Kaylee's 1st Game of Catan

For awhile now one of our favorite games has been Settlers of Catan. It is a pretty complicated strategic game so it is not for the faint of heart. Well Kaylee LOVES games and so we decided to teach her how to play it this weekend. Wouldn't you know she WON her very first time playing. What a milestone in our household!!!!

Trace's 4th Birthday

This much anticipated day has finally come and Trace can now proudly hold up FOUR fingers when asked his age. We celebrated this momentous occasion by opening presents first thing this morning, eating toast dipped in hot cocoa for breakfast, having chocolate cake with chocolate frosting for dessert, AND making a trip to Chuck-E-Cheese. For this four year old little boy, it doesn't get much better than that!

Some of the things that Trace enjoys are:

• Superheroes and Star Wars- His favorite superheroes are Captain America, Iron Man, Superman, Spiderman, and Batman.  He can often be found dressed as one of them since he has quite the collection of dress-up clothes. Trace has a great imagination. He plays great by himself. I love listening to him talk to his little action figures.
• Cartoons- His favorites are "Avenger", "Super Hero Squad" cartoons, "The Clone Wars" DVDs, "The Justice League", and "Scooby Doo". 
• Sports- Trace enjoys playing football, soccer, t-ball, basketball, and swimming. 
• School- He goes to and from school with a smile on his face. Trace can count to 11. He can write and recognize the letter "T". He can write an "E" and a "C", but can't quite identify them yet. He can recognize his name when spelled out. Trace LOVES school. 
• Coloring- Trace is beginning to enjoy coloring. He will now color an entire picture and stay mostly inside the lines. He likes to use just one color per picture. 
• Playdates- Trace's best friends are Abram, Braeden, his sisters, and his cousin, Bryker. 
• Legos- Trace enjoys playing with little lego sets. He doesn't know how to put them together but enjoys playing with them regardless. He especially enjoys playing with the Star Wars characters. 
• Playing Outside- He especially enjoys jumping on the trampoline, riding his bike and playing sports with Daddy. 
• Talking- Trace loves to talk and has quite the vocabulary. One of our favorites is when he says "inappropriate". He is such a little sponge. Trace has a bit of trouble saying his "f", "k", and "sn" sounds. We was recently evaluated by a speech therapist who told us not to worry because he is within normal ranges for his age. She also said that he is able to pronounce a few sounds that he shouldn't be able to yet. It was a relief hearing this. 
• Games- He enjoys charades, matching games, look-and-find, Angry Birds Star Wars, The Bee Game, Hungry Hippos, and "I Spy" games to name a few. Trace also really likes his new Leap Pad that he got for Christmas. Trace also likes playing on the Wii, although we don't do that much. 
• Tickle Time- Trace LOVES being tickled, especially by Daddy.

Trace is such a fun little guy. We all think the world of him and are so blessed to have him in our lives. We love you buddy!

Trace's Super Hero Cave & Playdate

Instead of having a friend party for Trace's birthday, we decided to let him invite his buddy, Abram over for a playdate. In preparation for his playdate, we surprised him with an early present.  We transformed the once "Barbie Room" into a "Super Hero Cave". Trace was thrilled and so were the girls since they no longer used the room.

Abram brought Trace the perfect gift, an airplane filled with Wolverine and Iron man. The boys had a blast playing together, neither of them wanted the playdate to end. What a fun morning and so much less stressful than a full fledged party! I think we're on to something...

New and Improved Sunroom

Before- Complete with slumber party

Now

I have been staring at the trim and carpet in this room for nearly 3 years wondering what it would look like "if" we changed this or that and now I no longer have to wonder. Our new carpet and tile were installed on Monday and we LOVE them. The room feels so much homier and "us". I love checking things off our "to do" list.

More Projects...

Trevor had this week off work and he got motivated to work on the sunroom. His motivation was inspired by us ordering new carpet for the sunroom and wanting to tackle some projects while the old carpet was still in place. We decided to paint the trim white in the sunroom and man was that a BIG job. It took two long days of painting around 10 windows, the baseboard, the window casing, and the crown moulding. We are happy to announce its completion and LOVE how it looks. It really makes the paint color "pop".

Trevor has been watching a lot of HGTV lately and decided that a stone wall would look nice on the wall our TV is mounted on. After two more days of working on the wall, it is complete and we are loving it!!! It feels so good to cross things off our "to do" list. We will post more pictures once the tile and carpet are installed.

New Year's Eve Party

We had a blast bringing in the new year as a family. I volunteered to pick up a few extra days  at work this week since Trevor has the week off work. As a result, Trevor told me not to worry about the party, as he would take care of everything. I must admit he did a fabulous job! He did the grocery shopping, made dinner and planned the party events. For dinner, we had a relish tray, nachos, Trevor's homemade chili, brownie bites, and peanut butter cookies. After a delicious dinner, the fun continued with an Angry Birds Star Wars Tournament. A point system was developed:

• Darth Vader = 15 points
• Other Guys = 10 points
• Storm Troopers = 5 points
• Blocks and Building Materials =  1 point. 

The game automatically ended when all three Darth Vaders had been shot down. The winner of the tournament was Trace Curtis Cook!!!! It is hard to find a game that all kids enjoy and with this game we have finally succeeded.

The evening ended with the viewing of "Star Wars: Episode IV". It was the kids' first time watching this movie and they loved it!!!! Although none of us actually stayed up until midnight, I must admit it was one of the best New Year's Eve parties we have ever hosted!!!