Wes is 4!!!

I love this boy getting older! Sometimes I can't believe he is only 4. Usually it's the other way around, but he always seems to be older than he is and I think it is mostly due to his amazing, outgoing personality. He gets people, especially his older brother. They fight (a lot) but much more love is going on and that three year age gap gets smaller and smaller every passing year.

Unfortunately Brian was out of town for a conference in California for Wes' birthday, but we didn't hold back on the celebrations! We made sure he felt like a million bucks on his big day!

 This boy is all about monster trucks lately so we made sure he was surrounded by them every which way!

 We didn't have to wait for dad to be around to open presents, so I let him dig in before Thad headed to school. 

I love watching them be excited for each other. Thad is so sweet for being so interested!

We got Thad off to school and pretty much let this boy rule the roost and got lots of cute pictures of him, of course.

   

We FaceTimed with daddy so he could chat with the birthday boy before his busy day started. Wes was very excited to tell him all about his gifts and even opened a couple with him on FaceTime.

Before we knew it, it was time to head to the store to pick up his cake and snack of choice for his birthday play date with Evan!

We never to the car cart. Except for birthdays. 

Wes LOVED it!

 After the store we picked Evan up and they had an awesome four hour play date! Wes is just a month older than him and they get along great. It makes my life easier when Evan comes over so he is a frequent visitor!

  

Snack of choice:

Wes has loved Play-doh recently so we got him tools and lots of colors. Black is his current favorite color, so he infected all the others with it the very first day. I had to let. It. Go. It is just Play-doh.

H-E-B did an awesome job with his cake and it was easy to just put our own vehicles on top. 

  

My wish was that I could know his wish, but I have a feeling this little boy is going to make whatever wish he did make come true!

 After lunch and cake we took this guy home-

and enjoyed getting some packages in the mail! 

Did I tell you he likes monster trucks?

These are from a show called "Mater's Tall Tales" on Netflix and getting them from Grandma Teresa reminded him that the show existed. Over the next couple days he watched that 33 minute show like 30 times. I wish I was exaggerating (because who lets their kid watch that much TV?), but I'm not. He loved it!

Thad got home from school and enjoyed some Play-doh time-

And then we bundled up and headed to McDonald's for a gourmet dinner on a Friday night. 

This play place was really big and a lot of fun! 

(It would have been more fun if Wes and Eve hadn't gotten super sick over the next couple days. A mean reminder of why we don't frequent the McD's play place.) 

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We had to finish the night off with cake and ice cream with siblings, of course! And Wes did not want a repeat of when Eve touched the candle on her own birthday cake.

 What a great big brother!

 Look how enchanted Eve is by that candle! Good thing she has Wes.

And an extra birthday wish for that perfect four year old of ours!

This boy and that smile keeps things lively around this house and we wouldn't have it any other way!

FOUR Things We Adore About Wes:

4. His red hair. We will never get over it and how perfectly it fits him and his spunky personality!

3. His passion. Wes doesn't just like things, he LOVES them! Whether it's soccer, TV, his brother, cars or monster trucks, he is all in.

2. His snuggles. He still naps everyday and when he wakes up he will come sit with me wherever I am and snuggle right up. If he is the first one up in the morning he will hop right in bed with me and do the same thing. I cannot get enough!

1. Everyone is an old friend. Brian mentioned how he makes everyone feel like an old friend and he hit that nail right on the head! If you are 1 or 101, Wes is your best friend and will make you feel like a million bucks. This aspect of his personality is so magnetic and he just draws people in. It is very entertaining and special to watch!

Happy 4th birthday, Wesley boy, it's going to be a good year!

Soccer and Flag Football

Both boys got to play sports this fall and Wes could not have been any more excited about it! They both had practice on Tuesday nights so we had to divide and conquer which meant Thad only got to see one game because Wes had 30 minutes of practice followed by a 30 minute game. It is the perfect set up for three year olds, but kinda sad Thad couldn't come to more games because he was almost as excited for Wes as Wes was! The first thing he would ask when we saw each other was if Wes' team won and how many goals Wes scored. Cutest brothers.

Eve had to jump in on the action, too!

She sure is cute in the pictures, but was a total nut at the games. She wanted to be playing right on the field just be as far away from me as she possibly could. She is crazy, but I love her!

Go Team Rush!!

This is Mitchell and Wes-

I should have got a photo of them being buddies, but I didn't. :( If there were team captains, these two would have been it. They both have the same color of hair and were ALL OVER that soccer ball! Most of the team's scores came from them. Mitchell has clearly played before and Wes learned all of his tricks from him! They were the cutest!

We are cheap skates around here and don't pay for "professional" pictures, so these will have to do. What a fun season for our Wes!

I think he wore his medal anywhere he could for the next two weeks!

Mr. Thad had a blast learning more about the game of football. We tried out a different league (besides the YMCA), and it turned out really good. His coach was nice and he even goes to school with a couple of the boys on his team. He loved having weekly practices and games and although he wasn't the fastest, strongest, most agile player he learned so much and I think he's hooked! 

I didn't take my camera to many games because it was either scorching hot or too early, so luckily some other parents got some good photos of him.

It got really rainy at the end of the season and his last couple of games had to be rescheduled. The playoffs were supposed to happen the weekend Brian and Eve went to Utah, but the game got canceled right as we pulled up in the POURING rain because the field flooded. We were crossing our fingers that they would reschedule (after two rescheduled games already) for the next Saturday, but unfortunately it was rescheduled for Sunday. When I told Thad he wouldn't be able to play he cried a little, but took it like a tough guy. He understood why but knows how important the Sabbath day is and wanted to follow the commandments. He is such a good example to his younger siblings. Telling him he couldn't play was one of the hardest things I have had to do! Thoughts went through my head...well, it's just this once...no big deal....we can still go to church. As much as I wanted him to play, I pray that helping him make these decisions now will help him to make them on his own later. Our family has been blessed with unity, love and success because of our Sabbath day observance (not that we are perfect at it) and I hope to pass that on to each of our children.

BUT, his team won the super bowl for their division!

We waited all day to hear if they won both games and around 4pm we found out they did! He was so excited and his coach was so sweet to drop by our house with a couple of his teammates and give Thad his trophy. As you can see, Thad was over the moon about it!

What a fun season we had, how grateful I am for a boy that is amazing.