Dino Party for Micah's 1st Birthday!

A couple days before his big event, Micah got his first haircut.  Here's the BEFORE of Shaggy pre-haircut...

and AFTER.  Oh so handsome and all grown up!  Ms. Katie was swift with the scissors and did an awesome job while I piled the yogurt melts into Micah's hands.  This boy will do just about anything for sweet treats!

How does a haircut turn a baby into a little boy just like that?

Party Time!!!!!!  We came up with a dino theme for our Birthday Baby's party!  Big brothers' first choice was Star Wars but, with a little prodding, they agreed on dinos as a second runner up!

ONE

Laughing with Poppy

Micah is not taking any unsupported steps yet but he can get his legs moving with a little help!

Time for cake...

...and while we were occupied lighting the candle, this little scoundrel was inside eating a green cupcake ahead of the crew.  Daddy catcha' buddy!!!!!

Guilty and very green

First bite EVER of cake....

Finger lickin' good.

It didn't take Micah long to figure out that he likes sugar (and we had plenty of green diapers to show for it afterwards.  Disgusting!)

Micah cleaned up every last bite and was still smiling!

Pinata time!

then on to the dino dig....  we had fresh mulch delivered the day before the party which made for a fun dirt pile to hide dino treasures.  It was a very dirty, fun adventure....

the mulch had a bit of a stench but the kiddos didn't seem to mind.  The parents stayed far away!

and Isaac had to head back to take another peak in the pinata to see if there was any candy to be found!

2 buddies!

3 buddies!

 Micah is not so sure about wearing Uncle T-dog's shades

 Cousin Danny holding Isaac (left), Wyatt, Dax, Ashtyn holding Micah, and Cousin Caden

Most gifts went to a donation for Childhood Cancer in honor of our sweet neighbor currently fighting the battle, but Micah's grandparents and cousins spoiled him with a few things to open...  What fun! 

 Love this profile!

Wy Guy reading Micah's new book from Auntie B with Daddy!

 and my 3 little dinos finished the afternoon with a ride in their truck...

and apparently the truck broke down so Wyatt and Isaac got out to give it a tune up....

 and Micah got a piggy back ride from his daddy!

then the boys enjoyed a little water time with Papa! 

It was such a fun day!  Thank you to all of our sweet friends and family who came over to celebrate with us!    I've got to note that both Grandma and Grandpa McCulley, Mimi and Poppy, and Grandma and Papa Great were all here even though I didn't get pictures, along with Auntie B (Micah Jay loves his B!!!!). We are so thankful for such amazing friends and family.  So blessed to have you all in our lives! :)

Dear Wyatt.....

Dear Wyatt,  Here's a record of WHO YOU ARE at FOUR!

Favorites
Shows:  Wild Kratz, Curious George, Word World
Movies:  Star Wars, Chipmunks, David and Goliath, Boz Imagination
Color:  orange
Sports:  "all of them!"
Activities:  Pretending, wrestling Daddy and your brothers, building with Trio blocks, playing with any kind of weapon
Buddies: Daddy, Your Bros, Cousin Dax, Owen (from preschool), Jax and Kohen (from Dax's church!), Judah and Dylan (from our church!)

Strengths 

• endless supply of energy....  you are like the energizer bunny!  You get about 11 hours of sleep at night and rarely take a nap.  You'd never choose to go to bed on your own-You try hard to distract us of the time and think of anything under the sun that might allow you stay up just a little bit longer!  I will really appreciate this in you when you are school-aged, I'm sure!
• thinking of others/generous heart....  you are always wanting to give your toys away to kids who don't have much or save your money jar collections for Dandy (our Compassion child).  You're always telling us what you're going to make or buy for us next!
• an amazing memory!  It's unbelievable to me the things you remember from way back when!
• a strong will....  when you put your mind to something, you do it very well!
• imagination/creative mind:  you love to invent, pretend and create
• your cautious....  maybe a bit too cautious sometimes, but I still think this is a huge strength!

Cute Quotes

• I told you that we were having shells for dinner and you asked, "Did you get them at the beach?"
• You said to me, "I'm going to take you to a Barbie movie and buy you pink light up shoes!"
• You to me, "Your friends would think you are prettier if you only had one earring in each ear."
• You to me, "I think you're prettier when your hair is wet but not very pretty when it's dry" 
• You trying to politely ask for some time with your Daddy when he got home from work, "Mom, can you please zip it lock it?" 
• You to me, "I love you more than all of the sunshines and clouds stacked on top of each other."
• I overheard this conversation you were having during your quiet time while playing Jonah and the whale with your trio blocks, "Jonah, you disobeyed God so I'm gonna cut out your Holy Spirit"
• After coloring in your Bible you say to me, "You do marker in your Bible"  
• You to me, "Did you used to be a princess?" Me, "No buddy.  What do you mean?" You, "I mean the day you got married, you were a princess, right momma?"
• When I asked what snack you had at school, "We ate raisins and popcorn and had juice to drink.  I asked for water but they ran out so I just had to drink juice."  You always prefer water!
• You to me, "I'm a better pray-er than you"
• A very sweet prayer at lunch, "Thank you God for washing all our sins away and thank you for our food. Amen."
• When I said you had an eyelash on your cheek, "Mom, how are you going to put it back on?"
• A sweet bedtime prayer, "Thank you for the animals, Jesus, my whole life, my blocks and toys.  Amen."
• "Are you thinking what I"m thinking?"
• "When we go to heaven, I think we should take some coins to give to God"
• "I was thinking maybe this afternoon we could go take pictures outside of Chic-fil-A" You know that mommy loves to take your picture and you love to eat at chic-fil-a.....  you are a smart cookie in winning over this momma's heart!
• every night at dinner you do this with your daddy and Isaac, "On the count of 3 we're going to tell Mommy thank you for dinner.  OK?  One, two, three (in unison), thank you for our dinner Mommy!"  I almost cried the first night you did this on your own accord! :) 

A Weekend Away With Wy guy!

We gave Wyatt the option of a birthday party with his buddies or a one-night hotel stay on the Plaza with Mommy and Daddy.  He wavered a bit and tried to negotiate for both, but much to our surprise, he ultimately settled on the latter!!!!  Woo HOooooooooo.  There was very little planning required and it was a vacation for Joe and I as well.  What a precious memory with our Wy Guy to celebrate 4 years of life together!  There probably won't be too many more years when he chooses us over his buddies so we took full advantage of the two-on-one time with him.  We began our weekend with a movie, The Lorax!  Great show, yummy popcorn, and such fun company....  Wy gave it a thumbs up on the rooftop afterward!

Very proud to be FOUR.

The first thing Wy wanted to do when we checked into our hotel was to play hide-n-seek....  so we did just that as many times as possible in hotel room!

How did Daddy ever think to look in the bathroom?

Momma squeezing every ounce of lovin' from my favorite firstborn!

I'm biased, but I think my 4-year-old is pretty darn handsome!

and a little bit silly

and can be so stinkin' sweet too!

Love you, Wyatt Joseph..........  to eternity and all the way back!  "Now, that's a lot of love!" you would say to me. ;)

Daddy took advantage of running into the Apple store and coming out with an ipad????!  Hmmmmmm, this was not a mommy-approved purchase, but my boys think it's pretty awesome! :)  OK, so it wasn't nearly as impulsive and spontaneous as I make it sound.....  Joe had already tucked the cash away from a bonus he'd received, but it was a little detour from the weekend itinerary, or so I thought!  We live in such an i-everything kind of world that I'm a bit resistant to all of the fingertip technology....  I see so many miss out on moments with the people right under their noses because they are so engaged in cyber-world.  Off my soap box, but I just don't want to be 'that mom'!!!!  So the ipad will have limited usage in this house, that's for sure!  But I'm glad it gives these boys some good bonding time!  They have a mutual affection for the ipad!   

My Wy guy stretching over to touch the hotel sign.... not sure why he was doing this but it made for a good documentary of our Marriott stay!  I should add that Daddy had Marriott points which made for a super cheap adventure. 

A few more photos of our super cool 4-year-old on the way to the Kansas City St. Patrick's Day Parade!

Wyatt's favorite buddy hands down.....  "Daddy Jojo" he often calls him!

Wyatt thought these green guys were pretty cool and they were everywhere!

My favorite littlest leprechaun waiting for us to return home from a weekend of fun.  Not that he missed a thing....  he was well taken care of and smothered with affection from his Mimi and Poppy! THANK YOU for helping us celebrate with our Wyatt by loving on our lil guys!!!!!!

And my favorite middle man doing a little 'green work' with his daddy!

Wyatt, thank you for choosing this special opportunity to hang out together with our attention fully on you  this weekend!  Mommy and Daddy had a blast and will add this to our favorite memory bank.  Did I mention that I love you?  Did I tell you how proud I am of you?  You are very loved and make us so very proud.  Thanks for being you, which is exactly who you are meant to be! :)  We are so honored the Lord chose you to be a part of our family..........  we're forever grateful for your life!

Look Who's FOUR!

Our little warrior is FOUR! And I tell you what, these past 4 years have disappeared way too quickly.  There is much wisdom in the words of every 'older' parent you meet who says, "Enjoy these years, they go by so fast!".  I am totally enjoying these little years (yes, even the hard moments included that add up to the sum of these years!).  I am trying so hard to take it all in with attention full and find JOY and much grace in each moment!  Don't get me wrong, I am exhausted much of the time, give into frustration too often, fret about sticky floors and heaping piles of laundry and dirty dishes, but I truly, truly would NOT trade this life for anything in the whole wide world!  I would bottle up this season and stay here forever if I had a choice in the matter of time!  It is the best gift of all to get to be a wife and mommy.  I feel so honored to get to do what I love full-time (with little breaks here and there, of course to recharge my battery!)

Wyatt is VERY proud to be four.  He's taken on new responsibilities of picking out his own clothes, getting dressed and making his bed in the morning before he comes out of his room.  He feels very mature now....  He often tells me, "Mom, you don't even have to tell me that.... I'm four now!"  This is mostly a very good thing!  I'm so glad I no longer have to remind him to flush the toilet or poop in the potty................but every now and then he thinks he's a little too smart for his britches!  There's a bit of an attitude that comes with being four we're finding! :)  But along with the little attitude, he's also developed new confidence and independence.... Hallelujah!!!!!!!  Wy is (mostly) over his separation anxiety and tearfulness when he's required to go somewhere new....  He just needs a little warning and briefing on what's coming....  He's not a fan of abrupt changes in plans, unless it involves going to the pool or to Dax's to play or something of that nature! :)  Wyatt has LOVED preschool this past semester and made 3 really good buddies there.  The picture below is of Wyatt holding his 'Happy Birthday to you' book that he got to bring home from school!  He's gotten excellent reports from his teachers (apparently the attitude only shines at home! Ha!) and is considered to be very compliant, a rule follower, and very creative!   

Wy's got a sense of style, for sure!  He loves skinny jeans and ties!  His outfits are hilarious...  oh, that's one more comment his teachers made....  they love Wyatt's outfits!  He will often wear skinny jeans, flame shoes or his fire boots, a dinosaur t-shirt and a neck tie to school!  Earlier in the year it was camouflage....  he'd put on every piece of camo gear he owned and would head out the door with his backpack to school.  I LOVE this about him! 

Here's the skinny jeans and flame shoes!

Here's my sweet little pumpkin sound asleep on the couch.  He takes an hour of quiet time each day in his room but has mostly done away with naps, unless there's a special incentive for him to stay up late in the evening!  I am completely enamoured with this sweet face and it brings back so many memories of 'baby Wyatt' as he often refers to himself when looking at pictures in our printed blog books.    

Still looks almost the same, don't you think? 

Wy guy loves to be outside on his swing set.  But he's not a loner at all-  he always wants Isaac, Mommy, or Daddy to be out playing with him! 

Wyatt is beginning to enjoy sports.....

but is still mostly into pretending and make believe and anything imaginative!  He loves his rescue heroes, building with his trio blocks and pretending with his Star Wars squinkies.

Below, Wyatt made Batman out of his piece of cheese.  He's very creative and inventive!

My sweet boy walking into school.  Oh, he's getting so big!  One more year of preschool before I really have to let him grow up...

Wy guy LOVES birthdays, so we sure he felt extra special and very loved!  He awoke to balloons, donuts, and several presents sent from Grandma and Papa and Uncle Joel and Aunt Jen!  He was on cloud 9 with excitement!!!!!! 

Then we spent the day at Crown Center with Mimi and Poppy....

We had to make a trip to the toy store, of course for some train action

and shoot out!.

We also made time for a Kaleidoscope adventure!  :) 

Once Daddy got home, we used some health club passes that Aunt Jen had sent us to go swimming!  We topped off the evening with cupcakes...

I love the following few pics....  Wyatt was sure to remind Isaac that is was his birthday 

Finally Ikey bear got a turn too in blowing out a candle!  Oh, the joy of being 2! :)

And one last activity before bedtime....  Baseball in the dark!  Mimi and Poppy bought Wy a new glove and balls for his upcoming t-ball season that he couldn't resist to try out immediately! :)

Wy guy, we love you SOOoooooooo much!  This past year has been a great one...  my favorite one with you yet!  You have a heart of gold!  You are such a giver and have a very generous spirit.  You think about others and want to make sure that no one is in need.  You love quality time with your mommy and daddy so we try to get some special, one-on-one time with you.... it definitely fills you up!  You talk a mile a minute...In fact, you never really quit talking or asking questions until we walk out of your room at bedtime.  You are so creative and imaginative and love to pretend.  You love being a big brother.  You are really beginning to love the Lord.  You are so precious in His sight (and in mine!).  You have a good understanding of the Bible--you ask great questions and soak in everything you hear!  Sometimes you even teach me new things from BSF or Sunday school! You have an amazing memory!  Oh be careful little mouth what you say because you do not forget a thing.  I've learned to let my yes be yes and my no be no!  You hold me to my word.  You have a very strong will and often put up a fight before surrendering!  You like to be in charge!  You are a little warrior, indeed!  But I'm confident and very hopeful that with the shaping and bending of your will, you are going to be used mightily for His kingdom.  I know the Lord is able to conform your character into a bold leader someday!  And through your eyes, I'm humbly reminded of how much my own heart still needs molding and conforming!  My prayer for you this year is that you would develop joyful surrender.  We are trying to help you see the blessing of obedience and the consequences that result from disobedience.  What we expect of you is not going to change whether you comply or put up a fight....   But whether there is blessing or consequences in the process is up to you.  Joyful surrender, my son....  We don't want you to miss the BLESSINGS in life!  I can't imagine a day of my life without you.  I'm SO HONORED to be your mommy!