Teddy Visits The Dentist

Conway and Monroe Clowning Around

Conway Turns Four!!

Conway at 4 Years

Height: 41in (63%)

Weight: 38lb (65%)

BMI: 15.9 (58%)

Conway is four years old!! I'm not gonna lie. Life with three year old Conway was a bit rocky. I've heard people remark about three year olds, "Don't worry, you'll like them again when they're four." I mean, we have and always will love Conway dearly, but he was definitely a three-nager. (See this post with its multiple mentions of his drama.) Well, I hate to jinx things, but so far four year old Conway has become a whole lot more pleasant. He has had a great vocabulary for quite a while, but it's much easier to have a logical discussion with him now instead of everything ending in drama. Has our sweet Conway returned?! 😊 For his birthday breakfast he chose pancakes and then hotdogs with ketchup and asparagus  for his birthday dinner (he was told he could choose any vegetable).

And here's a bit more about four year old Conway:

• He was pretty anti scooters and bikes for a while, but he seems to be getting interested again.
• Conway still loves to accessorize (hats, gloves, etc...) and this has morphed into him being very opinionated about the clothes he wears each day. Ex: loves joggers but refuses sweatpants, wants to wear his Bears shirt under his Seahawks shirt, very opinionated about color and most often prefers black (like Batman?), and he loves to wear mismatched socks.
• Teddy is still his favorite possession, but he has now added a number of other items to his V.I.P. stuffed animal list - Reid the Snow Leopard, Max the Lion, Blanket, Sleep Sack, and several more. It's honestly hard for me to keep track of them all these days. Parker occupies the top bunk.
• He LOVES his little brother "Roe Roe" .... most of the time. He does often go into his own room and close the door so that Monroe won't take or mess up his stuff. 
• Conway is now the proud owner of a big kid twin bed. He's been in a toddler bed, which was in the lower bunk position of the boys' bunk beds, but now he has a "real" big kid bed.
• I've mentioned a few times that Conway has had a great vocabulary for a while now. And it's actually with a bit of sadness that I realize that the only consistent hold-outs in his mispronunciations are ham-a-burger and lellow.
• Conway is pretty obsessed with Parker. He wants to do everything Parker does and often times bases his own choices on Parker's choices. Ex. Me: "Conway, do you want to take your jacket off or leave it on?" Conway: "Is Parker taking his off or leaving it on?" We love that he loves his brother, but definitely hope he doesn't always follow Parker (who is a pretty good kid, but isn't always known for making the best choices 😬).
• When he's proud of himself Conway makes a great face - his eyes get really big and he purses his lips. Hard to explain, but I hope I never forget that expression.
• His run looks super cute - knees high and arms pumping hard. He's really fast, just ask him.
• Conway loves to play dress-up. This could be filed under the "accessories" or "opinionated about clothing" sections, but it's more than that. He loves to get into the dress-up/costume bin and either come upstairs in full costume or ask for a bit of assistance transforming into his chosen character.  
• As a follow-up to his love for dress-up, Conway's newest interest is superheroes. First it was Batman, then he added Spider-Man, and now he's pretty excited about the whole super hero idea and the fact that they are normal people with regular names and then they put on a costume and transform into superheroes. I would like to add that I don't love the whole good guy/bad guy match-up and apparently I've mentioned that opinion because on occasion I'll hear Conway say something like "He's isn't a bad guy he's just making bad decisions". Seriously, play that in Conway's voice and try not to smile.
• Conway loves telling us about Parker's accomplishments - he's often very proud of him and pretty amazed at what Parker can do.
• He and Monroe have made up a game called Pickle Pickle Pickle. Basically Conway lays on the ground, Monroe climbs on him, and they roll around giggling/wrestling. Not sure I understand, but they seem to enjoy it.
• Conway is very into lining up his cars. Don't mess with the organization/dramatic-play. 
• Conway has become really good at either sharing with Monroe or finding something to distract Monroe so that he doesn't mess with Conway's very organized system of cars. Cue Conway's very manic sounding "Here, I'll get you some cars!"
• Conway naps from 1:30 to 3:00 and then in an effort to get him to fall asleep before 9pm I wake him for a quiet time until about 3:45 where he can play quietly in his room. Usually he just lays in his bed and cuddles with his stuffies during the quiet time, though. One could argue that we should just give up the nap altogether, but he basically falls asleep at nap time as soon as his head hits the pillow and often times he actually asks for his nap.
• If you ask Conway, his favorite foods are ham-a-burgers, hotdogs, and anything dessert related. He actually has become a lot less picky about food and will eat almost anything (although he still insists he doesn't like salmon), but he doesn't eat large quantities of anything.

We love you Conway! Happy Birthday!!

P.S. Conway Turns Three!!, Parker is Four Years Old!

Monster Jam at the Rose Garden

 

P.S. Monster Jam, Monster Jam 2.0

A Snow Covered Day At Timberline

We spent part of the kids' mid-winter break in Camas visiting family and while we were there, Parker, David, and I went up to Timberline on Mt. Hood with my mom and step-dad for a day of skiing. We thought we would probably each take turns skiing with Parker on the easy green runs, but he was able to ski with us the whole time and he did great! He basically just followed Grandpa Bob (who we eventually started calling Coach Bob) down the mountain all day. We had such a great time and conditions were amazing. There was no wind and it snowed all day so there seemed to be the perfect amount of soft light powder. Again, amazing and so much fun!

 

For the Love of Books

We do a lot of reading together in our house, as I suspect most families with young children do. In fact, it's probably one of my favorite pastimes. And while I absolutely adore reading with my kids, there is something extra special about walking into a room and finding a kid independently engulfed in a book. And while finding one child exploring a book on their own is special enough, it's even more heart warming for me when I find them cuddled up reading a book together. It has also been so fun to hear Parker say to either Conway or Monroe on occasion, "I can read that book. Would you like me to read it to you?" It melts my heart every time...

 

Deep End Swimmer!

So proud of this guy for passing his Deep End Free Swim Test at Safe n Sound Swimming. Way to go Parker!!

Three Generations of Skiers

Grandma Connie and Great Grandma Lois came for a visit so that Parker, his grandma, and I could go skiing together. It was so much fun for our three generations to ski together - definitely something to be repeated. And of course everyone enjoyed the rest of the visit too... 

{The boys know who has the wisdom and when to pay attention}

{Of course cinnamon rolls and goldfish crackers help}

{No visit is complete without a little story time}

Mama + Monroe = Love