Let's be honest. Milo really really loves tractor stuff. . . But we have done tractor themed parties for the last two years, and I wanted to try out something different. He has finally showed some slight interest in fire trucks and firemen, so I decided to run with it (plus pinterest had tons of fire man party ideas).
My mom made this darling fire station for the kids. They threw water balloons through the windows to put out the flames. The extra incentive was grandpa's head.
Milo LOVED the game. Chris and I spent the whole night before filling up water balloons. I think we filled nearly 200 (not exaggerating). The kids blew through them! My fingers were raw from tying, but Milo's face made it so worth it. He was delighted.
Then came Fireman Frank. I really wanted my neighbor (who is a real fire man), to dress up and come to the party, but he had a family thing and couldn't make it. Then someone offered up their fireman suit. . then came the hard part, I had to fill it. I wanted the fire man to be someone that Milo didn't know so that he would think that it was real. Luckily our friend Jordan stepped up and did it for us. It was awesome! Milo ran and gave him a big hug, and all night long kept going up to him and saying things like, "Frank, did you know I put out fires too"?
Frank also gave Milo a fire chief outfit (that I may or may not have found at a yard sale for $2).
Then we did the piñata. Milo liked it, but he liked it even more, when Fireman Frank took his turn and busted it to pieces.
Kristen helped me make the cake. I helped with like one part, and did a terrible job, so she took over. We love her and her boys so much! Milo was thrilled to have them at the party.
He has been really excited about his cake. When I told him it was finally his birthday he said, "oh boy, I want to eat my cake right now". But I must say, as soon as he finished the last bite he was super excited about his presents. He got mainly tractors, which he was thrilled about. This whole week has been awesome because all he wants to do is play independently with his new stuff.
It seems insane that my baby is 4! I remember when he was born, and he was so tiny that everything seemed so difficult for him to do. I would just sit there in the NICU and pray that he would grow strong. People were constantly telling me, "One day you'll look at him and never even know that he had such a rough start". Day after day of struggling to feed him, I would think, "he's never going to get bigger". And now look at him, he's so full of life. He's my tough tractor man, and he'll be the first one to tell you about how big and strong he is. I am so incredibly proud of him.
Milo loves
-Tractors, especially John Deere
-Playing with his cousins
-Eating at Hibachi Hut
-Dressing up and pretending to be a worker man
-Rough housing with dad
-Getting snow cones
-Watching TV, especially if there is popcorn involved
-Hanging out with Dathan (our next door neighbor)
-Parade taffy (even if it's 4 months old)
-Making his sister laugh
-Running around without his shirt on
-Swimming of any kind
-Playing at the park with Logan and Austin
-Making s'mores
-Tractor man pants (levi's) and button up shirts-because that's what farmer's wear!
-Bacon, eggs, and scones
Big Accomplishments
-Feeding himself. Yes it only took four years, but he is finally mostly independent at eating. I can't stress enough how difficult of an eater he has always been. But finally he is consistently eating, and eating good things. He has decided that steak is delicious. First time he got the courage to try it, he ate about $18 worth.
-Socializing. Milo never loved other children when he was little. They stressed him out. He could never understand their intentions, and really was happiest with adults. When he would go to playgroup, he would come home and tell me about how fun it was to play with Lisa, or Rachel, or Sarah, those are the moms of the children I wanted him to be friends with. It was cute, but also worried me. Then one day it clicked. He has always been so advanced verbally, and I think that it frustrated him that other children did not communicate in the same way that he did, but now that his peers are pretty good talkers, he loves friends, and play dates, and going to the park. I love to watch him make new friends, and talk sweetly to new kids on the playground.
-Motor skills. Milo skipped crawling. . . but that was not because he was so freakishly coordinated that he just jumped into walking. Don't get me wrong, it's not like he has been awkward or anything, but he was slightly lagging. Not any more. He can throw a bullet. He's left handed and it's tricky to time. . . lets just say I've taken several balls to the face.
-Being the big brother. This can be a tough job. Especially when your little sister just has to hold your favorite tractor, or when mom's attention has to be on a screaming baby. Milo has been so sweet and understanding. He and Taya are learning every day how to be better about playing with each other. Milo has been amazing with Crew. I catch him all of the time snuggling up to him on the floor and laying tractors near him so he can play. Sometimes I worry about how much pressure is on the oldest child to be a good example, but Milo is doing such a good job. I can't say enough good things about him to do justice to how happy he has made our lives. He'll always be my tiny baby, but I'm so happy to see him growing so sweet and strong.
This little man HATES the car. I don't mean like a little bit, I mean like full on blood curling scream. You can see from the pictures, it's not his car seat that is the problem, he'll sit in it no problem. . . as long as you aren't actually in the car.. . . . . As a result, we really try not to venture out a lot, but we had to keep our tradition of picking pumpkins.
