Let It Rain, Let It Rain, Let It Rain!

We've be blessed to have it rain almost every day for a little over a week now.  Today, Erik, Ella and I went out for a walk in it.  Then we had hot chocolate with "frosting" (whipped cream) while we listened to some classical music.  What fun!

Don't ask...

Soccer!

This year, both Jonathan and Erik played soccer.  Jonathan's team is doing well.  With only one game left they have only lost one and tied one or two...yes, there is a debate about that.  Erik's team unfortunately only had two real participants: Erik and Luke.  The others were usually off getting a drink or snack, playing on the jungle gym or wandering the field.  So it goes when you're team is made up of four and five-year-old players!

Isn't Erik "The Machine" Mortensen a cute little soccer player?

The Big 04

We had a lot of fun for Erik's 4th birthday party.  So much fun, in fact, that Erik can't stop talking about his next birthday!

The theme was Star Wars.  Each child went through special Jedi training in hopes of becoming a Jedi.  They faced an obstacle course, they had to use the force to keep balloons in the air with their lightsabers and at the end they had to battle Darth Vader (Landon).  You should have seen how intensely some of them got into it!  At the end, after they had all become Jedi, they battled a the Death Star (a star-shaped pinata).  Then they came in for some Pizza the Hut and Jedi Juice.

We didn't get a lot of pictures since we were so busy playing games!

Come on birthday boy!  Look at the camera!

Can we not just get ONE picture with everyone looking at they camera?

Erik's gifts were really fun.  One of the gifts included Incredible Hulk fists.  He LOVES those!

Erik is...

40" tall
32 lbs
learning to play the piano.

He...
played soccer this year (nicknamed "the machine")
loves super heroes, and Transformers
knows what he wants
often says, "Yes, ma'am," and "I love you Mommy and I always want to help you." (Unless it doesn't fit with his agenda, of course!)
loves to show off his muscles and have us feel them.

He also...
loves his brother and wants to do everything he does including playing the violin and defends him even when that threat is only perceived
loves to play Star Wars Lego Wii
can interpret what Ella is "saying."

He loves...
the color red
salad
his bear blanky.

We love you Mr. Erik!
 

Silly Faces

We've had this face painting kit forever.  One day Erik asked me for the umpteenth time if we could do it.  I finally said yes!  It was a lot of fun for me as well as the boys.

Of course, once you say yes, you have to do it more than once!

San Antonio Children's Museum

Isn't it every kids dream to be able to touch and play on everything they see in a museum?  Well, that dream came true last week for Erik and a couple of his friends.

First stop, the airplane:

Next the mini HEB:

Searching...

Got it!

What's next?

 The first thing Erik put in his cart was pancake mix.  That boy loves his pancakes.  He loved being able to shop for anything his little heart desired without anyone to tell him "no."

Pancakes, grapes, an apple, and fruit bars.

Checking out.

Afterwards they played jumbo chess.

There were a few other things they did that were really fun, but I didn't get pictures of everything.

Definitely a fun afternoon for Mr. Erik...

 ...not quite as much fun for Miss Ella:

San Antonio Zoo

It was so much fun going to the zoo.  There were so many things to see and do.  

There were birds that love water,

 and birds that were BIG!

Kangaroos, 

 and tigers jiggity jig!

Here's Mommy and Ella, 

and some crazy blue-headed fella!

 And here I am just soaking it in: sun, fun...

 and an animal on the run!

What's in a Name?

Here is Erik's interpretation of Ella's name...

Erik's 3rd Birthday

Shortly after Ella was born, Erik had his 3rd birthday.  I was worried that he'd feel overlooked because of the new baby.  I wanted his birthday to be fun even though we weren't going to have a friend party.  The great part was that his Grandma and Grandpa McEwen were here to celebrate with him.  Originally both sets were going to be here, but Grandma Karen's shoulder surgery  and recovery were more difficult than anticipated.

On Erik's actual birthday, we took him to Chik-fil-A.  The boys love going there because of the fun indoor play place.  He also went fishing with his dad, grandpa and brother at USAA.

After they came home we ate birthday cake and opened presents.  I usually make a homemade birthday cake for my kids, but I knew it wasn't going to happen this time around.  I'm just glad he loved the Spiderman cake I bought for him.

Of course, it's all about Batman right now! 

We then took him to Chuck E. Cheeses on the Saturday following his birthday.  What could be more fun than that?

ALL ABOUT ERIK

Erik is a sweet big brother.   He has made the transition well.  He loves his little sister and likes to hold her.  He also enjoys helping her "learn" Tae Kwon Do moves.  He loves everything that has to do with Batman.  He also like to do forward rolls, cartwheels and other gymnastic moves (even if it means jumping on his head).  He likes "do" letters on the starfall.com website and is very good at navigating the cursor with a mouse.  

Erik has also learned to defend himself.  He pulled out his Tae Kwon Do moves at the park when some older boys were teasing him.  He gave them a warning with an outstretched arm and leg along with a mean face.  When one of them didn't catch on, and continued to bother him, he kicked him and made him cry.  I never, EVER thought I'd want my kid to do this, but this same kid had made him cry unconsolably several months earlier and had sat on him trying to pull a toy out of his hands another time.  This boy had also bullied many other children (much to his poor mother's chagrin).  So, I was happy that Erik was finally able to take care of himself.  The funny part about it all was when I called Erik's name after he made the boy cry, he burst into tears.  He really is a tender-hearted boy.

We love you Erik!  Happy birthday!