Fort 4 Fitness Kids Race

This summer, the kids got registered for the kids marathon.  They attempt to run 25 miles throughout the summer and fall and the final 26th mile would be an actual race downtown at the Tin Caps Baseball field.  The 25 miles happened to be easy when they translate swimming, soccer, gymnastics, and all the other active things the kids do.  We took the big boys running with us on several occasions around the track at the gym.  And those boys are fast!!  Jaxton has great stamina.  He can run without stopping for long distances and then saves that crazy fast sprint for the last 30 seconds and will just take off!!  We will have to encourage him to do cross country next year in 5th grade.  And Cooper is also very very fast.  He is a sprinter for shorter distances.  

The kids race was pretty exciting.  We arrived just as they were counting down from 10 and the big boys and their buddies took off running as fast as they could!  Kaylee ran with her friend Keagan and they didn't stop the entire mile.  They were running fast and so excited!!  I ran with Dawson, who's run was as fast as my walk.  So lucky  me, being 9 months pregnant I got to walk ;-).  Dawson was a trooper.  He was motivated for this!  He would hear the music getting louder and it would motivate him that we were getting closer to the finish.  There were lots of people that offered him high fives along the course and he took every single high five with the biggest grin on his face.  He was loving it.  At the finish line he put his hands up and ran hard through the finish and got a medal put around his neck.  He was so very very proud!  What a fun experience!

Raspberry Picking

I took Dawson & Nathan and friends, Keagan and Kennedy, to the raspberry patch at Cedar Creek Produce.  We went raspberry picking.  It was so much fun!  Nathan's bucket remained pretty close to empty since every raspberry he could find went straight into his mouth.  And he was so good at finding those little red gems.  Dawson worked hard to fill his bucket and enjoyed finding bunches of raspberries hiding behind leaves and branches.  Keagan and Kennedy enjoyed the trip too and we ate lots of raspberries for our lunch.  Fun times!!!

Jaxton's Whittling Chip

In Cub Scouts, Jaxton has earned his whittling chip.  It is a card that states he has learned how to responsibly use and care for a pocket knife.  He carved a bar of soap and then has been working on a house out of balsa wood.  He received his awards at scouts and a brand new pocket knife from Dad.

Dawson's Birthday Party

Dawson wanted to have a Minion Birthday Party.  So we did everything MINIONS!!  It was a ton of fun.  We had hot dogs for dinner, decorated yellow bags for the Minion piñata, and created Minion goggles out of toilet paper tubes.  Then we played "Pin the eyeball on the Minion" and the 4 year olds absolutely loved the game!  Dawson was so proud to be four.  He had been asking the last couple of weeks if he was 4 yet.  I repeatedly told him no because he had to have his cake and blow out his candles.  So he had been waiting for this opportunity for a very long time!!!  

He got a brand new big boy bike for his birthday, that he is still getting used to a little bit.  Happy Birthday Dawson!!!

Happy Birthday Dawson

Happy Birthday Dawson!!!!

Dawson is FOUR years old!!  Here are some fun things about our big boy:

1.  Dawson is a puzzle master.  He can focus for such long periods of time on a puzzle, large or small, and he will always figure it out.  I can't believe his concentration.  He received some new puzzles for his birthday to work on and he loves them!!

2.  Dawson is in gymnastics.  He started a class this fall with other 4 and 5 year olds and Kaylee is in his class.  It has been so fun to watch him be a part of a team of kids with an instructor.  He is growing up and enjoying these types of opportunities.  Kaylee has been sweet to teach him how to use the different types of equipment and what to do, and he has been excited to use his body and learn. 

3.  Dawson is also in soccer for the first time.  Not sure whether sports is really his passion, but for now, he is enjoying it.  All the kids in his group received a new ball, but all the balls are identical.  So we wrote Dawson's name in red sharpie, and his is usually most concerned that his ball doesn't get mixed up with all the other kids' balls.  That is usually where his attention is for the full hour of instruction :-).  It's good for him to learn some foot skills and work with a team and has been fun to support him in this new opportunity.

4. Dawson loves to eat!  He is always always hungry.  He likes to listen to his belly and tell me what his belly feels like.  Sometimes his belly feels like ice cream and 7am in the morning and so he is sure that that is what he needs right then.  So I've had to assure him that ice cream wouldn't be good for his belly at 7am, and that cereal would feel better.  So we are working on healthy choices, but we can never seem to curb his hunger :-)  His favorite snack is chips with cottage cheese, he takes after his daddy in that respect.

5. Dawson has a big heart.  He is such a sweet sweet boy.  He loves to be held and loved.  He is definitely a Mommy's boy, and loves to be close with mom.  I love to hold him and snuggle with him.  He is a snuggler for sure.  

6.  Dawson loves books.  His favorites lately are his Curious George books.  He loves to read about all the adventures of George the Monkey, especially the one about camping and the one about pancakes.  He has a love for stories and I hope that he will continue to love books and learn how to read in the next couple of years.

7.  When he grows up he says he wants to be 2 things.  He wants to be Mr. Incredible, a superhero, and he wants to be a "firetruck man."  He looks like a fireman with his broad shoulders and darling face.  I can totally see him as a fireman someday.

8. Dawson loves to color.  He is very particular when he colors, it is so darn cute.  The entire coloring page has to be covered from tip to tip with 1 solid color.  So he will take a black and white coloring page and work till that entire picture is a solid yellow.  He is careful not to go out of the lines too.  It is such a funny thing that he loves to do.  So we have all kinds of picture if his that are solid colors.  He gets so proud to finish his art this way.

9. Dawson is not shy.  He loves to go out and do things and ask others questions.  He loves to go to child watch at the YMCA because there are a million toys and fun things to do.  He loves to go to the zoo and the library and participate in group activities.  He's not afraid to ask questions or talk to his soccer coaches.  I'm so grateful for his outgoing nature, yet his sweet temperament and that he doesn't have a lot of fears.  (Besides spiders :-))

10.  Dawson is a super early riser.  He is always the first one up to greet me in the mornings by 6am.  And he wakes up so very happy every morning.  He is smiling and ready for his day.  As I hustle to get the school kids up and ready, Dawson just gets himself ready by himself.  I hardly have to worry about him being ready to go, he's just responsible in that respect.  I love having him greet me first thing in the mornings.