Moments

Just some little things I want to remember:

-When we ask Elise what she's doing (usually suspiciously), she replies, "I'm doing anything!"

-Many times for FHE we play a version of dodgeball in the basement. It's all great fun and everyone enjoys it. But when it's Aaron's turn to throw, things get serious. He'll laugh and smile at everyone as he throws...except Elise. When Elise runs past he clenches his jaw, furrows his brow and throws with all his might.  Thankfully the balls are soft and his aim is not that great, because he's out for vengeance.

-Seth and Catherine have discovered Pig Latin and it's simultaneously adorable and obnoxious.

-During spring almost every day the kids would come inside with small bouquets of flowers for me. Many were wildflowers, but I'd also like to apologize to all the neighbors whose flowerbeds my kids probably raided. 

-Elise loves all things Elsa/princess and will frequently dance "like a princess" while listening to Disney songs.

-Aaron is at the fun phase where he descends into the depths of hysterical despair if he loses a game. He also has extraordinarily bad luck and loses frequently. It's rather hilarious when it's not just obnoxious.

-He has memorized how many zeros are in one septillion (24) and a googleplex (100). He can also quickly calculate all the other big numbers when asked. It's a little freaky. 

-Seth is creating a fantasy game full of various races with different strengths. It's call Mythica. I haven't seen any actual gameplay yet, but there are tons of pictures of the races, and lots of rules, and a chart telling you what each colored die represents. I think he needs to start playing some D&D. 

-Catherine is loving summer break and spends her days happily creating all kinds of art or engaging in imaginative play. She is not at all motivated by electronics, so she generally chooses not to complete her jobs. She only cares about getting them done if she gets to play with a friend in the afternoon.

Happy Birthdays

For my birthday, all I wanted was a nap.

Elijah was happy to enjoy it for me:

It was worth it just to stare at that chubby deliciousness while he slept.

Mom, Dad & I braved taking all five kids to Broom's Bloom for some birthday crab soup and ice cream. I love this picture of my little stairstep lineup of children!

Catherine & my dad made my birthday lemon bars, which were delicious!

It was so nice having my parents around so I didn't have to make my own birthday dessert.

I also saved all my co-op teacher gifts to open, 

so I had some fun birthday presents to look forward to.

Jon also had a birthday, complete with a coconut cream pie. We didn't take any pictures because it was a crazy night (as usual) and we barely got him off his computer long enough to sing to him. Such is the life of busy parents, I suppose! 

Memorial Day

We love our ward Memorial Day breakfast and kayaking tradition. We had perfect weather for it this year: warm, but not too gross and humid yet. I got a break from holding a chubby baby thanks to Brie. She adores him and literally held him the entire time (unless I was feeding him):

After eating too much delicious food, it was off to the kayaks! My mom snapped all these pictures since I was busy making sure Brie's arms didn't fall off from all that huge baby holding.

Catherine LOVES solo time with her daddy.

It's her favorite thing.

Grandpa was on duty with the little ones.

Brave soul, that Grandpa Russell.

A terrifying sight.

Not sure who let Seth, Benjamin & Gabe on a kayak together, but I was impressed they never tipped.

Please note that Gabe is the only one doing any kind of work.

Seth forces Grandpa into a canoe.

Later, forces Mom into a short kayak trip between Elijah feedings.

Another trip with Gabe.

This time he was a little more helpful.

Those who weren't kayaking were enjoying playing on the 'beach'.

We found this little mermaid lounging on the rocks in the sunshine:

We wore ourselves out with all that food and fun.

Good thing Elise let Grandpa borrow Softie Blanket so he could catch a nap before we headed to the Knoxes for some grilling and chatting! A perfect Memorial Day. 

Blessing Day

Blessing day arrived and we prayed Elijah would still fit in the blessing outfit my mom bought for him. Thankfully their 'newborn' size was enormous, so other than some tightness around his amazing thighs, it fit perfectly!

Not impressed with his outfit

"This is hot and scratchy and I hate it!"

Rather Dashing

The Elvis lips

The full ensemble

Of course, if Elijah is around, Aaron will be found nearby.

Very, very nearby.

Aaron would literally do this all day if I let him.

Queen Elsa & Princess Anna made an appearance before the blessing.

I can't remember the last time I saw Catherine in a princess anything...

Despite my fears, Elijah didn't poo-splode in his outfit or scream through his blessing. 

His dad gave him a beautiful blessing.

In the circle were Jon, Timmy, our friend Craig, and both grandpas.

The entire Blood/Mikesell clan

(thanks for doing pictures for us again, Melissa!)

Please note that while Elise wears her sparkly Sunday shoes every other day of the week, 

on Sundays she opts to wear her tennis shoes. It's not worth fighting her. 

The Bloods

Just our Bloods

The menfolk

Elise got to do her own photo shoot with Grandpa.

He clearly has a soft spot for redheaded girls!

When Grandpa(s) Come

Grandpa couldn't be there for an entire month, but we got to have him for a week! I think he may have spent the entire week with the kids swarming all over him like this. 

We finally remembered to pull out the model rockets to assemble while Grandpa was here this time (he's a professional model rocket maker/launcher). There might have been some frustration/tears on Seth's part when it wasn't always super easy, but he did it! And then made repairs when Elise messed with it before it was dry...several times...  Aaron's was much simpler to assemble: just clicking pieces together. Perfect for a 5-year-old. 

We headed to a local park, far from people who would be inclined to call the cops on us, and set up the launch pad:

Seth got to launch first:

First attempt: meh

Second attempt: awesome, minus the part where the parachute failed to deploy

Aaron was nervous about pushing the launch button, but finally did it!

First attempt: decent

Second attempt: went so high that it drifted into the woods and was lost forever

The crushed rocket

Grandpa Mark & Grandma Sara were here for Elijah's blessing and got to watch, too!

Is there anything better than grandpas holding grandbabies?

Grandpa Mark & Elijah Mark

Napping on Grandpa's chest: a Mikesell family tradition

School's Out!

Our last day of co-op was May 20th, which was a full month before public school got out (crazy!). Instead of regular classes we got to do some fun things like a science fair and a big potluck lunch. It was a lovely way to end the year. 

Catherine working on her experiment

Someone decided to start the day extra early by pooping on himself and me.

And here I was worried about having time to shower before co-op...

Seth had big plans for a science experiment involving blood detection. Unfortunately, it's rather difficult to get ahold of blood without looking very suspicious online. We ended up using the phenolphthalein as an indicator and testing various household substances. He had lots of fun showing everyone the color changing as he mixed acids & bases with the phenolphthalein.

Explaining his experiment to Ms. Sharon.

Catherine changed her mind about 30 billion times, but finally settled on balloon science. We did a lot of fun things with balloons that sometimes hilariously failed (we could NOT get that balloon to stick to the wall, no matter how much hair rubbing we did!). She seemed to have a good grasp on why the balloons behaved that way (stripping of electrons), but she either really didn't understand that well or just couldn't explain it to her class without it sounding like a bunch of nonsense. Oh well! It is a little above a second-grader's pay grade...

Elijah's experiment was seeing if we could still shove him into this crab outfit.

Celebratory Cold Stone ice cream that night!

On to 6th grade and middle school for Seth (what?!),

3rd grade for Catherine,

Kindergarten for Aaron,

and Pre-K for Elise.

Best part of the year: burning all the paperwork and books!

Having so many fire assistants is a bit terrifying.

We are SO ready for summer!

Elijah at One Month

We survived the first month! Here's what you're up to at one month old.

-You'll take a pacifier, but you don't love it. You need some convincing before you accept it.

-You nurse pretty frequently during the day and about every 3 hours at night. Not too bad. You usually go to bed between 9 and 10, which also isn't too bad. You do, however, spend the hours after 3 am grunting and pooping loudly.

-You are very much loved by your siblings, which is sometimes a scary thing. Aaron is constantly kissing you or rubbing your head. Elise loves to gift you things like blankets and stuffed animals (but only briefly). I've caught her a few times trying to pick you up, which terrifies me. Especially when she tries to pick you up by your head...

Surrounded by stuffed animal gifts.

-Starting to get some serious chub! We'll see if you match Seth in the chubby baby competition.

Aunt Kenna called this picture "Elijah is not impressed."

(This is my favorite picture of you. Ever.)

Getting some cheeks!

-We think you look a lot like Seth, but also see a lot of Elise. Other people see Aaron, but we don't.

-You tolerated your first bath. Definitely didn't enjoy it, despite your siblings' excitement for the occasion.

Barely made it out alive.

-Your eyes don't look the same direction. One tends to look off to the side, but you'll occasionally go cross-eyed. Apparently we don't need to worry about it until you hit 4 months or so.

-Tummy time is not your favorite. Do any kids actually LIKE tummy time?!

-You soak through your diapers almost every night. Or poo-splode.

-You've been a very easy baby. You sleep in your car seat, you fall asleep easily in our arms or your swing, and you rarely fuss. I know that's likely to change in the next couple of weeks, but I still think you're likely to be one of our easiest babies.

The many, many faces of newborn Elijah:

The yawn

The goofy (not real) smile

Fat face

The "I'm so precious, aren't I?" face

"I think I need a nap" face

The "Who, me?" face

The (still not real) grin

And, my personal favorite:

The "I'm pooping" face.

(These jammies are my favorite--dino toes!)

Favorite sleep positions:

On Mommy's chest

Next to Mom on the couch

In Dad's arms with your head dangling, just like your siblings.

I pulled out my fancy camera and took some pictures of you for your one month/baby announcement pictures. I love the colors on the blanket Grandma Cathy made you--it's the perfect backdrop for photos:

This one is my favorite.

And yes, I totally edited out all your baby acne (and there was a LOT). 

My super helpful photography assistants who weren't prone to getting in the way. At all.

And, to wrap it all up, a candid shot taken by some small child 

We sure love you, Little Elijah!