Three for Three

Three things for three kids:

#1
SETH: "Mom, can I have that avocado seed?"
ME: "Umm...why?"
SETH: "It's going to be my pet."
(Enter feelings of guilt that my son is so deprived of pets that he considers an avocado pit a legitimate pet)

#2
(Last night while eating tortilla soup for dinner)
ME: "Catherine, would you like more beans?"
CATHERINE: "Yes. More jelly beans, please."
I'm just not going to correct her. She'll probably stop eating them once she finds out they're not jelly beans.

#3
ME: "Aaron, I'm going to put you on this nice soft rug where you can't possibly hurt yourself while I do something for one of your siblings."
AARON: (rolls from back to belly for first time ever and smacks his head on the corner of the wall)
ME: "Seriously?!"

Seth v. Monsters

I blame Minecraft for the sudden onset of monster-phobia. We had zero incidents of monsters lurking in our house before Jon played a bit of Minecraft in Survival Mode. Zombies, creepers, spiders...it was a bit much for Seth, who begged Jon not to play Survival Mode again.

Of course, that doesn't stop Seth & Catherine from playing "Minecraft", where Aaron & I are "the guys" and they alternate between different types of monsters. Seth instructs me as to the correct weapon I must use to dispatch each monster ("No! For this one you need a gold bow and arrow!") and dies a dramatic death before returning to life as some other creature. They also insist I yell, "Ugh!" when they attack me, just like the Minecraft guy in the game.

But apparently dramatic play isn't enough to help Seth process his fears. He refuses to be alone in the house. This morning he was literally at my heels as I moved from bathroom to bedroom getting ready. The second I left the room, he was on his feet, following me. On Easter Sunday he stayed in his church clothes all day because he didn't want to go upstairs alone to change. And yesterday when the rest of us were all outside enjoying the sunshine, Seth sat up against the glass front door where he could clearly see us (he wanted to stay inside and play on the iPad--surprise).

I clearly remember going through stages of various fears (wolves, for one. My house burning down for another--thank you, terrible episode of Sesame Street) and watching my sisters do the same. I guess it comes with the age. Now to see how long it lasts...

Seth, part 2

A few things I forgot earlier:

*Seth gave his second talk in Primary in March. It was on the Atonement, so we came up with an analogy about a car crash (of course) and how you can't fix it without help. Seth drew pictures on big pieces of poster board and I wrote what he was supposed to say on the back. I knew I would be there to help if he got stuck, but he read the entire thing like a pro (and we didn't really keep things simple for him).

*At breakfast every morning we read one column from the Book of Mormon and one story from The Friend. A friend passed along an old paperback Book of Mormon for Seth to have for himself. Now he reads one verse, Catherine recites one verse (with my help), and I read the rest. He's mastering the language of the scriptures much faster than I expected.

*He can finally (FINALLY!) pump his legs to get himself going on the swing. I was honestly worried I was going to have to start some sort of therapy/intervention for the kid.

*We are officially dry all night long. Don't know what kicked in, but everyone is much happier now (especially Jon, who no longer has to wake Seth up at 12:00 am).

*I can barely pick the kid up anymore. What the heck happened to my baby?

Egg Hunt

We love our annual Good Friday Easter Egg hunt with our friends! It was a bit chilly this year (actually really chilly), but that didn't stop us! 

Catherine hunting

Proud of her loot

After the little kids finished their hunt, it was time for the bigger (Seth-sized) kids to do theirs. We rushed over to make sure Seth was all ready to hunt and found this: 

When we asked him what he was doing, he said, "What? I got 12 eggs!" (12 was the number each kid was allowed to pick up). It's really easy to find 12 eggs when you start hunting before everyone else...  In his defense, I honestly think he had no idea he was supposed to wait. We'll give clearer directions next year.

Jon was the real winner at this year's hunt. No one else managed to find an egg as cute as this one: 

Love my boys: 

Aaron at Seven Months

I can't honestly say Aaron has made any huge strides this month. We're still fighting sitting up, still refusing to roll from back to belly, still not really babbling...Aaron apparently has his own time frame and will not be rushed.

Some things that are news:

*still waking me up twice a night to nurse. Both my others were down to just once a night by this point...

*he's finally tall enough to use the Jumperoo without books underneath! Neither of his siblings reached this milestone--by the time they were tall enough they weren't using the Jumperoo anymore. He's just a tall guy. 

(he doesn't actually like it as much as it would appear from this photo)

*There is nothing in Aaron's world more interesting than Seth. If Seth is around, Aaron watches him constantly, waiting for him to do something crazy (he never has to wait long). The best part of this arrangement is that Seth can turn a screaming-in-his-car-seat Aaron into a laughing-in-his-car-seat Aaron just by making faces at him. And since Aaron refuses to nap in his car seat, this is a LIFESAVER.

*Aaron is 100% on Catherine's team, known as Team "I Do It My-SELF!" (Seth's team is called "Will You Please Just Do It For Me?"). Who cares if he can't actually drink anything when he's holding his own cup? 

*Wearing 9 month clothing because he's too tall for anything else. 

*He has set his own bedtime for 6:30 pm (which is great). Sadly, he has also set his wake-up time to 6:30 am (not great). And there is nothing we can do to shift it back.

*Still loves food. Any food. All food. Still has to put everything in his mouth to determine whether or not it qualifies as food. His love of food has gotten him a lot more of the good stuff than his siblings had at his age. Case in point: 

(It was either this or listen to him scream in the checkout line)

*He won't roll or army crawl, but if he really wants something he'll tilt onto his side, arch his back and flail. He isn't usually successful, but Seth and Catherine are more than willing to help him out. Which is probably why he isn't more motivated to do anything...

*He's been miserably sick this week (again--I will never have a fall baby again. He's been sick most of his life). Could be teeth, could be a virus, could be roseola...but it's not an ear infection. Thank you, pediatrician.  Luckily nothing soothes a fussy baby quite like gnawing on a Kindle:

Love you, sweet boy.

Field Trip from...

One time I drove 90 minutes and paid $17.50 for my 5-year-old, 3-year-old and myself (Aaron was free) to walk around and learn about life for German/Mennonite settlers in Pennsylvania in the 1700-1800s. Basically, it's like taking a (paid) tour of Nauvoo with three little kids. If I had known what I was getting into, I would have stayed home. I realized my mistake after the first tour. Or maybe it was when Aaron started screaming about five minutes into the field trip and NEVER STOPPED. 

Seth did enjoy two things: the blacksmith shop (thank you, Minecraft, for making him interested in all things related to ore) and the sheep (thanks again to Minecraft):

Luckily I spotted a kids museum across the parking lot. $25 later and we were all inside, having a great time:

Catherine making the pinwheels spin

Aaron hated everything (EVERYTHING) about this day.

When I say he won't sleep outside his crib, I mean that HE WILL NOT SLEEP OUTSIDE HIS CRIB.

Third children should be more flexible than this.

Seth assembling a "Thingy"

Catherine painting her own face.

She would come back as soon as the previous paint job was dry and add another layer.

Seth got in on it, too.

Here's the part where I realized that the park next to the museum was actually free and that I could have saved myself $25 and just let the kids play in the sandbox for a couple of hours: 

Let's just say we won't be visiting Landis Valley again for another decade or two...

My Big Boy

Seth is currently transitioning from little kid to big kid, which is a bittersweet thing for me. Big milestone #1: learning to ride without training wheels: 

Dad did a great job getting Seth started

After a few moments of frustration (mostly the getting started part), he was off!

And since that day (it's been less than a week), Seth has been on his bike at every possible waking moment. He's moved from struggling to get started to riding his bike down curbs and with his feet propped up on the bar. He came in today with the top of his hands sunburned from all the riding he did today.

(And let's not forget the Princess, who is working on simultaneously pedaling & steering):

Daddy gives Catherine pointers, too.

Back to my Seth!

Big milestone #2: we have a loose tooth! He's been hoping for one for so long that I didn't believe him until he made me wiggle it myself.  I found myself surprisingly shocked by this development. It's funny the things that you find yourself unprepared for as your kids keep growing up. 

Big milestone #3: reading. Legitimate reading. He'll still stumble over words now & then, but I'm calling it. I'm very proud of him.

And now, some Sethisms for good measure:

*Seth, watching President Packer's conference talk:

"Wow. He's talking for a really long time. He's probably going to die." 

Ooookay, then...

*Seth's entertainment during Conference: rigging up a noose and executing Catherine the Baby Deer. He claimed she was just "hanging out."

*While playing "He-Man" today, it was discovered that neither Daddy, Seth nor Aaron has long enough hair to be He-Man. Catherine's hair, on the other hand, is too long. But guess whose new haircut is just the right length?

PROS: I get to run around yelling, "I HAVE THE POWER!!!"

CONS: I look really weird with a deep tan and bulging muscles.

*One night Catherine was being a stinker about cleaning up. After some serious threats, she still wasn't budging. Seth couldn't stand the pressure and offered to do her work for her. Despite the teasing and tormenting, he does love his little sister. 

Cinderella

There is nothing quite as adorable as having Cinderella help you make muffins for breakfast.

Science Center

Because going to D.C. wasn't crazy enough, we decided to spend the very next day at the Maryland Science Center.  I got a killer deal on a membership there and figured it was time to put it to good use. And to make things more fun I added an extra kid to the mix: Seth's friend and co-op buddy, Brie (I owed her mom one for taking Seth to the potato chip factory when Aaron was tiny). 

We met up with some friends, enjoyed our lunches along the harbor (the kids fed 80% of their food to the ducks, including an entire clementine, which the ducks did not deign to eat), and then braved the hoards of middle-schoolers who were there for a field trip. 

Digging for dinosaur fossils

Catherine can fit comfortably inside a dinosaur footprint

Seth was completely entranced by the video of volcanoes/tornadoes/earthquakes.

Who cares if it was on a repeating loop?

He would have sat there all day if I didn't drag him away to see the rest of the displays.

"Mom, did you seriously drag me on another adventure after making me suffer through D.C. yesterday?

What kind of horrible, unfeeling mother are you?"

Catherine (surprisingly) braved the pulley chairs.

She couldn't pull herself up, but enjoyed having me give her rides.

Seth did a little better. He actually moved himself up several inches.

Pleased to be at the top (with Mom's help)

It was a little overwhelming trying to keep track of four kids in the middle of a swarm of big kids. We finally decided to head to the Kid Room, which is only for kids up to age 8. MUCH CALMER. We spent at least half our time in this area.  

Creating a track for the balls with Brie

Catherine even participated in a research study while we were there.  She had no idea what was going on and answered completely randomly, but at least she participated (only while on my lap, of course). 

After about three hours, we hit this point: 

The kids had a great time, we survived our last day alone without Jon, and Aaron only screamed for the last 10-15 minutes of the drive home. Not too bad, all things considered! Next time we'll try to plan better and avoid attending when there are field-trippers attending, too. 

Cherry Blossom Festival

I've discovered that the best way to keep myself and my kids sane when Jon is gone is to get out of the house as much as possible. Luckily for us, the Cherry Blossom Festival in D.C. coincided perfectly with Jon's latest week-long trip to Dugway. I wasn't brave enough to do it by myself, but add in my friend Nicole and her three kids and we had a plan!  

We decided to park and ride the Metro into D.C. My kids were ecstatic to have a chance to ride the 'submarine' (for some reason the word 'subway' just wouldn't stick).

Waiting for the submarine to come

Riding the Metro with 6 small kids and two strollers was quite an adventure. People were wonderfully kind and helped us corral children and get strollers out the doors before they closed. Our biggest problem was the inaccessibility of the Metro stations. The only elevators they had were hidden way out of the way, were too tiny for all of us to fit in (we made two trips every time), and moved at approximately the speed of a sloth. We spent more time navigating the stupid station than we did enjoying the blossoms. Never again.

But we did eventually make it back out into the sunlight! We picked the perfect day--sunny and warm. Aaron is still getting used to this thing called 'sunlight'--his entire life has been a miserable, cold winter: 

Seth and some blossoms: 

Catherine, being offended in the stroller: 

Catherine's offended story: 

We were all eating lunch along the lake/pond by the Jefferson Memorial. And since little kids are drawn to water like moths to a porchlight, we spent a decent amount of time making sure they didn't fall through the railings into the water. Catherine decided it would be a great idea to climb under the railing and sit on the ledge above the water. I was busy with Aaron so Nicole ran and grabbed her. This was highly offensive. Catherine didn't forgive Nicole for the rest of the day.

Two baby boys in a stroller: 

Our kids had a great time playing musical chairs with our strollers. I almost always had Taylor, Nicole's oldest, with me, and Nicole almost always had Seth. By the end I just starting claiming Taylor as my own rather than trying to explain to the people in the elevator how I had simultaneously lost and acquired a child.

The following is a series of pictures of our children breaking all the Cherry Blossom Festival Rules.

Please note that we were unaware of said rules, despite all the signs posted around.

When you're herding six children through a crowd you tend to miss details like that.

And so I present "Our Children, Ruining The Cherry Trees For Future Generations":

At least we were considerate enough to leave a few trees unscathed: 

We got lots of side comments and nasty looks as we were leaving the mall with our kids triumphantly holding their cherry blossoms. I promise the offense will not be repeated.

On our way back to the Metro we stopped for a bit outside the Department of Homeland Security and let the kids play by the fountain. It ended up being their favorite part of the day (other than the subway): 

It didn't last long, though. We were shooed away by a security guard who informed us that "they wouldn't like" us hanging out by the fountain. Not sure who "they" were or why they installed a water feature if they didn't want people to look at it, but off we went. 

I made the day even crazier by promising Seth we'd eat dinner at a restaurant. By the time we were driving home and Aaron was screaming (this kid does NOT NAP outside his crib) I regretted my promise. But Seth was having none of it. At least I talked him into eating at a local farm restaurant instead of Chick-fil-a. Their crab soup almost made me forget how crazy I was for doing all this alone with three kids...

I went to bed that night with a headache and sunburned hands from stroller-pushing, but I kind of felt like Superwoman for pulling off this stunt. Only problem is now I know what I'm getting myself into and I will never do it again!

A Happy Family

Nothing brings our family together quite like the iPad and Kindle.

Miss Catherine

Usually Seth is the one snatching my camera and filling up the memory card with his photos. But when I found this picture, I knew that little sister had decided it was her turn with the camera:

(99.9999% sure he's playing Minecraft)

A shot of her own mess: 

And a selfie for good measure: 

More Catherine:

*Somehow Catherine has gotten it in her head that beginning a phrase with "My tummy says" will render it impossible for Mom & Dad to resist. Works really well when followed by "...it's hungry." Not quite so well for "...I need help cleaning up" or "...I don't need to wash my hair."

*Catherine, singing 'Let It Go' (please note that this is chanted at various pitches rather than sung. Like a monk): "Let it go. Let it GO. LET IT GO. let it go. LET IT GO. Let it GO. let it go. LET IT GO. Let it go. let it GO. LET IT GO. let it go. Let it go. Let it GO. LET IT GO. Let it go. let it go, etc."

This, my friends, is karma coming back to bite me for all those hours standing in my backyard pretending to be Ariel singing to Ursula: "Ah ah ah, ah ah AH!!!!"

*One night Seth lost his book-selecting privileges for some reason or another (probably sassiness--that's been a big problem lately).  He loves reading and was pretty upset. Sweet Catherine decided to use her turn to pick his current favorite book (Mamoko, the bane of my existence) so he wouldn't be sad. She also regularly goes out of her way to share any treats she has with Seth. She loves her big brother.

*There's been a sudden improvement/breakthrough in the potty-training wars. Cross your fingers that this is the real thing this time!

*Catherine is Miss Independent. If she can do it herself (or just thinks she can do it herself), you'd better not try to help. 

Love you, Princess Boo.