One, two, three, FOUR!

Most of the kids at my 4th birthday party - Evie, Marit, James, Zoe, Siena, Theo, Greta, and Braddock (Silje and Endre not pictured)

We celebrated Theo's fourth birthday this week, once in Minnesota on the actual day, and then today with a few friends from Miss Janet's pre-school. We had a great time seeing our cousin, Evie, and first cousins once removed, Lauren and David, and second cousin, Mark, as well as lots of Mommy and Daddy's friends. There were more kids in Auntie Annie and Uncle Eric's house for Theo's 4th birthday than ever before but luckily they have lots of toys and open space for us all to run around. We ate delicious pizza and ice cream cake from Dairy Queen and swam in the pool. Mommy was busy all weekend interviewing from jobs so we can move back to Minnesota next year and spend more time with all these fun people! Auntie Annie and Uncle Eric took us up to the cabin for three nights where I had a little accident on the pontoon and got a black eye. I was mostly trying to copy my baby cousin, Evie, since she tripped and hit her eye on the window sill the day before and had a black eye, too. "Two peas in a pod," they say.

Marit and Evie with matching black eyes and Balsam Lake camo

We played on the new playground, swung from the swings, rode on the pontoon, caught a few fish with Theo's new rod, and jumped off the trampoline. Overall we had a great trip! Mommy and Daddy were exhausted but we had a great time. Can't wait to go back!

Mommy and Daddy at the lake

Marit 18 month development
Marit continues to amaze us! She is very observant and looks up to her brother and copies him in most things that his does. She uses a fork and spoon, drinks from a cup, climbs up in her high chair, walks up and down stairs without holding on to the rail, puts on her own shoes (typically on the wrong feet), sits on the froggy potty (but refuses to actually go pee-pee), gets her plate and bowl out from the kid drawer, pulls on the fridge and yells, "Mel-k" when she wants more milk, and so much more! She adds new words and phrases to her vocabulary daily (currently over 30 words at least) and if she doesn't get what she wants, she pulls my leg or moves my hand to show me what she wants. She is a great sleeper and still takes a 1.5 hour nap in the afternoon and 11 hours at night. She loves to eat fruit, carrots, rice, broccoli, occasionally chicken and meat, and her favorite - candy. Both Theo and her know that juice and candy are special treats and find ways to climb in the pantry or dig into my backpack to find them. She continues to gain weight and grow taller and taller but won't have her "18 month check up" until next month when I have time to bring them both in together (don't worry, I made sure she got her shots on time). She can start to follow 2-step commands and point to her belly button or toes when asked. She has started to have an imagination and makes me kiss her stuffed animals goodnight. She is doing well at Miss Janet's day care and brings home art projects on a weekly basis and enjoys taking the caps off markers and putting them in her mouth. She sits at the big kid table and is very curious about what the big kids are up to. She is fearless and will climb to the top of any slide at the playground and go down. She also likes to do a body slam and jump on us with her arms up and belly out when we wrestle at night and are lying on the floor. Her laugh is so contagious and makes me smile! I can't wait to see her continue to grow into a little girl.

Theo 4 year development
Theo continues to be very tall and thin but very strong. Seth noticed that he's started putting on new moves when they wrestle and is much smarter and stronger now. He talks a mile a minute and sometimes we have to remind him to slow down and articulate his words because it can be difficult to follow. He has an excellent vocabulary and is generally very well behaved. He plays well with the older kids at pre-school but doesn't like to lose in a race or at any game. "Not fair," he says. He loves his Disney Cars and Disney Planes characters, including Cabbie the plane with the smoke jumpers, his racetrack, and his new Magnatiles. We read 3-5 books every night before bed and he's started reading some to me. I can't tell if he can actually read the words of if he just has them memorized but it's impressive nonetheless. He gets very excited when I come home from work and always runs down the stairs and comes outside to give me a hug as I'm putting my bike away. It makes my day! I can't wait to see him continue to discover new things and learn to read.

Theo's 4th Birthday Party in Minnesota