Leif is FOUR!

We all thought this day would never come! Leif has been saying "it's almost my birthday" since at least August and now he is finally four! He is so proud of it, although so far, when asked, the only difference he is aware of between three and four is that four-year-olds can jump off of rocks at the park that three-year-olds are unable to (we haven't actually tested this theory, but he is pretty sure of it). Leif is pretty happy and proud to tell everyone he meets that he is four and we had several parties to celebrate. We had one with my dad at the beginning of November when he was here visiting (just pizza and cake), one with my mom, stepdad, and sister when we were in Utah the night before his birthday (The Old Spaghetti Factory, presents, and cake), and one with Austin's side of the family on his actual birthday (presents, wrestling with cousins, and the same cake from the night before).

Leif is quite the interesting fellow. He is a little replica of his father with some of his mother mixed in. Leif is stubborn and is very set on having things his way, is always thinking about something or figuring something out, is very clever, loves to watch movies, and is great at memorizing things (particularly rhymes, stories, and movie lines). Leif is really into quoting Peanuts right now and will go around reciting conversations between the characters without any context (it really confuses people who don't know what he's talking about). He thinks he is hilarious and his brother agrees, so it just eggs him on to keep doing it. Leif loves to laugh and is always thinking of something absurd to say or do just to entertain himself or his siblings. Sometimes it irritates me, but most of the time I just have to keep myself from laughing at him so I don't egg him on too. One of the funny things about Leif is that he loves and seeks attention when it's on his own terms (he loved saying his part for our church Primary Program and tries to get up and talk at the microphone whenever he can), but he gets really shy and put out if he's given attention without seeking it (he squirmed and hid every time we sang to him for his birthday parties). Here is the birthday interview I did with him and a few pictures from his party (plus a bonus picture from about a month ago that I just really like of him)

Who is your favorite person? Heidi

What is your favorite color? Green

What is your favorite thing to watch on TV? Planes Fire and Rescue (this has been his favorite movie since before he turned two)

What is your favorite outfit? Rescue Bots shirt (my sister made this with him a few days ago and he wore it for two days and two nights until I finally made him take it off)

What song do you like the best? Silent Night (this is a recent thing, mostly he loves 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star' and sings it to Heidi all the time and even wanted us to sing it instead of Happy Birthday)

What is your favorite cereal? Kix

Who is your best friend? Amanda

What do you want to do when your grow up? Do construction

What is your favorite book? Planes Fire and Rescue (of course- the book version of his favorite movie. He has this book memorized and can 'read' the whole thing)

What are you really good at? Jumping off rocks (this must be what he was referring to when asked what four-year-olds do better than three-year-olds)

Where do you wish you could go on vacation? To Idaho (Great Grandma & Great Grandpa's house-we just got back from here, but its a favorite for both our boys)

What would you buy is you had a lot of money? A paw patrol toy (he just got a bunch of them for his birthday)

What is your favorite dinner? Meat Love (meat loaf)

If you could have a wish, what would it be? Jesus being born

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Mint Chocolate Chip-the green kind

Who do you want to be like? our Dad

What do you like to do with your friends? Play

What do you hope you'll get to do before your next birthday? run to our house

What is your favorite thing to do? Play Planes Fire and Rescue

What are you proud of? my brother

What are you afraid of? Monsters

What is Mom's favorite thing to do? Have new babies

How strong is Dad? Really strong

What does Dad do best? Take pictures

What does Mom do best? Exercise

What do you like best about Dad? He's huge

What do you like best about Mom? She stays at home with us

Heidi is a year and a half!

Our little ragamuffin princess is a year and a half old! She is a little busy body that gets into everything and makes you quite aware if you do something she does not agree with. Mostly she yells "Nooooo!" but if she can get into whatever you are doing, she will. Heidi's verbal skills are skyrocketing-I'm sure I find them even more amazing because I only have her brothers to compare them to. I thought Leif was really good at speaking because he was saying full sentences by two, but Heidi has already surpassed him and uses full sentences now. Like I said last month, its mostly "I want this" or "I don't want that" but she does say other things as well. Heidi still loves coloring and throws quite a few tantrums over not being allowed to color or draw whenever the mood strikes her (like at nap time or when its time to change her diaper). I have found her coloring on walls, the floor, and tables a few times and we have to keep reinforcing that only paper is for coloring. Heidi loves dogs and cats. The boys always had a fascination with them, but Heidi really loves them and isn't afraid at all. She loves to hug and pet them whenever she gets the chance and the word "kitty" is probably one of the cutest words to hear her say right now. Here are some photo's of Little Miss that Austin took: