The Big 30 and the Big 4!

I am the one who turned 30. Ouch! How did this happen? I was supposed to be so much more mature and wise by this point. Oh well! It is a little weird to not be a 20-something anymore, but I honestly wasn't too upset by it. We'll see how I do when 40 rolls around.








Andrew is the one who turned 4 this past week. We decorated downstairs with a sign and balloons. Some of the balloons were right at the bottom of the stairs, so we woke up to Andrew's sweet voice saying, "Hey, who's been blowing up all these balloons?" The balloons were probably one of his favorite things about his birthday. We still have a few around and we have to play with them several times a day.



The day after Andrew's birthday, we took him and Eric in for their checkups and immunizations. They both did amazingly well with the checkup part. In fact Andrew even was joking around with the doctor. This is quite an improvement for him. From about his 6 month checkup he would cry every time a nurse or the doctor was in our room. As soon as they would leave he would stop crying. But this time was great. Andrew went first, and since he was so brave Eric decided to be brave too. He just looked at the doctor very suspiciously the whole time. The shots were another story. We had Andrew go first. He had to get 5 shots! Eric and I were way down the hall and we could still hear him screaming. I don't blame him. Afterwards he kept saying, "That was so mean. That lady needs to go to jail." He was quite insistent actually. Eric got 3 shots. He did really well. For Eric it just hurts and then when it is done he stops crying. For Andrew it is more then the pain. For him it is the insult of it all.



We took the boys to Chick-fil-a afterwards. That helped them forget their troubles. Then we took Andrew to pick out his last birthday present...a bike. That totally pushed the shots from his mind. Andrew chose a red bike and a Lightning McQueen helmet. He calls his bike a race car, because "it goes so so fast."

My Cute Boys

Eric is really progressing. He is talking more and more. Every night at dinner we ask the boys what their favorite part of the day was. Every night Eric raises his arms in the air and says "me." We're not quite sure what that means, but it is really adorable. Yesterday we went for a walk and we kept hearing a rooster. Everytime Reed and I would say the word "rooster", Eric would say "cock-a-coo-a-coo." He is also very good at showing us how strong he is. He flexes his muscles and holds his breath until his face turns red. Super cute. Some of his favorite things are dada, mama, Andrew, and doggies.

Sunday was Andrew's first Primary Program. We've been practicing his part with him for a few weeks, and he had it down really well. His part was "I am created in His image." Except he says it "I am queated in His image." We were a little concerned that he wouldn't do his part though, because he told us on the way to church that he might be too busy to say it. We wondered what he would be busy doing standing up there at the microphone. Fortunately he got right up there and said his part, and sang all the songs with gusto.

Halloween

We had a great Halloween. Andrew decided a couple of months ago that he wanted to be a robot, and Eric was a fireman. Andrew won the prize for the "Most Outstanding Costume" at Trunk-or-Treat. It was awesome. The missionaries were the judges and they said that Andrew won because his was homemade. I think the dryer vent tubes for his arms were what really pushed him to the top.

Eric was just adorable. Everytime someone saw him they said "Ahhh!" He didn't quite understand Trick-or-treating, but when he realized that people were putting candy into his bag he got excited. He gave out ab out 30 minutes into Trick-or-Treating and rode that rest of the time in the stroller. He would not let go of his bag. It got so heavy for him that it was almost dragging on the ground but he would not let us hold it for him. By the time we got home, he was comatose and Andrew was wired.

Trains, planes, and automobiles

Okay maybe not automobiles, but definitely trains, rescue vehicles, and helicopters. First we went to a fall festival at our local college. Andrew rode a pony, which was a really big step for him. We all rode the train and saw a lot of rescue vehicles. We got to see a life flight helicopter land and then we got to go inside of it. It was very cool. Andrew even made up a song about the fall festival. Here is a small sample. "Fall Festival, Fall Festival. I don't know what a Festival is". He is hilarious.

Then the very next weekend we went to the Zube Train Park and rode trains. They are so cute. You straddle them and ride around on miniature tracks. Andrew especially loved going over the bridges. Eric wasn't quite sure how he felt about it, so he just kept trying to climb off.