Christmas Time Is Here!

The day after Thanksgiving starts the Christmas season here! We started off by giving Elise her Christmas gift early: a walker. We figured she could use it now and we didn't want to haul it to West Virginia with us. She LOVES it!

Now that Catherine is riding her own bike, we can finally fit everyone in the bike trailer again. Elise seemed to enjoy the ride. It was very, very chilly that day, but nice to be outside as a family!

Our friend was giving away her artificial tree. It was pre-lit, but a few strands were out. Jon & I attempted to fix the strands, but it was a total loss. I decided to just remove all the lights and put up our own lights. Three hours and tons of little lacerations later, I finally got them all off. Never. Again.

Eventually we got around to putting ornaments on the tree. I'm glad I waited a bit-- I thought we were okay to put up glass ornaments this year. After watching Aaron throw the Little People Nativity figurines into the branches for a week I realized we are still not ready for glass. And so we decorated with kid-safe ornaments only:

Aaron was very helpful decorating the tree. He had two methods of decorating: either placing the ornaments in a giant pile on a single branch, or throwing them overhand into the branches. 

Aaron's ornament pile:

So excited for the holidays!

Thanksgiving Fun

The Friday before Thanksgiving Aaron got to go to a little "preschool" party put on by one of the young women in our ward (all the proceeds went toward supplies for kits for the homeless). Aaron LOVES Kaia, so I knew it would be a hit. He did not enjoy wearing his Pilgrim hat:

But eating the chocolate turkey was great fun.

The Pilgrims and their feast:

Aaron and Luke are the only ones not wearing their hats.

Totally figures.

Catherine was a great help this year prepping for Thanksgiving. She's always wanted to be in the kitchen with me, but now she's old enough to actually be useful. She helped me zest a bunch of key limes for our key lime pies:

This year for Thanksgiving we decided to join forces with two of our favorite families: the Knoxes and the Uhligs. Unfortunately, right before Thanksgiving the Knoxes' oldest daughter ended up being sent to Johns Hopkins. We all missed Anna & Melissa very much. Luckily it was easy for me to take over hosting everyone, although not with nearly the level of decor and festivity that Melissa does. Bente was so disappointed with my lack of decor that she went back home for tablecloths and little fall decorations for the tables. 

We cooked two turkeys this year: one in the oven, one in a roaster oven. Our turkey was slightly too big for the oven, so we put our handweights to some good use holding down the lid. We decided we're going to buy a roaster and cook the turkey that way from now on: it was so moist and delicious--it literally fell off the bone!

My Mom sent Elise an adorable "My First Thanksgiving" outfit. She loved it!

I wish I had gotten a better picture of the awesome, striped bell-bottom pants...

Bente & Seth enjoying pie:

Jon & Catherine going for the chocolate pie:

Decorating cards for Anna's hospital room:

We have much to be thankful for, and wonderful friends are a huge part of that!

Great Wolf Lodge

Thanks to Groupon, I scored a great deal on a one-night stay at Great Wolf Lodge (basically a huge, indoor water park). We decided to call it an early Christmas gift and surprise the kids over Thanksgiving Break.  

It was a long drive (about three hours) and we didn't tell the kids where we were going. Apparently Great Wolf Lodge is quite popular among the elementary ages, because Seth was SO EXCITED when we pulled into the parking lot. Catherine was also excited once Seth explained what was happening. But they were super excited to be sleeping somewhere new. I was not excited since Elise would be sleeping in the same room as all of us.

Four cute little wolves.

Seth and Catherine are already dressed for the waterpark.

After unloading and getting dressed, we headed to the water. Our friend Stephanie and her kids met us there, which was fun.  The park was huge, with tons to do. Seth & Catherine took off immediately. Elise was pretty content with whatever we did, but it was a tad chilly for her (for me, too. They need to up the temp of the air and the water if they want me in anything but the "hot springs", which were definitely not hot). 

Aaron hated it.

HATED.

Too loud, too wet, too many people. 

He was content with only two situations: me holding him in the hot warm tub, or Jon pushing him on a tube through the lazy river. Everything else was the worst. 

A picture right as you step inside the park.

And Peyton.

After a couple of hours of playing it was time for dinner. We heard the food at the Lodge was insanely expensive, so we opted for Red Robin instead. The kids did really well. Possibly Aaron was a little tired:

We all survived sleeping in one room (pull-out couches are horribly uncomfortable, FYI) and spent the next morning enjoying the park. Seth & Jon had a great time on the water slides. Catherine even enjoyed riding on the two-person slides (just not the crazy high ones or the ones in the dark). Stephanie was awesome and watched Aaron & Elise for a little while so Jon & I could enjoy some slides together. 

The kids have been begging to go back just about every day since. We'll definitely go again, but next time we'll just send Jon, Seth & Catherine.  

Just Aaron

Little Aaron Man, I'm not sure I have quite the words to describe you. Twice in the past few weeks I've had good friends tell me that you need to star in your own comic strip or cartoon show. It's a combination of your Aaron-isms and your hair. 

Let's talk about your hair, because it's my favorite. I love it when you wake up in the morning with whatever crazy hair you designed while sleeping. I always greet you, then greet your hair separately. This was one of my favorites: the giant wave curl on the top of your head. It stuck around for several days:

You're starting to move from the "destroy" phase into the "create" phase. You've started building with Legos, K'Nex and Magna Tiles. Your favorite thing to build is Lego cars. Once they're built, you'll spend hours swapping out the wheels. Your other favorite thing to build is helicopters, or any airplane with a propeller. I spent two hours finding the pieces to build you this plane one morning:

Of course, the "destroy" instinct is still there and makes its appearance eventually. All the cars and planes will crash, and at some point I refuse to reassemble them. This airplane barely survived longer than the two hours it took to build it. 

Your best friends are Paul & Luke Knox. They're 18 months apart and you fit quite nicely right between them. You love both of them, but you play better with Luke. He's more on your level, while Paul prefers to play with Catherine if given the chance.  

You've had lots of chances to play with them recently since their big sister has been in the hospital with crazy stuff. Scary for their family, but happy for a boy who's always asking when "Paul Luk-a" are coming over. 

When we take your picture, you insist on saying "cheeks!" I think this is hilarious because 1) we never have anyone say "cheese", so not sure where you picked this up, and 2) your cheeks are amazing:

One evening (probably about six months to a year ago), you were having an Aaron freak-out moment. Jon took you outside to calm you down. He showed you the moon and told you it was Aaron's moon. You became obsessed. You are so, so excited every time you catch a glimpse of "Aaron's moon." And it's always "Aaron's moon", never just a moon.

Out of the blue you decided that pink forks and spoons are totally unacceptable. You will not eat with with them. You will not stop freaking out until they are removed from your sight. 

Every night Seth reads scripture stories to Catherine. We decided it was time for you to join in. You rarely pay any attention, but you've discovered that it's a great stall tactic. "Aaron, come get in bed!" "Scwip-cha soaries! Scwip-cha soaries!" 

We've caught you saying "What the heck?" several times. I blame Seth. And Jon.

I keep our pantry well-stocked with snack-sized fruit cups. You would eat 6-7 of them a day if I let you. You are a fruit bat.

Your favorite thing in the whole world is going "in the fan (van)." Unfortunately for you, I am a home body. Once Elise is down to a single nap, I promise we'll get out of the house more!

You refuse to potty-train.

You're working on dressing and undressing yourself. Your favorite thing is your "zip-zips" (either footie pajamas or jackets).

You love Elise. You are so excited when she wakes up to play with you. You love feeding her, and you love taking all the toys away from her. Sibling love is so fun.

Little dinosaur, I sure love you. 

Just Catherine

I am constantly amazed at what comes out of Catherine's brain. She still enjoys a little time on her tablet, but she spends almost all her time either making artwork or playing in her own little world. 

I took her to a local pottery place where she got to pick a piece to paint with glaze. I knew she would enjoy it, but I underestimated the depth of her love for this kind of thing. She's been begging to go back ever since. Unfortunately, I also underestimated the cost. Definitely a special occasion only type of expense!

Carefully painting the ballerina

She worked really hard on her piece

The finished product.

She was especially proud of the rainbow inside her box. 

Other Catherine creations:

Our family, made out of glass gems.

The girls have hearts above their heads. And Elise is apparently absent.

A handprint tree (this one is from school)

I find art like this all over the house. Every day.

Another school art project.

Her art also extends to her own body. 

Hard to tell, but she found black eye shadow and went to town.

I called this her Winter Soldier look.

Catherine has an uncanny ability to pick up song lyrics. I have to be very careful with what we listen to on the radio (especially since her tastes include lots of "club" music). She recently discovered The Sound of Music and fell in love. One day she was playing with a bunch of dried black beans. She told me they were called "So Long, Farewell". Those beans definitely knew their Sound of Music!

This is Paul:

Paul was a moth the kids rescued from being eaten by ants. He lived a few days in a bowl on my counter before giving up the ghost. Catherine insisted that I take a picture of Paul so she could share it with her class. Sharing Day is her favorite day of the week. I'm pretty sure her teacher must think we're totally insane based on the pictures Catherine chooses to share with her class.

Playing Seth's recorder.

So grateful it hasn't come home from school in a couple of months.

In October we had a freakish heat wave. It had been quite chilly, so I had already done the major chore of swapping out the summer clothes. No way was I going to dig out summer pajamas for one stupid week. Catherine refused to sleep in her t-shirt and leggings, so Seth was kind and shared one set of his pajamas with her. They totally fit, too:

Catherine loves to help me cook. Or clean if it involves spraying things or Lysol wipes. It's fun having a little shadow in the kitchen. She was the only one who was fully committed to making Halloween cutout cookies with me:

The big deal around here has been the mastering of the bike. She's still hesitant on big hills, but she's great around our cul-de-sac! Hopefully next summer we can get her on a bigger bike to help with the balancing. And special kudos to Jon for his dedication and patience with her while she learned. 

Catherine loves her dad and is constantly trying to get one-on-one time with him. Luckily she's adorable and gets her way fairly often.

Besides the fact that she hates having her hair done, Catherine is quite the girly girl. She loves sparkly things, twirly dresses and rainbows. She's also continuing the Mikesell girl habit of making her own (often quite interesting) fashion choices. After putting on this outfit, she announced, "This is the most beautiful I have ever been!":

Grandma Cathy sent her a beautiful Sunday dress.

This is the pose she picked. Her pose choices are also quite unique:

The most important part of any dress is its twirl capacity:

She wasted used $1 of her money to buy these fake Elsa nails.

They totally lasted 15 minutes:

Despite all my fears, she is thriving in kindergarten. She was so sad to miss school over Thanksgiving break. Her teacher says she's doing great in reading and math, and has made huge strides overcoming her tendency to be offended and melt down in tears. School is a good fit for Miss Catherine (and she has the absolute best teacher). 

Lately she's been asking me to sing her a song before bed. I'm pretty sure it's just a stall tactic, but it's fun to hear her singing them around the house. "Edelweiss" is one of her favorites (and the song that kicked off the Sound of Music love). 

I love this little girl and all the surprises she has in store.

Just Seth

I feel like Seth is hitting the age where he doesn't need me as much anymore. He's very independent, which means I don't get to interact with him as much. There's always someone else clamoring for my attention. I'm trying to do my best to carve out time just for Seth, but life sure seems to have gotten busy recently! I blame Cub Scouts. 

Seth played soccer again this year and was lucky to be on a team with three of his friends from church and several others from school. Not sure if it was the boys or the coaching or a combination of the two, but they just could not get it together. I think they only won a single game. Luckily Seth didn't mind too much. His focus and skills are definitely improving, although he is still prone to happy dances after successfully kicking the ball.

I only made it to one or two games thanks to a nursing/napping Elise.  The first game was in a constant drizzle, but the boys still seemed happy by the end. Please note that Seth is too interested in his post-game snacks to look at the camera:

The other game I attended was so bright that I almost blinded the boys while taking their picture:

Gabe, Seth, Thatcher & Jack

Special, special boys. We love them.

Seth is a very friendly guy and will chat with anyone (everyone) who makes eye contact. But his best friend is still Gabe (possibly because we spend nearly as much time at the Knoxes as we do our own house). Melissa sent these pictures from our Easter dinner:

Friendships built on mutual dorkiness are sure to last.

Seth has loved being in Cub Scouts. I think he really does enjoy the activities, but he mostly enjoys running crazy with the other boys. I used to think the Activity Day girls were loud and obnoxious. Clearly I had never taught Cub Scouts. Bless those leaders. 

Cooking with his buddy burner

He was asked to smile.

He did this instead.

Enjoying a hot dog with Jack.

Seth is developing his sense of humor. Most of the time we can't tell if he's trying to be funny or if he's just being Seth and doesn't realize it. Case in point: this letter to his cousin Megan:

He loves being told he's funny and loves trying to get attention. This obviously gets him into some trouble, like when the assistant principal had to talk to him about telling a kindergartner they had "the Cheese Touch." Thank you, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I hate those books. Seth, of course, devours them.

A Seth art project. 

Several of Seth's friends and classmates were in a short school play this year. He told me that he got to see them all during their performance at school. When I asked him if he wanted to do the play next year (which would involve after-school practices), his response was, "No way! All that practice just for singing?!" He is Jon's son.

Nov. 19, 2016: Seth's Primary class party. His teachers are saints.

Seth has a crazy huge Primary class. There are 11 kids, all of whom are active (in the church and active in general). 7 boys, 4 girls. His teachers are the Bradys--the ward grandpa & grandma. This class almost killed them off, but they sure love all those kids. Seth was not one of their easy ones. Bro. Brady always tells me that Seth might be under the chair, but he always knows the answers!

At parent-teacher conferences, Seth's teacher told me he was acing math and reading, but that his desk was in a constant state of disaster and his shoes were never tied. I almost laughed because that is just a perfect description of Seth. We have tried everything to get the kid to do simple things like put his pajamas and toothbrush away in the mornings. Nothing works. Hoping that will develop with time.

He may be acing his tests, but his official grades in math and reading are a C and B. I find myself conflicted by this as the girl who always tried for (and mostly got) As. It's really our fault--we give the kids the choice to do homework in elementary school (since research has shown it has no benefits). Seth chooses not to. The logical part of me says not to worry since he's clearly acing his tests. But the former student is a little stressed by that C on the report card. It's third grade, Megan. Lighten up!

Seth is enjoying his newfound independence. Maryland law forbids children under age 8 from being home alone. Now that he's 8 (and we have an old cell phone for him to use to call us in emergencies), he keeps asking me to leave so he can stay alone.

He's also quite pleased to be able to ride his bike to his friend Jack's house. We live very close to several of his friends, but the only way to get there is riding along a high-use, 45 mph road. Thankfully a friend showed him the "secret way" through to the other neighborhood. It might just involve riding through a random yard, but allegedly the owners are okay with it. 

Minecraft and Roblox are still his favorites. Even when electronics are done, his preferred game is "Minecraft In Real Life." He's still a huge reader, although he hasn't made the jump into books with no illustration. I think the length intimidates him. 

He loves pestering his siblings, but he also loves playing with them. He's especially awesome with Elise. On nights where it's been a little crazy, he'll be especially helpful and then say things like, "I'm helping you so you don't have to work so hard, Mom." He has a big heart, even if it can be hard to see under all the little boy craziness! 

I sure love this Seth Man. Seeing him grow so quickly makes me panic--I feel like I don't have very much time left with him before he starts getting busy and more independent. I'm trying to soak up his spontaneous hugs and snuggles while I still can.