Happy Fourth Birthday, Cole!

Yesterday was Cole's fourth birthday.

Not that he would ever admit that.

See, Cole has decided he wants to be three forever.  As a mother who has had a VERY rough year with a certain THREE year old, this was a bit distressing for me.

It was also quite amusing.

(I wish I had filmed him a few weeks ago.  He used to get really mad about it and yell things like "I HATE FOUR!!")

No matter what we said or did, Cole was adamant that he was turning three.  And you know what?  Whatever.  If the kid wants to be three years old then I say let him.  I figure you don't meet too many six year olds who claim to be three, so I'm sure he'll grow out of it eventually.

Cole claimed he wanted to go to the zoo for his birthday.  We hadn't been in so long that I agreed.  Lance even took the day off to help us celebrate.  On the drive down we gave Cole his first fourth third birthday gift: a new digital timer. That boy loves timers, and he's always stealing mine.  Hopefully having his own will cure him of that.

Once we got to the zoo he got his second gift: binoculars!  He sure loved those and wore them around his neck all day!

(His brothers loved them, too, and kept trying to steal them.  I knew there'd probably be trouble with Cole getting gifts, but you know what?  It was his birthday, not his brothers.  They just had to deal with it.) (I'm such a nice mom.)

Okay, here it must be mentioned that, surprisingly and against all odds, Cole and Tess were the best behaved children during our trip.  Seriously, Josh and Spencer fought and whined and complained and FOUGHT the entire time!  I was ready to feed them to the lions.  In Spencer's defense, he was coming down with a pretty nasty cold.  But still.  All the fighting!  And whining!  Yearrghhh, it's gonna be a long summer.

Anways.  Here's four three-year-old Cole by the shark petting area.

And here we are by the penguins.  Oh boy, was Cole amused by those penguins.  He laughed and squealed with delight every time a penguin jumped in or out of the water.  What can I say?  Penguins are pretty entertaining to four three-year-olds.

We had to stop and have a snack.  Josh was offended that I wasn't willing to spend $6.50 on Dippin' Dots for him.  This kid has known me for six and a half years, but it's like he doesn't know me at all...

In other news, Tess was pretty darling in her giraffe print dress.

We ate lunch outside with half a million school children.  Their garbage kept blowing into us, which was pretty fun.  Poor Josh had some blisters on his feet because he wore his new sandals. (Even after his mother warned him not to.)  Poor kid. Towards the end of our trip I carried him around on my back, which he thoroughly enjoyed.

Cute, darling giraffe Tess in front of giraffes!  Tess sure loves Daddy lately.  I'm okay with that.

Cole checking out the lions.  True story: the male lion was getting all settled in on a comfy, sunny rock when a female came up and totally took his spot.  He was like "Oh, you wanted that spot?  Um, okay, I'm cool with that."  He was the wimpiest lion I have ever seen.  It was awesome.

We caved in and let the kids play in the splash pad for a while.  Spencer and Josh had been whining about wanting to go swimming or play in water ALL DAY, so what did they do once we were at the splash pad?  WHINE AND COMPLAIN and not play in the water.  I was ready to pay someone to take them off of our hands.  Fortunately, the birthday boy had a blast.  So much fun, in fact, that I couldn't get him to hold still for a picture!

Tess spent most of the time taking a little siesta.

Finally, it was time for the dolphin show.  Four Three-year-old Cole LOVED IT.  Seriously, every time those dolphins splashed or jumped he'd break out in hysterical giggles.

Despite Spencer and Josh being such dang-blasted punks, it was a good day at the zoo.  I know Cole enjoyed himself, and that's most important, right?

That evening it was finally time for cake.

But first, a little back story.  Cole loves this book:

We inherited it from my Dad this past summer.  (I'm pretty sure it was my mom's when she was a kid, but don't hold me to that.  I just remember always having it when I was a kid.)

Cole really, really loves this book.  As in, for a while there I was reading it to him at least three times a day and Lance was reading it to him every night.  Doing that drives a person a little batty.  The fact that it was written as if translated into English from some little-known Eastern European dialect - and a little poorly at that - makes it even worse.  But oh well, each child has gone through a favorite book faze and Cole's just happens to be the most obnoxious.

The point is, Cole loves that book.  And he loves that fish.  So I made him a fish cake.

Not so bad, right?  I had originally meant to use a fish-shaped pan that my friend Melissa let me borrow, but when I showed it to Cole he said "That's not a fish!  That's a snake!"  And it did kinda look like a snake.  In fact, I realized that it would take a whole lot more talent than I had to use that pan and really make the cake look like a fish.  So I browsed Pinterest and came up with this easier idea.  (Sorry, Melissa!)

Cole loved it.  He didn't even put up a fuss that it had four candles.  Although at the end of the video he still claims to be three. (It's pretty cute.)

He opened a few more presents -

with Spencer's help.

The only time the entire day these two weren't bickering.  It's almost enough to get me to feed them cake all day, just to keep them quiet!

We saved the best gift for last: a green (Cole's favorite color) shirt with his name and the number 4 on it!  Grandpa ElRay and Grandma Susie bought it especially for him, hoping it would help him ease into being four.

It didn't work.

Josh got this fish soap on the last day of school for a classmate's birthday and he decided to give it to Cole.  1) Isn't that totally cute and nice of Josh?  It makes a momma proud. 2) I kinda really like the idea of giving a gift like this instead of pencils or cupcakes or any of the other junk my kids get.  It makes a momma think...

Cole still loves his ABCs so we got him this really cool magnetic toy to help him learn to write his letters.  He loves it.  (It's so hard to find toys for the THIRD boy - I felt pretty proud of myself in finding this one!)

I thought for sure that Cole would take forever to agree to wear his new shirt.  But he surprised me and requested to wear it for bed! (And then this morning while strawberry picking.) Will wonders never cease...

Cole, you are definitely my hardest child.  It's no secret that this past year has been rough.  But I've also learned the most from you and I think you've made me a better mom.  I hope you had a great fourth third birthday, my little Colar Bear!

Things I Want To Remember From Today

This morning, while picking strawberries with the kiddos:

• 7 minutes in: Josh exclaiming "I like picking strawberries" after having complained during the entire 25 minute drive that he did not want to pick strawberries.
• 15 minutes in: Josh asking why we needed to pick so many strawberries. "Well," I explained, "I like to make lots of jam.  Plus, I like to freeze them so we can have strawberries in our smoothies all winter."
• 17 minutes in: Josh bursts into tears because Spencer has convinced him that if we don't pick enough strawberries we will all starve to death this winter.
• 30 minutes in: Cole and Tess's smiling faces are happily covered in strawberry juice.
• 60 minutes in: Spencer and Josh get into a fight about who is picking more and who has picked the biggest berry.
• 80 minutes in: All hell breaks loose.  Cole is tired.  Spencer doesn't want to pick anymore.  Josh is whining, and Tess wants to sit on my lap.  While I'm picking strawberries.
• 81 minutes in: Tess falls down - hard - into my full basket of berries.
• 90 minutes in: I realize that there's no winning this war, and we head home.

Lunch time:

I really needed to mow the lawn, but not all of the kids were hungry, so I made lunch for all of the kids, had Cole and Tess eat, and then put Tess down for a nap.  Then I put Spencer and Josh's lunches on the counter so they could eat when they wanted.  About an hour into mowing the lawn, Spencer came out to complain about his lunch.  "Why did you only make me half of a sandwich?  And where are my strawberries?"

What?

I went in to discover that Cole had eaten all of his lunch, most of Spencers, and was working on Josh's, too! Apparently that boy was HUNGRY.  Then he asked if he could have a banana.  I feel a growth spurt coming on.

This afternoon:

I went out the front door and noticed some odd and rather large weeds laying in the flower bed.  Upon further inspection I realized they were some of the little plants I had planted just last Saturday!!

After a bit of investigation and interrogation, I discovered that Josh had thought they were weeds and had pulled them out to "help" me.  Unfortunately, I yelled.  But then I quickly repented, apologized, and explained that, while I was glad he wanted to help me, he was not to pull anything out of the flowerbeds without my permission.  Ever.  

He scowled and growled.

Dinner time:

We had strawberry shortcake pancakes for dinner, with fresh strawberries and real whipped cream.  You've never seen kids so happy.

And then Josh asked what we were having for dessert.

I scowled and growled.

Last Day of School

Friday was the last day of school.

I know, early, right?  Don't even get me started.  Our school district's calendar is all sorts of weird.  It's almost enough to get me involved with the school board.

Almost.

(Who are we kidding here.  I don't even really like being on the PTO.)

Now that we have two kids in school, the end of the school year seemed like a much bigger deal.  Spencer and Josh were both pretty excited, so I felt like I needed to do a little something to celebrate.  At Easter Spencer had found an egg with a coupon for a treasure hunt in it, so I decided that a treasure hunt would be the perfect thing on the last day of school.  (Especially when I discovered a bunch of books the Easter Bunny had forgotten to put in Easter baskets.  Instant treasure!)

I also decided to finally getting around to making the shirts I was supposed to make during Spring Break.  (That spring break where it snowed and was cold and yucky and not good for short sleeved shirts so why make them?)  Anywho, shirts.

Tess just HAD to be in the picture.

This is the only shot I could get with all four of them.  Children, why will you never all stand next to each other and smile and hold still and look super cute all at once?!?  Oh yeah, because you are children.

School's out for summer for these two!  (For some reason they have both decided they will only smile with their mouths closed, which I think looks a little silly.  But what do I know, I'm only the mom.)

This guy will be in FOURTH GRADE!  How in the world did that happen?

And, despite his best efforts, Josh thrived in Kindergarten.  FIRST GRADE, here he comes!

You'll never guess why Cole was upset - he wanted to GO TO PRESCHOOL.  YOU CAN TELL THIS IS UNFATHOMABLE TO ME BECAUSE I AM YELLING AT YOU WITH ALL CAPS.

Spencer and Josh wanted Minecraft shirts.  If you don't know what Minecraft is and you have a spare 6 hours, Josh and Spencer will gladly explain it to you in intricate detail.  This is Josh's shirt.

Here's Tess.  She is nothing if not fierce.  Unless Daddy's around.  Then she's a total Daddy's girl.  (Which I am absolutely fine with - I actually got to listen to some of sacrament meeting today because of her recent preference for Daddy!)

Cole really likes Daniel Tiger.

Spencer's Minecraft shirt.

That afternoon we went out to meet the bus for one last time.  (At least for a few months.)

The baby and stroller of course had to join us.

The bus!  The bus!

The bus driver gave each child some candy.  Now she'll always have a special place in Josh's heart.  (That boy LOVES candy.)

I even made a banner to welcome them home!  Although "Welcome to Summer" seemed a bit ridiculous since it was only 60 degrees. Stupid weird Indiana spring.

So the treasure hunt began.  Spencer claimed most of the clues were far too easy, but I stumped them a couple times.  Next year I'll have to make it harder.  Here are a few of the places I hid clues:

Under Tess's bed

Under Cole's favorite swing

In the mailbox

In the freezer

Behind the composter

In the bathroom

Tess deemed herself keeper of the old clues, and wandered around like this as Josh and Spencer ran from one clue to the next.  Cole didn't' care about any of it and just watched TV.

The final clue was in the dryer.  See the very large paper on the drawer?  I kid you not, it took them a full minute to actually see it.  (These children of mine... can you understand why you can often hear me reply "Look with your eyes, not with your mouth!" when they claim they can't find something?)

The hunt ended with an old chest of mine on the back porch.  It was full of books and other fun summer toys and such.  (Bubbles, sidewalk chalk, water cups.)

Several days later and the boys are still talking about it.  Guess we've found ourselves a new last day of school tradition!

Also

I don't think we will ever have to worry about Tess being spoiled, even though she is the youngest child and only daughter.  That's because Cole won't allow it.

That boy cannot leave her alone.

They bicker and fight and clash all the time.  Okay, they also get along pretty well sometimes.  And if someone outside the family even hints at bothering Tess?  You'd better watch out because Cole will become as overprotective of her as a as an angry rottweiler.

Still.  The fighting.  And the pushing.  And the hitting.  And the screaming and yelling and AAAAHHHHH!

It really drives me nuts.

It's gotten to the point that if Cole even looks at Tess the wrong way she starts screaming and wailing as if she's been stabbed.  I kinda just ignore it all now, probably to the detriment of both.  But what's a Momma to do?

Also.

I have some dang boxwood bushes in my front flowerbed that are dying.  I can't figure out why.  But it's okay because I'm not a huge fan of them anyways.  But I'm having a hard time figuring out what to replace them with because the front flowerbed is mostly shady and I can't seem to find anything that needs less sunlight that I actually like.  Oh, and they need to be kinda taller plants.  Any suggestions?  I really want peonies, but I don't know if they'd get enough sun.  Hmmm...

I also think I'm gonna go crazy and buy a ton of impatiens for part of the front flower bed.  They're pretty.

Also.

My back yard neighbor - the one that built his own pond - is out digging holes for some new trees.  They're pretty good-sized trees and he has a big borer-thingy that is making simple work of the job.  I want to plant some pear trees this weekend and really want to ask him to dig those holes for me.  But I don't really know him and am not in the habit of asking strange men to dig tree holes for me.

Also.

Today is the last day of school.  Spencer and Josh are pretty super excited, and Cole and Tess have no idea of what's going on.

I go back and forth on the whole thing.  It'll be nice not to have to stick to such a strict schedule, especially in the mornings.  But this will definitely be tempered mid-summer when they're refusing to entertain themselves and complain all day long that they're bored.  I'm trying to come up with activities and such, but a mom can only do so much, right?

Also.

Cole claims he wants to go to preschool.  I'm hopeful, but I'll believe it when I see it this fall.

Also.

We have three Laurels in YW who are graduating this year.  It's fun to watch and talk to them about it.  They are so excited and happy and hopeful for the future!  I think about my high school graduation and remember that I felt the same way.  And I felt so grown up and ready to take on the world!  Looking back, though, I realize just how very young and inexperienced I was.  How in the world were my parents brave enough to let me go off to school?  Or perhaps they were very, very ready to get me out of there.  Haha.

Finally.

I'm feeling kinda weird again.  Not a ton - just kinda.  I'm beginning to wonder if my hormones are out of whack again.  I just switched the doctor who will be monitoring my hypothyroidism, so I'm waiting for my records to be sent to him and then I have to talk to him about getting bloodwork done and perhaps changing my med dosage.  It's frustrating to have to wait when I really just want to feel normal again.

Mystery Scat

For the past few summers we have had mystery poop show up on our porch. It shows up in each corner.

I'm pretty sure that it's coming from the ceiling, because some of it is on the walls, stuck in spider webs and such.

Anyone have any ideas?  I've never seen any pests or anything.  So weird.

A Few More Pics

Here are a few more pics from our photo session that I wanted to remember.  Some are good.  Mostly they just make me laugh.  Oh man, my family.

Remember how I said Tess refused to take her hand out of her mouth?  Yeah, 90% of our pictures had her looking like this.

Yeah, showing this picture is my revenge.  Good one, Tess.

Apparently, only Cole and Josh don't adore this little girl, punk that she is.

My cutie-pie Josh.  He's gonna be a heartbreaker some day, especially if he'll grow his curly hair out just a bit.

What a surprise!  Tess pouted!

And scowled.

And stuck out her tongue.  Two-year-olds are entertaining.  It's kinda sad to think that she'll be our last two-year-old around the house.  Kinda, but not really.

Everybody just behave!!

Tess conducts a symphony in her head.

Cole pontificates.