Literally

Time for some Seth! I have to say, this sweet boy has been so much help lately. I'm constantly asking him to entertain Aaron, or fetch me something, or see why Catherine is crying (this happens usually once a day). Most of the time he'll do it without any question or complaint. 

For example: After one very, very long day (Jon was out of town), I paid Seth $0.50 to read bedtime stories to Catherine so I could go downstairs and eat an ice cream sandwich for dinner. We were both very, very happy with this arrangement.

Some other Sethisms:

*He still has a few little incorrect ways of saying things. My favorite is "accighently". He also uses "rather" in some odd ways. 

*In my family there's a grand tradition of improvising little ditties about your children. This tradition stretches back at least as far as my dad. One day while I was singing a song about Aaron, Seth announced, "That is literally the worst song I have ever heard." Ouch. 

*Related: "literally" is his new favorite word. Surprisingly, he's never manged to use it incorrectly. Benefit of being a small child with little grasp of metaphorical language, I suppose.

*Another day I spent the evening convincing Seth that I could possibly be serving up his pet Betta fish along with our dinner of tilapia. He wasn't sure he believed me, but he wouldn't leave me alone with the fish until dinner was over. 

*He started putting up self-made Halloween decorations on August 4th. I am clearly raising him correctly. 

*One night he insisted on helping me make calzones. I happily obliged, despite being under a bit of a time crunch. He did a great job, ending the night by asking me if I was glad he helped me make dinner. "I saved you a lot of time, didn't I?" Well...no comment.

*School is still not his favorite thing. Actually, it's more like the bane of his existence. I keep telling him how lucky he is--he COULD be stuck inside all day at a desk with no Legos or iPad, but school is school to a little boy. I do try my best to make it fun as much as I can. This Lego pyramid (studying ancient Egypt) was a major hit:

The finished product

(Actually, it was significantly bigger once Jon got home and added to it)

*Seth is having a blast with soccer. Once we got past the point where he was bossing his teammates around (despite not having a freaking clue how to play), it's been a lot of fun to watch him play. Our favorite parts of Seth soccer include him dancing happily while playing goalie (who cares where the ball is?) and cheering for himself whenever he kicks the ball. 

At one of his first practices

Official soccer player photo 

(I refused to pay the $15 to get the "real" one)

Shot #2

Seth's true feelings about soccer pictures

Playing a game:

He LOVES playing goalie!

Seth spends most of his life reading Garfield comics or playing on the iPad (mostly Minecraft). He'll go through days of K'Nex or Lego obsession, too. At the moment he's back into filling notebooks with his stories/pictures (no writing, but the stories play out as he draws them). 

I love having this not-so-little boy around. Love you, Seth Man!

Aaron at One

At one year old, Aaron is:

*Crawling like a pirate. I thought this would be a transitional phase, but I currently see no end in sight.

"Arrg! I can't bend me peg leg!"

*First (and only) word: "Aight!" (Light!).  This must be said in a reverent whisper while holding up your hand toward the light in a Shakespearean manner. 

"Aiiight!"

*Crawling up (a few) stairs. This lasted until he managed to fall off the stairs twice. Now he's too terrified to try again.  

Step One

Step Two

Proud boy

*A total bookworm. We read when we wake up, before every nap, and before bed. We also read when someone is uncontrollably upset.  It's the only fail-proof calming method. Favorites include Freight Train, Teddy Bear Teddy Bear, and To The Rescue.

*Forward facing car seat. Hooray!

*In some 18 month onesies, still in 6-9 month shorts. Tall and skinny. With a really big head.

*Still only four teeth, but some are almost through. And still drooling puddles (which he then slips in as he crawls).

*Doing the traditional "da da da" when happy and "maaa maaa maaa!" when upset.

*Still eating everything under the sun, but with a definite preference for fruit of all forms. Also chugs a Seth-sized cup of Ovaltine milk every morning.

Umm, numm...graham crackers...

He was playing happily in the cupboard until he found these refillable applesauce pouches.

He sucked on one, realized it was empty and started screaming. 

So much for being entertained by emptying that cupboard!

"Tiny, tiny Lego?"

"Don't mind if I do!"

(He doesn't actually eat these--just chews on them. 

Lego wheels are the preferred treat. Delicious and rubbery)

*Spends most of his day opening and closing doors. The kitchen cupboards are great fun. Also great fun is closing himself in his bedroom and then sitting right next to the door so no one can open it. Slamming fingers in his drawers is no fun, but happens frequently since he's obsessed with opening and closing them.

*Loves cars and things that spin. Also loves balls and things that make interesting noises (like the scooter latch Seth found outside. It makes a great clanging noise when thrown around the kitchen floor). 

*Will sit happily in his stroller for long periods of time as long as his snack cup is constantly refilled. 

*Pulling up and starting to cruise. 

Metal corners + glass tabletop = purchase obviously made before children arrived

*Becoming more self-entertaining. Hooray! But is still happiest when his sister and brother are around and doing silly, crazy things. 

The Sword of Aaron

Loves playing under the table

*Has a very impressive Mommy Radar that's triggered whenever I'm trying to get something important done. Like cooking dinner. 

Baby between the legs

*Also, this:

He was grinning from ear to ear.

So proud of his work.

I love, love this age. He gets more and more fun every day. I still can't believe my baby is already transitioning to a toddler. Love you, Aaronhead!

Behind the Scenes

Here's what goes on behind the scenes of a photoshoot with Aaron.

Step #1: Convince the Princess to model for you while you get your settings right

Step #2: Position her at the piano (where Aaron will be): 

Step #4: Edit out the reality that she's wearing nothing but panties in every shot

Step #5: Convince Aaron to cooperate: 

Step #6: Forget to check the background for photobombers: 

(I edited her out of SO many shots)

Step #7: Take pictures of Catherine to make her feel like you still love her, and not just Aaron: 

Step #8: Also take pictures of The Turtle when The Turtle insists: 

Step #9: Be grateful you have a Catherine around to make Aaron smile

Dear Aaron

Oh, my sweet little bit. I knew this year would go fast, but that didn't make it any less of a shock. I feel like it was just a few nights ago that you were a tiny little guy sleeping in my arms. Now the only way I get to snuggle with you is when I read you books. 

You may be child #3, but you are perfectly capable of holding your own with Seth and Catherine. You adore them--they are the most interesting people in your entire world. No one can get you to laugh as easily as Catherine can. 

You are my first mommy's kid. Both the others preferred Daddy, but you look for me. This does make things like teaching co-op or cooking dinner complicated, but it's a sweet feeling to be so needed and so loved. If you ever lose sight of me for more than a few minutes, I can count on your Mommy Radar to bring you crawling over to see me as quickly as possible.

You are a serious boy, just like your brother was. You are an observer and an experimenter. Since the day you were born you insisted on being carried facing out--the world is too interesting! 

I love your blue blue eyes and your red red hair. I love your chubby, drooly cheeks. I love watching you explore your world, but I love that you always come back to find me. Don't grow up too quickly--I feel like tomorrow you'll wake up walking and talking and I'll have missed those last precious moments of your babyhood. 

Love you, little bits.

(Since I don't have any talented photographer friends living nearby anymore, I did my best with my new fancy camera and lens. These are some of my favorites of Aaron. Seth and Catherine both had their one-year-old pictures taken at our house. I tried my best to re-create their pictures with Aaron and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out!)

Aaron at One

  

(you don't want to know how often he slams his fingers in these stupid drawers)

My little bookworm

My favorite shot

I am most definitely in love