Bradley turns 4!!

The boy that we adore, has finally turned four!

I thought it would be really nice and special if I wrote a poem for Bradley. It turned out really well I think.

Bradley has been planning a Kung Fu Panda birthday party for months, and couldn't wait for this day to finally arrive. Since his birthday was on a Saturday we were able to party from sun-up to sun-down.

Here is the happy birthday boy with his Panda cake and Tai-Lung pinata.

He wanted waffles with strawberries and whipped cream for breakfast.

With his presents

Spencer, Sophie, and Lexie joined us for an early afternoon party. We started off going to Mr. Ping's Noodle House for lunch.

The first game he requested was pin the dragon scroll on Po. He didn't want to be blindfolded or close his eyes though. Amazingly he got it right onto Po's hand.

For the next activity Master Bradley helped to train the other kids in the art of Kung Fu. They had to hit/kick each balloon as it came at them.

They finally the event he was most exited about; fighting Tai-Lung. He'd been looking forward to kung fu-ing his pinata open for a very long time!

The kids loved fighting Tai-Lung. I couldn't get a good picture of it, but Jacob was VERY into this fight and had a mean, determined look on his face every time he hit it. It was pretty funny. They got it ripped open and were so happy that they had defeated Tai-Lung!

Mackayla found this Kung Fu Panda stuffed animal at a yard sale this summer and had been waiting to give it to him on his birthday.

Jacob loves the panda and Bradley's new skateboard

Cake time!

Bradley loves the skateboard his Daddy got him, but loves the pads and helmet even more.
He felt completely invincible with all his armor on and wore it most of the day.

Bradley got his first transformer. Jared spent a while trying to figure out how to transform it.

Now that Bradley is four he is apparently old enough to take pictures by himself. He took this nice picture of Jared wearing his pants.

He played with all his new toys all afternoon. Then for dinner he wanted his favorite meal; grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.

After dinner we rode bikes over to the playground.

Bradley wanted to ride his bike rather than try the skateboard, but Jared still brought it along and played with it himself.

Bradley kept saying "I know I'm so tough with these pads on!"

Bradley was exhausted by the end of the day. He said he was too tired to make it up the stairs for bed.

I always feel bad when the birthday is over. They look forward to them for so long and now it's back to being a full year away. He had a great day, though, and said that every single part of the day was his favorite part.

Bradley is a very active little boy. He is always running and jumping. He has a great imagination and can turn almost any object into a sword. This is a hobby Jacob shares with him. The two of them are always sword fighting together. They are both really into star wars, and are most often pretending to have light sabers. Jared has just started showing Bradley the star wars movies and he can't get enough of them. Bradley's other true love is Kung Fu. He is a self proclaimed master and spends a lot of time training Mackayla in the art. He loves it when daddy gets home because he is a better kung fu/sword fighting opponent than I am. He is a wonderful brother. Now that Mackayla is gone in the mornings, he and Jacob have fun playing together for hours. Then, in the afternoon while Jacob is sleeping, he plays for hours with Mackayla. They really are his best friends. He's also having fun becoming better friends with some of the boys in the neighborhood. He loves carrying the title of "Man of the House" when daddy is gone. He is often running around the house in his underwear. We do make him get dressed in the mornings, but as the day goes by his clothes somehow come off. He is a very smart little boy and loves learning new things. He's a very good reader for his age, and is working on writing his letters more. He does still have a few things to learn. The other day we were walking through the toy isle at the store and Bradley said "oh look, that game must be for boys because you really have to think to play that game." Of course, I blame Jared for him thinking that way. :) He thinks his daddy is smarter and stronger than anyone else in the world. This was about a year ago, but I don't' think I ever wrote it down: Bradley use to always say in his prayers "thank you for all the really big things, like the mountains and houses and Daddy." He says the sweetest little prayers and becomes very upset if anyone ever forgets to include his cousin Mitchell in their prayers. He is definitely a mamma's boy. If he's ever hurt or tired he always wants his mommy. We love him so much, and are so grateful for the four years he's been in our lives so far!