Coleman is Four!

Coleman has been looking forward to March 21st for many weeks!  He kept saying to me, "I'm almost 4, as soon as I blow out the candles on my basketball cake, then I'm 4!"  When his birthday was only a week away, he told everyone, including strangers in the store, "On Saturday it's my birthday!"  

Early Saturday morning, Papa Donut brought donuts and watched Coleman open his presents. He got a University of Utah basketball jersey and shorts, starburst candies, an addition board that has buttons for you to push, and some number and alphabet workbooks.  It sounds boring, but Coleman loves numbers and letters right now.

Later, all the Salt Lake cousins came to celebrate Coleman's birthday with a basketball party. Bud and Rosie were in charge of the activities and we played ball, made a basketball necklace, played pin the ball on the hoop and Rosie made a fun matching game.  We ate lots of pizza and basketball birthday cake.  It was a very fun party and Coleman loved every minute of it!

I did not escape the cake curse this year.  Every time I make a cake something happens; the oven in my old house would freak out and burn the cake in minutes, or the layers of the cake would collapse, or the birthday child would climb on the counter and start eating the cake, or the birthday child would pull the cake off the counter to take a closer look, etc, etc.  This year Coleman pulled the cake off the counter and it smashed on the floor.  Jono delivered the bad news to me and I kept saying, "I can't believe this is happening again!"  Luckily, I had only frosted two layers of the four layer cake and only one layer was ruined. The cake looked fine with the remaining three layers.  Wheeew!

The only thing missing from our great day were Grammy and Grampy. They called and wished Coleman a Happy Birthday and we are excited to visit them again in the summer.

Coleman is a very unique child; he is the youngest, but because he is so much younger than Bud and Rosie, he is also like an only child.  We hang out all day long and have a great time.  He talks all the time, he is always talking and he bosses me around, a lot!  Coleman loves to be out and about.  He enjoys playgroup with is cousins, the library, the mall and his favorite store is Costco.  He loves to go to preschool and primary and is doing really well.  He says his name is "Coleman Gordon Gordon Gordon Gordon Oettli".

Coleman loves to play with his trains and blocks.  He loves me to read to him and he loves numbers and letters.  At bedtime I tell him I'll read him two books.  He brings me a stack of books and then counts them like this, "1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 2.  See mom, two books!"  His favorite TV show is Tom and Jerry and he pretends that "little Jerry" is in his hand or pocket most of the time.  He also loves to pretend that he is "stuck in the mud" when we are in a hurry to go some place.  Then I have to grab him and "pull" him out of the mud.

Coleman loves Bud and Rosie.  Bud is really great with him and helps him do things.  Rosie calls him "Baby", like "come here, Baby, let's build a tower."  She teases him all the time.  We say "Rosie don't bug him" and Coleman says, "Yeah, Rosie, don't bug him!"

Coleman is obsessed with boogers.  He once handed me one and said, "Here's my booger, mom.  Don't eat it, put it in your nose."  Another time he handed a booger to Bud in the car and told him not to lose it. Coleman hates hair; if he finds a hair on the floor or couch, he makes me pick it up and throw it away.  He hates it when a hair is floating in the bath water or gets on his skin.  Coleman also hates flies and bees. He thinks there is no difference between the two and practically bursts into tears every time he sees either one.

 

Coleman loves Jono the most and they have lots of fun playing together. Coleman loves to help Jono cook Sunday dinner each week.  They peel potatoes together and Coleman loves to eat them raw with lots of salt and pepper on them. Coleman is a really good eater, he especially loves meat.

We all love Coleman so much and are blessed to have him in our family.  Happy 4th Birthday, Coleman!