it. 

Pop! Pop! Pop!

 It's popcorn time!  I cannot believe we haven't pulled out the popcorn machine sooner.  We used to eat it all the time.  Then, we put our house on the market when Trenton was  1 1/2 and we didn't see the thing again for years while it was in storage.  However, since our move, it's been sitting on our shelf.  We  pulled it out and the boys helped make a bowl of popcorn for movie night. 

 The boys helped dump the ingredients and had fun watching the kernels pop before their little eyes.

Trenton dug right in!  Bennett enjoyed his cup, too, but we soon added goldfish to his out of fear of him choking.  

 Don't forget the milk!

The lights were dimmed, a fire was blazing and Turbo was playing.  Movie night had begun!  Bennett last for about 10 mins before his busy body personality (maybe more age) took over.  He wanted to play instead.  Trenton watch a good bit of it before heading to bed.  It was a nice, relaxing way to end the weekend.

Trash Collector

What is it about boys and trash?  Both our kids have LOVED to help with the trash.  Trenton was obsessed as a baby and now he has passed the gene onto Bennett.  Bennett  thoroughly enjoys for you to hand him little pieces of trash to put in any trash can, and he will drop anything to go take the trash out with his daddy.  He literally runs at the sound of the word, and Kevin can't even think about going without him because he'll melt down.  We are thankful for this helpful stage. 

Turtle Power!

We hosted Trenton's 4th birthday party at our house.  It was a wild couple of hours with 22 boys running around and 3 additional arm babies.  (So many of his friends have siblings around Bennett's age and we always want to treat it as a family affair.)  It was only around 10 families, and we attempted to somewhat keep the numbers low by not inviting girls since it was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle theme.  It did help, I'm sure, but we missed that calm estrogen!  Needless to say, our spacious house was still packed, because we couldn't utilize the yard with the cold January temperatures.  At least we were able to divide into sections of the house.  Some mingled in the family room, others played in the main level playroom, a few talked in the kitchen, but most gathered downstairs where the "turtle training camp" took place and bounce house were inflated.  We also had the large kitchen area for pizza and cake.  It was amazing how almost everyone could gather around for the singing in that one room!  I love our kitchen!  All in all, it was a success!  I had fun preparing, Trenton adored his decorations (he has them up in his bedroom now and one of his friends took home a set of turtle faces, too), there was good food, the kids had a blast, no one got hurt, and I slept the best I had in weeks that night!  :)   

 The mantle:  Happy Birthday banner, turtle figures, weapons, pictures of T as a turtle

 Barb the Cake Lady's amazing TMNT cake!  It was delicious....along with looking so cute!

I would recommend her to anyone!  We've used her for all the kids' parties!

 Nunchucks for all the kids.  Good thing they were soft and fun!

Inside the party favor goodie pizza boxes: frisbee, ooze (bubble wand), turtle pens, turtle stickers, and a 1-9 foam counting turtle mat.

Take home treat pizza boxes stacks and ready for delivery.  The sewer lid platter.

The dining room was the food area.  Of course, there was pizza.  We had items for each turtle: Leo's lemon-oze (lemonade), Mikey's munch (Cheetos), Donny's staffs (pretzels dipped in white chocolate with sprinkles), and Raph's ropes (red licorice), spearmints (ninja stars), turtle fruit snacks, and....

 A turtle-y awesome fruit salad for each character's colors. 

 Mikey's munch.....but I'm just now noticing I put Mickey's Munch!  LOL! 

 Eating utensils were kept in turtle buckets.  (ribbon and googly eyes) 

 Trenton, Hudson C. and Will jumping around!

 Rollins, Hudson, Sawyer and Mr. Justin as the turtle clan!

 Trenton and Hudson from his class.

 Boys will be boys.  Bouncing and rowdiness went hand in hand.  The house was always full of kids!

 We took a bounce break to eat our pizza dinner.  Trenton chose his birthday chair.

Loved the Target Ninja turtle cups!  We came out with only 1 spill! The boys could take them home with them, too, as favors with their pizza goodie box. 

 Our large kitchen table seated almost the entire party guests!  It was amazing!

They played again briefly while we cleared dinner plates.  Then, it was time for cake!

 Happy Birthday to Trenton!  Daddy brought in the turtle cake!

 He blew the candles out before I could get a picture.  Oh well!  Trenton and Jack P. took out his candles and we ate the yummy cake!

 Trenton insisted on opening presents.  I never do this at parties.  It is too crazy and this event reminded me why.  Too many hands all at once.  Trenton enjoyed the crowd (Hudson C., Chase, Hudson S., Maddox, Gabe.......all anxious to see Trenton's new toys!)

 Mommy surrendered while the kids screamed in delight as they tore into the presents.  I sure hope we get our thank you cards right!  Two words.....mad house! 

We made the executive decision to scratch the pinata during the party as soon as we saw all those sweet, hyper boys.  It was the BEST decision, but.....mommy didn't want to get stuck with a pinata full of candy so we broke into it with the last couple families.  William, Carter and Bennett watch from the stairs as the swinging gets started.

 Trenton, Will, Bennett and Chase whacked big, but it never opened.  So, Trenton tore into the sucker.

Thank you cousin Chase and the Rutkowski and Vasell family for helping distribute the bundle of sugar!