Cole turns 5

The trip to Legoland was about 2 hours away from Tyler's uncle, but that didn't stop Tyler from fulfilling the kids' dream to visit that place. We figured now would be the best time to take them since many people had told us that Whitney & Cole were at the "perfect ages" to go. 

People had also warned us that it wouldn't be as great as Disneyland, so Tyler kept his expectations pretty low. But all 3 of them walked away having a great time; Tyler said it was definitely a worthwhile "one time" trip. Whitney was big enough to ride most of the rides without an adult, so that worked out really nicely since there was only 1 adult on this trip to accompany 1 child!

So... Tyler did Cole's hair, but not Whitney's. What?! :)

I promise I packed her hairbrush, elastics, and hairbows for her. Whitney can even do her own hair; I don't know why it is not done.

And I love how teeny Cole looks in this contraption:

Apparently everything there is Lego-fied. Cool stuff!

Cole's birthday was on the 20th while they were gone. Sad that I missed being with him on his actual birthday, but we made up for it once they all got home.

We let him open his birthday presents on that Friday afternoon (22nd) when they got back. Annie & Whitney fulfilled our family tradition of hiding the presents, and Cole loved finding them. Before he ripped into them, he let me take this dynamite shot:

Oh I love that boy. One story: The week before they left for So Cal, Cole got the last sticker on his "I can stay dry all night!" chart. [Yeah, we're still working on that one...] Needless to say, he was SO excited he reached his goal and even more excited that he got to go pick out a Lego set (just a small one) from Target.

Tyler called me from the store to ask me something and then told me that Cole had picked out a Lego Star Wars set for his prize. I told Tyler that I hoped it wasn't the same one that I had already bought Cole and wrapped up for his birthday. After Tyler described the box to me, I figured we had picked out different Lego sets and all was well. They came home, opened Cole's new prize and had a great time building.

Fast forward to Cole opening his birthday presents... The second present from his stash that he opened was the Lego Star Wars set that I had bought him--which was in fact the same Lego set he had already bought at the store a week earlier. Doh! As soon as he got a glimpse of what was under the wrapping paper, Cole threw down the box and with tears in his eyes cried, "THIS IS THE WORST BIRTHDAY EVER!!!" Cole ran to his bedroom as Tyler and I just stared at each other wondering what in the world had just happened.

After a few minutes we talked with him, helped him calm down, and explained that just because he got the same Lego Star Wars box didn't mean he had to keep it. He was much more rational after he found out that we could exchange this box for a new one.

It was a good learning experience and practice for what was happening the next day on Saturday the 23rd--Cole's Batman birthday party! We (of course!) prepped him for what was to come with the present opening and role-played lots of different scenarios if friends were to bring him a present that he already had. 

There was rain in the forecast, so at the last minute we changed the location of Cole's party from a local park to our community room here at our complex. We played some batman-themed games like "Mr. Freeze Dance", "Penguin Shuffle" (race with a balloon between your legs so you walk like Mr. Penguin), and "Batman, Batman, JOKER" (duck, duck, goose). We enjoyed pizza, grapes, and carrots, and then we had a grand finale with the kids beating up Tyler's stellar homemade Batman Pinata.

I did the paper mache part, but he whipped the decor on that thing in just a few hours the night before the party. Nice work, honey! And that thing was practically indestructible. The kids all got plenty of hits on Batman before the candy fell out. Woo-hoo!

And the gift unwrapping could not have gone smoother! (PHEW) Our favorite part was when Cole opened this Batman TRIO gift singing "Duh, nuh, nuh, nuh, nuh, nuh, nuh, nuh... BATMAN!" with pure happiness. He was truly grateful for every gift he received. 

His friends were so generous and thoughtful. We couldn't believe how nice all of the presents were that his friends brought him.

Some recent Cole-isms:

* Cole asked me for a napkin at a restaurant the other day. After getting the napkin he looked at me with a wink and in a manly tone said, "Thank you Sweetheart!" Cracked me up.

* I took him to a trial gymnastics class to see if he would like it. There were 7 girls and no boys in the class, but that didn't phase Cole. He strutted right up, lined up with the girls and said, "Hi there! I'm the NEW kid!"

* While shopping at Costco, he pointed at the lady giving out a sample and announced, "You lost a baby tooth!" The lady had a gap in between her teeth, so I thought that was what he was referring to. So to try and smooth things over, I said, "That's right Cole, we all loose our baby teeth!"  I grabbed my sample and couldn't get away fast enough before Cole yelled to the lady, "Oooo... You didn't brush your teeth! That's why you lost your tooth!!"

So when we got home, we gave Cole a big talk about how we don't need to point out things on people and how sometimes people have different looking teeth, hair, skin, or bodies than us. We role-played a few scenarios of how to appropriately talk to someone.

* 4 days later I went to pick up a toy organizer thing I found on Craigslist from a lady in a neighboring city. As I drove up, I saw a heavy-set woman come out and open her garage for me to get the items. I left the kids in the car and opened my trunk to load up the things. She was the nicest lady, and we got talking about her daughter's birthday party as she helped me load my car. Cole turned around in his seat and was trying to chime in our conversation:

He said, "Umm, you know what?" about 3 times before we stopped to acknowledge him. The lady looked at him and said, "What?" Then Cole said with the sweetest of intentions, "You're NOT fat!"

I DIED inside when he said that. The lady and I just stood there loading up the things in shock. Time seemed to crawl by in those few moments before I said the only thing I could think, "Cole--sit down and put your buckle on!" But no, since Cole didn't get any response from us, he had to make sure to repeat what he said TWO MORE TIMES. I could not throw the toy buckets in the back of my car fast enough. Cole's little voice, "You know what? You're NOT fat!" would not stop ringing in my ears.

I told him again to get his buckle on, thanked the lady for my things and hauled hiney out of that city. Poor Cole... he just wanted to strike up a conversation! We've got to work on that tact. Man does he keep us on our toes! :)