Happy 4th Birthday Alex!!

FOUR!!! That sounds so old!  Cannot believe I have a 4 year old!  He is such a blessing to our family.  So smart, silly, sensitive, and sweet.  He is extremely creative and always coming up with new ideas.  He knows his letters, most of their sounds, and can name something that starts with just about every letter!  He also knows his numbers up to 10 and can put them in order by himself!  He's very shy until he gets comfortable in a situation, and then he can be a little wild man!  He takes his time with everything and there is no rushing him... I think God made him like this to teach me patience ;)  

We celebrated his birthday a day early since it was MLK day and Gary was off all day!  We started off the day going out for donuts :)

Then we took the kids to the Dulles Air and Space Museum!  We acutally did this last year for his birthday too, but he just LOVES museums!  I think we've probably been at least 5 or 6 times to an air museum this year!  This one is cool because they have more space than the Smithsonian downtown and there are a lot more actual planes and artifacts to look at.  Alex was so full of questions the whole time!  He wanted me to read the information to him and tell him what kind of plane each one was, how fast it goes, why it's special, what it's called, etc.

Nathan walked the whole time... didn't want tobe in his stroller for a single second!  He was VERY into it this time, running from plane to plane with big brother and asking over and over again "what's that?"  and "why?"  So cute! 

Such sweet boys and great brothers! 

One of their favorites, the huge space shuttle!!  Other favorites included the fighter jets and missiles!  ;)

This museum is cool because it's by the Dulles airport and they have a huge tower you can go up into and watch the planes!  Alex particularily liked this!
After a busy morning, we came home and had his family "party"!  He was pretty excited :)  We used leftover stuff from his party last year - hats, Buzz Lightyear candles, party horns, etc.  He has his "friend party" tomorrow and was a little confused at first about that and why we weren't using all of the cool superhero stuff we've been getting! 

Love his face here!  So excited to be four :)
It was pretty cute, he had NO IDEA somehow that he was going to get presents until we mentioned it before the cake!  Then, of course, he was so pumped and excited :)  We gave him our gifts and the ones from his grandparents and great omas. 

Nathan had a bit of a hard time, with Alex's bday so close to Christmas, I don't think he understood why all the presents were for Alex!  Grandma and Grandpa sent a gift for Nathan too though, which was a nice lifesaver ;)

This aircraft carrier was a HUGE hit after a day at the air and space museum!  I absolutely love the Imaginext toys, they are all interchangeable and so durable!  The kids play with this stuff A TON :)  He also got the batmobile, a Thomas UNO game (that he LOVES and is great at!), and a Spiderman thermos! 

He got a Leapster Explorer!  He absolutely LOVES this!  I was back and forth on whether I wanted him to have one or not, but we've decided he can play for about 30 minutes during his rest time each day.  It's all educational too, which is great. 

And a couple of pictures with our big four year old!  What a fun day we had celebrating with him! 

New Years day, the first snow, and my little reader!

We drove home New Years Eve so we could have a couple of days at home as a family before Gary had to head back to work!  We enjoyed hanging around the house, playing with all of our new Christmas stuff, and just spending time together!  Alex was so cute during the New Years Day parade!!  He got out the instruments and marched around the living room with the bands :)

 Of course, Nathan wanted a turn as soon as Alex got the idea, so here he is as the drummer! 

 We had the first snow of the year about a week ago!  It was very unexpected (after a 68 degree day just 2 days earlier!)  The kids were THRILLED!  We watched the flurries in the morning and I explained over and over to Alex that it wasn't going to stick and wouldn't be enough to play in.  Then later during quiet time I hear Alex yelling and yelling upstairs.  I ran up to see what was going on and he was staring out his bedroom window and was EXTREMELY excited!  He was telling me I was wrong and it was sticking and there was a lot!  Ha!!  It wasn't THAT much, but was enough for us to go out and play in for a bit!! 

 The kids were SO excited to put on their snow pants and boots!  Nathan's are about 2 sizes too big, but I just can't justify spending $20 on a pair of toddler boots that may or may not get much use.  Oh well, they seemed to work fine! 

 Alex had SO much fun!  He definitely could have stayed out much longer than we did! 

 Nathan wanted to "hold you" (he says) most of the time we were out there!  He was very unsure and refused to wear any gloves!  (making it too cold to touch of course! haha) 

 The flakes were HUGE, so we got pretty covered quickly and didn't stay out more than 20 minutes or so.  But it was a blast!  Alex particularily loved throwing snow balls at me ;)

 Nathan is loving the tools lately :)

 And I thought this was just too cute!  He loves books, just like his brother and has a couple of favorites lately.  He loves the tiny Chick-fil-a happy meal books we have!  He calls them "rabbit books" because they are Max & Ruby ones.  He also loves this kitty book with different animals in it!  And he loves his new rocker from grandma and grandpa... he sits in it and rocks and rocks! 

Christmas Week 2011! (finally!!)

We traveled to Warner Robins, GA to be with my parents and sisters for Christmas this year!  It was such a fun, busy week!  

 We climbed "Stone Mountain" in Atlanta one afternoon!  The kids especially loved this :)  Nathan wanted to do it all by himself. 

Alex was such a little climber!  He loved jumping all over the rocks and running ahead :)

While in Atlanta, my parents took us to the "Pink Pig".  It's a train ride inside Macy's that is some kind of Atlanta tradition.  It was a bit overhyped, but the boys loved it of course! 

His face says it all, thrilled to be on the Pink Pig train ride!! :)

Christmas Eve we headed to church!  They don't have any kind of nursery for Christmas Eve at my parents' church, which of course made me super nervous!  BUT I was incredibly impressed with both boys and how good they were!  We didn't have to step out in the hall or anything, they did AWESOME!  These pictures were taken just before church :)

After church we always have snacks, cookies, and punch set up before bed!  The boys of course love this tradition! 

Nathan LOVED the punch!  This started his love for the "big boy cup" that he insists on drinking from often now ;)

Christmas Morning!!!  We always do one "big gift" from Santa and stockings, and the rest is from family under the tree.  Here are the boys opening their stockings! 

Here's Alex with the pirate ship he asked for!  He was thrilled! 

A photo with grandma and grandpa on Christmas! 

They got a parking garage for their hotwheels!  They love this! :) 

Here they are with their Aunts!  All in their footie jammies ;)  (courtesy of mom and dad!)

Another favorite gift, a dragon castle!! 

The weather was really beautiful while we were there!  The kids got to spend a lot of time outside :)  Here Alex is with an airplane he got for Christmas! 

One morning we went to the Air Force Museum.  My boys never get tired of airplane museums ;)  Alex always wants to make sure we don't miss ANYTHING and they are never ready to leave! 

We took a 2 day trip to Callaway Gardens while in GA!  On the way we stopped at FDR state park where Roosevelt's summer home and museum is. 

At Callaway Gardens we enjoyed a trolley ride and light show, stayed overnight at a cottage, and then went the next day to the park.  They had a huge butterfly conservatory that the kids LOVED! 

With my beautiful sisters! :)

And with my wonderful husband! Loved having a week and half with him off work this year!!

They also had a bird show that was really cool and lots of trails and beautiful scenery to enjoy!  The kids always love playing outside and were thrilled with all of the rocks and sticks of course ;)
A picture of the whole group!!!

We always do Gingerbread houses at Christmastime!  Alex was especially into it this year.  It ended up being much more "kid decorated" than it has in the past ;)

The last night we were there we had a campfire and roasted marshmellows! 

It was such a fun week!