More Than Meets the Eye

With every birthday comes a party.

Mason decided he wanted his to be more than meets the eye... or in other words, Transformers.

I am including a lot of pictures and detail about the party because I got a lot of my ideas from other blogs and I fully believe in passing along ideas.

The invitations.

I got the idea from a book and gave Scott instructions on how to turn it into Optimus Prime.

Mason was so excited to give all his buddies their invitations.

The Cake.

I kept it simple just doing a square cake and covering it with fondant. Cutting the autobot face out of fondant took some work, but then I just used Mason's toy transformers to decorate it.Mason requested that everyone dress up like transformers. So I made these transformer costumes out of craft foam and duck tape for each of the kids. A couple of the kids were hesitant to wear it at first, which was fine, but by the end everyone had their armor on and had a blast.

Mason's buddies Benson, Daniel, Gracie, Sky, Tanner, Mac, Kennedy, Mason, Cannon, and Cache all doing their best Transformer faces.

As the guests arrived we suited them up in their armor and played Autobot, Autobot, Decepticon... better known as duck, duck, goose. The kids really enjoyed it. We tried Optimus Prime says, but it didn't work as well.Then Scott got a phone call from Optimus Prime himself. He put it on Speaker Phone (he had previously recorded a message on his phone in his best Optimus voice) and Optimus told the kids that the Allspark was close by and Megatron was after it. He needed their help to find the Allspark and protect it from Megatron. They were to start their Autobot training immediately. I was amazed at how silent the kids were when they heard "Optimus Prime's" voice on the phone. I think most of them really thought he was calling. The best part was when Mason stood up and said, "Come on, let's go fight Megatron!" and ran up the stairs.

We began their training outside with two stations going at the same time that the kids rotated between.

The first station was target practice.

The second station was practice "Rolling Out". We drew a course on the driveway and carport with sidewalk chalk for the kids to follow on scooters.

An unintentional station was the "Autobot Base", as the kids started calling it. They all ended up there playing make-believe together at some point. It was perfect.

Then we did a little obstacle course that included climbing up and over our little slide, tossing a bean bag into a bucket, crawling through and tunnel, kicking a ball around the tree and through a goal, walking across the balance beam, and ending in the Autobot base.

After that we told them that Optimus Prime had called and said the Allspark was somewhere in the yard. They needed to find it before Megatron did and inside they would find something to help them defeat him.

They found the Allspark (cardboard box covered in foil), and inside was silly string for everyone. We gave them all a chance to figure out how to spray it and then..... MEGATRON CAME!!!

But they were ready for him.

And he was defeated!

Scott made sure to be a silly Megatron and not too scary. A couple kids were a little nervous but we pointed out quickly it was just Scott and then they were fine.

My prayers were answered and the rain held off until it was time to go inside for cake and icecream. (We were ready for a plan B obstacle course/Megatron battle inside the house, but it wouldn't have worked nearly as well).

Next, Mason opened presents.

He got so many fun things from his friends. He was genuinely so grateful for every single one of them.

His final present was a bike!

All the kids decided they wanted to ride bikes and scooters so we brought them all out and they rode around in the driveway and car port as the parents came to pick them up.

That was when this little girl woke up from her nap and joined the party. This is the only picture I got of her in her miniature costume.

The party was a complete success in my eyes. I think everyone had a lot of fun, but most importantly it was everything Mason wanted and more. Later that day he came up to me and in a very sweet voice said, "Thanks for a wonderful birthday party, mom." That made all the hard work worth it.

Four

What a great number. What a great age. This is how old Mason turned today!!

Here is a little bit about 4-year-old Mason.

• 
  
  If I were to describe Mason in a word it would be IMAGINATIVE.


• 
  
  He is a Lego maniac! Put him in a room with a bucket of Legos, and preferably his Dad, and he will keep himself busy for hours.


• 
  
  Watch out Webster. Mason likes to make up his own words for things rather than use the traditional ones. I keep saying one day he is going to write a book like Harry Potter that introduces a whole new vocabulary.


• 
  
  This little fishy loves to swim and quite good at it after taking swimming lessons this winter. He especially loves diving for rings.


• 
  
  The kid can transform into an Autobot in the blink of an eye. One minute he's talking to me like Mason and the next he's battling Deceptacons. Transformers are his latest passion.


• 
  
  He is a reading machine. It is amazing how naturally reading comes to him. I try to expose him to things and let him soak in what he can but not force it on him. He has really taken to reading and is already reading Level 2 books by himself. (Point of reference, kindergartners are expected to read level 4 by the end of the year.)


• 
  
  I love that he is my cuddly, snugly, boy. He still asks me to hold him daily


• 
  
  His hair seems to get darker and thicker each day. Scott has some serious hair envy of this little boy.


• 
  
  Mason is a little smarty pants and does very well in preschool.


• 
  
  He is still a hoarder of tiny,little trinkets. Tiny animal toys that easily fit in the palm of his hand are his favorite. Right now his stingray, jellyfish, and turtle top the list.


• 
  
  His favorite people are 1. Grandma Nancy 2. Daddy 3. Mommy


• 
  
  He is not much of a TV watcher. He would much rather do imaginative play than watch TV.


• 
  
  The boy thinks he is a comedian with all his original knock-knock jokes.


• 
  
  His waist line keeps getting smaller and smaller as it gets harder and harder for him to stop playing long enough for a full meal.


• 
  
  He is a social little boy and loves playing with his friends. I asked him who his best friends were and he told me Tanner, Jackson, Benson, and of course Cannon and Kennedy.


• 
  
  He says that his Dad is his "best big friend."


• 
  
  Mason is happy just to stay home and play all day. His favorite kind of play is role play where each person is a character, but if no one else is available to play, he is happy to be all the different characters himself.


• 
  
  He is a very sweet boy and is very sensitive toward others and their feelings.


• 
  
  He is curious and asks a lot of good questions. When the answer I give doesn't satisfy him he will come up with his own answers that make more sense to him. For example: Mason's question "Why is it still snowing if it's Spring? There are supposed to be blossoms on the trees in the Spring." Mason's answer, "I think Heavenly Father and Jesus went on vacation and forgot to turn off Winter."


• 
  
  Mason is a great big brother and is very protective of Brynn. He talks to her in a high pitched voice like he's talking to a baby. Both of them light up when they see each other after being apart. He loves his little sister very much! He loves being an older brother so much that he asked if we could have another baby at our house...and name it Optimus Prime.


• 
  
  He thinks it's pretty cool that he gets to sleep on the top bunk. We think it's pretty cool that he finally stays in his bed all night, everynight.

Anything you can do...

...I can do too. This seems to be the motto Brynn lives by. From Mason to me and even Scott, Brynn thinks she's just as big and capable as all of us, and in a lot of cases she is. This girl just watches everyone around her and then jumps right in and gives it her all. Since she was a baby it has been very apparent that physical development is a strength of hers. She started crawling before 6 months, walking at 9 months, and hasn't slowed down since. She has unbelieveable coordination for a little girl her age. Not only is the ability there, but she loves anything that is physically active and challenging. This is one of the biggest differences in Mason and Brynn's personalities. For example, let me describe an actual scene from our backyard. Scott takes Mason out back to play some tee ball...Brynn follows. Scott gives Mason the bat and shows him how to swing. Mason takes a big swing and misses the ball. He then continues to swing the bat back and forth in a motion like he's sword fighting and says, "Look there's a dragon, I have to get it." And he is off in his own imaginative world using the bat to fight dragons that are attacking our yard. As Scott is trying to draw Mason back into the present, Brynn walks over, picks up a bat that is as tall as her and swings it over and over until she hits the ball. She then puts on Mason's glove and plays catch with Scott back and forth never wanting to stop. We could repeat that same scene with Soccer or Basketball. If I'm being completely honest, Brynn's coordination in catching balls of all sizes is far better than Mason's. I'm not saying one personality is better than the other, they are two different children and we wouldn't change a thing about either one of them. It's just interesting to watch how each child comes in their own package.

So this weekend both kiddos got new bikes. Mason wasn't a huge fan of riding a bike last year. Remember that part of him that doesn't like doing things he's not good at? Well, learning how to pedal was challenging for him and when he coudln't do it fast enough he would just give up and refuse to ride it anymore. He only had is tricycle and looking back I wish we would have gotten a real bike for him because I think he would have liked it more. This year, however, he is excited to have a big bike and learn how to ride it like all his friends (that's the power of peer pressure for you). He has already made a lot of progress on his new bike and is getting more confident every day. Brynn wants to ride everyone else's bikes all the time. The problem is her little legs won't reach the petals. We found out she can reach the petals on little 12" bikes and started looking for a used one on KSL for her. Then we came across this brand new Handy Manny one on clearance for as cheap as the used ones and decided to by our little girl a boys bike. Is that horrible of us? In our defence she does actually like Handy Manny. She is still learning how to pedal on her own, but we have no doubt she'll figure it out soon. Scott and I joked today that Brynn will be riding without training wheels before Mason does. The funny thing is it might be true. I don't say that to put Mason down, it 's just to say how determined Brynn is.
I'll have to do a post sometime on the strengths Mason has that Brynn doesn't to equal this out. Let's just say she might not be reading like he does by the time she's four.

Emergency Contact

Have you ever thought about how much harder kids have it these days when it comes to learning telephone numbers. First of all, here in Utah, you have to dial the entire 10 digit number including area code just to make a local call. Second, kids not only have to learn a home number, but a cell number for everyone. Think about it, most adults are completely dependent on their speed dial or contacts list to complete a phone call. With that being said, Mason has learned his first phone number. Mason insists on dialing everytime he calls Grandma Nancy (which is a lot) and now he has the number memorized. Now he can pick up the phone and call whenever he wants, with or without my permission. He likes to call her and ask if he can come over to play without me knowing. I know he should probably have learned our home phone number for emergencies, but let's be honest, Grandma Nancy's cell is not a bad alternative. Now if Mason ever gets lost or is at a friend's house and needs to call home, he can call his emergency contact, Grandma Nancy.

Drama Queen

There is no denying that Brynn is a little drama queen. The tantrums she throws when things don't go her way are less of a fit than a theatrical performance. First she contorts her face and begins a pitiful sounding, fake cry. Then she lies on the floor with her face in her hands and her knees up under her bum and moans. She will occasionally stop moaning and peek out of the side of her hands to make sure she still has an audience then put her face back and resume moaning.I have been trying to catch the sequence of her tantrums on film for this post, but she usually gets up when I leave to get the camera, because it's no fun to perform without an audience. So yes, that is how I respond to her tantrums... I ignore them completely. In the picture above we were in the produce section at Walmart and she was mad because she wanted to eat a banana so she assumed her tantrum position and began pathetically moaning. I just kept right on shopping and left her there in the isle. Everyone around was laughing so hard at her. I kept assuring them she was fine, just whining. After seriously 5 minutes of this I went back to snap a picture to send to Scott, but snapped it right as she started getting up.

One day when I picked her up from nursery her teacher said, "Brynn had a hard day today. She was fake crying a lot." That's my drama queen for you.

I'll be completely honest I am grateful for these tantrums. They happen several times a day (we're working on it) but they are quiet, completely tolerable, and even kind of funny. I am just grateful I am not dealing with screaming, obnoxious, violent tantrums (knock on wood). It's cute and entertaining now, but I sure hope her dramatic tendencies settle down by the time she's a teenager. Yeah right!

April Fools

Mother Nature played a cruel April Fools trick on us by giving us a taste of beautiful Spring weather for a few days and then overnight dropping the temperature 30 degrees accompanied by several inches of snow. I don't know about everyone else, but I'm not laughing. We did, however, love every minute (pretty much 2 straight days) we spent out in the sun at the park and in our yard. I am still learning how to take care of a child with fair skin and learned that we have to where sunscreen to the park after poor Brynnie got fried on her arms and cheeks...mother of the year right here. On a completely different note, Mason really got into the April Fool's spirit this year. He got to wear his clothes backwards to preschool and tell a joke for show and tell. Mason and his little preschool buddies love to tell jokes that rarely make any sense to adults but bring down the house with a group of 4-year-old boys. We tried to prep Mason with an actual joke trying many different knock knock and why did the _____ cross the road classics, but he decided his material was much better and ending up sharing his own version that went like this: Why did the Rhino cross the road? Because an egg cracked on his head. They learned all about April Fools jokes and let's just say there were quite a few spiders crawling on our head that day. Have I mentioned how completely in love with Mason's preschool teacher I am? She is wonderful and I'm so happy with how much Mason and learned and developed over the past 7 months. I get comments from his Primary teachers all the time on how wonderful he is to have in class and they can tell what a wonderful preschool he goes to because he does so well with the structure of primary. Thanks Mrs. Young!

A Poopy Day.....Literally

It feels like we've been elbow deep in poop around here. Both kids have had the runs for a good week, maybe more. Brynn has been pooping 8-10 times a day and her poor little bum is so sore no matter what I put on it. Mason has had a few surprises in his underwear when he thought it was just a toot. I don't know if they've got some sort of stomach bug or if it's just their love of yogurt to blame (50% of Brynn's diet consists of gogurts, no lie). Whatever the cause, today I found myself wanting to scream after changing my 6th poopy diaper in as many hours.

Then I remembered this gem of a card my sweet brother Brandon made me several years ago.

I was feeling down and discouraged by some things going on when this personally made card (using the Paint program) showed up. I'll keep the simple but very sweet note that was written on it for myself, but couldn't resist sharing this card that has brought me so much joy. This card was a turning point for me at that time and has reminded me many time since that it's up to me how I react to the trials I am given. Plus, it just makes me laugh everytime I see it. Did you see the "paint" on the artist's pallet?

So for anyone out there who might have had a Poopy Day, hope this put a smile on your face.

And Uncle Beetle we might just take your advice literally and whip up a special painting just for you, so keep checking the mailbox.

Zion Getaway

Last weekend we took our good friends the Dastrups, Carliles, and Lemons down to the Murray Family cabin at Zions Pondarosa Ranch. Although the cold weather managed to follow us down there, the change of scenery and good friends to play with made it a wonderful getaway. Mostly, we just hung out around the house watching all the march madness action and playing games while the kiddos played together in the bunk room (it's amazing how a room full of bunk beds gets the imagination going) and downstairs with all the toys and games. It's Jimmertime!! Scott taught everyone how to play Ticket to Ride, a long time Murray favorite.

The kids must have come to see what all the excitement was about.

The girls.
Brynn, Halle, and KatelynThe boys.
Jackson, Andrew, Mason, Tyce, and Sky

Friday's weather cleared up enough that we were able to drive into Zion National Park and go for a hike. We chose the Riverwalk, a nice kid-friendly hike.

Brynn walked most of the 2.2 mile hike herself. Her and I made a lot of stops because she was surprisingly enthralled with all of the nature around us, especially the river which she wanted to swim in. When her hands got cold I gave up my socks to keep her little fingers warm. It was too cold for the lizards and frogs we usually see all over on our hikes, but it didn't stop the squirrels from coming out.

Here Brynn is trying to share her granola bar with a squirrel. She must not have read the sign saying there was a $100 fine for feeding the squirrels.

If we had put a pedometer on these boys they probably hiked and extra mile with all the running around they did.Together they collected as many rocks and sticks as possible.

Put three 4-year-old boys together with sticks and good luck trying to stop the sword fighting. I'm surprised we didn't loose an eye.

My little family.

All of the kiddos.

This is what our crew looked like hiking along.

The boys found this slanted rock for us to climb up that made a great slide coming down.

Brynn couldn't get enough sliding down the rock and wasn't very happy that I wouldn't let her go down by herself.

It was fun to get away, but as always it's nice to come home.

A big thanks to Mike and Linda for letting us use their cabin for the weekend.

Rolo the Dog

Scott has been trying to talk me into getting a dog for the last month. There have been several times he has teased me so much about it I have expected to come home from work to find a dog at our house. In a way, that's exactly what happened. One day this adorable puppy named Rolo (self-named) showed up at our house. We built him a house for him to spend the night in, which he did, and gave him a food and water bowl.

It didn't take long for him to win us over with his many wonderful games and tricks like playing fetch, shaking hands, rolling over, and of course those wet slobbery kisses. We found he was much more obedient than our children and would do pretty much anything for a doggy treat, aka fruit snacks.

Our amazing dog is like Lassie in that he is able to communicate messages using only barks and a pointer finger. (and sometimes a sentence or two in a "barky dog voice" if we aren't getting the message.)
Rolo stayed with us for 3 days straight and now he visits us from time to time.
Scott was right. Having a dog really is great!

*side story*
Scott tried to win the dog battle by getting the kids on his side. Brynn was a given. Have you seen her around dogs? She is crazy about them. Mason was originally on Scott's side of the debate until I told him a dog would eat all his toys. I win.