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We have a 4-year-old! (Well, we've had a 4-year-old for six weeks now, but who's counting?) Our big guy celebrated his 4th birthday on March 1. Unfortunately we were not at Disneyland or on the beach for this birthday, but Jack did get to celebrate with all four grandparents at the same time--which is something he had never done. We went to an indoor pool in the morning, played with Teagan all day, and had pizza and cake for dinner. Jack got his first set of real golf clubs, complete with bag and shoulder straps. He hasn't had a chance to practice outside much yet, but we are hoping to get him some lessons this summer so he starts to learn how to swing a club.
Jack at 4 is a delight. Now that we're in our new house (yay!), he has settled down and seems to be more like himself. He is re-discovering all of his toys that have been in storage for the last few months, and he can play by himself most of the time. Sometimes he likes to share with Lydia and let her push buttons on his fire truck or play with the ball he's using, and other times he wants his own space. He still dotes on her--his first question when he comes out of his room in the morning is almost always, "Where's Lydia?" He is becoming more and more independent with dressing himself, bathing himself, and eating. As Lydia moves around and is no longer much of an infant, it is helpful when Jack can get himself dressed. He has been very into books lately, and I hope we can keep that going. When we sit down to read books before bedtime, he wants to "read" them to us first. At school, they have apparently been reading some Shel Silverstein because tonight when he "read" me a book, this is the story he told:
(Shel Silverstein fans might recognize this as "Sick." Here's a link to the full poem: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/16480).
Jack told me last night that he loves his new school, and he told me this morning that our new house feels like our house in Colorado. When I asked him if that meant he thought that our new house was cozy and comfortable, he agreed. After all that he's been through in the last year (new baby sister, moving, two new schools, living with Grandma and Grandpa), he is thriving. We are so proud of him!
In February we had our sweet Lydia baptized by Father Ed Fitzpatrick at the Newman Center. He is the same priest that married us and baptized Jack, and we are so happy that he could do the same for Lydia. We asked Nile Eckermann, Nike's cousin, and Heidi Fincham, one of Jeff's longtime friends, to be the godparents. It was such a great experience. We cannot put into words what it meant to stand in front of so many family and friends while Father Ed asked them all to pray for us as we raise our children. We were looking at the "village" we have to support our family, and it was incredibly moving.
We knew when we moved back to Iowa from Denver that we would be wimps about the winter weather, but these last few months have been brutal! Even people who have lived in Iowa for years admitted that this was an especially bad winter. We are very, very glad the cold seems to be behind us. We spent January, February, and March trying to find things to do inside. We attended several Hawkeye basketball games and even got to take Jack to a few. He loved watching both the basketball players and Herky. And Lydia usually stayed home with Grandma Jane or Grandma Janet, who didn't seem to mind missing the basketball game to spend more time with this precious face.
In January we got a visit from Uncle Jimmy for a late Christmas celebration. He brought matching "California" shoes for Teagan, Jack, and himself. Now if we could only get back out to California to wear them on the beach together.
In February we spent a weekend away at Honey Creek Resort near Lake Rathbun. The main attraction in the winter is the indoor water park, and it was a perfect place to spend a couple nights. Jack had a blast, and Lydia loved the water too. She is already warming to it better than Jack did, so it will be fun to get her in the pool this summer as much as possible.
Thankfully the winter weather has almost left us, but here are a few pictures to bring back some holiday memories. We got to see all of our family and spend lots of time with each other too since neither of us was working!
