Happy 3rd Birthday, Brock!

Brock turned 3 years old yesterday and he had a great birthday.  To begin the day he got to eat Lucky Charms for breakfast.  He eats all of the marshmallows first and then the cereal.  We tried to get him to wear a birthday hat.

Now that Brock is 3 years old he can ride in a booster car seat.

First we went to Kindermusik and Brock got to wear the birthday hat.  The class sang Happy Birthday to him and he didn't cry like he did at his party, but I could tell he didn't like it much.

After class we went home and got Daddy and then went to the Magic Kingdom.  It was more crowded than when we went a couple of weeks ago.  We rode Pirates first, then rode to Tom Sawyer Island.  The last time we were at the island Brock ran all over the place but this time he seemed tired.  He did shoot a gun in the fort, explore a cave, and try out the rocking chairs.

Next we walked by Small World.  The line there was long so we kept walking, but Brock turned around in his stroller and looked longingly at the ride.  We could tell he really wanted to ride Small World.  We rode the carousel instead because the line was short.

Then my favorite - Teacups!

We rode several more rides including Buzz Lightyear and the Barnstormer roller coaster.  By this time it was getting dark.  We walked by Small World again and Brock so wanted to ride.  I made a video of most of the ride so he could watch it again at home.  He got very excited when the ride started and clapped at the end.  He enjoyed it so much we rode it twice. 

It was very dark when we got out and the barber shop was already closed so we decided to go home.  Plus, we were starving.  The castle was decorated with lights and it was so beautiful.

Since it was Brock's birthday we ate his favorite food again - pizza!  We had a major development.  I always cut his pizza into bites and he eats it with a fork because he doesn't want to bite it.  Last night after eating several pieces with his fork I got him to eat some by biting the it.  Now if only I can get him to bite toast!

Finally, we went to the doctor this morning for Brock's 3 year check-up.  Brock weighs 32.5 pounds and is 37.25 inches tall. 

Birthday Party!

Last night we had Brock's birthday party at our house.  The kids played in the backyard and the bouncy house was a big hit!  We ate pizza for supper.  Brock said pizza so many times yesterday because he wanted to eat pizza so much.  It's definitely his favorite food.

After dark we came inside and ate cake and opened presents.  Daddy made a school bus cake because Brock loves the Wheels on the Bus song and books and his toy buses.  He didn't want to wear a party hat so he wore his Mickey ears instead. 

Brock because upset when we sang Happy Birthday but he enjoyed opening presents and eating cake and ice cream.

Thank you everyone for Brock's gifts and for coming to his party!

Lake Eola Festival

We've had really great weather the last few days so Saturday we decided to go to the festival at Lake Eola instead of doing all the stuff we need to do.  (Yes, there is a lake called Eola, which sounds a lot like Ebola).  We use any excuse to put off chores.

We had to pay to park and when we were getting out of the car the parking attendant came up to us and said he didn't take us for Marco Rubio supporters (I have a sticker on my car).  The attendant was also a Rubio supporter and we had a nice victory chat.  I'm still trying to figure out how anyone would take me as a liberal or  "independent" Crist supporter.  Perhaps because were at an art festival.  But let that bide. 

There were cars at the festival from the company that doesn't take bail-outs and Brock got to drive one.

Here are a couple of the famous black swans from Lake Eola.  A couple of weeks ago someone stole all of the swans and the police have recovered some of them.  I didn't know they were famous until they were stolen.

Brock enjoyed playing the instruments at this booth.

We found the perfect chair for Brock.  I guess this is an early birthday present.

They had an enormous bouncy house and Brock loved it.  I was afraid he was going to get crushed because there were so many kids and most of them were bigger than him.  He quit jumping after a while and was just laying there so I had to have another kid help me get him out.  I didn't want him to get smashed.  He was so sad when he had to leave.

Brock rode is tricycle a little when we got home and then it was time for the Aggies!  Whoop!!!!!!!!  The Ags beat OU and tu lost again!  The perfect ending to a week filled with so many victories!

Halloween Party

On Halloween night we went to a party and went trick-or-treating with friends.  They had lots of decorations including this spider in the driveway.  Brock loved it but wouldn't be still for a picture.  After trick-or-treating we ate junk food and watched football.  Brock got a ton of candy.  We've eaten most of what he can't eat because of his allergies and the rest we are using for potty rewards.  At the rate he's going the stash will last a while.

Big Boy Bed

Brock now has a big boy bed.  We bought a Dallas Cowboys bed to match his football room.  It is high and he has some trouble climbing up but it will be good practice for him.   The bed would not fit on the same wall as his crib so now he is sleeping in a different direction.  He tried to sleep on the bed sideways because that is the direction he is used to.  He got off the bed a few times last night and one time while he was climbing out he fell and hurt himself.  After that he didn't try it again.  When he finally went to sleep he had his feet at the head of the bed.  He is taking his nap that way too.  He looked so big in his crib and now he looks small again.  The second picture is nap time yesterday.  I took a nap with him at first so he could get used to it and today he is napping by himself.

Trick-or-Treating at the Office

Friday Brock went trick-or-treating at Jared's office.  His jack-o-lantern was full by the time he finished and we still get to trick-or-treat tomorrow!  Brock loves his skeleton costume and knows all of his bones! 

How To Get a Free Sword at Disney World

Jared took a half day off yesterday so we could go to the Magic Kingdom.  When we got there we went directly to the carousel because Brock wanted to ride the horses.  We rode once and then asked Brock if he wanted to ride again.  He wouldn't answer.  He's been doing that lately.  Jared was carrying Brock and was so focused on getting Brock to answer that he didn't notice the stairs.  He stumbled and he and Brock crashed into the Sword in the Stone.  It seemed to be happening in slow motion and I was completely helpless.  There was a collective gasp from the thousands of people in Fantasy Land.  Then screaming.  I thought Brock had hit is head but it turned out he scraped his elbow.  There was lots of blood, then people running to our rescue.  They came with paper towels, wet wipes, and bottled water and called the EMTs.   Then security arrived.  I felt like we were being interrogated.  "What is your  name?  What is his name?  How old are you?  What happened?  Where did you fall?"  More Disney employees appeared and stood all around us.  I wanted to scream "lawsuit" just for fun.  Then a nice lady came by and gave Brock a sword.  The EMTs finally arrived and gave Brock the biggest band aid I've ever seen.  I was thinking, "How many Disney employees does it take to apply a band-aid?"  We decided we didn't need them to take us to the hospital and went and rode the carousel one more time.  Other than that we had a great time.

Beach Trip and CVS

A couple of Saturdays ago we took a trip to the beach.  Brock took a nap on the way down so he would have plenty of energy for swimming.  He was so excited when we got there and he had a blast swimming. 
 
Brock always wears his Vote for Pedro cap in the car and he pulls it down over his eyes for napping.

 

I know you are thinking, "That's all the pictures you took?"  Of course not!  I had a waterproof camera so I could take lots of close up pictures in the water.  I know I took some great pictures and I really wish I could share them with you.  However, due to the incompetence of certain employees in the drug store we will never know what great pictures we will never see.  Yes, I took my camera to CVS on Saturday night and decided to wait and pick them up on Sunday instead of waiting for one hour developing.  BIG MISTAKE.  Sunday they told me that my film had been misplaced.  How do you misplace film when it is dropped off in the photo department???  The assured me that they will keep looking for it but it might have been placed in another customer's bag.  They will call me if it turns up.  I've given them a few days to look for it or to call me and try to make it up to me but I have heard nothing from them.  I suppose I will have to go down there tomorrow and deal with it. 

September

I know I am not doing well keeping the blog up to date.  I will try to do better.  Some very important things happened in September.  The first picture isn't important, but Brock had a lot of fun when we put the slide in the pool.  We spent many afternoons swimming.

Brock and Jared go swimming in the big pool about once a week.  On September 10th Brock floated on his back all by himself!

On September 13th Brock said "moo" and "neigh"!!!  I haven't been able to get it on video yet. 

Jared went to Dumas for a week and bought a Ding Dong Daddy shirt for Brock and a Ding Dong Dolly shirt for me.

More progress in speech:  On September 30th Brock said "bubble" the correct way.  A few months ago he said buh-buh, then a few weeks ago it changed to buh-ul.  But now it's perfect!!!  BUBBLE!!!!

I have no idea why there are huge spaces under the pictures.  There aren't any when I am posting.  It looks weird and gets on my nerves.

Goodbye Summer

I can't believe summer is over and we are half way through September.  I had difficulty finding the time for blogging.  Here are some of the things that happened this summer that I have not mentioned before.

Brock took swimming again in June.  He had class two evenings each week.  

There are lots of foods that Brock doesn't like to bite.  One of them is a banana.  He finally did but now he doesn't like to eat bananas as much as he used to.

Brock LOVES his Wheels on the Bus book and DVD.  This is about the only video he likes to watch besides Baby Babble speech DVDs. 

Father's Day

We traveled to Grandmother's in July to celebrate her 80th birthday.  Here is our beautiful family.

Brock likes to pretend he is driving and wants to spend a lot of time in the car.  The first picture is on Independence Day while we are out watching the fireworks.  In the second one he is reading about the driver in his book.

One of Brock's favorite books is Sue MacDonald Had a Book and he sings his vowels - A-E-I-O-U.

Sometimes Brock doesn't want to get up in the morning.

Brock started a Kindermusik class in August and he loves it. 

He also started doing a lot of fake crying, whining, and throwing little fits.  Sometimes it's funny, but we don't laugh.  There are consequences.  This is the chair he has to sit in until he calms down and also the fake "I'm super distressed, I can't believe how horrible my life is" face.   I'm hopeful this phase will soon pass.