Playing Hookie

Not really, no daycare and well visits caused me to spend the day with the boys. We made a day out of heading to the cities and went to Como zoo after the dr.

Gerrit has not wanted to ride in the stroller in over a year (we would have to force him and buckle him in if necessary) until today! Luckily I had the sling along and could wear Emmit so his highness could site see in style. Not all the animals were outside and a few exhibits weren't open but we saw enough animals to satisfy a 3 year old and his mother. We will go back this summer with friends and/or family as this is a favorite zoo for Adam and I seeing we lived in the area when we first moved to MN (and the zoo is free).

The day ended with bike riding and playing outside together. The only bummer to the day is Emmit has to go back for his shots because he had a fever over the weekend and they don't like to mix fevers and shots. Gerrit was a trooper and did well despite having shots.

I'll be back to post their stats from the visit once I find Gerrit's stats from 4 months.

The Big 3

As a family we celebrated Gerrit's birthday on Saturday (you'd think the kid had enough parties already!). We started by having breakfast at Bridgett's with Dahlens. Adam took Gerrit and Luke to a bike race nearby to watch (in the rain). After lunch Gerrit opened his gifts:

He made out quite well too. I wrapped all the gifts that were sent in the mail from family and his fellow birthday friend Marion (my mom's college roommate and Gerrit share the same day). He didn't quite understand the hobby horse but Adam does a great job 'riding' it! Adam enjoyed setting up the Hotwheels stuff he got from his cousins in MI. A fun little series of Hotwheels that will be fun for him to add on to in the future. I think his favorite was the 'football shoes' I found on clearance. I think they are soccer cleats, but he doesn't care (and they are a bit big too). He wore them all day and would choose to wear them all the time if we'd let him! He quickly asked where the helmet, jersey, pants, and pads were to go with the shoes. (He'll have to wait till Christmas for that!) He got a basketball jersey too but of course the shoes overshadowed everything!

We've enjoyed celebrating and can't believe it has been 3 years. We made it through the 2s just fine and are bracing ourselves for a tough year of 3s. We've already seen a glimps of the evil, pushing the limit Gerrit and really hope he doesn't stick around all year!

The Big Gift

Friday Gerrit celebrated his birthday at daycare so he wore his birthday shirt. Because it was suppose to rain all day on Saturday (which was his actual birthday), we decided to give him his bike early so he could ride it.

Gerrit was 'outgrowing' his push bike. He was going to either fall over because he was going too fast or go through a lot of shoes trying to stop (and wear out the soles). So we thought it was best to get him the next size bike (none of Team Beat had this size - go figure! But we have 2 16" bikes waiting). He loves the bike but is a bit timid to break. He still puts his feet down (we may still go through a lot of shoes this summer!) to stop instead of pedal backwards. He loves to stand up and ride and after a few days, has already gotten better at stopping and 'pedaling backwards'.

The only downfall to a new bike: getting him to come inside for the day is a fight we have every night!

Birthday Party II

Last Thursday night we had Dave and Pam over for dinner and birthday cake. Gerrit started eating his cake before we could get the candles on and lit! He was just as embarrassed as the last time we sang happy birthday to him a month ago when the family was here for baptism!

A Birthday 'Pony'

Here is the finished product from last night's post:

A felted hobby horse made by none other than me!

I'm pretty proud of it and hope Gerrit has fun with it. Gerrit has been asking to ride horses at "Deb's" since last fall when we were there! Since we can't ride horses, I thought I'd get him his own to ride whenever he wants.

Don't kids usually ask for a pony for their birthday?

-not our kid - he wants football shoes, helmet, jersey, and pads!

Stay tuned as the birthday festivities continue this weekend.

QUIZ

This is one of Gerrit's birthday gifts...what am I?

(Oma and Aunt Cara can not guess....they know the answer!)

Doesn't Skip a Beat

Last night I ran a few errands in preparation for Gerrit's big day on Saturday. He wanted to come along and I told him I was shopping for his birthday presents and in order for them to be a surprise, he couldn't come along. So I left a very tearful almost 3 year old behind and ran errands.

This morning when Gerrit woke up, he walked downstairs and found me in the kitchen. He then went back into the living room and looked around as if he was looking for something specific (usually he asks for a pop tart or oatmeal before anything else). I asked him what he was looking for and he said 'my presents'. I had to tell him that his birthday wasn't until Saturday (as if he understands that!) and he seemed ok with having to wait.

In the meantime, while I was out shopping, I left both boys home with Adam. Gerrit snuck out of the house and rode his bike without permission. Adam found him down the street on the sidewalk (the good thing is he knows his boundaries). Adam called him back and told him to ride his bike back into the garage, and go inside. When Gerrit got to the driveway, instead of going up the driveway, he pedaled even faster and continued down the side walk! At this point, Emmit is crying and Adam is running around the house to get the little speed demon! Adam had to carry him and Emmit into the house, both screaming as he went. Gerrit was put in a time out while Adam picked up some of the toys outside only to have Gerrit pee his pants!

Needless to say, there is no riding bike today....he did understand this when I asked him about it this morning too...we'll see if he remembers when it comes time to come home after daycare.