Movie Night

The boys got the movie Inside Out for Christmas. So we invited the Blatter's over for a movie night. We made popcorn, and I tried to get rid of lots of our Christmas candy. Ella was a big help. She came and sat in my lap for a while during the movie, and I let her eat all she wanted. :) The movie was really cute and we had a fun night visiting and playing.

Basketball

Will has been playing basketball since October. He was so nervous and didn't want to do it. But good Ol' Mom to the rescue--I made him. :) Will is like me in a lot of ways and one of those is not trying things because of fear. I've learned to take more chances, but know I missed out on so many things because I let my fear get in the way. Anyway ever since his first practice, he's been hooked! He absolutely loves it! His team however isn't the best. But they play hard every game and don't give up.

During this game, Will scored his first goal!! So exciting to watch him! I feel so fortunate to get to see him learn and grow in different ways. Dad and Silvana came up and watched Will and made it an extra special game.

Scavenger Hunt

The boys have been no so patient about this "secret" I have been keeping from them! They have begged and begged for me to "just tell us!" But I stayed strong even though it was super tempting. I made a little scavenger hunt and hid them around the house to see if they could guess what the surprise was. I had them run all over the house to different rooms and find clues.

I think they were a little less than thrilled, party poopers. I think they were thinking, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, sooo about that puppy??" ;) And so it goes living with boys...so hard to get a reaction or any excitement out of them with these kinds of things.

Spring Break

We spent a few days at Rocky River during Will's spring break. The boys loved playing in the water and building a fire nearly every night.

 I love that they wanted to each wear a hat of their great grandfathers while we were visiting.

4 Years Old

Apparently the ride on Thomas made a big impression on Will's idea of what a birthday party needs to consist of. He insisted on another train ride. So we headed down to Chattanooga for a ride on the Chattanooga Choo Choo. It was a beautiful fall day to drive through that part of Tennessee, and through the woods on the train. Gorgeous colors everywhere! We were able to explore lots of train cars before and after our ride. The train station was also really neat, old-timey, and decorated for Christmas.

Later that evening we had cake and ice cream and Will opened up a few presents.

Some of Will's Favorites

Songs: If You're Happy and You Know It, Big Green Tractor, and Fire Truck

Colors: Blue and Yellow

Shows/Movies: Peppa Pig, Fireman Sam, and The Incredibles.

Things to do: Playing outside, ride bike, and dig in the dirt.

Places: Train Station, Nonna and Pa's, Rocky River, Home Depot, Zoo, and Publix.

Foods: oatmeal and blueberries, grandma Hitchcock's butter rolls, pizza, any type of soup as long as there are oyster crackers, brownies, and mommy's chocolate oatmeal cookies.


William also really likes to dance and read books. He loves going to the library. If you ask him what his name is he'll tell you "Weeyum Patrick Benton Jones" which is mostly correct. He prefers being called Weeyum instead of Will but doesn't mind if you call him Will. He and Jack have started playing more together now that his seizures are more under control. It has been so good to see them playing together again. I know Jack has really missed playing with his big brother. Their favorite thing to play together is firefighters.

William,

We love you so much and are amazed at how resilient you have been through all the ups and downs this year. Being 3 has been tough and rough on you! You have helped teach us so much more about patience, faith, gratitude, and enjoying the not so little everyday moments that are all too often and too easily taken for granted. We now feel the need to celebrate (in some way) every "good" day that the Lord gives us. We are so proud of you little man.

Love you so much,
Mom and Dad

In the tunnel

Waiting for the train

Tickets!

Red Caboose

Fire Truck!

Fire Truck! Fire Truck!

I want to ride on a fire truck!

Fire Truck! Fire Truck!

I want to ride on a fire truck!

I want to sleep in the fire station. 

Wake me up 

when the fire bell rings.

I'm gonna put on my hat,

put on my coat,

put on my boots. 

I'm gonna slide down the pole. Wee!

Then I'm gonna get into my...

 Fire Truck! Fire Truck!

I want to ride on a fire truck!

I have a hook and ladder, hook and ladder

I climb that ladder, and I hold on tight.

I'm gonna get out the hose, and I'm gonna

shoot that water, shoot that water.

I'm gonna shoot that water from the hose on my...

Fire Truck! Fire Truck!

I want to ride on a fire truck!

When that fire truck comes near,

people put their hands right over their ears.

They do that because the noise is
so loud from the siren on my...

Fire Truck! Fire Truck!

I want to ride on a fire truck!

When that fire is all put out,

I'm gonna jump into my fire truck and turn it around

I'm gonna go back to the fire station. 

I'm gonna have a hot, hot bath,

a hot, hot dinner with hot, hot food like
hot, hot chicken, hot, hot macaroni and cheese, hot, and hot broccoli,

And for desert, I'm gonna have some cold, cold ice cream.

Then I'm gonna brush my teeth,
jump into bed, pull the covers up to my head,
and I'm gonna dream about my...

Fire Truck! Fire Truck!

I want to ride on a fire truck!

-- Ivan Ulz

Meeting Thomas

With all of the chaos we've had over the past few months, we decided Instead of a big birthday party this year for Jack and Will, we would do an extra special family thing.

For Jack's birthday we went to the Nashville Train Museum and met Thomas the Train and Sir Topham Hat. The boys were a little overwhelmed at first by the big crowd, but once Thomas rolled into the station and blew his whistle, the boys decided they liked it. There was lots to do while we waited for our turn to ride; there was a tent set up with train tables and legos for the kids to play with, blow up slides (all the boys took a turn on the huge slide) and jump around things, there was a tent set up to listen to Mother Goose read stories about Thomas, a petting zoo (Will loved. Jack hated.), a magic show, and band singing fun songs for the kids.

When it was our turn to ride Thomas, we were all pretty excited. The boys loved the experience and freedom ("no car seats?!") of riding on a train. We moved very slowly, but had a nice view of the Cumberland River,and as a bonus we saw back hoes, bulldozers, and even a fire rescue boat. Needless to say, We had some really impressed boys.