Just a few pictures of the mischief-maker of the house! :)
This boy loves the swing! The boys both have these hats and whenever they were them, people go crazy over them!
Everett continues to love his naked time. Add that to his love of the outdoors and he's a happy little guy.
Little BBQ Dude
Yes, this is Everett after he climbed up using the shelves in the lower cabinet so that he could get to the cabinet that holds the medicines vitamins, which is located right above the knives and toaster oven.
Here's Everett using one of his new birthday presents (that he got early). He was actually terrified of it for a few days and even screamed "No!" at it for awhile. But, he gradually came around and now is very fond of it, as I suspected he would be. :)
Yeah! It's finally here. I have a little boy who plays baseball. It's one of "those" things that I've always wanted. Maybe it's because I grew up spending lots of time watching my older brother play little league. Whatever the reason, I'm giddy over the cuteness and fun that is t-ball.
Anderson is playing through Prestonwood Sports Organization for the Reds. Like soccer, no formal score is kept and everyone is made sure to get their turn. Anderson has two of his best little buddies on the team, which does cause some distractions during practices, but fun nonetheless.
Game 1 was awesome. Anderson has a fairly natural swing that he doesn't have to try to hard at, so he much prefers batting. He hit all three times he was at bat, only 'striking' once. Fielding is a very new concept. It's difficult for a bunch of 4 year olds to stay in one spot, so they pretty much all just kind-of wandered around out there chasing the ball and then throwing it to first over and over.
Here are the highlight pictures and video:
The uniform being big on Anderson is an understatement.
First at-bat!
Making his way around the bases
This is basically what it looked like most of the time when they weren't batting.
There was also a lot of random walking off the field to have Daddy put the glove back on.
By far the best picture ever. :) Look at that little superstar.
I actually missed getting his first hit on video because he literally walked up and hit it so fast that I didn't get my camera going in time! :(
Second Hit
(The funniest part of this video is the kid who is on Anderson's team that runs from first to home plate, literally passing him going the wrong way. hee hee!)
A: play with Lightning McQueen cars,
play hide & seek
Q: What is your favorite Bible story?
A: “I got a great one- when He died
on the cross for me, so I can be saved. From
the monster.”
Q: What do you do when you are four
years old?
A: have a birthday, go with my mommy
and daddy
Q: Where do you live?
A: in Dallas Texas at street called Flagstone
Q: What food do you most like to eat?
A: edamame, pasta noodles, cheese,
chicken nuggets
Q: What do you like to drink?
A: lemonade, orange juice, milk,
water
Q: Where do you go to school?
A: I don’t know the name
Q: Who are your teachers?
A: Ms. Melissa, Ms. Kelly, Ms. Heather
Q: What is your favorite song?
A: We All Live in a Yellow Submarine
Q: What is your favorite book?
A: Me & My Dad and Chicka
Chicka Boom Boom
Q: Who is in your family?
A: Everett, Mommy, Daddy, Anderson,
Riley
Q: What do you want to do when you get bigger?
A: grow into something- a fireman, a garbage man, Lightning McQueen driver
(It wasn't my intent to do this year's video in the car, but when we left church on Easter Sunday, he was in such a happy and chatty mood that I figured I would just go with it :)
Anderson's birthday fell on Wednesday this year and he had a fun day. When he woke up that morning Reese and I were telling him that he was now 4 years old and he was adamant in explaining to us that he wasn't actually 4 until he had blown out his candles and opened presents. So, he got to be 3 for most of the day, I guess! We met up with a playgroup at a local park for an Easter egg hunt in the morning and in the afternoon he had a special friend over to play. For dinner, Anderson chose to have Mommy, Daddy & Everett take him to GattiTown for some pizza and games. Since it was his "actual birthday" and not his "carnival birthday" (the terms he became familiar with in all the talk leading up to birthday events) he got to also choose his very own small cake. Of course, he chose it to be decorated in Lightning McQueen. We took the cake to GattiTown and had our own little family party. Anderson opened a few presents that were from family members once we were back home, with his favorite being the two new games for his LeapPad.
Apparently I just need to drive around and find construction sites to provide free entertainment for the boys. We recently came out of a store to find some trucks hard at work nearby. I think Everett could have watched and waved at this road grader (yes, I do mistakenly call it a digger in the video) all day long! Anderson does a cute impression to start the video off.
One morning a few days before his birthday, Anderson came downstairs and went straight into the kitchen without even coming to see Mommy or Daddy. We heard him rustling around in there for awhile and it soon dawned on me that he was making himself his standard waffle breakfast. Eventually, he did have to come and ask for some help opening the waffle packaging. At that point, he informed us to NOT come into the kitchen until he came to get us. Here's what we found when he let us enter.
I am super impressed that he was able to get the gallon of milk down from the fridge and pour it into the two bowls without spilling a drop.
This is certainly something he's never done before, even with our assistance!
Anderson also saw an episode of Caillou (he actually doesn't watch that show very often at all, but obviously it sticks with him!) that was about April Fools Day. Anderson thought this concept was hilarious and informed me that when the day came, he wanted to play "nice tricks" on Daddy. So, I helped him out a bit that day. Here's one of the better ones we 'got' Daddy on. As a side note- Anderson called the day "Happy Fools Day" (and still does even though we've corrected him many times) which is really cute.
Yikes! March was an insanely busy month around here and that's actually an understatement! I have SO much to catch up on and unfortunately I'm now in what is supposed to be our family's busiest month: April (Easter, both boys' birthdays, tons of friends' birthdays)! So, I'm feeling a little underwater in terms of this blog which does make me sad, but it's OK. Why? Because...while the pictures & videos may not be here for you to see and read about, the important fact does remain that we have been having some wonderful time together as a family (and the pictures and videos do exist at least) and that's the important thing!
So... hopefully...here are some of the things to come in future posts (about the past):
-we went on a family ski trip with Nana B, Grandpa Billy, Uncle Dustin, Aunt Sarah and the boys' cousins, Carter and Kate. It was our second year to take Anderson skiing and he did awesome!
-Reese spent 8 days in Scotland on business and then I was blessed to have Nana B and Grammy watch the boys so that I could join him for another 5 days. We toured Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands. WONDERFUL trip!
-St. Patrick's Day was loads of fun for the boys! Anderson really got into it this year and loves hunting for gold and other treasures left by leprechauns.
-Anderson started playing t-ball, which is SO much fun! It's adorable and he's an awesome hitter!
-This Lent season and the time leading up to Easter has been very special. It's been awesome watching and hearing Anderson really begin to learn and understand the true meaning of Easter and the resurrection story. Wait until I post the video of him telling the resurrection story with his Easter eggs! Priceless!
-Anderson turned 4!!! We had a small family-only celebration on April 4th because the big bash is coming up on the 14th when he celebrates with Everett and all his friends!
-the big Neumann Bros. Brithday Carnival!!
Oh, Everett-Bo-Beverett. Such a little stinker. At a bold 22 months, Everett decided it was time to scale the high prison walls of his crib. We were sleeping one morning a week or so ago when some new 'noises' perked up my Mommy Senses and woke me. After listening for a moment, I realized that the footsteps, fiddling with doorknob, and then opening and closing of a door were not the familiar sounds that I'm used to hearing from Anderson's room. My heart sank at that moment. I whispered to Reese, "EVERETT GOT OUT OF HIS CRIB" while lying completely still. I think I was momentarily hoping that if I was quiet and still enough that maybe 'it' wouldn't really be happening.
But, it did. The next night we all went to bed as usual. However, at 2 a.m., Everett appeared (quiet as a mouse) right beside our bed and announced in a bright and cheerful voice "Night Night!" Reese and I about fell out of our bed. We were so confused and saddened at the same time. It was that next morning that Reese said out loud what we both knew: "There goes our nights of uninterrupted sleep." That was a very short year 9 months of sleeping through the night that Everett gave us. He was a terrible sleeper his whole first year. :(
So, needless to say, the nights have not been very fun here lately. Well, I guess they have been for Everett! Each time he comes out he has the same proud attitude and is as happy as can be, no matter what time it is. Luckily, there have been no tears involved or major resistance to us putting him back to bed. But, he is slowly testing his freedoms more and more each night and I can see where this is all going. So, we're trying to figure out what to do. Crib tent? Toddler bed? Door lock? Wait it out? Of course we're afraid he'll fall and hurt himself either on the climb out or coming down the stairs. That's the main concern. The secondary problem is getting him back in the habit of putting himself back to sleep when he wakes during the night instead of hopping up to see what's going on "out there".
Just for some perspective. Anderson actually has a difficult time climbing out of Everett's bed. I really thought we had a LONG time before Everett would figure it out. Apparently Anderson is just lacking in the climbing skills.
Don't ask what Anderson is doing...I have no idea????
So, if that's not enough for my Mr. Mess, he also has a new-found love of being naked. Shortly after he's up, Everett has those jammies off and the diaper is long gone too. It all began with an interest in the potty, etc. It has now evolved into a multiple-times-per-day strip down. Luckily there haven't been many accidents on the floor and the ones that have happened have been on the hardwood or tile. Maybe this will be good for potty training?
Yep, that's Everett in his Birthday Suit carrying his purse briefcase filled with keys, wallet, a dog collar, a remote control- the essentials.
