and now he is four!

here's what we did on malcolm's fourth birthday. (yes, i know it was nearly a month ago, i really am doing my best to catch up.) 

he was so excited when he woke up, and was so cute during breakfast

danny and i took him out for lunch. we very rarely eat out at lunch time, so this was a special treat. he chose neomande for falafel, one of his favorite local spots to eat. 

after lunch, we picked alanna up from school and then headed over to the mall. we took malcolm to the lego store first to select a few lego people from the mix & match bins. he loved all the little accessories, and he made some pretty cool dudes. then we visited build-a-bear workshop, where he got to make his very first stuffed friend! alanna loved going there when she was little, so taking malcolm brought back a lot of fun memories of her at that age (and a bit older too). he loved it, and had so much fun!

rubbing the little heart between his hands...

giving it his love...

jumping for joy :)

and then putting it inside his new pup!

the guy who helped us was very nice

he let malcolm help fill the machine with more cotton fluff

bath time for puppy

alanna helped him register his pup and make the birth certificate

malcolm named him foogal (?!)

one happy lil' dude right here!

all that excitement tired malcolm right out, so danny was lucky enough to get a little sleepy snuggle time. this almost never happens around here these days. i think we both miss it.

that evening danny's family came over, we had a "pizza party", malcolm opened gifts, and then we all ate cake. it was a nice way to end a nice day.

his amazing vegan cake, made by blue moon, our favorite local bakery

seriously, this thing nearly killed me. it took us all week to finish it off. i want more right now!

he got some really great gifts, and really enjoyed opening them. pop took these next few photos with his fancy camera.

dan & vicky picked out the exact same birthday card that i did, haha! we both know just what he loves!

pretty alanna :)

he wished he was a super hero. i love this boy.

cake coma, here we come!

i will end this post with malcolm's awesome new robot... sweets' arch nemesis, ha! 

january leftovers

some photos from january:

alanna made honor roll for her first semester of high school. very good!

a couple of the awesome gifts we received for christmas (xVx!)

malcolm and i visited a new to us indoor play place, go bananaz. it was pretty fun! he liked the pirate ship the best.

i rode it with him, and it made me feel like this! barf.

we took a little day trip to ikea :)

malcolm is danny's little grocery shopping helper.

danny and the kids made paper-machete masks out of empty water jugs while i was at work. the boys painted theirs.

cool dude, haha

we took malcolm to get his hair cut

the finished product, so handsome!

this boy seriously loves video games.

vegan cupcakes i made!

dinner out at our favorite chinese restaurant in durham. yum!

eating breakfast and enjoying a movie (on vhs!)

sweets!

sunbathing. i love that fubby lil' face!

making art at marbles

hanging around in goggles, in a hammock. because he's cool like that!

these dogs love to soak up the sun and get some vitamin d :)

boys-only camping trip

a few days before malcolm's fourth birthday, danny took him on an overnight camp-out to pop's cabin. this was malcolm's first ever trip to pop's property, and the three of them had a great time. they went hiking around the woods, ate tons of junk food, made vegan smores, and even shot some guns (yikes!) dan and vicky got malcolm a nice set of walkie-talkies, which came in handy when they got lost out there in all those trees ;)  

dan took these photos.

this is totally my new favorite photo of danny and malcolm together. i love it so much.

apparently this stick was for "whacking coyotes!", haha!

the cutest.

hanging out inside, after the sun had set.

ready for bed.



and a little more exploring before it was time to go home.

the minute they left, malcolm wanted to go back. he was so excited, and told me all about how he could not wait for the next trip to pop's cabin! he had so much fun. i'm glad that the three of them were able to spend some quality "guy time" together. alanna and i also had a nice evening out, we did a little shopping (browsing, really) where alanna found a fifty dollar bill on the ground (what!?)! then dinner and cupcakes at whole foods, and we ended the night with a trip to the theater to see the new sherlock holmes movie. very nice indeed!