Michael turns 4

We celebrated Michael's fourth birthday at Chuck E Cheese this year... again. But everyone seems to love Chuck E Cheese.... even Scott. Michael was really excited for his birthday. In the weeks preceding it he'd ask me when his birthday was, and I'd tell him in two more weeks, or 3 more days, and he'd always say "I can't wait that long". But his birthday finally came, and now he's a big four year old. That also meant that he could get out of his car seat, and into a booster chair. He was super excited about that, especially since he got one handed down from his very cool cousin Andrew. Now he feels like a really big boy. So we had a great time eating pizza and playing games... it seemed like we had 200 tokens, they seemed to last for ever. I think Grammy even enjoyed herself. Hannah brought along one of her Nancy Drew books, and Grammy read it while we all played games. Scott had fun playing the basketball game, and even hit the 100 ticket jackpot for scoring 60 points in the time allotted. That was pretty exciting. I really like the picture down below of Michael playing Skee-Ball. He looks really intense. Michael got some cool presents too. His favorite was his "Letter Factory" game for his Leapster. He told me today "Thanks mom for getting me my Letter Factory Game. I really liked learning all my letters, now I don't have to go to school" he he he.... he's funny.


Michael riding in the big Monster Truck



Scotty winning the basketball jackpot... he's got nice form, doesn't he

Michael the Skee-Ball pro



Matthew liked playing this game... even without putting in a token

Swinging

I thought these pictures of the kids swinging in the backyard were cute. This was Macey's first time swinging for real (not just sitting in there while the boys swing), and she had a lot of fun. She has a really cute laugh. We like to play in the yard a lot. The boys jump on the trampoline, swing, and Matthew likes to throw rocks in the pool. But it will be swimming season soon enough, and then they will get swim, instead of wishing that they were swimming. Actually, both of them fell into the pool this winter. But I was right there both times to pull them out. Matthew's experience was worse, because it was really cold the day he fell in. He was trying to help me rake up some leaves, and wasn't watching where he was stepping. Michael was riding Matthew's Diego bike around the pool when he fell in. Michael did a good job of not freaking out... but he's my good little swimmer. But summer is just around the corner. :)

Matthew's Second Birthday!

So, Matthew turned two this year. He's getting to be a pretty big boy. I made him the Diego cake, because Diego is his favorite show. I let each boy pick a movie

or show that they want to watch each day, and Michael's changes from day to day (usually), but Matthew picks Diego every time. Both Matthew and Michael were pretty excited about the cake. Michael loves animals, so he liked all the animals on the cake.

Our family is lucky enough to have two Grandmothers who love all our kids very much. Here, Grandma is pretty excited about Matthew's birthday... maybe even more than Matthew is. But she gave him his favorite present of the year, a Diego dinner set. It came with a plate, bowl, a cup, and a fork and spoon set. He always wants to eat/drink from his Diego stuff.... even if it's dirty. I get lots of "why mom" when I tell him he can't use it. Matthew is a special boy. He loves riding his (you guessed right!) Diego big wheel bike, jumping on the trampoline (and his bed), playing with Michael, making Macey laugh, and reading books.

Christmas Fun

We really had a good Christmas this year. It was especially crazy not being at home (due to our water damage) . But I always find it tricky to juggle time between families. For some reason it always ends up that Jake and his family visit on the year it's supposed to be the Johnson Christmas. But we always make it work. We got to spend Christmas day with Grammy, and the evening with the Montross family. We also spend lots of time with the Montross family playing, going to the zoo, riding the train at McCormick Park, and just hanging out. I think all the Montross (and Bueler too!) cousins all had a really good time together.

Sara's Family - Macey

Macey sure has been a blessing to our family. She is happy and smiley all the time. She loves her brothers a lot.... even when they try to give her giant hugs, and steal her toys. She just smiles, and laughs at them. She is growing.... just not very fast :) We were able to bless her this past month... she looked beautiful in her pretty dress that her Grammy got for her. She's also starting to eat baby food... even though I'm not sure that she's too excited about it.


Macey and her Christmas Loot

Baby Macey

Getting Ready to Eat

Sara's Family - Matthew

Matthew seems to be growing up awfully fast too. It seems like he was just a baby, and now he's all grown up. I guess that's what happens when you have another baby. Matthew is big and strong and healthy. He is very brave, and is willing to try most anything.... unless it is something to eat. Then it's a whole other story. Matthew likes to jump on the trampoline, ride his Diego bike, and follow Michael around, and steal all his animals. We also just recently cut off all of his pretty golden curls. I know they are missed, but it was time for him to have a big boys hair cut. It really makes him look different. These are his "before" and "after" shots.

Sara's Family - Michael

Michael sure has grown a lot, He'll turn 4 this year. He's very cute and smart, and silly. He is a good big brother, and is always singing to Macey and Matthew. He loves to swim, and read. He also loves animals. His favorite movie right now is Evan Almighty. Matthew got a big pirate ship for Christmas, but I always find Michael playing with it, and it's filled with all his animals, and he's usually saying "Everyone..... Get on the Ark!!!"

Baby Michael

Michael at the Zoo

Michael and his Blankie