Sunday Afternnoon Fun

I was a little hesitant trying to propel myself 8 feet off the trampoline but it turned out to be really fun. I'm more comfortable staying on the tramp

Rob was the first to try the acrobatics and was surprisingly agile. I had never seen him do any sort of flipping other than on skis.

Britt worked up to some impressive heights.

May the Force Be With You, and You, and You!

Since we just moved into a new neighborhood I decided to let Britton have a friend birthday party so he could get to know some of the locals. A couple of weeks ago an older neighbor (5 yr old) that Britt loves to play with, came over. I asked if he liked Power Rangers since Britton has been obsessed for over a year and assumes everyone else is too. He said "no, I'm over that". I followed up with "Well, what do you like?" He said "I am sooooo in to Indy(Indiana Jones) and Star Wars" in an cool older kid voice. And so it began. From that time on Britt has asked everyday..."Mom, tell me all about Star Wars". We rented a video and Rob has repeated a condensed version of the story highlighting the main characters and that's all it took. When I asked what kind of birthday he wanted, he chose Star Wars instead of power rangers or pirates. So we ran with it and it turned out pretty fun. My mom made Jedi vests for each of the kids (thanks mom) and Rob assembled an obstacle course.

The kids came and learned to be Jedi's by making their own lightsabers and try to keep a balloon in the air
Then it was off to try their skills at the obstacle course
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Musical Chairs- Star Wars style

Destroy the Deathstar

Cake and Ice Cream and presentsAfter the kids left then it was time for the family to arrive (mostly Rob's side). I need all my sibs to move back to Utah so the Barlow's can make a better showing. We had a great time eating, watching the adults get stuck in the obstacles and opening presents. I will post those pictures later. By the end of the day he was a very tired, spoiled, happy 4 year old (who tells us he now has 4 year old muscles that are much bigger than 3 year old muscles). Thanks to everyone for coming to celebrate with us. Happy Birthday Britt- We love you!!!

Britt's Special Day

Britton has been sick since last Saturday night. Energy is zapped, nose is a faucet and voice is hoarse from coughing through the night but despite feeling miserable he has turned into a polite little boy. Saying "thank you" and "please" on the first try, patiently waiting for me while I'm on the phone, doing what I say. I hope it is a permanent side effect of the cold bug he's carrying around.

Britt had a "Special Day" today at preschool. That's what they call it when it's not quite your birthday but close enough. They ask the parent to come to class and spotlight them.

He woke up earlier than normal (sad for me because Charlie actually slept in for once) and wanted to do all his jobs right away so he could go for his special day. I was excited for him too. I came to preschool at the end of class with my bag of props. I talked about everything he loves (power rangers, making people laugh, rhyming, books, soft blankets, friends) along with what he says his "favorites" are:
color: green (since he could talk)
song: Yankee Doodle
book: any and all of them
food: he says corn, but I think it's tomatoes or ham
ice cream: vanilla
sport: soccer
playmates: cousins
I also told them what a great big brother he is, so tender, helpful and accepting. I think he was those things before Charlie got sick but I notice them more now.

I loved talking about how special he is and he just ate it up. He stood next to me as I talked to 19 of his "friends"and smiled from ear to ear. He told them a couple jokes(see below), and some rhymes he made up and was glowing from the attention. I realized I don't do this near enough. I tell him I love him all the time but not what I love about him. I will try to do better...

The only request Britt made was that I tell his friends about how he scored a goal in his soccer game and to show them his jersey.

Why did the chicken cross the playground? To get to the other slide

Knock, Knock.
Whose there?
Gorrilla
Gorrilla who?
Gorrila me a hamburger, I'm hungry.

Preschool Round 2

I've had a dilemma lately with where to brag about Britton. He is such a special kid and I sometimes feel guilty that we are always focused on Charlie and posting only pictures that Charlie is in. We also did quite a few things this summer that Charlie wasn't able to attend and, although we miss him whenever he isn't with us, it was good for Rob, Britt and I to get out of the house and taste what we used to enjoy so much . I know what you are thinking... she can't even keep up with Charlie's blog how does she think she can update two. I figure this blog will be more of feast or famine. Massive amounts of pictures then nothing for a while so I can catch up with the things I neglect while posting. So here goes

BRITTON'S FIRST DAY OF PRESCHOOL (again)

Britt went to preschool as a 2 turning 3 year old last year mostly because he is so social and needed kids around him. So this is old hat to him. He was so excited he even did his morning jobs without complaint.
Parents were allowed to visit for the first 15 min of class to make the transition easier. Britt didn't even notice I was there. He was too wrapped up in all of the excitement
He came home singing "I'm a VIP" and didn't give many details about his day. The only info Rob and I could pry out of him were the rules of preschool. He couldn't tell me any names of his classmates or the teacher helper or what they did. This is all I got...
1. You get what you get and you don't throw a fit
2. You don't break crayons at preschool
3. You don't throw crayons at preschool
4. You don't color on your neighbor at preschool
It makes me wonder if he has already been an offender of these rules
The excitement had worn off and he settled in for a snooze.