Beds

So last night Nate came home and I was worried about the cribs.  He suggested we just move them right then and there so that I wouldn't freak out about them getting hurt. 
So off we all went to Lowes to buy lumber.

He built 3 beds out of 2x6 lumber (just rectangles, and the mattress lies on the floor on the inside).  He took down the cribs, then drilled the beds into the wall...certainly don't need them picking up and pushing lumber AND mattresses around the room.

They did ok.  They were all asleep by 9, which is, in fact, better than 10.  They mostly screamed and cried, and finally as I sat outside their door out of sight they calmed down.

The problem is that I just don't know how to attack this whole thing.  Let them play?  Keep the door open (but then they get out)?  Shut the door (but then they freak out)?  Yell?  Spank?  Ignore?  Soothe?  Sit in the room with them?  Sit outside the door out of sight?

They did not have naps today (we were at dads, so we drove home and they napped in the car).  Tonight they did pretty well, and were all asleep by 830, and were mostly quiet by 8.

My current plan of attack is to keep putting them to bed at 730 and let them play and giggle until 8.  (But I still have the problem of them kind of freaking out with the door entirely shut, and I can't leave it open...)  After 800 I will start to crack down on them...whatever that means.  The past few nights as they have finally calmed down I have stood outside their door where they can't see me (so don't know when I leave), but I will kind of hang out for a few minutes to make sure they have calmed down.  But I don't want to HAVE to be outside their door for them to calm down and go to sleep.  I don't know.

I just went in to take some pictures to post, and found I couldn't open the door.  So I reached my hand in and shoved.  N had passed out in front of the door.  So cute. 

This first pic just shows how stripped down their bedroom is...there used to be shelves all the way down the wall...but I'm worried they would climb them, and I certainly can't put clothes on them anymore, so they've all been pulled out.  Maybe someday I will be able to put them in again.  And this room/bed setup is probably going to last a year.  Next summer we will work on lofts and rearranging again when they are a bit older.

Losing it...

So this last post I thought we were past the ugliness....WRONG. 

Last night it was 9:55 when N and C were finally asleep.  L fell asleep "early" at 9:30. 

Over the course of the evening here are a few of the funny things that happened.  I can say funny because I know it is hilarious, but it is NOT funny to me now...

7:35 I put them to bed.  The door is shut. 
8:05 I finally walk back to get them to settle down.  I open the door, thinking maybe they will feel like I can see them, so that they will stay in bed.
8:15 I put Z in bed.  I say prayers with him.  I hear the little boys get out of bed, and peek over my shoulder to see them all standing with their feet on the threshold to their bedroom, watching us.  When they see me see them, they all scamper back to bed.  Repeat.  Repeat.  Repeat.  It was actually pretty funny, since it was still early in the evening.
8:20 Z:  MOMMMMMMM!!!!!! One of the boys is out of bed!!!!!   MOMMMMMMM!!!!  Me:  Z, I know, I don't need your help, but thanks.  Repeat.  Repeat. Repeat.
8:20-9:00  I have been alternating between an open door and a closed locked door.  Unfortunately the locks don't hold, and I didn't think to get a safety doorknob.  I have also been alternating between having the hall light on and off.  I have been back more times that I can count.  I have spanked, said no, yelled. I have pulled kids out of the wrong bed and put them in the right bed a gazillion times.  I have stood in their room, outside their room, gone back and sat back down. 
9:00 I go back to find L has used the toybox to stand up on the changing table (in the pitch black room) to play with the windchimes. 
9:10 I hear feet down the hall (getting more daring) and find all 3 boys sitting on the toybox that I moved.  It is in front of my bedoom door.  When they see me, they grin and scurry back to their room. 
9:20  I hear feet again, and they have all 3 ventured all the way down the hallway, and they are standing to the entrance to the hallway.  They see me and scurry, giggling, down the hall. 
9:30 L decides he is done.  He crawls into bed and settles down. 
9:45 C and N are still being bold and walking down the hall. 
9:50  I go back and bawl them out.  Totally frustrated.  I decide to stand just out of their view, and I can hear them getting out, so I bark "LIE DOWN" each time I hear them get out. 
9:55 I walk away, and they are finally asleep. 

They have been having a good time.  They mostly laugh, and there is not much crying.  They are not upset about the fact that the paci's are gone, but I do think (finally noticed last night) that N is needing me to go to sleep.  He has been last to fall asleep each time, and until I noticed, I just went in and stood by him for a minute until he passed out. 

The problem is that I don't want to HAVE to sit in their room for them to go to sleep.  I don't know.  I don't know if we're doing this right or wrong or what. 

We are going to move them to beds this weekend.  The cribs are getting ridiculous...they are standing on parts they shoudn't be, and N fell out once last night.

I know this is just part of life with kids...that we will get past this...but mercy, this is hard. 

Dorothy is here this week (I had 2 mornings I needed someone to watch kids) and she has been an amazing blessing. This morning I was still so mad at my kids! So I took Z to school and ran some errands, and she kept the little boys. They would have been horrid with me, and vice versa, but with Grandma, well, they were about as good as they could be.

Here is a picture of how they have been spending a lot of their time...giggling, wrestling, laughing, squealing, all hanging out in L's bed.

I love these kids....

Bye bye, Pacis!

We were given loads and loads of pacifiers from the NICU.  If they hit the floor there, they could not re-use them.  So many "dropped" and we took them home.  At one point I remember counting at least 36 pacifiers!

C and N loved them.  L became a thumbsucker, but he loved to just hold on to a pacifier.  They have only had their pacis at night and naps for probably over a year now.  But the numbers of pacis have been dwindling.  Some got lost, and some started getting cracks in them from so much use.  Not only is that probably not safe (since small parts might break off), but the little boys don't even like them once they are cracked.
 
I noticed that we had only 2 "good" ones left on Monday morning, and I had already decided I was NOT going to buy any new ones. I wanted to get rid of the pacis on my own terms (I didn't want to run out on a night I was tired and crabby and stressed).  So, Monday night was the night.   

Oooh, and it was ugly.  I put them to bed, and they asked for their "babas".  I told them they were all gone, and they kind of looked at me and laughed, like "no, mama, you're kidding...".  It was all I could do to not crack up.  But I repeated, nope, they're all gone...and then the crying started.

Let's just say that all 3 were finally asleep at 9:45.  And they go to bed at 7:30.  There was crying and screaming.  And N was so mad he learned how to get out of his crib, and he is the only one who knows how to open the doors.  So they all started piling out, as I desparately tried to get the eyehook locks installed on the door (I had no childproof door handle covers).  And I put the locks on wrong I guess, so it kept popping open.  So I tried my hardest to quickly install another (so yes, there are TWO locks on their door).  There was a lot of in and out and crying and screaming.  And finally at 9:45 all was quiet.  Z had passed out over an hour before.

Today was a bit better.  At naptime they played and laughed and I walked in to find them all in L's bed giggling and falling all over and jumping.  They were all asleep only 45 minutes after I put them down, which isn't totally out of the norm.

They were asleep tonight by 8:15, and they went ot bed at 7.  Thankfully there was not much crying, mostly laughing and playing and crawling in and out of bed.  I think we are probably past the crying bit, and by tomorrow they should be fine..but we still have to deal with the bed issue.  I think we might take them out of their cribs this weekend, since they're all crawling in and out like crazy anyway.

One milestone down, two major ones still on the horizon...the beds and potty training.   

Another milestone

The other day we were out running errands, and were about to head home.  Marbree was in town and had stopped at Panera, but her car needed a jump.  She called and asked us to come help, so we just headed up. 
She treated us to lunch, and we just walked in, got our food, and ate it like normal people (well, normal people with 4 small children). 
But here's the thing:  I had no advance notice, and had nothing with me "for" lunch.  No cups, no food, no bibs, no toys, no books, no nothing.  And it was fine.  The kids all ate happily (they were crammed in next to me in a booth, while Marbree and Z sat on the other side).  They talked and played and bounced and stayed on the bench (mostly) in the right place and weren't too loud or obnoxious.  We did leave a mess, but they weren't terrible.   
It is nice to be at that point now...where we can do stuff a bit more spontaneously.  See, it;s getting easier here....sort of!

Haircuts and a movie

So begins a Saturday night tradition...haircuts and a movie.

The boys have all had 2 (or more haircuts).  Once they hit number 3, though, the professionals are done, and haircuts are done at home with Nate buzzing their heads.  The first 2 are done professionally because their hair is still so thin. 

So Saturday night we lined 'em all up, gave 'em all a sucker, and let Daddy at it.

C has had Nate cut his hair before, but it was finally time for L and N to have Daddy cut their hair. 

C does NOT like to have his haircut.  He screams the entire time and wiggles and generally makes it difficult.  This time he finally calmed down by the time Nate was done, so hopefully next time will be better. 

N was remarkably calm and really didn't care what Nate was doing.  He just wanted the sucker. 

L was pretty chill about it, too, but put up a bit more of a fight than N did. 

I was worried about how the buzz would look on L and N since their hair is so thin, but it actually looks great...better than it did while it was longer and wispier (in our opinion, anyway). 

I didn't actually get post haircut shots, since we hauled them off to the tub pretty quickly.  These were the best I got, as they watched a movie before bed.  C LOVES to sit on Nate's back (or stand) as he watches a movie.  In fact, as soon as the movie begins, he jumps down and climbs onto Nate.  He even did it the other day as we were reading...he went over to find Nate so he could sit with him (not on him, like he does for TV) while I read.  Pretty cute. 

Brain growth spurt

We are having a major brain growth spurt over here, and it is soooo fun!

The boys are learning more and more words every day, maybe up to one a day now, maybe not quite.  But they are using them more, and appropriately.  They love to say bye bye and night night.  They yell for crackers, and uhoh is heard all the time.  Since construction is happening on our street, we love to point at all the tractors (all big trucks are tractors to us).  They know a ton of animal sounds, and I think N just got Z's name last night. 

I took their pacifiers away in the car, and now they just yabber away in the car.

They are understanding so much too, which is so helpful.  They understand when I tell them it is time to go to bed ("night night, night night, night night, night night!!!!") and if I say we're going outside they all dash off to find their shoes.  They understand what I mean when I tell them to pick up toys (and sometimes help), and if we suggest to get a new book, they will.  They recognize Nate's car, and I know he's home by the yells of "Dada Dada Dada Dada!".

They are understanding "no hit", and if I call them on it, they will all start to be "gentle" or "soft" and rub another boys head (all of them will, regardless of who was hit and who did the hitting).  It's pretty funny, actually.

They are beginning to understand humor so we can play with them.  Today C brought me a cup of rocks and I "drank" it and said EWWW...he loved it and thought I was hilarious, so it was repeated about 10 times.  They laugh if we put clothes on the wrong person or place (their clothes on my head, or shirts on their feet).  They will repeat these things, too, and laugh at themselves.  Another fun game is getting their pacifiers and/or blankets out of their cribs.  They know full well that they are only allowed to have them in bed, so they will pull them out then come find me, grinning ear to ear, knowing that I will snatch the paci or blanket away.  Sometimes they will come grinning to me, then dart away as fast as they can (which is so cute!) and make me chase them to get it back. 

They are beginning to really play together, too.  "Chase" is becoming a big game in our house, and they run around like maniacs giggling like mad when someone (me, Nate, Z, or another brother) chases them.

Glad to see this growth spurt...I have been blogging and complaining about how this is such a hard age (I had a friend recently describe kids this age like having a loose squirrel in the house!), but this has been so fun to see.  And watching them do it together, all 3 of them at the same time...what a special, unique gift I have been given!  Love these boys!!!

18 months plus some

Ok, so this is pretty rambling. I have been trying to post this for about 3 weeks, so I'd better just put out what I've got and call it a night :)


I have been looking to the 18 month mark with a bit of trepidation, I'm not going to lie.  And with reason...I remember Z being this age.  It was hard because he became more independent, was busier, knew what he wanted, but couldn't use words to tell me.  This resulted in a LOT of redirection and a LOT of patience and a LOT of temper tantrums.  I specifically remember this...I remember thinking that the "terrible twos" must start around 18 months.  I also remember them ending before he turned 2. 

And it is getting very trying in this house (in case you haven't noticed in the past few posts of mine!).   

"No" is repeated over and over.  Another favorite is "stop".  Except it is not just once or twice per incident...it is 5 or 8.  Because as soon as I say "N, no bang!", the other two look up, on cue, and begin to bang.  If I say "No hit!" the other two look around to try to figure out who to hit. 

I have to keep three kids safe...off counters, protected from pulling chairs over on themselves, safe from going down the stairs, fingers out of cracks/drawers/doors, out of Z's stuff (perhaps this is hardest).

They are really interacting, which is so blasted cute at times:  hugging, sharing, talking, laughing, hiding, finding each others shoes or cups, but so ugly a second later:  hitting, yanking, snatching, screaming, biting, pushing.

All three boys love to read books, which makes reading difficult.  There is not enough room for us to hold all 3 easily, and someone is always anxious to finish a book so will tear it out of our hands, much to the irritation of the other brothers. We have had to take some books out of circulation because they fight over them so much.  So sad.  But books are located low enough for the boys to grab them, and they love to just look at them and "read" them.  Pretty cute.

There is no favoritism between any of the boys (Z included).  All 4 boys play pretty equally together, and no one is consistently left out.  L tends to be pretty chill, but if he is interacting with one of the boys, he is really into it.  When we described to their pediatrician how they interact, he said they seemed to be advanced for their age (as far as socially).  This seems pretty obvious to me, since they have playmates their age 24/7!  But the boys will laugh and share, and they are starting to really show compassion for each other.  If someone is crying, the other boys will take him toys to make him happy. 

A few things on each kid:

C

• Still such a crybaby.  If he wants something someone else has, he cries.  And he does it in such a way that you think, "hey, did L steal that from you?".  But no, 90% of the time, he just wants it.  And he cries and cries and cries, and whines, and follows the brother around with whatever they have that he wants.  N has kind of capitalized on this...he totally messes with C! 
• Still the most curious, and will hardly sit still to snuggle with us. 
• He is finally getting his 7th tooth (yes, this is ridiculously late).  He has no molars! 
• He LOVES to climb up on the bar stools and doesn't listen when I tell him no.
• He was the first to get the sign for "more, please", (hands together, kind of like clapping), and does it furiously whenever he wants something.
• He probably has 15 or so "words", but most of them are just sounds (moo, quack, roar, ssss, qakqak, etc), although I think today he said tractor (or something like that) for a construction truck out front.  He also has mom and dad, and has all done.  He also has cracker and will start yelling crak-a crak-a if he sees them!  Still no names for Z or the brothers.
• He must be having a growth spurt because the kid eats like crazy!
• He tends to cling to me most in unusual situations. 
• He loves cars and trucks and trains. 

L

• Has the fewest words of all the boys...I think he has maybe 10?  (mom, dad, qakqak, roar, several others). Actually, he does pretty well when he is by himself, but if the other boys are around he will let them answer!
• The most chill of all the kids.  He is always last because of this chill attitude (last getting down from the table, last to get his shoes on, whatever).
• He is still the clumsiest and least sure of himself physically...like he still goes down the slide backwards, not on his bottom, because he can't get his legs around.
• Only cries if something is really wrong.
• He loves to collect stuff.  He will walk around and collect little people or legos.  He also was the first to really master legos. 
• Has a hilarious game he plays with Nate that involves making a "ppht" noise.  He plays with Nate, but really with ANY male he comes in contact with. 
• He has a mouthful of teeth--all 12 that are standard at this age. 
• He is the most physical with the other boys in a good way.  He might sit on someone or tackle them...pretty funny.  

N

• He is still the smallest of the boys, but he makes up for it by being ridiculously cute (not that the other boys aren't though!).
• He is typically the most extroverted of all the boys and will make friends with anyone he sees.   
• He has the most words, go figure.  He has all sorts of sounds, and has all done, nite-nite, tractor. 
• He is, I guess, a typical toddler with his eating (unlike the other 3 of my boys!).  He will often sit at a meal and not eat anything we put in front of him...but will eat that same meal later in the week.  He also would eat his entire body weight in cheese/dairy if I would let him. Tonight he ate ketchup with a spoon.  GROSS. 
• He can be kind of a stinker and steal stuff from the other boys and then take off across the room with it. 
• He has only has 7 teeth also, but at least one is a molar!  (4 on top front, 2 in front bottom, 1 molar). 
• He is pretty eclectic in his interests, and kind of moves around to different stuff. 

First sight word

Outside the other day Nate was pushing the grass seeder and Z looks down at it and says, "Hey Dad, why does that say zoo on it?".  Nate looks down and sees "Scotts AccuGreen 2000", but the 2 kind of looks like a Z.  Totally out of nowhere. 
Later on that night, Nate writes ZOO on a paper and asks Z what it says, and he goes, "Oh, ZOO!", then proceeded to get up and write down zoo without looking at Nate's copy.  No idea where he learned that Z-O-O is zoo, but he did.  His first sight word besides his name.  Good job, big boy! 

LASIK and Six Flags and TV

A few more firsts in our world...

Nate had LASIK done on his eyes (THANKS to his parents!) on Thursday morning, so his parents came up to help shuttle him back and forth and help me with the kiddos.  Nate was feeling much better by Friday afternoon, and his eyes are in great shape.  So nice for him to not have contacts anymore!

So on Friday morning, Mike and I took Z to Six Flags.  We have been telling him we would go all summer, and we finally got our chance.  It was raining when we left our house, but it had cleared up by the time we got there.  When Jenny and I were kids, Mom always got us season passes, and we would visit Six Flags all summer.  Very fun.  Great memories :)  Needless to say, it was so fun for me to be with Z on his first trip there.  And he was so brave!  We did the log flume 3 times, the scrambler, Scooby Doo (slow boat thru a dark tunnel with scary stuff...too scary for him!), the mine train 3 times, the tidal wave (he loved it!), the swings, the joker (the big boat thing), bumper cars, the colossus, and the screamin' eagle ("the hills are a little too fast, mom").  We were waiting for the last few rides, and it started to rain again, and the rides got shut down, so we left a bit earlier than we planned on, but we still had a long day and lots of fun.  I think we will go again...maybe not this year, but next year for sure!  

We have been holding off on letting the boys watch TV.  They watched for a few minutes in the car to DC, but they have never watched TV at home.  If Z watches TV, he watches while they are still napping or after they go to bed, and Nate and I never have the TV on while any of the boys are awake (well, sometimes baseball or basketball or football on mute...), so they haven't really ever seen it on.  So we finally caved tonight and put in a Baby Einstein, and they LOVED it!  We put in Baby MacDonald, and they stood there talking and mooing and baaing and uhhhing and pointing and just generally jabbering at the TV.  C stook about a foot from the TV and bounced and danced the whole time.   

New tricks

The boys are getting so big.  I can't believe it...my babies are huge!  Not even babies...little boys.   
A few new things that they have done, that show how big they are getting...

• Nate couldn't go to church with us a few weeks ago for some reason, so I had all the boys by myself.  But I was able to get them out of the car, and hold their hands and walk in!  L is on one side since he is the worst at walking and still kind of clumsy, along with the fact that he typically wants to go his own direction and doesn't hold my hand well.  C and N hold my hand really well, so they both go on the right side.  Z walks right beside me, and in the parking lot will hold onto my bag or something else.
• We live on a culdesac, and we have always gone on quick walks down the street.  But for the first time the other day the little boys made it all the way down and back all by themselves, without me having to carry one or more back, and we didn't even have to take the wagon.
• I had a quick errand to run last week, like in and out at Target for one thing quick, and I just didn't want to get out the wagon.  I debated on using the shopping cart, and decided to give it a shot.  I started out with all 3 boys in the cart, with me repeating "We don't stand up.  Nope.  Sit down.  We sit in the cart.  No.  Sit down.  We don't stand up."  I finally moved N to the strap in part, and left C and L in the cart.  The next day we tried a quick trip to Costco, which was a little easier since there are 2 seats with straps.  Not sure that I will keep doing the cart thing...but maybe.  They do need to learn, and I suppose that as long as it is a quick trip, it isn't a huge deal. 
• We went to the mall the other day and found a great deal on shorts for the boys for the next few years (I bought 2T, 3T, and 4T).  My boys are so so so good.  They sat so well in their wagon while I shopped, and Z did really well waiting while I looked too.  It helped that we had some friends meet us there as well.  Anyway, after we shopped we had to grab lunch there or the kids would have fallen apart.  We grabbed some BK, then sat down beside the carosel in the middle of the food court.  Brave as I was, I took the boys out of the wagon and let them sit on regular chairs.  Not even high chairs, the regular chairs.  They ate their nuggets and fries, drank their water, watched the carosel, and SAT in the chairs for the entire meal!  So proud of my sweet big boys!

Pajamas

Tonight was the first night I put the boys in two piece pj's.  All last summer and winter they were in sleepers, and so far this summer they have just been in long sleeved onesies.  But I had a friend drop off some hand-me-downs with some pj's in them, so I decided to root around in my 2T bin of clothes to see what else I had in terms of pj's.
Turns out I have 17 pairs of 2T pj's.  That's right, SEVENTEEN.  And I will tell you, I have never in my life bought a pair of matching pj's.  I personally think that they are a waste of money, even if they are so stinkin' cute.  I always figured a kid could wear long sleeved onesies, or old nasty shirts and shorts. 
But people have been sooooo generous to us with hand-me-downs!  SEVENTEEN pairs of pj's.  And that is just 2T.  We are so incredibly grateful for the stuff that people have given us!  What an amazing blessing.

So I put them on the boys tonight, and magically, they were little boys.  Not babies.  Something about the 2 piece pj sets just says "big boy" in a way that a onesie or sleeper does not.  

N

C

L (playing "where's L?")

BOO!

Boo!  This is the first word (other than Dada and sometimes Mama) spoken in our house.  It started last week. 
Whenever I change diapers (all too often), I toss the pants on the boys face, then say, "Where's _____?"  They quickly follow by yanking the pants off and saying "buh!"   L was first to get it, quickly followed by N.  I'm not sure C has it quite yet.  Since then, we have progressed to N covering his eyes then saying "buh!", and L covering his ears and saying "buh!".  Why his ears...?  No clue.  But we're trying to get C to cover his mouth as we do this...see no, hear no, speak no evil ;)
N's first word (last week also, the same day L shouted out buh!) was "uh, uh, uh!" as in a barking dog.  He peered over the fort to the neighbor's yard (they have 2 wildly obnoxious yippy dogs) and asked, "uh, uh, uh?".  C might have this one as well...not sure. 
Other than that, still no words.  Dada is very common...especially when he comes home.  "Dada, dada, dada, dada, daaaaadeeeee!"  Mama...not so much, normally if anything it is "muh?!" or "mamaaaaaaaaaaaa".  Not the high happy yippy squeals of Dada.
N will clearly be our talker.  The kid will just hold monologues.  He reads books out loud, poses questions, and generally just talk your ear off.  L is mostly a grunter/growler. I forgot that Z was totally a grunter/growler too, and look how HE has turned out :)  C is somewhere in the middle.  He is typically the kid to rush to grab something, anything, for us to have and talk about.  Shoes, books, cups, toys.
Soon these boys will be talking our ears off!

Ten years of marriage

Ten years ago, it was sunny and warm, and I was the bride on the corner.

I got married at the church I grew up in, and as a little girl, I remember driving by on Saturday afternoons and seeing the receiving line and the beautiful bride smiling and laughing and loving life in her gown.  And I wanted to be her. 

Ten years ago, I was.  My wedding was all that I wanted it to be...it was perfect.  Laid back, calm, wonderful. Family, friends, husband.

And ten years later, I am not quite that same girl.  Life has changed sooooo much in ten years. 

But I'll tell you what has not changed...that husband of mine.

I love him so much more than I did that day.  I remember people telling me marriage got better, but when you're 22, you can't imagine better.  How could it be better?  But it is.  It totally is better.  I read some survey in a parenting magazine about marriage after kids, and one of the answers was "Never better!" (which 27% of people chose).  Nate and I discussed that survey, and agreed that we are at that point...never better!   

It hasn't always been easy...we have had some hard moments/days/weeks/months, just like any marriage does.  My grandpa told me once, around his 60th anniversary, "We've been married 60 years, and 50 of them have been great!"  I have remembered that often.  The knowledge that it doesn't have to be perfect all the time, coupled with the experience that it isn't perfect all the time, and knowing that no matter what, we will still love each other.  After 10 years, we have weathered some storms.  We have gone through a lot...kids (ummm, triplets!), houses, friends, parents...you name it.  We have grown together.  We have matured together.  We have become less selfish, and have worked on meeting the other person's needs.  We have seen the best of each other (and the worst of each other!).  We have seen each other love our children...which is such an amazing way to see each other! 

So happy anniversary to my sweet husband.  What a blessing he is to me, to us.  Can't wait to spend the next ten (ok, more than ten!) years with him.

20 (or more) Questions with Z

I got this idea from a friend, who got it from a magazine. 
Every year on his birthday, we have taken a picture of Z in his Cardinal's shirt (and the little boys, too).  This is an add on to that idea...I will ask these questions every year.  I am late this year, and really, wish I would have started it when he turned 3, not 4, but whatever. 
So here goes. 

What is your favorite color? 
Black, silver, gold, blue

What is your favorite book?
Science books

What is your favorite movie? 
Animal movies, and the dragon movie from the movie theater (How to Train a Dragon)

What is your favorite food? 
Cinnamon Toast Crunch

What is your favorite TV show? 
Curious George

What is your favorite song? 
My blue radio with the Lion King song (I Just Can't Wait to be King)

What do you want to be when you grow up?
A paleontologist and a science teacher (no prompting, here!)

What is your least favorite food? 
Tomatos, and not all peppers, I just like banana peppers

Now that you're 4, what do you think you will do?  (Goals)
Go swimming

What is your favorite thing to do with Mom? 
Play Cooties (the game)

What is your favorite thing to do with Dad? 
Wrestle

What is your favorite thing to do with your pals? 
Play with Silly Putty (?)

What is your favorite store?
Costco.  (Why, Z?) Think about it!  The snacks!

Who are your best pals?
J and A

What is your favorite  Bible story?
None.  Well, I just like Noah's Ark.

What does Mom always say to you?
I love you

What does Dad always say to you?
I can't remember.

Where is your favorite place to go?
Monkey Joe's

What is your favorite restaurant?
McDonald's

What makes you laugh?
Ding Dong Daddy from Doomus (a random song that Papa Mike has)

What is your nickname? 
What's a nickname?

What is your favorite toy?
Reptiles, bugs, and bears

What is your favorite thing to do with your brothers?
Play with them silly

What makes you sad? 
When someone steps on my toys and breaks one I get really sad then mad. 

What is your favorite drink?
Capri Sun and lemonade

What is your favorite thing about school?
Um, um, um, um, I can't remember.

What is your favorite fruit? 
Pineapple

What is your favorite veggie? 
Carrots

What is your favorite sport?
Soccer

What is your favorite thing to do outside?
Run around

What is Mom's job?
I don't know. 

What is Dad's job?
He has to build stuff. 

What are you thankful for? 
All the animals



And that is Z, at age 4.