Turning the big 0-4

A few days before Collin's birthday, I celebrated my birthday with a low-key shopping trip with my mom and then dinner with our family.  My mom showed up in a similar shirt, so we took a quick pic together.  This was probably our first January shopping trip where we didn't buy at least one set of the same thing . . . although I bought a shirt she already had and she bought a pair of pants I already had, so it's not like our tastes in clothes is growing distinct!

On Collin's fourth birthday, he got to open a few gifts as soon as he woke up, starting with some new "I can read" books.  Cas likes these books and is excited about teaching Collin to read.  I abhor these books.  They're terribly written, boring stories.  I'm sure I'll appreciate them more when Collin is showing an interest in reading, but now we're stuck reading them.

Collin was excited to open Clayface, another action figure villain.  This was the year of villains - Solomon Grundy, the Joker and Clayface were fighting men Collin requested by name, I guess to even out the battles since originally his stash was full of the good guys.

That evening, we completed our annual birthday interview.
1.  What makes you happy?  When Mommy tells me things that I like and gives me hugs.

[Side story on this:  I often tell Collin he's my favorite little boy in the whole world, and he'll say back to me that I'm his favorite mommy in the whole world.  The other evening, unprompted, he told me that I was his favorite mommy in the whole world that he'd ever seen.  I replied thanks, that was so kind of him.  He said, and don't you have something you want to say to me?  So I fed him the favorite little boy line, and he corrected me that I needed to add that I had ever seen.  Silly boy, fishing for very specific compliments!]

2.  What is your favorite animal?  Elephant
3.  What is your favorite toy?  Action figures - Clayface
4.  What is your favorite thing to eat?  French toast with honey and syrup, peanut butter & jelly
5.  What is your favorite thing to drink?  Mango and cranberry juice and strawberry and chocolate milk
6.  What is your favorite thing to do?  Play with action figures
7.  What is your favorite movie?  Shrek
8.  What is your favorite game?  Freeze on the ice with Aunt Debbie
9.  What are you really good at doing?  Riding bikes, playing with action figures, eating [this is NOT true for dinner, but he is a good breakfast & lunch eater], coloring and painting
10.  What is your favorite part of being a big brother?  Making Maya giggle
11.  What is your favorite color?  Pink, blue, red, green and turquoise
12.  What is your favorite song?  Santa Claus is coming to town
13.  Who is your best friend?  Cooper and Jacob [at school]
14.  What do you and your mommy do together?  Play in game room, play outside
15.  What do you and your daddy do together?  Play in backyard, sword fight, tumble and wrestle
16.  What is your favorite sport?  Football - go Aggies
17.  Where is your favorite place to go?  Chuck E Cheese, SkyHigh trampolines
18.  What is your favorite book?  IronMan book
19.  What is your favorite restaurant?  Ruggles Green and Chick fil A
20.  What did you do on your birthday?  Ate jello, had friends over to play, saw Aunt Debbie and Grandma Jewell Rae
21.  What do you want to be when you grow up?  Astronaut

Oh this boy, he really is our favorite little guy in the world!  He is a creative storyteller, an incredible big brother, a fierce warrior against pretend bad guys, a great reader, and we feel like he's our little attorney-in-training, with a rebuttal for EVERYTHING we say.  We are so thankful God gave him to us four years ago!

New Year Posing

Maya has only two sets of fleece zip-up pajamas in her size, and we've had a few cold weeks this winter that necessitated warm pj's, so her Christmas ones have gotten quite a bit of wear.  In the first few days of January - right before we took down our stockings from the mantle - Maya happened to be in her Christmas pjs, and so we snapped a Pinterest-inspired photo of her waiting for Santa . . . or really just staring at a bow Cas was waving overhead.

Being off the week of Christmas and New Year's, one of my projects around the house was to go through Maya's closet and box up the clothes she has outgrown.  Some of them screamed for photos, as the outfits were too cute to be put away without documentation of how adorable they were on my daughter.

First up, a clothing line with her name on it, a "Baby Bella Maya" matching bow, onesie and footie combo-

Trying to capture her logo . . . and checking out IronMan who joined the photos -

Next up this gorgeous, delicate dress from my friend Lindsay.

As he would only request when we're not begging/bribing him to smile for a picture, Collin asked that he/IronMan be the subject of some photos too.  And Maya on her hands and knees - she rocks but doesn't yet crawl.

That weekend, Cas' brother and his family stopped by for a visit.  These two babies are three months apart but Lorenzo outweighs Maya!  

And a shot where I didn't crop Cas out of it, but then of course the babies weren't looking -

Uncle Libero wrestling with Collin -

And posing for what may one day be a rehearsal dinner blackmail type of photo, Collin sporting my 4" boots around the house.

Though Maya doesn't crawl, she definitely rolls and scoots.  She ended up half under the couch after being placed in the middle of the rug, so Collin joined her, and we of course snapped a photo!

We had a great Christmas break with the kids!  Collin continued to crack me up with his imagination.  One afternoon, he had taken on the role of the Joker, a Batman villain, complete with a modified voice.  Keeping in character, we had the following conversation:
C: (turning to me) Erin
E:  What did you just call me?
C: Erin
E:  No, you don't call me Erin, you call me Mommy
C:  But I'm not Collin, I'm the Joker
E:  Even when you're pretending to be the Joker, you still need to call me Mommy
C: But I'm not pretending to be the Joker, I am the Joker
E:  Okay, well even if you're the Joker, I'm still Mommy
C:  But the Joker doesn't have a Mommy
E:  Sigh of exhaustion

Artwork - from novice to accomplished

Aunt Rita and Uncle Dick gave Collin lots of activity books and art supplies for Christmas.  He was eager to paint his magnets, so a few days after Christmas, we set him up for some artwork.  Lip of concentration - 

And I decided Maya might be jealous of the painting opportunity, so I let her create some novice artwork - with yogurt and food coloring.  She was all smiles - 

She'd paint a little on tray and face and then sample a little as well -

Like her brother, concentrating on her masterpiece -

Yogurt face -

The art that can be considered slightly more advanced than my children's was a gift from my Uncle Larry, a cd of some of his beautiful flower photos which we passed off to Santa to create a canvas collage.

Christmas Morning - snowy footprints but no snow

Christmas morning was seeing Santa's snowy footprints on the living room rug and checking to see how many cookies he ate.

Christmas morning was opening up the gifts youngest to oldest.  Santa brought Maya some canvas photos for her wall.  Pretty sure she appreciated the wrapping paper more.

Christmas morning was opening obscure action figures like Solomon Grundy, a villain of Batman.  Or posing for pictures with Scrub Daddy, a thrilling Santa gift in my stocking.

And for 7 month olds, Christmas morning was putting EVERYTHING in your mouth - from wrapping paper to presents to the camera strap.

Christmas morning was taking a pause from opening wrapped presents and playing with toys to read a new book.

 

Christmas morning was digging through more goodies in personalized stockings (thanks Grammy) -

 

And if you're teething, eating the contents of everyone's stockings -

Christmas morning was being deliriously happy over your first nerf gun

Or deliriously happy over wrapping paper -

Christmas morning was putting on the last ornament of the Jesse tree, a 25-ornament countdown to Christmas, with all ornaments connected to Bible stories pointing to the birth of our Savior from the creation of the world!

Christmas morning was sharing your "low" of the day - that there wasn't snow (unlike EVERY depiction of Christmas morning in books and movies) . . . there were almost tears!

Christmas morning was giving your sister princess action figures -

Christmas morning was unwrapping a gift from your sister . . . that may have been held over from Hanukkah when you were flooded with gifts, and then giving your sister a kiss -

Christmas morning was opening a 3 foot Batman from Cas' assistant.  This sucker scares me whatever it is, when I walk in a dark room and see this standing figure.

Christmas morning was action figure battles with the newest members to your collection.

Christmas day was putting on handsome clothes, enjoying the time with family too much to take pictures, but snapping a few after everyone left and you're opening presents from Grammy and Brownie -

Christmas day was gifts flown in from Indiana, building silly dinosaurs thanks to Uncle Alex and Aunt Coady

Christmas day was leg warmers, tutus, and photos with Aunt Debbie and Grandma Jewell Rae -

Christmas day was switching to the cutest bow ever from Uncle Alex and Aunt Coady as soon as you open its package -

And Christmas day was gifts that only non-parents give, like voice-changing megaphones!

Christmas day was family, food, laughter and love as we celebrated that our God came to us -