BIRTHDAY PARTIES!

Tom finally came home from his long trip on Thursday June 28th but his flight was delayed by 3 and 1/2 hours in Kansas City, so he didn't get home until the late afternoon, instead of lunchtime. We ended up saving Evan's birthday presents from us until Friday. I got him some balloons and made cupcakes and he got to open his stash of goodies. Then on Saturday, we had his big party with his friends at Sports Bounce, this big place full of giant, inflatable bouncy houses, slides etc. We had pizza delivered and I brought a Star Wars cake from Target. It was a fun party and Evan had a really good time with all of his friends.

A Long Week: Wed. 6/27 Afternoon - SWIMMING!

After Evan's traumatic round of vaccination shots at the pediatrician's office, we went home and rounded up Nana, Pappy and Dylan and all went to a water park in Sterling called "Volcano Island." The boys had never been in a public pool before but this was a really nice place which had an entire large 'wading/splash' pool that was separate from the "big pool" that had a deep end. This pool never got more than about 2 and 1/2  to  3 feet deep but had a big splash bucket in the center and slides and sprinklers, etc. It was perfect for my little non-swimmers. Evan saw the pool and immediately jumped right in it and took off for one of the big slides, which meant I had to jump in and follow him. I hadn't gotten really hot outside yet since we'd just gotten there, and the water was FREEZING at first, but it got better. After we got doused by the giant splash bucket (before figuring out that the warning bell gives you a chance to escape splash-free), Evan became a bit more intimidated, but he still enjoyed it.

A Long Week: Wednesday Morning - 4 Year Check Up

Evan had his 4 Year Check Up and Vaccinations appointment on Wednesday morning. He weighed in at 35.8 lbs. (41st percentile) and was 40 and 1/2 inches tall (53rd percentile).  At his 3 year appointment he weighed 33.8 lbs. and was 37 and 3/4 inches tall, so he gained 2 pounds and grew 3 inches in a year! During the appointment, he was given his first vision test, in which he had to wear different sets of glasses and identify letters, numbers and pictures hidden in bubble art. He did really well with that part but when he had to put on another set of glasses and read a standard eye chart from far away, he got really shy and kept hiding his face in my skirt and would barely speak above a whisper. He didn't do well on that part of the test but the doctor chalked it up to "being four." I discussed his frequent temper tantrums and bouts of intense anger with her and she assured me that this is all very normal behavior for his age. She encouraged using positive reinforcement as often as possible (i.e. praising him every time he exhibits good behavior) and talked about a sticker reward system. I have now gotten him a Spider Man calendar that I hung in his room and he can earn a sticker for each day that he was well behaved. If he earns 4 stickers in a week, he can get a little treat (Dollar Store trinket, some ice cream, etc.) and if he gets more than 4 in a week, he can pick out a bigger toy ($5). He has responded well to the concept so far, so I think we'll give this a try for awhile. If it reduces the number of awful fits he throws, then it will be worth all those extra trips to the Dollar Store!

At the end of the appointment, a nurse came in with a bunch of needles and said "This is the 'Four Year Special' that no one likes"...five different vaccinations in one day! Evan cried really hard at the shots but only for a couple of minutes. Then he put on his brave face and started talking about going to the water park that afternoon, which I'd promised we could do.

A Long Week: Tuesday -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVAN!!

Hard to believe, but Tuesday June 26th was Evan's 4th birthday! The time has really flown by. He was such a sweet, tiny and adorable baby, and now he's a sometimes sweet, sometimes not-very-sweet-at-all, but still adorable BIG BOY!

We wanted to wait until Tom got home to have a big celebration with cake and presents but I still wanted to make the day special for him. I took him and Dylan to daycare that morning but then picked just him up at noon and took him and my Dad to McDonald's for a quick lunch before going to see the new Disney cartoon "Brave." Evan had been to 3 or 4 films before this one, so he's gotten really good at sitting through the whole film without having to get up anymore. However, there was a scene in "Brave" about a scary bear, and at that point, he leaped into my lap and stayed there for the rest of the movie. I thought that was pretty sweet! He has become quite the popcorn hog and the two of us managed to finish up a Medium sized bag (which is actually pretty big) by ourselves.  It was a fun outing.

A Long Week: Sunday

On Sunday, we all went to Red Lobster for lunch and we sat in a very large booth with really high backs. Evan kept standing up on the seat and I couldn't see what was attracting his attention on the other side. I kept asking him to sit down but I was also busy trying to keep Dylan distracted, as he was being really loud and antsy while waiting for the food to arrive. I had given both boys some Cheez-Its crackers to try to occupy them, and a few minutes later, a lady appeared at our table and announced in an irritated tone "Your son is throwing Cheetohs at us!" She opened her hand and there was a stack of Cheez-Its crackers. I apologized profusely to the lady and scolded Evan and got him to sit down for the rest of the meal, but the other lady who'd been sitting behind us gave me a nasty look when we left. Sigh.

That afternoon, my Mom and I took the boys to the mall. Dylan fell asleep in the stroller and had a big nap while Evan played in the indoor play area. He really enjoyed this but had a few scraps with some of the other kids and could be heard shouting "You're not my friend" a couple of times to some total strangers.

After Dylan woke up, Evan asked if they could ride the little mall train. I loaded them up and then shut the door on our train car so Dylan couldn't escape...and then saw Evan's face turn bright red and distorted. His mouth then dropped open and he cried silently for a second before letting out this blood curdling scream. Then I realized that his finger was caught in the door of the train car. I quickly opened the door and was absolutely horrified, half expecting to find blood and an amputated fingertip, but thankfully, it was just pinched. He cried really hard and the train conductor actually came to check on us before starting the train ride. I tried to cheer him up with some silly photos but the only thing that made him feel better was the promise that he could pick out a toy when we stopped at Target on the way home, and that I would cover his finger with a Spider Man Band-Aid when we got home.  Poor kid!! I felt so, so awful about that!