Basketball and his "style"

On Thursday Graesen wore his Nike warm-ups to school.  He seriously thought it was the coolest thing ever.  He even flexed his muscles for me before school :)

Friday he decided to accessorize all by himself for school...

Yes, I did let him go to school like that :)

That night we went to a high school basketball game and my dad met us there.  I thought it would be fun to start taking Graesen to high school sporting events. 

Saturday we went to another movie with Phoebe and my parents.  We are loving the 9 movies for $5 :)  I normally don't take Graesen to movies unless we have a gift card since they are so expensive, so it is really fun to spend these long winter months doing this. 
After the movie I took Graesen to get his hair cut.  He told the lady cutting his hair exactly how he wanted it gelled up :)

Today we headed to the mall after church to buy birthday gifts for a couple of people, and to let Graesen play in the play area.  It was such a fun little outing.  Graesen made lots of friends and I met some really nice people :)  While we were there we decided to stop at a shoe store just to see if by some chance they had shoes that fit with Graesen's orthotics.  He only had one pair that fit with them.  My mom looked all over town and eventually had to get them special ordered for $70!!!  So I was thrilled today when we found a pair that fit for only $45!  $45 seems really cheap compared to $70, and now Graesen has 2 pairs of shoes to choose between :)

Tonight Graesen did a little crafting and then we made gluten free cookies together.  A good end to the weekend :)

A super hero

Graesen got a kiwi crate from my sister and her family for Christmas.  I kind of tucked it away knowing it would be nice to pull out when winter starts to drag on and we get stir crazy.  Graesen made a super hero cape the other day from his crate:

One of the theaters around here had a great deal going on this winter.  You could buy a pass for 9 kids' movies for only $5.  They are all older movies, but still super fun to go out to the theater each week.  They also sell kids popcorn and drinks for super cheap :)  We saw Turbo this week.  It was so funny watching the kids get all riled up and cheering for Turbo.  (I kept getting blurry pictures of
Graesen, but I didn't want to turn on my flash and disrupt the entire theater).

After the movie Graesen and Phoebe played legos for 3 hours at my parents' house. 

Yesterday we went to my parents' house to watch football.  Graesen showed us all his muscles :)

Today I took Graesen to McDonalds just to play in the play area.  We shared a little treat and he played and burned off some energy.

When we got home we took Walter out onto our balcony for a little fresh air.  He is only allowed to do this under supervision since he likes to sit/walk up on the ledge and it scares me!  I realize that cats are made for stuff like that, but still!  I am so afraid he will fall.

And then he was 4 1/2

Graesen turned 4 1/2 on Saturday.  I'm not sure I liked it.  I ask him all the time who gave him permission to grow so fast, and without a fail he always answers, "God."  He is just changing and growing into a big boy at lightning speed.
Here's some little Graesen facts at 4 1/2:

• 44 inches tall (about the 91%)  He is taller than I was at 5, and I was a tall kid.
• 40 lbs on our home scale (64%).
• Favorite color is pink...I'm not sure that will last once he goes to kindergarten and the "cool" thing is to like "boy colors"
• Obsessed with cats
• Loves to watch documentaries on animals, vehicles, and how machines work.
• Says he wants to be a police officer, an "ambulance helper," or a "driver" when he grows up.
• Favorite foods: waffles, pizza, chips, strawberries, raspberries, pears, vanilla ice cream
• Still terrified of fire alarms and the idea of fire, but absolutely loves fire trucks.
• Counts to 39 then always goes to 80 unless you remind him that 40 is next.  If you remind him then he will be able to continue counting.  
• Writes his name and writes pretty much anything else.  He just asks how to spell things and you can verbally give him the letters.
• He's really excited to read now, and is starting to be able to sound out short words.

I've given Graesen a new job lately.  He has to exercise the cat :)  Both cat and child are enjoying this new job:

He is also starting to make his bed on slower mornings.  (I make it the rest of the time, because A: I'm faster than him and B: the OCD in me cannot handle seeing his bed left a mess.)

 We still need to work a little on that bed making business :)

Other happenings lately:

I decorated for Valentine's Day:

Walter and Graesen have continued their great love for each other:

Graesen and Phoebe spent probably a third of the time at the jump place playing in the baby section:

Graesen has been rediscovering toys he hasn't played with in months:

Walter has continued to try and find a way to eat the fish:

Jumping, New Year's, and Eagles

I got sick on New Year's and am still dealing with a bit of a sore throat.  I actually took a sick day on Friday, because I had a fever and body aches.  It's been a long time since I've been that miserable!
So, now it's time to backtrack a little...
Jumping a little over a week ago:

Graesen "babysitting" on New Year's Eve while the adults played a game.  He earned $1 for playing with Hunter :)

Eagle watching with family this last weekend:

Phoebe said the dead fish were their new best friends :)

I have a little more to catch up on, but that would require me getting my camera out and uploading pictures, which I really don't want to do right now :)