March, Post-COVID

Like everyone on the planet, the last thing I expected to interrupt our lives was a global pandemic. At first I was highly skeptical since it was basically just a fairly mild flu that didn't seem to affect children. But then as more data came in and the idea of "flattening the curve" was promoted, I saw the necessity. 

Honestly, it was almost a relief in a lot of ways. We went from having a packed schedule (swimming/sewing/piano lessons/co-op/church activities) to...nothing. I was surprised by how much I DIDN'T miss any of it. Except the library. And grocery pickup functioning like normal. And the Knoxes. 

When the restrictions were first put in place, we decided we would "socially distance" from everyone except the Knoxes. We figured our kids were basically cousins and we shared all our germs anyway, so why not? We had a great time hiking together with our masses of children running feral through the woods. Gabe even offered to carry Elijah for part of the hike (he lasted longer than I expected considering Elijah is a full quarter of his weight):

But as things got more serious, we realized we actually did need to try to isolate even from our best friends. That has been hard, especially on Seth & Elise. Seth & Gabe will play Minecraft together or go on the occasional "socially distant bike ride", but it's not enough to fill their social needs. The rest of us (the introverts) are adjusting really well! I love having Jon working from home every day. We go on walks during lunch as a family. I love not having a million places to be every week. I love that he's actually around on Sundays instead of in meetings all day (except when he's in Skype meetings all day instead). Basically, I'm seeing a lot of positives and not too many negatives for our family. If only that were true for every family. 

A week or so into the restrictions, someone promoted the idea of using sidewalk chalk to write happy messages on our driveways and sidewalks. My kids are all about the chalk, so we joined in. Some of us opted to take the idea of spreading sidewalk chalk joy a bit more...internally:

Aaron drew a giant blue whale that is really hard to see:

Seth went with the prisms theme (we'd been studying light that week):

Elise just rode her bike:

Catherine has been perfecting her cursive:

Not sure how much joy it brought anyone besides us, but I guess that's not the point in the end.

Eleven Months

Swinging at Annie's playground and actually enjoying it this time!

Balloons are THE BEST.

And so is being naked (even if it's chilly). 

You've recently decided you LOVE books, which is adorable.

Now we have to hide all the non-board books from you...

Now you can actually CHASE the Roomba around the house.

Your life is complete!

First time at the pumps!

You didn't love it...but you didn't hate it.

This is your new favorite game.

It's called "Catch Elijah as he flings himself off the couch. Repeat."

The title really says it all. 

Obviously you are completely innocent and had nothing to do with this.

Nothing.

Uncle Timmy's favorite pajamas.

Kaia loves you so much that she fed you an ice cream sandwich while wearing a white skirt...

Attempting to learn how to crawl up the stairs by...biting them.

Biting seems to be your solution to most problems you encounter.

We sure love all the fun things you're starting to figure out! You're always into something. 

Your favorite things to play with are "guys" (little plastic people that came with the Magnatiles). You want one in each hand at all times. They're great for banging on things and for chewing on. 

You love reading books before naps/bed. Your favorites seem to be ones with babies in them (Ears Nose Toes or Baby Signs). Books that don't keep your interest get shoved away ferociously. 

You have a bunch of teeth coming in, which may explain all the biting. Or it may not. You just may really like biting things. 

Despite being able to crawl, you still insist on being carried most of the time. Thankfully you haven't really put on any weight in several months. 

You HATE getting your diaper changed. Sometimes it takes both me & Daddy to hold you down. Or keep you from sticking your hands in your own nastiness. You scream and writhe the entire time, which makes it take three times as long.

Despite your suddenly-appearing plethora of opinions, we still think you are the best thing in the world. The fact that your wrists and fingers are still deliciously plump definitely helps cement that feeling. 

One more month until one!

Creative Catherine

Catherine (with assistance from siblings) made this giant tower of Magnatiles.

She made up her own origami pattern for a house, then made an entire town of houses:

Don't miss the origami car driving down the street:

Top view:

All I have to do is keep this girl in art supplies and she's good to go!

March, Before COVID

With life being what it is, I've decided to cut WAY back on my piano teaching. With that in mind, I opted to not have a piano recital in the spring. Instead, my friend Bente invited us to a family home evening where we each shared our talents. Jon showed his Fill or Bust Excel game, I showed the picture I made for Kenna, Elise showed some paintings and did gymnastics (kicking myself for not getting pictures/video), and the others played piano. Elijah's talent was biting (not pictured either). 

Aaron plays

Catherine's turn

Seth's turn

February and March like to tease us with an occasional gorgeous day full of sunshine and 70 degree weather. Then they retreat back to the 40s and rain, leaving us desperately waiting for summer. On one of those days we headed to the park to soak up as much sunshine as we could!

Elijah slides!

Eating mulch and dried leaves.

You would think he would stop after getting one taste, but you would be WRONG.

March means time to get the garden started! Aaron is our little garden buddy. He's the only one who is totally committed to every step: composting, weed barrier, planting the seeds, watering, the whole deal. I love it. 

Helping Dad plant peas

I'm not always the best about celebrating holidays (there are just SO MANY and they are SO MUCH WORK), but I did try this year to make it a little bit more fun for my kids. March has the trifecta: Pi Day, the Ides of March, and St. Patrick's Day. We made several pies (or creme brulee, in Seth's case), explored how to find Pi, read a version of Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar', and made delicious corned beef. 

Pie (Pi?) babies

Beware the Pi-des of St. Patrick's Day!

Elise at 4

Oh, my Lady Baby.

If any of our kids are going to send us straight to the looney bin, it will be you. Single-handedly. Between the constant disasters (antibacterial ointment all over the bathroom...or toothpaste...or my eyeshadow...) and the unfiltered defiance of requests both big and small, you are a tiny chaos tornado.

You love making Aaron scream. It's your favorite form of entertainment. It also requires very little effort on your part, which is basically win-win! If Aaron isn't available, you'll take pestering Elijah instead. You like to hold on to the feet of his pajamas when he's trying to crawl away. Or you'll just lay on top of him. Poor kid.

We'll ask you to help around the house: "No thank you." Why not? "Because I don't want to." What do you even say to that?! We send you to your room fairly frequently, but after the initial screaming you just happily play dolls or Little Critters.

You change your clothes 40,000 times every day. You prefer to be in swimsuits or your Madonna dress up dress/shirt. I had to hide them all winter so you wouldn't try to wear them when it was 30 degrees outside.

You ask me every day to "play Barbies with me!" That's almost literally the last thing I want to do, but I do it because I feel guilty that you get neglected while the others do schoolwork.

All your teachers at church and co-op tell me how sweet and obedient you are. Sometimes I think homeschooling may not be the best option for you. You are a social creature and tend to create your own entertainment (usually in the form of chaos) when you're not being entertained.

You tell me every day that you love me and ask me several times each day if I still love you. And I do. So, so much. You are my little gremlin and I adore you. You took all of Catherine's independence and raised it x100. You will do great things one day (provided we all make it through your teenage years alive).

I love your snuggles. I love how you will bring me book after book after book to read to you. I love how you sneak out of bed because you're a "big one" now. I love how your shorts all look like booty shorts because they ride up over your muscle-y thighs. I love your adorable little bob haircut. I love that you're always starving in the morning when you wake up (or right before dinner is ready--you're currently demanding Nutella from me despite the fact that we'll be eating dinner in 30 minutes. In fact, I'm 90% sure you've actually gotten the Nutella and a spoon... After checking, turns out it was Nutella and a knife, which you were sneaking out of the kitchen under your nightgown. Yep.)

We love you so much, little kitten. Nutella stealing and all.


Elise's Four-Year-Old Birthday Interview:

How old are you? "I don't know (but she could show me four fingers)."

1. What's your favorite color? "Pink."

2. What is your favorite food? "Watermelon (she claims she remembers it from the beach last summer)."

3. Who is your best friend? "Luke, because he plays with me."

4. What's your favorite movie? "Frozen 2."

5. What's your favorite toy? "Frozen 2...the singing thing...the Anna who sings (Anna Barbie, who actually doesn't sing, but okay)."

6. What's your favorite game to play? "Sorry. No, actually I want to play the Frozen 2 game (matching)."

7. What's your favorite game to play on electronics? "Rudy (Yumiloo)."

8. What's your favorite snack? "Marshmallows & pretzels (it's actually Nutella wraps)."

9. What's your favorite animal? "A zebra."

10. What do you want to be when you grow up? "A artist."

11. What's your favorite song? "The Frozen 2 song. Into the Unknown."

12. What's your favorite Primary song? "Sunbeams."

13. What's your favorite book? "Frozen 2. (After I protested that we don't have a Frozen 2 book) No, Elsa."

14. What's your favorite school subject? "Um, color."

Elise's Birthday

Typical Elise: can't even stop drinking milk long enough for a picture on her birthday morning!

And yes, that is a GIGANTIC bag of fake Lucky Charms. 

And also yes: she did still scream at everyone because they were going to "EAT IT ALL!"

Thank you, Walmart, for having a Frozen 2 ice cream cake!

Blowing out her candles so she can officially be FOUR!

We celebrated Elise with the Knoxes (her favorite people). They gave her an Elsa doll, which she and Paul immediately ran off to go play with. It's been so fun watching her fall in love with Frozen 2 at exactly the same age Catherine was when she fell in love with Frozen. 

For her "party" all she wanted was to go to the pumps with Luke. It took us a little while to get things coordinated, but we finally got to enjoy some Knox time at That Bouncy Place. I forgot my phone and didn't use Jon's to snap any pictures. Oops. 

She was quite spoiled with all things Frozen (matching game, doll, coloring books, etc.). She especially loved her "woonitorn" outfit from Grandpa Russell & Grandma Cathy. Four is the perfect age for princesses, unicorns, dolls, fairies, and all magical things!

Catherine at 9

Miss Catherine Cat,

Several months ago one of your Activity Day leaders mentioned that she was very impressed with you. She said that there have been a few instances where one of the other girls would start saying unkind things about other people in an attempt to get you to agree. You didn't bat an eye: you just said, "No, I don't think that about (whoever)." It wasn't even something you had to think about. This makes me so grateful for your fierce independence (even though it's sometimes irritating when I don't WANT you to be Miss Independent).

You still don't like team sports. You don't follow your friends around: you prefer to do your own thing and hope they'll follow you. You've also written off a friend when she opted to play dolls with Elise instead of playing with you (even though you were being stubborn and not interacting with her). The only person whose opinion seems to matter to you is Seth. And even that isn't as prominent as it used to be.

You like making people laugh. You're extremely confident around adults, which I still haven't decided is/isn't a good thing. Your two favorite people are Sister Bente and Sister Seacrest (both very intelligent, very independent women). I love that you have such awesome role models.

You are a wonderful big sister and will often take charge of fun activities for Aaron & Elise. You're also so much help with Elijah. They're lucky to have a big sister like you.

Bugs are still one of your favorite things, although plants and animals are also moving up in your favor. You think history is boring, but you LOVE science. You prefer reading graphic novels and comics, but you did read the entire "Kid Scientists" books and every book on Jane Goodall.

Aunt Bubba calls you 'Skeletor' because you still have basically no body fat. You look like Aunt Kenna used to. You prefer your hair in a very short bob and like to pester me frequently when it starts getting 'too long' (past your shoulders). I prefer it long, but it's your hair. And a bob fits your personality.

You bounce from art project to art project: perler beads, painting, clay, crafts from recycled materials, sewing...you name it. Origami has been a bit hit recently.

I'm constantly amazed at who you are and who you're growing to become. Happy ninth birthday, Cat the Cat.


Catherine's 9-Year-Old Birthday Interview
(this year's interview was characterized by many, many, many super long pauses while you deeply contemplated questions like 'What is your favorite song?')

1. What's your favorite color? "Hmm... Purple and...aqua."

2. What is your favorite food? "Uh...chicken. Just chicken."

3. Who is your best friend? "Emma Olivera."

4. What's your favorite movie? "Star Wars (Rise of Skywalker)." (We had just watched it the night before).

5. What's your favorite toy? "Anything that includes art. Recycling, paper, pencils, pens, paint, things that I can paint on... Yeah, pretty much that."

6. What's your favorite game to play? "The ball game. We used to play it with Seth's big red ball because it wasn't too big and it wasn't too small. And Dad would drop it down the stairs and we'd be laying on one stair and we'd try not to get hit."

7. What's your favorite game to play on electronics? "Bear" (from Roblox).

8. What's your favorite snack? "Marshmallows with crackers. No, no, no: apples with...what is it called? Caramel. There you go. Apples with caramel."

9. What's your favorite animal? "Caterpillar. (When I insisted that wasn't an animal). They're fuzzy. No, birds. Peacocks. Peacocks! No, parrot.

10. What do you want to be when you grow up? "Hmm...hmm...I want to be...hmm...a scientist. I'm going to study outside. And how bananas grow."

11. What's your favorite song? "Muffin Time (said with a grin because you know I hate that song)."

12. What's your favorite Primary song? "Be What I Believe."

13. What's your favorite book? "I have three favorite books. Oh wait, no, maybe two. No, no, no. Yeah. Wait. Three. No, no, no: one. No, no, no: three. Okay. Garfield, umm...Calvin & Hobbes, Diary of a Wimpy Kid."

14. What's your favorite school subject? "Poetry time."

Anything else? "I'm cold. (Pause) I'm done with this."

Catherine's Birthday

Catherine lucked out and got to have her cousins here to party with her! Apparently I missed the traditional birthday morning picture, but she picked chocolate Krave cereal and generously shared with her cousins (I bought her a second box after everyone went home). 

Opening her gifts!

She was thrilled to get a cookie dough scoop from Aunt Wendy. 

For her 'cake' she asked for key lime pie (which she helped make).

That's my girl!

She asked to light her own candles.

The hole she burned in her sleeve from lighting her own candles.

Out they go!

A week or so later she had her birthday party. Originally she opted for a small party with a trip to ClimbZone, but later decided she wanted a bigger party at home. I let her plan the theme (art) and activities (painting on canvas and making things out of clay). She was very excited that ALL the friends she invited were able to come. I was a little nervous about how well the group would do together (she had friends from church, old co-op and new co-op) but they all got along beautifully!

Painting on their canvases!

Time for clay!

Sophie, Elise, Grace, Emee, Caroline, Emma, Catherine & Talia.

And no, Catherine isn't grumpy.

She's just being goofy because Talia was being goofy. 

Singing to Catherine

She wanted donuts instead of cake.

Happy ninth birthday, my Catherine!

The Cousins Come

Because New York is apparently more intelligent than Maryland, Daniel & Wendy's kids get a week-long winter break in February. They decided to spend part of it with us, which was THE BEST THING EVER according to my kids. 

Elise LOVES LOVES LOVES LOVES Katie.

They play together SO well.

She demanded pigtails to match Katie's. 

I love everything about this picture. 

Poor Timmy, never ever getting a break from these kids.

Catherine's paper chain she spent forever working on, now on the floor.

And Luke, because the Knoxes love Daniel & Wendy's family as much as we do. 

Ah, cousins bonding over screen time.

We went bowling together.

This was the only picture I took.

All the kids shoved on the couch.

Thanks to Wendy for making the time to take this picture!

We are so grateful we have at least some cousins relatively close by!

Seth in YM

Seth has LOVED going into Young Men! He has some really awesome boys to look up to (which I am so grateful for) and some great leaders who really go above and beyond. I feel so much gratitude for the leaders of the youth--I know how much time, effort, and prayers go into the youth programs. It's very humbling. 

Seth's first temple trip was on Valentine's Day. Sometimes I get a little jealous/angry when I see friends out west who do things like "Mom & Dad take their new 12-year-old to the temple for the first time together as a family!" With the distance to Philadelphia combined with a nursing baby, I knew it wouldn't really be an option for me to go with Seth (although I had some sweet friends offer to watch him outside the temple). Thankfully Jon was able to go with him! 

Seth & Jon outside the temple (courtesy of Emma)

Seth was able to be baptized & confirmed for some family names (thanks, Mom!) which made it even more special. It was a crazy late night, but he had a great experience and is looking forward to going again. 

Every year our ward has the most AMAZING fundraising dinner for the Scouts. Seriously amazing. I dream about that food for the next year. With the church moving away from Scouting, I wasn't sure it was going to happen. But apparently it's still a go, and Seth gets to make a fancy dessert option to serve!

Practicing piping on the icing

Seth's lemon cake with lemon curd and lemon cream cheese icing!

He did almost all of the work by himself.

Because our YM leaders are awesome, they scheduled a full-day Book of Mormon activity for the boys. There was hiking involved, plus shooting arrows (which is always awesome). Jon also sent me this great shot of Seth on the King Benjamin tower:

Despite the instances of skewy ties and other deacon nonsense, it's been really neat watching Seth pass the sacrament every Sunday. With how goofy Seth & his buddies are at other times, I was expecting it to be hard for them to be appropriately reverent. That hasn't been the case at all. Grateful for the good examples of the older boys! 

Ten Months

This month has been a BIG one for you--you're finally moving! It started with some lunging and army crawling, but by the end of the month you were legitimately (though still very slowly) crawling. Which means nothing is safe anymore. 

No more games on the floor when you're awake!

Also no puzzles.

Puzzles are delicious.

But the best part is that now you can chase the Roomba around instead of just sitting there in one spot hoping it will get close enough for you to whack it. 

Catherine tossed birdseed all over the back porch. You LOVED sitting  by the back window and watching the birds. One of the only times you'll sit quietly for any period of time.

5th child = whipped cream whenever Mom opens the fridge

Being able to move means escaping from diaper changes.

When Mom actually dresses you up for church instead of leaving you in pajamas.

So handsome.

Mom & Stinky

Mom & Baby Shark

We pulled this out after you threw a fit trying to pound on Daddy's laptop.

Daddy taught you to turn off lightswitches.

Guess what we spend all our time doing now?

One of the moms brought a puppy to Elise's gymnastics class and you were ENTHRALLED. You sat by the window and shrieked and pounded on the glass. Of course, when I actually took you outside to meet him it wasn't quite so fun. At least not after he started chewing on your little sausage fingers...  But it didn't dampen your love for dogs in general. You go SO excited when you see one and demand to be taken to it. 

Eating wet wipes.

A Blood child tradition. 

Helping me load the dryer by unloading the wet clothes as I put them in.

You are starting to let us know about your opinions on a regular basis now. Mostly those opinions involve someone carrying you around for an extended period of time. You also HATE being left alone and will scream bloody murder when your last sibling wanders out of your view. 

But...you're sleeping through the night!!! Hallelujah! You're usually at two naps during the day, occasionally three. And you like to wake up stupid early (6 am). It's a good thing you're so adorable!

You're a champion eater but still prefer your food pureed. If I give you cereal on your tray you systematically throw it on the floor without taking a bite. You also can't figure out how to use a straw, so I had to buy you special sippy cups for nursing babies. Thankfully you haven't been able to chomp through them so far!

Still in size 3 diapers, size 12 clothes (with an occasional 18 month outfit). You haven't really gained any weight at all. Still hanging out around 20 pounds. 

You LIVE for baths. If I take you into the bathroom for any reason other than putting you in the tub immediately, you are heartbroken. You still aren't super stable, but that doesn't stop you from from trying to crawl around/stand up in the tub. 

Can't believe you're this close to age one already!