Quotes From a Soon-to-be-5-year-old

Today was Adelyn's last day as a 4 year old (sigh, tear, deep breath). I asked her to tell me what she was going to miss most about being four and she said, "my jammies, because when I'm 5 I'm going to be bigger and then my jammies won't fit me anymore."

Before bed I asked her to give me her last hug as a 4 year old and she said, "but I don't really want to give you another 4 year old hug, I've given you so many 4 year old hugs."

As I was leaving she stood up and gave me a big hug and quietly and sadly sad, "I'm really going to miss being 4 years old, but having a birthday means that you have to start being a new age and now I'm going to grow."

Then she said, "I wish I could start kindergarten now, because I'm going to be 5 years old and you have to be 5 years old to start kindergarten because those are the rules."

I think this soon-to-be-5-year-old already has it all figured out (sigh, tear, deep breath).

Pump It Up!

This year we decided not to have Addy's party at our house, instead we had it at Pump It Up, which is  a place full of inflatable jump houses & slides. I had actually never even been there, but Addy went to another party there and loved it. I can definitely see why! It was really fun. There were about 15 kids there and everyone had a blast. They got to run, jump and slide and there was even a bubble party! It was hilarious to watch the kids run around like crazy and it was even better to watch someone else clean up when we were done:)
I think this might be the last year of the big parties so it was fun to have it be such a special one.
Addy definitely had a great time and thoroughly wore herself out. She was asleep within 2 minutes of getting into the car!

One for the Books

I am in love with this phase of my kids loving books. They both will sit and look at books for so long and they just love hearing them over and over. This morning they quietly sat on Addy's bed for at least 15 minutes just looking at books. No fighting, no yelling, just enjoying the books on their own.
Then we got to school and Cameron ran right to the book section and sat down and started looking at another. It was the best! This phase can last as forever as far as I'm concerned.

No Fair

Lately it feels like 1 +1 = 3 when it comes to the Adelyn and Cameron. When one of them yells, the other yells twice as loud which makes the first one yell even louder and then my ears literally start ringing. When one of them whines then the other whines. When one of them is wound up it winds up the other and they seem to be truly bouncing off the walls.

Whatever Adelyn is doing Cameron seems to be trying the very next second and it's clear how much he observes her and copies what she does. The other day at dinner, out of the blue he just folded up his arms and shouted "no fair" which is one of Adelyn's signature moves. It of course made me laugh and then Adelyn did it two seconds later. He still has some work to do to come up with the pouty grumpy face that she has mastered, but unfortunately he's mastered the shouting of "no fair." 

22 months

Two months from today Cameron will be 2 years old! He is still as funny and charming as ever, but definitely has a streak of trouble in him. We've caught him cold-handed hitting Adelyn with various toys and unfortunately for us (and her!) he hits hard and he thinks it's funny. He is a bit of a beast when it comes to physical play. I'm honestly a little scared whenever I lay on the floor because it usually results in him tackling me, or jumping on me or trying to pin me to the ground.

The worst part is that he knows he just needs to flash me one smile and I can't stay mad at him for long. It also doesn't help that now he asks for time outs. He thinks they are fun. Clearly we have some work to do.
Today was his official first day in the Toddler room. He's not 2 yet, but they agreed he is ready to be in the big kid room. He just loved it in there and seemed to have that "big man on campus" swagger and attitude during both drop off and pick up. It's so cute and I just can't believe my baby is gone! 

Biker Babes

Adelyn and Cameron have become quite the bikers recently. They love to ride around the cul-de-sac and Addy especially loves to go as fast as she can, which is actually pretty fast. Her training wheels are as high as they get and she is way too big for her bike so we know it's time to move to a big kid's bike. Cameron is actually learning how to balance on his strider bike. He seems to use it more than Addy ever did.

The other day I took the kids to a track and field track and Addy rode her bike for a mile and a half! I asked her if she wanted to get off and run with me and she said, "no I'm just really into biking right now."

I Know

Cameron has some signature lines and recently has added a few more. I need to write them down before I forget how funny he is at this stage.

For the longest time he would say "got it" at the most appropriate moments. Like when we're late and I'd say, "ok we gotta get our shoes on" he'd reply "got it." Or I say, "can you put your clothes away" and says "got it."
"Because why" is his newest addition. Whenever I ask him why he did something, like "Cameron why did you hit Addy" he says "because why, " or "why are you crying?" the answer? "because why."
He also loves to boast "I know" to everything. So we say "there's a school bus." His response "I know" The best is when Brian explains something technical or very detailed and Cameron responds with "I know" as if he's wise beyond his years. 

If he hears the words "going" or "go" he always says "me come with" if I mentioned to Brian that I need to go get groceries Cameron instantly responds "me come with." It's like he has a fear of being left out of anything so he's always pleading to come with. 

The other morning I forgot something on the drive to school so as we were turning around to drive home I told them I had to go back home to get it and Cameron pleaded "me come with" as if he might be left behind. This goes for everything, going outside, going to the get the mail, going to take the garbage out. He doesn't want to miss out on anything. Of course, this goes for food too. If I mention something about making some food, whether it be right then or in the future, he runs up and asks "me have some?" And he still wants the food off Brian's plate, even if its the exact same thing as he has.
And of course, without fail he makes us laugh at some point during every single meal. The kid just loves the attention and knows he's pretty funny. Of course he has the audience wrapped around his finger.