Matthew the Mighty 3 yr Old!

My baby is 3.  So bittersweet...he is funny and getting more self-sufficient everyday...yet growing up too fast.  He does so many big boy things now that I haven't even documented:

He moved to his big boy bed a while back (before the holidays).  He transitioned really well, but he has no fear of getting out of bed whenever he feels like it.  While Nate was more inclined to yell my name in the middle of the night for me to check on him, I have woken up to Matthew standing next to my bed at 3 am more times than I can count (not to mention the time I found him downstairs in the kitchen or in the playroom looking for a toy at midnight).  He knows now that I will take him back to his bed, so he has taken to crawling quietly into our bed and slipping under the covers between us.  I occasionally wake in the morning to find him between us.  He has gotten much better about staying in his bed all night but he still likes his late night visits at times.

He is fully potty trained.  Again, this happened back in January...it was the wonderful parting gift that our last nanny gave me before she left us.  After months of spotty interest, she was able to get him to knock it out in a couple of days.  So we are officially out of diapers around here - again bittersweet!

So two major milestones accomplished while he was still 2...but a couple of weeks ago, he turned the BIG 3!  It began with the traditional breakfast in the birthday hat and ended with dinner at Mellow Mushroom and birthday cake.

The next day was his party at SkyZone - a trampoline jump park.  We had a great crowd of little and big friends, and everyone seemed to be having a great time jumping.  (Matthew did have a minor injury that resulted in him curling up in my lap for a good portion of the party - but other than that it was fun!)  He wanted a "Cars" party so I tried to tie that in as well.

And here are a list of his favorite things at age 3 (from his own mouth)...

Favorite Color - blue

Favorite Toy - McQueen

Favorite food - grapes

Favorite tv show - Mickey Mouse Clubouse

Favorite movie - Mater Tales

Favorite Lunch - sandwich

Favorite Snack - Goldfish

Favorite Animal - "penguin...I mean a Crab"

Favorite Book - Roadwork

Favorite Thing to Do Outside - play with stuffed animals (I would have guessed bubbles or sandbox) 

Favorite Breakfast - waffles

What do you want to be when you grow up - a trash can (not sure about this one...)

Matthew is a character.  For being the younger brother, he is very bossy....he is regularly threatening Nate with Time Outs, and now that Rayne is around he likes to tell her what to do (and not to do).  He likes to be in charge and bark orders.  He is a chatterbox...he is either having conversations with us, or with his toys, at all times.  And he likes to sing...I love that.  

I love his energy and his laugh and his spirit...and, as much as I want to keep my baby little, I love the little kid he is becoming!

Rainy Day Egg Hunt

This year we had a rainy grey Easter...but that didn't stop the kids from making the most of the holiday.  It just meant they got to wear rain boots instead of loafers - win for them!

The morning started with the boys following the trail of eggs to their bucket of goodies.

Then we were joined by Nena, Fred, Julie and the Girls, Alie and Uncle Stephen.  

Rayne and Matthew played with bubbles while lunch was being finished.

After lunch, the Great Egg Hunt(s) began!  We had to hold the kids back so that the eggs could be hidden...they were so excited.  

Then it was time to see who found the most...and check the contents of each egg...

Quick forced Family Shot ...

...and then back to the egg hunting.  This time Nate wanted to do the hiding.  He was very helpful during the search process.

After a brief rest, it was back outside to play with their new 3D sidewalk chalk.

And then it was time to retire our buckets until next year...

Denver Vacation

We got another dose of snow later in Feb when we visited Abby and Jeff in Denver.

FL is the farthest we have flown with kids to date...and both of those trips were fairly painless.  This, however, was painful.  It started with a delayed flight (that was already a bedtime flight to begin with)...the boys weathered the time in the airport nicely, even managed take-off and the flight time like champs...it was the rude awakening from the flight attendant over the intercom and the lights coming on at 1 AM that set Matthew off.  He was "that kid" on the flight - he lost his mind - and everyone on the plane felt the need to turn and look (I guess they needed to make sure it was a child screaming and that a wild monkey hadn't escaped from cargo).  It was a debacle that ended in tears (for me).  But 3 short hours later we arrived at my sisters beautiful new home just outside of Denver...  :)

Day 1 was beautiful - we spent it at Rocky Mountain National Park.  I have no idea how people live in the cold with small children...getting them in and out of cars, bundled and unbundled - it was no small feat.  But I do get why people live in CO..it is beautiful.

After a day of exploring the Rockies, we went to Boulder and had dinner on Pearl Street. 

Matthew had his first Latte...

Just kidding - it's milk...but it was really fun to watch him drinking it out of a mini Starbucks cup :)

Day 2 brought the most snow they had seen to date all of winter combined.  The Coxs are clearly snow storm magnets.  Oddly, much of Denver was closed down due to the storm - even the Anheuser Busch tour was closed, so no Clydesdales for the kids - so we braved the roads and drove to downtown Denver and ended up at the REI store which sufficiently entertained the kids and enabled us to pick up some winter gear on sale for next year (so we are more prepared for the cold!).

Day 3 we drove to CO Springs and explored the Garden of the Gods.  As cliche as it is to say, with the sun out and no wind, the dry cold of CO is wonderful.  It was in the high 20's and Matthew didn't even want to wear his coat while he threw snowballs for hours.

Pikes Peak behind us...

Perfect snowball-making snow just sitting there, waiting to be thrown...

Michael took a lot of really beautiful landscape shots...I stick to pics of the kids and pics of him taking pics.  Good thing we have 2 cameras.

I think if you asked the boys what they saw at Garden of the Gods they would say piles of fresh  snow alongside a perfectly paved walking path, perfect for throwing snowballs at the family members walking in front of you.  It was fun watching them!

Day 4 we said our goodbyes to Aunt Abby and Uncle Jeff.  I hate that they are so far away from us now, but they sure do live in a great place to go and visit!  Thanks for having us guys...and goodbye CO...until next time, when we visit in the Spring!

(And in case you were wondering, Michael and I switched kids on the flight back and of course Matthew was adorable, quiet, and compliant the whole time.)

Maggie Valley - Blizzard 2013

At the beginning of Feb, we rented a cabin with our neighbor friends - who have two little boys, one of which is Nate's best buddy from school - in Maggie Valley, NC.  We were planning to take the boys tubing and were very excited because we thought we were going to get some snow flurries.  Little did we know that we were in for the Winter Storm 2013...

The snow was really fun at first...we got to the cabin late friday night...and Saturday morning the boys got up and started throwing it immediately...

We set out for the day to find the Tube Area and find out we have to purchase a time for after lunch...as we find a nice kid-friendly pool hall to eat in, the snow picks up and the temperatures drop.  But that wasn't stopping the boys - big and small!  

Nate got his ticket and was ready to go...sort of...it was a big mountain for a 5 yr old.  The launching point was right above Michael's head in the picture below.

I thought he was going to back out, especially when we realized he had to go solo, but he grabbed his tube and set off...

I waited anxiously at the bottom (near the car because Matthew fell asleep - so I couldn't get a good landing shot)...and finally spotted his little striped hat, still in his tube.  Can you spot him below?

I asked him how it was and he said "Scary!"...but he grabbed his tube and hit it again...

After the tubing fun was over, we headed back to the cabin...or tried to...the storm was getting worse and we weren't sure if our friends' car would make it back off the mountain road if the snow piled up overnight (which was a good call).  So we all piled in to Michael's truck (4 adults and 4 kids) and headed home...and made it most of the way.  We did play it safe and parked at the top of the windy steep drive just in case...but that left a fun walk in the snow with all of the kids and some groceries!

The conditions were treacherous for those under 4 feet...

But don't worry...he made it...

We had a fun night in by the fire(s)...Nate and William had a very serious game of Trouble...

And Michael was determined to get a fire going in the firepit...and he was successful!

The next day, we woke up to over 8 inches of snow...and were unable to get out for hours.  And those hours entailed getting Michael's truck unstuck from the snow bank it slid in to...

...and Michael and a kind neighbor digging tracks and towing the truck far enough for us to get out safely.  The pictures stopped when we ended up having to drag some of our bags and 4 kids a half mile uphill in the snow to get to the truck...and then a drive off the mountain that left me unable to breathe until we were on actual blacktop.  It ended as a true adventure!  But otherwise it was a fun weekend and I KNOW the boys had a blast so it was all worth it.