Super Fix-It

Tate napped the entire way home from Great Wolf Lodge today. Which made for a peaceful car ride, but a little boy who was wide awake a bedtime. After coming down several times to check out what's going on with Mom and Dad, we heard him coming down the steps. Lance went to see him and he was standing on the landing, hands on his hips and said so enthusiastically, "Dad, I already have super powers!" He went on to tell Lance all about a singing birthday card that had run out of batteries and how he was able to make is work by magic. Lance renamed him "Super Fix-It" and he continued striking his best super hero pose. It seriously doesn't get much better than this.

Great Wolf Lodge

For the past week or so, Michigan has seen the most amazing weather--80 degree days, picnics in the park, lots of neighborhood fun. So when our Great Wolf Lodge trip was right in the middle of this summery weather, I was a bit disappointed at the thought of being inside for 2 days.

Thankfully I was pleasantly surprised. We had a fabulous time. The kids had fun the whole time we were there, they were relatively well-behaved the whole time, Lance was a super-champ dad (and Tate was a Daddy's boy all weekend, which is not so typical for him). The McGowan family also went and we had a great time together. Lance and I couldn't ask for a more fun weekend.

Tate, Age 4

Since we've gone ahead and had the 4-year-checkup, I guess it's pretty official that Tate is 4. Never mind that both the actual birthday and the party were last week. I was trying to keep him 3 as long as I could. Thankfully, though he was worried he would wake up too big to cuddle, he is still just the right size and loves it just as much (even if that "right size" is all of the 11th %ile). His teacher adores him and told us at his conference how he's such a great listener and he's so smart (I kept reminding myself not to compare my children--and will clearly need that reminder over and over and over.) He wants to be a superhero when he grows up. He loves all things orange. Like his sister, he wants me to make up stories to tell him every single time we set foot in the car. He cried and cried after his shots, but a lollipop cheered him right up. He would read books, color and build blocks all day long. And sometimes he does. He always shares with his sister. He found a quarter on the ground the other day and used it to buy candy out of a vending machine and share with his friends. I have honestly never seen any kid that excited about anything. Yep, that's kind of all it takes to make him happy.

Of course he has a naughty side that makes an occasional appearance. A tantrum here or there. A rough day. Waking up in the middle of the night pretty much every night. But this kid has me wrapped around his little finger. (Friends, with boys like this, I can sort of understand how one can become a crazy mother-in-law. DO NOT let this be me!)

I'm so lucky to have a little boy who turned out so much like his daddy.

Super Tate

For his fourth birthday, Tate insisted on a super hero party. I wasn't really planning a party for him, actually. I was kind of thinking our trip to Great Wolf Lodge in a few weeks would suffice and I didn't think he would really think about a party ahead of time, but he surprised me by telling me all about his plans for a superhero party. An orange cake with some green on it. Lots of friends--mostly boys. Superhero games. I figured I might as well go with it. So I started planning. With 16 children coming over, I knew I needed a plan and my first was to split the kids into two groups. One downstairs doing quiet activities (coloring, tattoo station, puzzles) and one upstairs doing the superhero training academy--retrieving kryptonite from the batcave (finding a glowstick in a makeshift cave of blankets) then locking it in a lead box, stomping out the villains (popping balloons), leaping over tall buildings in a single bound (jumping over a dollhouse), rescuing the baby from the burning building, etc. Once they graduated from the training academy, each child earned a superhero cape which was a big hit.

It was a great time celebrating with my little guy and his friends.

For an amazing post about a super-hero party (and virtually all of my inspiration for this one), go to http://emilys-little-world.blogspot.com/2011/12/superhero-party.html

Critter Barn

I took advantage of a relatively sunny day and took the kids to the Critter Barn. It had been a while since we'd been there and the last time we went was a beautiful sunny day, so I had kind of forgotten the "indoor" animals--mainly the cats and rabbits. My kids had a great time (until they got way too cold). My allergies did not have a great time.

Old School

Do you remember doing this when you were a kid? Not sure what made me think of it, but I decided to teach the kids how to climb up a doorway today. Tate is a little too small to make it work, but Rowan can make it up and thinks she's pretty amazing.

Nap Time Serenade

Tate is finally starting to give up his nap. So, instead of sleeping during rest time, he often plays with blocks or Legos, looks at books or sings songs--quite loudly. This is what I'm listening to right now:

"Jingle Bells, rottenest elfs, Robin laid and egg

Batmobile lost its wheel and Joker goed to ballet"

Occasionally he'll say "Joker got away. Oh, no. That's not what I want it to say. Joker goed to ballet."

This has been going on for a good 20 minutes. Love how this kid can entertain himself!