Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Brock turns 4!

How did that happen?

Remember when he was this little guy?




Well not anymore!  This little guy is now 4!  F-O-U-R!!??!!  My baby is growing up so fast. 

For his birthday, Brock said he wanted to have all his friends over to eat "Dusty" cake and watch "Dusty" movie.  Easy-peasy!  We threw up some Disney Planes decorations, decorated a "Dusty" cake and made some snacks for the all to nibble on.  Brock was overjoyed - he had the greatest day and best of all, we asked his friends to forego gifts and instead bring a new or used book for a book drive our friend is organizing.  We collected over 50 books for the book drive!

Mr. Big Boy

Brock's "Dusty" cake. Thanks to my friend Crystal for the crushed Oreo's road suggestion.

Someone is REALLY excited - priceless picture!

Goodies for the kiddos to take home

Sugar loaded toddler, oye!



January, February and March - oh my!

Seeing a trend in my blogging lately? Here's my latest three month update...

Since the new year, we have been busy bees at the McCormick home.  Cade and Brock are growing up so fast, it's hard to keep up!

Cars, Planes, Superheroes, Construction Trucks, books, art projects, bikes, scooters and running races pretty much sums up these two.  Brock and Cade enjoy each other's company most of the time, which is helpful.  Sure, the playing usually ends up in screaming and tears, but for a few minutes each day, I enjoy watching the kids play together in bliss.

Cade's vocabulary is pretty strong for a 19 month-old.  He can communicate well and when he gets frustrated with us for not understanding, we can usually have him point us in the direction and we figure out what he is saying. It's really helpful to have early talkers (Brock was too).  The temper tantrums aren't as frequent as some of their peers. Don't think I am naive, my kids are REALLY good at pitching a fit but I feel they aren't as full blown as some I've seen.  And now that this statement is in print, I'm pretty sure I just cursed myself.

Cade started a parent-participation preschool in January.  He goes one morning a week (with me).  We started at the second semester and the prior to our first day, the teacher discussed her concern to his acclimation, hoping the adjustment period would be quick.  Well, within seconds of entering the classroom on the first day, Cade waved his hands and screamed, "Hiiii!!!"  Yep, I think he acclimated pretty easily.  He loves going to Teacher Monica and it's been fun watching him interact with his friends.

First day of Preschool

Brock has morphed in to my big boy.  He's becoming more and more independent as the days progress.  In October we started potty training and he is now officially out of diapers (except to sleep) and is doing amazingly well.  We are so proud of him and he is proud of himself, which is very rewarding to see.  He is also great at dressing himself.  Some days I question the outfit but hey he did it himself so I won't complain.  I did draw the line and make him change when he put on SEVEN shirts, TWO pair of underwear, shorts, pants and a jacket to go to school.  I thought it was a little excessive and told him to take off his jacket.  Kidding!  I was able to negotiate the outfit down to one pair of underwear, two shirts (one long sleeved, one short sleeved) and one pair of pants.  Whew!  Won that battle.

Brock is also taking soccer and dance classes at school and LOVES them equally.  I love watching him teach me his dance moves.  They are hilarious. Check out this video from his dance class.


Here are some random pictures from January and February.  I've been a slacker with taking pictures...so there aren't many (maybe this is a good thing for the few of you who actually read this blog?)


Cade's selfie

Actually getting along - it was only a few minutes

Bath time gets awfully adventurous (and sometimes dangerous)

Does he ever stop smiling?  No, not really.

They love story time

Someone is ready for the rain!

Weird Science....Anyone see the resemblance?

Selfie

The last week of March, we met up with Grandma and Grandpa for a wine tasting and birthday celebration adventure in Paso Robles.  As usual, the boys were troopers.  We visited several wineries to pick up our member shipments. It was a long day but we so enjoyed seeing my folks and catching up.  We wrapped up the night at a local pizza parlor then headed to our hotel for an early night.  The following day we woke up and headed home to get ready for Brock's birthday party!



Our fearless captain!

Family glam shot at L'Aventure winery
All smiles

Cade got some great Grandma and Grandpa snuggle time
Brock and Cade's fan club

Grandma knows how to celebrate a birthday boy!