Our Weekend - A Pictoral Timeline

We had a fun, busy weekend!  I figured that I should just post a bit of a timeline of our weekend with the pictures to match!

Friday, 12:30PM - My mom and Katie came by with Mason!  He was staying with them this weekend, so they stopped by to visit!  We were all very excited to see him - I think he got dragged around the whole house by the big kids!   They were definitely more interested in him than they are in their own baby brother.

Friday, 5:30PM - Reesie had a make up soccer game.  She has just become such a fun kid to watch at soccer this season!  She is aggressive, and she chases after the ball.  No standing around dancing for her!  Right after this picture was taken she actually yelled at the little boy on the left - "Hey!  Give me that ball!"  She sounded MEAN.  I asked her why she did it, and she said, "I just wanted to scare him so he would run to his Mommy and I could have the ball."  The team she was playing had another little boy that was basically sticking his arm out to hold her from the ball, and I love that she just kept up and didn't back down!  I missed the last half of the game (let's just say that Wyatt had some behavioral issues), but Brian said that she went one on one with one kid for a good 3 or 4 minutes and she finally scored.  It's awesome because the parents of the other kids on the team cheer so loud for her!  They actually started calling her their "All-Star."  Ha!

Saturday, 9:00AM - Soccer for Wyatt!  #4 scores a goal!  After he scores a few goals his coaches usually move him to play sweeper.  He thinks it's so fun because he's learning to play a new position!  I have to say that his coach is really supportive of him, and seems to enjoy teaching him new things, and developing new skills.  He has a really great time playing soccer!  I was really pleased with the improvement that we saw in his sportsmanship that day.  If the other team scored, he didn't get angry.  We need to keep working on it, but I know it will improve!

After soccer we ran to Target and Brian picked up baseball cards for his team (okay, and a hot dog for me).  We rushed home so that I could feed the kids lunch and we could get ready for more fun!

Saturday, 12:00PM - T-ball.  Oh. My. Word.  I have taken on a bit of a role with the team now, too.  One of Brian's assistants had to go out of town for several weeks, so I'm now in charge of getting the kids lined up on the bench and making sure they bat in order.  And that they cheer for their team.  Well, Mr. Wyatt went to get his helmet after he dropped it on the wrong side of the fence, and he walked right past one of his friends who was on deck.  He got hit with the bat on his side, just above his hip.  I know it hurt him, but I'm pretty sure he was more embarrassed than anything.  He sat on my lap for the rest of that half of the inning.   Then he ran to the outfield like nothing happened.  He has a nasty bruise though!

He played in the outfield for two innings, and he also got to play first base.  He really likes first base (or really any position in the infield), because he likes to get outs!

After baseball Brian and I got some lunch, and ate in the car on the way to look at trophies for the team!  We rushed home and he got the boys settled down for naps and quiet time while I got Reesie ready for a birthday party for her friend Ryan!

Saturday, 3:00PM - Birthday party at a bounce house!  We usually avoid those places like the plague. I really think that they're diseased and rarely clean.  Plus, we know too many people (our cousin, a friend, Joba Chamberlain) who have broken bones there.  If it had been a birthday party for one of Wyatt's friends I probably would have declined.  But Reesie loves Ryan, this was at the cleanest bounce house I know of, and it was just Reese (meaning that the chances of her being as rough as her brother were minimal), so we went!  I'm glad we did - she had A LOT of fun!  In fact, pretty much everyone there said that they won't go to any other bounce house because this one is so nice!

Apparently everyone took advantage of nap time while we were gone, so we stayed up late and watched Star Wars.  Everyone, including Hudson, loved it.  I mean, not me, but I was able to nap on the couch while they watched!

Sunday, 8:30AM - Everyone enjoyed the movie the night before, so we decided to give The Empire Strikes Back a shot.  Wyatt doesn't know "the truth" about Darth Vader, so this would be his first chance to find out.  He wasn't as attentive as we thought he would be, but Hudson sure loved it!  When Darth Vader told Luke that he was his father, Wyatt wasn't paying attention.  Then he said he didn't believe him.  Because bad guys lie to good guys.  And because Anakin Skywalker is in Heaven.  Brian apparently also didn't believe it until he saw Return of the Jedi, so I guess that's just what happens (to geeks)!

Sunday, 1:00PM - The van gets a much needed cleaning.  I even took the car seats out to clean them.  And replace straps after a nosebleed incident.  It looks so empty without the car seats!

I also pimped out the van this week with our Disney World family stickers!  It took me 4 years to get the whole set (the mom was the hardest to find).

 

While I was vacuuming out car seats, Hudson took that as an opportunity to sit in his in the house!

We spent the rest of Sunday watching sports (the Yankees, hockey playoffs, NBA Finals, etc.) while we counted down waited for bed time.  Well, Brian did yard work while we watched that stuff.  Everyone had a pretty early night, except me.  Putting car seats back together is no joke.  Fortunately, I had the Real Housewives of Jersey to get me through it all!

(BIG) Baby News!

Since I am now 20 weeks along (!) with baby number 4, we had our anatomy scan today!

We (mainly the kids) have been calling the baby, "Baby Mickey or Minnie" for a few weeks.  So I shared this photo on Facebook this morning before we left!

 

 Reese has wanted to come with us to find out since we asked her about it, but Wyatt has insisted that he just wanted to stay home!  I think he was afraid that I would need to have surgery to find out what the baby is, and he wanted no part of that!  Ha!

I explained that we were just going to have a camera put on my tummy, but he still declined.  Then I remembered that he had class pictures today, so we decided to just send him there.  Our appointment was at 8 (and it was an hour away with traffic), so Brian's mom got here at 7 to watch Hudson, and Wyatt, Reese and I left to drop Wyatt off with my mom so she could take him to school.  Then Reese and I made our way to the appointment, and Brian met us there!

It felt like we had to wait forever to go back, but she finally called us into the ultrasound room!  Reese even hijacked my hand from Brian and held it when the tech was doing the ultrasound! She asked Reese what she wanted and she said, "a sister!"  Well....

SHE GOT HER WISH!  And I got my not so secret wish!

 

We are very, very, very excited to welcome our fourth little baby, and our second GIRL this September!  And it works out perfectly because Reesie is a late August girl, and this little one will be born within a week or two of her birthday!  Can you say hand me downs? Although, I have no doubt we'll be making a few more purchases just for her!  Now let the naming "fun" begin!  Ha!

Get on Up, Clap your Hands...

Last Thursday we took the two big kids to see The Fresh Beat Band!  We kept it a secret until we were on our way there.  They thought we were going out to dinner, but we surprised them by telling them that after dinner, we were going to the concert!

Reesie enjoyed her Johnny Rocket's cheeseburger before the show!

Twist, Daddy, and Marina walking from the mall where we had dinner to the concert!

Reesie was very excited before the concert!

Wyatt was excited and I think a little nervous, too!

They both were up and dancing and singing during the first part of the show.  It was great because while we were farther back, there wasn't really a bad seat, so they each got to see everything!

We tried to take a little break and get silly during the intermission!

When we came back from intermission Reesie was a little cranky and tired, so she ended up spending the rest of the concert (there was only about 20 minutes left), crying and sitting on Daddy's lap.  Afterwards though, they just kept talking about what a great time they had seeing Marina, Twist, Shout, and Kiki in concert.

I don't think it lived up to the Imagination Movers concert from last year (which really was awesome), but they still had a great time!

5 Year Check Up

We took Wyatt to the doctor last week for his 5 year check up.  He was not enthused.  Let's just say that he likes going to the doctor, but was not happy about the getting undressed part.  He wanted no part of sitting around the office in just his underwear.  Sigh.  The battles of parenthood.

Before his actual check up with the doctor, we had some important things to check - like his blood pressure.

And of course his height and weight -

44.25 inches tall (76th percentile)

49.25 pounds (91st percentile)

He actually put on 7 pounds this year (he was in the 91st percentile last year,too), and he grew 3.25 inches (he was 67th percentile there last year).  I don't know how he's putting this weight on!  He is the pickiest eater alive, and if I don't make him something that he likes for dinner, he just doesn't eat!

After the check on BP, height, and weight, he headed for his vision and hearing screenings!

It's nice to know that the machine and headphones haven't changed much in the 20 years since I last had my hearing checked.  He thought it was a fun game!

Once we met with the the doctor, he let us know that Wyatt is a good, solid boy!  Basically, we don't have to worry much about his weight because he's well proportioned and "athletically built"!  Ha!  Dr. Jones told us when he was a baby that he had great coordination and good motor skills so he would probably be a great athlete - and now he's built like one! He talked to the doctor at length about his soccer and baseball and basketball, so there's no doubting his love of sports!

I really liked that at this appointment Dr. Jones started talking to Wyatt specifically about his choices, like playing outside, not watching too much TV, making healthy food choices, taking swim lessons and being careful around the pool, wearing sun screen, etc.  It's nice to have someone ELSE tell him all these things! He even talked to him about smoking!  Wyatt said, "I know.  It's disgusting. It makes you sick.  My Mimi's dad died because he smoked too much."

When the doctor asked if Wyatt was eating right Wyatt said, "Vegetables?  I don't eat those!"  He explained that he does eat grapes and oranges and bananas though!  Not the same thing.  He does get LOTS of dairy - cheese, yogurt and milk are some of his favorite things.  I was wondering where all my cheese went - and then I found wrappers in his room.  He's been sneaking cheese when I'm in the laundry room! The doctor said at least he'll have strong bones :).

We have a 4 bite rule, but after the 4 bites, I don't fight him.  If he doesn't want to eat I'm not going to punish him or make him sit at the table all night (yes, I've heard horror stories from my Dad's family), but I'm not going to make him a special meal either!  He also doesn't get a snack in the afternoon if he chose to eat everything but his fruit. But nothing goes to waste! Usually my good eaters just finish whatever Wyatt left on his plate!  Ha!

Easter Weekend

We had an eventful Easter weekend!  We spent most of Saturday morning running errands, and then went straight to my parents house for an early dinner and an Easter Egg Hunt.

Hudson had fun looking for the eggs that Aunt Katie basically left right out in the open for him!

They were each on their second hunt at this point, so it got a little cutthroat!  Ha!  It's a good thing Reese is fast, because she wouldn't get anything if she wasn't!

We had a yummy ham and hung out at their house for awhile.  The kids LOVE my parents house because there are board games from when we were kids, toys that they don't get to play with as often and guitars!  Wyatt also had a fun time wrestling with my Dad, and these kids just love hanging out with their dog Bella.  They only had her for a few months before Wyatt was born, so she's grown up with the kids and she likes having them around.  Even Hudson, who is very weary of dogs, likes to play with Bella!

Saturday night Brian went to the last home hockey game of the season (although he did buy play off tickets, so he'll be going back to some soon), where the team won their 26th game in a row!  While he was at the hockey game that night I decided to try out Mad Men on Netflix.  And now I'm an addict.  It is seriously so good!

We spent Easter Sunday at Brian's parents' house.  Hudson had a lot of fun throwing food at his siblings and cousins.

There were lots of eggs to found (and I think this little girl ate about a half dozen deviled eggs)!

And Wyatt, Colin, Brian, and Baba played a lot of baseball.  In fact, I think Hudson was feeling a little left out!

A Small iPurge and a Few Other Newsworthy Items!

I'm not sharing a WHOLE lot of pictures (I have been such a slacker!), just a few from the last few weeks! 

Wyatt plays for the Dodgers, but he wore his Yankees uniform to practice one day!  He cracks me up with how much he loves wearing Yankees stuff!  We have been having some "sportsmanship" issues, and the first thing I do is tell him he's not wearing a Yankees shirt until he shows me his attitude has improved.  He understands that Derek Jeter is a good sportsman, and it's probably wrong that I tell him that I'm going to buy him a Kevin Youkilis shirt and make him wear that if he's going to be rude and get angry when he gets out.  But it helps get him in line if I tell him that he's acting like a Red Sox player!

Both of the kids are sooooo into the new show Doc McStuffins on Disney Junior!  Reese has been playing "Doc" a lot lately!

On Opening Day we all wore our Yankees gear and had hot dogs for dinner while we watched the game (which didn't last too long - Wyatt had baseball that day, too)!  Reese is wearing a dress that I got her last year that is more like a long-ish shirt now!  Fortunately she had leggings to wear under it!

They were very excited to have on their matching DJ3K shirts.  We bought a collection last summer!

In other  (pretty miraculous) news, on Good Friday (Wyatt's last day of school before break), there was a jet crash.   It's weird to include this on  the blog, but it has been the focus of Wyatt's attention since it happened.  He heard me on the phone, and then just wanted to see it.  Wants to know what caused it.  And whether they're still investigating.

 

Source

You might have heard about it.  It happened very close to where Brian works.  Like so close, that I called him immediately.  He was fine, it landed a few miles down the road, but it was absolutely crazy!  This is what the sky looked like at the oceanfront when Brian went to lunch.

 I have lived here my entire life, and jet noise has been constantly in the background.  I remember that I could always tell a tourist by whether or not they looked at the sky when a jet flew overhead.  No one here looks up.  We know what it is, what it looks like, and that it's loud.  But they were here first! I remember missing the noise when I got to college.  And I can't remember anything like this happening.  But y'all, here's the thing - no one died.  Not the pilots (they ejected safely), and no one in the apartment complex.  A Good Friday miracle for sure!

Everyone just talked about what a good job the pilots did, the First Responders did (and I swear I'm not just saying that because my Dad was one!), it was just amazing.  Amazing.

Reese's Spring Program!

Reese's spring program was the day after Wyatt's - and the weather was NOT very springy.  It was a cold, cold day. 

We went to pick out her dress for her "performance" and she picked this one! I gave her a few to choose from because I wanted to make sure her shoes and sweater already matched, but then she did the picking!

Her class and the "grand finale!"

They did their Easter Egg hunt on a separate day (thank goodness), so we went straight back to her classroom.  We only had to bring in tablecloths for her party - and Brian picked them out at Target the night before!

Reesie and Daddy!

We LOVE that their school does such big "productions" for Halloween and Christmas and Easter.  They have a lot of fun, and I know it's special for the kids to have us come in!  They each have a party at the end of their unit each month, but they know these are special because Mommy and Daddy and their grandparents get to come to their programs!

Wyatt's Spring Program

We had a busy week before spring break!  Each kid had a party and a spring program on a different day!  That Wednesday Wyatt had his class party.  I was tasked with bringing in the "sweet treat" for this party, and I decided to make these cupcakes that I came across on The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking.  The were really easy, and they turned out really well!  Of course, my picky guy wouldn't touch the coconut, but what else is new?!

The first part of the program is the "performance."  First the three year old came out, then Wyatt's class, followed by the kindergarteners.  They sang some really cute spring songs!

The final song is the "grand finale" where all of the kids sing together!

After the kids got back to their classrooms, Wyatt's class had an Easter Egg hunt on the playground.  They were allowed three eggs, and then they were told to help their friends.  Wyatt is helping his friend Kyle find some  eggs!

He was very excited!

We stayed for a little bit to watch the "party in action," and then we headed out!  It's not easy to keep up with the other two while his class parties, but Wyatt's teacher made a spot for Reese and she got her own plate.  She was very excited!  Wyatt wasn't!  I don't think he wanted his sister sharing in his celebration.  Ha!

This wasn't his last day of school before break, they still had to go on Friday, which was crazy because all the public schools were closed!  I'm pretty sure that we used to call these days "throw away days" when I was in school - but I didn't care!  He was going.  It turns out that they got to meet the Easter Bunny, so he had a pretty fun day!

And just in case you're interested in seeing him in action (grandparents!) -

Still here!

I'm still here!  I promise!  I took a bit of a blog break over the last week or so.  We celebrated Easter, spent time with family, went to practices, had about a half dozen play dates, saw The Fresh Beat Band in concert, and thoroughly enjoyed spring break!  I promise I'll post about all of it soon!  Like, once I get pictures uploaded and everything :).

The "After-Party"

After the party, we all walked around the zoo to check out the animals.  Wyatt had a blast!  All he talked about was how much fun he had, and that his favorite part was walking around the zoo with his friends.  He was obviously in seventh heaven - we didn't open any presents at his party (we were waiting until we got home), and he never once tried to rush through it or hurry home.  He never even mentioned presents!

I'm pretty sure that by Sunday Reese was in "Wyatt's birthday overload."  He had all the attention all weekend, and she just wanted to get away from it.  So, she did.  She spent the entire afternoon hanging out with Steph - which included being pushed around in a stroller! She was very happy though!

Some boys never grow up!  Brian got lots of compliments on his Chewbacca t-shirt!  Ha!

Birthday Party!

Wyatt's 5th birthday party was at the zoo on Sunday, and he had a blast!  We all had such a good time at his party last year (and it was so easy for me!), that it was almost a no brainer to have it there again this year.  We had a lot of different friends at the party - family friends, school friends, neighbors and even a baseball friend!  I think everyone really had fun touching the animals, some of them were pretty interesting!

Touching the millipede.

Wyatt got a special turn with each animal.  He got to touch a millipede, a snake, a bunny and one or two other animals!

This bunny's name is Reesie.  Reese was very excited to pet and get her picture taken with Reesie the bunny!

Wyatt's boys table!  He ate with his big cousin Colin, his friend Hunter from baseball, and his buddies Tyler and Nicholas!

Harris Teeter didn't have a Star Wars cake - so we had a Bakugan background (I have no idea what that is), and then put some (sanitized) Star Wars toys on top!

He was so happy!  He talked about it all day, woke up at 3am ready to party, and just had the best time!

....And so did his little brother!