On March 9th, Matthew Talmage turned four years old. He is such a fun little boy, he says and does the funniest things. This year instead of trying to surprise him with his cake, I let him help me "design" it and decide how he wanted it to look. 
He wanted to have a car on it and an airplane, which worked out great because Andy and I had bought him some diecast airplanes about a month ago. So we made it two different levels, one a race track and one blue for sky and clouds...and we used his train track bridge supports to support the upper cake level. He thought that was pretty awesome. So we used his three favorite things, cars, airplanes, and trains to make his cake.
I even found Lightning McQueen candles at the grocery store. Super Duper!
Some things that we love about Matthew:
I love that when I volunteer in the Elementary school, that the teachers ask him to line up because they glance at him and automatically think he's a first grader. I love that he is so solid. Matthew weighed 52 pounds last month...while our 6 year old Brooklynn weighs 56. If Matthew runs by me and accidentally brushes past me it can throw me completely off balance. But I love it because he usually stops, comes back, and says in his cute little voice, "Oh, sorry Mom, you okay?" It's too cute. Future runningback right there. I also love that Matthew calls his armpits his "chicken coops." Seriously. Try keeping a straight face when your little boy comes up to you and says, "Mom! My chicken coops are itchy!"
I love Matthew's smile and facial expressions. He loves to make big cheezer grins, and then raises his eyebrows at you. In church we usually sit up front in the center, and it cracks me up when I see that he's doing this to the Bishopric. One time, a friend in the ward who is also our highcouncilman was up waiting to speak, and he got a surprised look on his face, and then started winking and making funny expressions back at Matthew. It took me a minute to figure out what was going on, but when I did it just made me laugh. Matthew is such a crack up.
Some other reasons: Matthew can eat half a tub of yogurt in one sitting. He still asks me to snuggle with him at bedtime. He twists his hair when he's nervous. He's timid about new things and afraid of loud noises. I love this because even though he's tall and strong for his age, he's still just a sweet little boy who needs to be mothered.
Matthew still thinks that people can see through the phone. So he tries to "show" people things when he's talking to them. 
Matthew loves to ride his bike. He doesn't mind if it's cold outside, and I frequently find that he's gone out to ride in shorts, flip flops, and a winter coat and hat. 
He also loves to fish and is already asking when we can go this year. He has a lightning McQueen fishing pole that he thinks is so awesome.
Matthew has a knack at naming things quirky names that aren't the correct terminology for them, but that make sense. For example, our front patio is "the attachment." We all call it "the attachment" now. His bulldozer is "the digger" and the rototiller is the "dirt-turner." There are too many to list. 
Matthew likes to read scriptures as a family. Even though he can't read yet, he HAS to have his turn. So we tell him what to say. When we first started doing this, as soon as we said it was his turn he would blurt out, "And it came to pass sayeth the Lord." Funny thing, is that he was right on the money a lot of the time. 
I love that during the day Matthew will gather tools into Taylor's toolbox, and come give me a hug and kiss and say, "bye Mommy, I'm going out to work for a while." And off he goes to hammer nails, etc out in the barnyard. 
Here is a picture that Rachel painted for Matthew for his birthday. 
He liked it a lot and had to give her a big hug.
And Matthew is a huge Thomas fan. He loves Thomas the tank engine...He can name all the different engines and tell you all about them. For his birthday he got a new set with Charlie the engine. 
Grandma and Grandpa came over in February so he got to open a gift early! It was a talking Thomas book, and he loves it! He takes it to bed with him nearly every night.
He wanted to have a car on it and an airplane, which worked out great because Andy and I had bought him some diecast airplanes about a month ago. So we made it two different levels, one a race track and one blue for sky and clouds...and we used his train track bridge supports to support the upper cake level. He thought that was pretty awesome. So we used his three favorite things, cars, airplanes, and trains to make his cake.
I even found Lightning McQueen candles at the grocery store. Super Duper!Some things that we love about Matthew:I love that when I volunteer in the Elementary school, that the teachers ask him to line up because they glance at him and automatically think he's a first grader. I love that he is so solid. Matthew weighed 52 pounds last month...while our 6 year old Brooklynn weighs 56. If Matthew runs by me and accidentally brushes past me it can throw me completely off balance. But I love it because he usually stops, comes back, and says in his cute little voice, "Oh, sorry Mom, you okay?" It's too cute. Future runningback right there. I also love that Matthew calls his armpits his "chicken coops." Seriously. Try keeping a straight face when your little boy comes up to you and says, "Mom! My chicken coops are itchy!"
I love Matthew's smile and facial expressions. He loves to make big cheezer grins, and then raises his eyebrows at you. In church we usually sit up front in the center, and it cracks me up when I see that he's doing this to the Bishopric. One time, a friend in the ward who is also our highcouncilman was up waiting to speak, and he got a surprised look on his face, and then started winking and making funny expressions back at Matthew. It took me a minute to figure out what was going on, but when I did it just made me laugh. Matthew is such a crack up.Some other reasons: Matthew can eat half a tub of yogurt in one sitting. He still asks me to snuggle with him at bedtime. He twists his hair when he's nervous. He's timid about new things and afraid of loud noises. I love this because even though he's tall and strong for his age, he's still just a sweet little boy who needs to be mothered.Matthew still thinks that people can see through the phone. So he tries to "show" people things when he's talking to them. Matthew loves to ride his bike. He doesn't mind if it's cold outside, and I frequently find that he's gone out to ride in shorts, flip flops, and a winter coat and hat. He also loves to fish and is already asking when we can go this year. He has a lightning McQueen fishing pole that he thinks is so awesome.Matthew has a knack at naming things quirky names that aren't the correct terminology for them, but that make sense. For example, our front patio is "the attachment." We all call it "the attachment" now. His bulldozer is "the digger" and the rototiller is the "dirt-turner." There are too many to list. Matthew likes to read scriptures as a family. Even though he can't read yet, he HAS to have his turn. So we tell him what to say. When we first started doing this, as soon as we said it was his turn he would blurt out, "And it came to pass sayeth the Lord." Funny thing, is that he was right on the money a lot of the time. I love that during the day Matthew will gather tools into Taylor's toolbox, and come give me a hug and kiss and say, "bye Mommy, I'm going out to work for a while." And off he goes to hammer nails, etc out in the barnyard. Here is a picture that Rachel painted for Matthew for his birthday. He liked it a lot and had to give her a big hug.And Matthew is a huge Thomas fan. He loves Thomas the tank engine...He can name all the different engines and tell you all about them. For his birthday he got a new set with Charlie the engine. 
Grandma and Grandpa came over in February so he got to open a gift early! It was a talking Thomas book, and he loves it! He takes it to bed with him nearly every night.
Birthday boy cutting the cake...a tradition in our house.
Happy 4th Birthday Matthew Talmage!!!!
