The Year of Four So Far

Last week and the week before we celebrated Nolan's fourth birthday. It's crazy to think that I've been a mom for over four years. It just goes by soooo fast.

Nolan at four is so far a really fun age. We really struggled a little after 3 1/2 with his need to voice his independence. But recently, we've been able to leave fun places without a tantrum. The dread I used to feel about rounding him up from school or playground has subsided. Could it be....could we be past that stage? Fingers crossed my friends, fingers crossed.

Tidbits of Nolan at four:
-Super sweet boy that loves to give compliments: "You look pretty mommy," "I love that shirt mommy," or "You smell nice." He always surprises me with his vocabulary and the way he uses phrases properly.

-He has great manners! He says please and thank you or that was very nice of you mommy. (Don't get me wrong plenty of demanding moments too!)

-He's a worrier. It's funny how your own words can be used on your or your other child. "Mommy be more careful," or "That could be dangerous," are some phrases that apparently I have used that come back at me in other moments.

-He loves talking about storms, rain, tornados, tropical storms, and all those types of weather related news. We used to have to watch The Weather Channel, but for now we are past that stage.

-He loves his brother. As much as they bother and pester each other, when they are doing separate activities or one goes with the other parent or grandparents they cry for the other to go. It's sweet to see even if it hampers your plans.

-He has such an imagination! He's always coming up with stories and songs. He's really enjoying the spooky Halloween season!

-His favorite shows are Octonauts, Sheriff Callie, Mickey, Handy Manny, and Bob the Builder.

-He's still a huge fan of construction trucks and all things emergency vehicles. His new favorite is his huge crane truck as he loves tying things together.

-He's still not a huge fan of drawing, coloring, or painting. He's good for about 10 minutes, and he's ready to clean up and move on.

-He's still huge! We haven't been to his four year appointment yet but this boy is probably over 45 inches in height and 43 pounds! He seriously looks like a 6 year old.

I'm super excited to see him grow in this next year. I think four will be the best year yet!

Natalie

Happy 4th Train Birthday Party!

Happy Friday friends! While Nolan's official birthday isn't until Monday (I'll share a little more about my four year old then), we celebrated a small train birthday party with our playgroup.

We've had several bigger parties before, but this year decided to take it down a notch. Nolan said it was the best yet! He kept saying how he loved his birthday decorations. He really can be a sweet boy. Maybe we're entering the "favorable fours?"

So today I'll just leave you with a short post with photos! I pretty much kept it simple. I ordered a printable design for the birthday banner (and it really turned out so cute!)

The snack table had popcorn with free printable stickers I found online, a pennant banner and cupcake toppers, and as a party favor everyone received a bandanna and train whistle! (all from Oriental Trading)

This almost four year old had a blast at his train birthday party!

Natalie

Fun Fall Festivities!

Happy Friday my friends!

This week we received the kids school photos from their Mother's Day Out program. I really didn't expect them to be good, but I must say I love them! How are my boys old enough to have school photos???

They actually have another one of Nolan actually smiling. In the above photo is his classic "No I don't want to take a picture!"

Last weekend we attended a birthday party for Ethan at a pumpkin patch. You might recognize Laura from her former blog My Thoughts Uninterrupted. She's not writing anymore because of her new business Pop of Happy. You really should check out her shop as she has great home decor and party items. Ethan's birthday party was SO CUTE! Her theme was a farm theme with apples, popcorns, and old pickup trucks. Unfortunately it was very windy so she couldn't hang all her decorations BOO! 

We had a station to season our own popcorn and add delicious toppings to our apples. She always has the most creative ideas!

The pumpkin patch was huge and so much fun! All the kids loved running around, climbing on hay, picking out pumpkins, and even seeing a pumpkin launched from a cannon and blown up!

Do you make an annual trip to a pumpkin patch? 

Natalie

An Amazing and Inspiring Weekend

This past weekend I traveled to Houston for the City Moms Blog Network Sister Site Conference for Knoxville Moms Blog.

I was a little anxious to meet all these ladies as we had never met in person.

But it was like we were old friends getting together for the weekend. Ashley who inspired me to start KMB who I met through this blog 3 1/2 years ago was someone I was so excited to meet. She was amazing and smart just like I knew she would be. Without her, I would not have KMB as a business or as a fulfilling part of my life.

So many inspirational women with big hearts and wonderful ideas. I felt honored to be surrounded by such empowering women.

We stayed at The Woodlands Resort in Texas which was AMAZING and HUGE! If you have to ride a golf cart to get to the lobby you know you are in a big place.

I left with so many great ideas and a long to-do list...but mostly with a feeling of friendship.

If you sometimes doubt if your online friendships are real, I assure you there are some true ones.

I'm almost ONE YEAR into KMB. That's just crazy talk! I know it causes me to post less here, but it's such a great outlet for me. I love connecting the moms in our community.

Have you ever met someone in person that you only new previously from online? 

Natalie