Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Fit For a King

A week ago last Saturday was this little guy's birthday:

And it was an birthday fit for a king!

We decided to have a knight-themed party where Mathison could be king for a day.  The boys made cardboard armor (with a little help from Jefferson), participated in a weapons throw, defeated the giants (Jefferson and his friend), and slayed a dragon (pinata). I think everyone had a great time:

It's hard to believe my baby is five!  Time is passing way too quickly :(

Here are some interesting things about Mathison at this age:

*He is 42.5 " tall and weighs 39 lbs which puts him at 38% for height and 32 % for weight.

*He knows the pledge of allegiance by heart and has put some hand actions to it.

*Mathison loves to listen to contemporary singers like Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, and Maroon 5.  If we have an easy listening station on, he asks us to change it to the "real" music.  He often knows the words to these songs after only hearing them one time!

*He is our little daredevil.  He is constantly jumping, climbing, cartwheeling, and somersaulting in the house, and does running flips onto our trampoline.  He flips and "dives" off of diving boards, and I recently caught him trying to back flip on the trampoline. 

*Mathison LOVES money and knows the name of every person on the 1,2,5,10,20,50, and 100 dollar bills.

*Our little guy thinks it's his job to answer the door, and heaven help the family member who forgets it :)

*Mathison has an incredible memory and will often accurately recite details from events that happened over three years ago.

*He loves Legos, and can put together complicated sets.  He's also made some pretty impressive creations on his own.

*He is so funny, and constantly keeps us in stitches.  The latest was two days ago, when I heard him speaking a jumble of real and made up Spanish words.  When Mathison noticed I was staring at him, he said,"It's okay Mom - I'm in Spanish mode right now."  What a hoot!

Happy Birthday, Mathison - we love you so much!!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

A Haircut, a Preschool Party and a Swim Meet


Going...
 

Going...
 
Gone
 Yes, we cut off Mathison's beautiful blonde hair :(    I know...it will grow back soon :)   Anyway, we did it so he could be this character for Halloween:


Aang, the airbender

Technically, Aang is bald but I just couldn't quite take ALL of Mathison's hair off!  This picture showed Mathison dressed up for his preschool party; they asked the teachers to also dress up, so I put on some pirate gear:


We had a good time at the party, ending with a trunk-or-treat in the parking lot.  By that time, Mathison was a little overwhelmed by the noise and chaos, but his tears soon dried up as he realized he had a bag full of treats :)

After the party, we rushed over to the Sand Hollow Aquatic Center to support Jefferson as he competed in his first ever high school meet:

Jefferson did very well for his first meet, coming in second place in both heats.  You can tell he's not an experienced swimmer; his dive and flip turns need a little work :)  However, he has a beautiful stroke and lots of natural ability.  He did especially well in the freshman relay, moving his team into first place.  We're happy he decided to swim and are excited to watch his progress throughout the year!