Elise Kitty

Miss Lady Baby,

From the moment you wake up in the morning until you crash at night (or randomly fall asleep in the van or on the couch during the day), it's a constant Elise variety show. You could do something as simple as watching a show on the iPad. Or you could change your outfit for the 5000th time that morning. Or find a gluestick and start gluing things to the walls. Or all three within a 15 minute time frame. 

I can't imagine our family without you. You are our snuggler, our enthusiasm, our chatterbox and our chaos. Three years old is going to be a perfect fit for you. Happy birthday, my Elise Kitty.

Here's what you're up to at age 3:

-When you moved into Catherine's room, we put your clothes into her dresser. Eventually I moved them to the lower drawers so you could get them yourself. It means I don't have to help you dress, but it also means that your room always looks like your laundry basket exploded all over the place. You change at least three times every day just for fun. Every outfit must have a tutu. Good thing you have several to choose from (although the super fluffy purple one is your favorite). 

This was one of your more interesting outfit choices. I was going through the baby clothes in the nursery (swapping out girl clothes for boy clothes) and came across this winter car seat blanket/coat thing. I put it out of the way since we obviously won't need it for a little boy born in April. You quickly retrieved it and came to show me your new outfit:

(Notice your legs coming through the holes for the car seat buckle)

If I could only use one picture to personify you, this would be it.

Grandma sent matching jammies for you and your baby:

-Speaking of sleeping in Catherine's room...we don't do that anymore. As in NO ONE sleeps in there. Not quite sure how it happened. First Aaron lured you in there because he didn't want to be alone. Then Catherine eventually joined because apparently Aaron's top bunk is softer than hers. And Seth will make an appearance anytime there's wind or a storm at night. So we have six bedrooms, six people, and only two rooms get used regularly.

My favorite part of this room-sharing is hearing you and Aaron chatting together. Generally you refuse to accept any blankets besides your special "softie blanket", but sometimes Aaron will ask if you want to "share (his) dreams", which means share his big comforter. It's adorable. Of course, then there are the nights you whack him on the head with your flashlight or keep everyone awake singing "Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes" on repeat...

Kitchen mermaid

-You LOVE co-op, nursery and your little playgroup. You talk all the time about all your friends and when you will get to see them next. Specific favorite are Matthew, Maple & Julia. All your teachers love you and tell me how sweet and smart you are. They don't believe my stories about your chaos at home. 

You & Julia on jammie day at co-op

-You went from being a bit of a late speaker to a full-on, nonstop talker. We think you may be another extrovert like your biggest brother. We love hearing your little phrases and watching your (sometimes teenager-like) body language and facial expressions. Your favorite expression is "I a gwown-up. I wearing unda-ware." This offends Aaron to no end: "NO. YOU ARE A KID!"

-You haven't napped in about a year, but you'll still fall asleep in the afternoons about once a week. We hate when it happens because then we know you'll be up until 9 or later (which is past when Daddy & I go to bed). Sometimes we'll let Seth & Catherine stay up a little later to be your entertainment committee.

Looks like a late night is in the works tonight.

-You're getting into the dress-up phases. Your favorite outfit is your "swimming suit" (actually the pink and black zebra-stripe shirt Catherine wore when she was Madonna for Halloween), but we'll see various combinations of princesses, warriors and nonsense through the week. On this particular day you were a "firebender". You can tell because of the ponytails on your arms and legs. You and Aaron played "John the firebender" a lot for a month or so:

-You are extremely independent and don't like anyone helping you when you can (or think you can) do it yourself. You do, however, still enjoy being babied when you are first waking up or get hurt/upset/offended by something. 

-Whenever it's your turn to pray, we give you the choice of who you'd like to help you. The answer is inevitably "Daddy." Your first question every morning is, "Daddy at work?" You love the days he's off and can play puzzles or jump on the trampoline with you. Every afternoon when he comes home you dance and clap with joy. "Daddy!! You home!!"

You stripped down, filled the sink and climbed in.

Why? No one knows.

-You wake up every morning hangry. Your siblings all prefer to delay breakfast for a little while (just like me), but you need food immediately. If I happen to still be in bed when you get up, you charge into my room: "I want my milk." There is no distracting or delaying you--you will start crying if you don't get your milk immediately. Many times you'll immediately demand breakfast as well. We've learned that keeping you fed makes everyone a lot happier. 

-Babies. Babies are your whole world right now. You have adopted every baby that we have collected through the years as your own. Your very favorite is your Elsa Baby that you got from Grandpa Mark & Grandma Sara for Christmas. Second favorite is Doggie Baby from Cousin Russell. But all dolls are loved and hugged and fed and put down for naps in various locations (our favorite being the trash can under Jon's desk). You dash into nursery every week and spend the entire time with the babies in there. Same thing with your playgroup: you go straight for the babies or dolls. You also love playing with the tiny animals and dollhouse you & Catherine got for Christmas. All your siblings have to do to make you happy is to offer to "play babies" with you. 

You & Elsa baby

Daddy & I often look at each other during some of your "personality" moments and wonder what we've gotten ourselves into. But we wouldn't trade any of it. We love you so, little kitty. 

Elise Turns 3

Two days after Catherine's birthday, it was Elise's turn to wake up to balloons and sugary breakfast food. She was thrilled with all the purple and pink balloons (which all are considered 'purple' in her book). 

We were supposed to have her little playgroup friends over for a party, but a nasty ice/snow storm blew through that day and cancelled everything. Thankfully they were able to join us the next day for some fun at the pumps (where I took zero pictures). But in the meantime you enjoyed watching Frozen and Tangled and sneaking in a birthday nap.

The Elsa cake (of course)

Thrilled to be getting sung to.

This was what she looked forward to the most about her birthday. 

Three years old!

Her gifts included some Elsa clothing, a little camera, Calico Critters and lots of fake food and bottles for her baby dolls. Thankfully she didn't seem to notice that she failed to receive the Kitty Baby, Butterfly Baby and Spider Baby (?!) that she began requesting a few days before her birthday...

Cat Catherine

Dear Miss Catherine,

Looking back through the years, it's fun to see how much you have grown and changed. But what I like the best is seeing the ways you have always been Catherine and probably always will be. When you were four, I wrote: "Every day with you is an adventure. I never know from one moment to the next what's going on in that little head of yours or what to expect next. It makes life exciting, hilarious, and sometimes a bit terrifying. I wouldn't change it for the world." Apparently not much has changed in four years!

You are still very independent and do not like being compelled to do things. Most of the time you happily do your schoolwork and jobs without much nudging, but every few weeks you try to push things. It generally ends in tears and, recently, screaming and stomping. But after taking some time to be alone, you generally emerge again as pleasant Catherine. We're calling it practice for the tween years.

You don't love school, but you do love your class at co-op, which consists of exactly four girls (you, Sophie, Grace & Kiera). All the co-op teachers love teaching your little group, including me! I get to have you for chemistry. 

Making a graphene model out of grapes and toothpicks

Sophie (one of your best friends) decided to help you out.

You are still a tiny thing. Your weight is not even on the charts, but you are 75th percentile for height. It makes finding pants that fit very exciting. Thank heaven that jeggings are in right now!

I gave you the option to take a "real" gymnastics class this year (meaning tumbling, backbends, that sort of thing) and you soundly rejected it in favor of a Ninja Warrior style class. You love climbing the highest ropes, swinging across the rings, and balancing across the various obstacles. And because doing crazy stuff at class apparently isn't enough, you like to do things like this when we're at home:

You enjoy a good game of Minecraft or Roblox in the morning, but you're just as likely to forgo electronics in favor of a book, art project or other creative outlet. 

A MagnaTile tower you created one morning.

You have recently taken up the role of lead entertainer for Aaron & Elise. You'll create forts for them, arrange games, and encourage some great imaginative play. They adore you and happily follow you around until you get sick of it and lock yourself in your room, leaving them whining outside your door.

With the new changes, you were able to join Activity Days (officially this time) in January. Unfortunately, right as you joined I was released from being your leader and put in the RS presidency. I did get to join you for one last activity: making pillowcases! 

Occasionally you'll decide that you need to do my hair. I love it, minus the parts when you are less-than-gentle with any tangles. 

A Catherine original hairdo.

Art is still one of your favorite hobbies. You got to attend a six week class where you made little things out of clay and you were in heaven. You begged to keep going but we didn't want to gamble with the baby showing up mid-class. But you've managed to find ways to keep yourself creating!

Painting the jewelry boxes the boys gave you for your birthday.

You are still very selective about who you will accept into your inner circle of friends. Your first choices are always Emma O. and Sophie, with Emma K. and Grace as second options. All other church and co-op friends are merely tolerated.

You still love playing with Seth but are finally getting better at standing your ground when he pushes too far with teasing. 

Your love of piano has just blossomed this year. You are constantly playing music, usually trying to play Seth's songs (and doing a pretty great job of it). It makes teaching you so much fun.

You are my most willing helper and will (generally) happily do whatever favor I ask of you. You still love helping me cook and have actually gotten really good at preparing certain meals all by yourself. 

I love seeing you grow in your skills and your personality. You are a confident, smart and interesting girl who is not at all prone to giving in to outside persuasion. I am so grateful every day for everything you bring to our family.  Happy birthday, my Catherine Cat.

CATHERINE'S BIRTHDAY INTERVIEW:

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

2. What is your favorite food?  "Hmm...(extremely long pause)...donuts."

3. Who is your best friend?  "Sophie. And Emma O. And Emma K."

4. What's your favorite movie? "Stitch (as in Lilo and Stitch)." A rather random choice.

5. What's your favorite toy? "My balloon. (After some deliberation)...It would be my flower, heart, piggy-bank, butterfly thing (little crafts she'd gotten for her birthday and was painting)."

6. What's your favorite game to play? "Skip-Bo."

7. What's your favorite game to play on electronics? "I don't know. I haven't played on devices since three days! (After some prompting) Roblox."

8. What's your favorite snack? "Pretzels with peanut butter and Nutella."

9. What's your favorite animal? "A squirrel. Because they're cute and fluffy and sooooooo tiny!" I blame this on Uncle Timmy and his squirrel vs. birdfeeder videos.

10. What do you want to be when you grow up? "An artist. I'm gonna paint."

11. What's your favorite song? "Bushes of Love." Kill me now.

12. What's your favorite Primary song? "A Child's Prayer. I memorized it on the piano."

13. What's your favorite book? "Chester's Way" (a random Valentine's book she keeps in her bed).

14. What's your favorite school subject? "(Extremely long pause)...Umm, Mom math." (Mom math is when we do something more hands-on, like playing store or making playdough fractions). 

Bonus Catherine commentary: 

"I got a haircut." (She loves her hair short and begged for a cut before her birthday). 

"I don't know which one is my favorite pet. I think kitties and squirrels."

Catherine Turns 8

Catherine was up right at 7 am on her birthday to celebrate turning 8!

Instead of birthday cereal, she wanted birthday donuts.

These things were monstrously huge and delicious!

She also brought some to share with her friends at co-op that day. 

After her birthday dinner of biscuits and gravy, we opened gifts while Grandpa Russell & Grandma Cathy watched over Skype. The best present? Her very own set of scriptures!

We waited to do cake and party until after her baptism that weekend. She was lucky enough to have not just her friends there to party with her, but also a whole bunch of family! It was a bit (a LOT) insane trying to rush from baptism to lunch to cake to party, but Catherine had a great time and that's what matters in the end. 

With the giant donut (bundt) cake

Out they go!

For her birthday party all she wanted to do was go to a trampoline park. Seth had gotten to go for a friends' party and was quite descriptive about how much fun it was and how she would love it. 

And so we drove 30 minutes to the trampoline park, then unexpectedly waited in line for another 30-45 minutes just to get in. I was terrified the place would be completely overrun, but it ended up being not too bad at all! 

In all the chaos I didn't manage to get many pictures, but much fun was had by all! Even Aaron, who sometimes doesn't enjoy loud, crowded venues

Elise, of course, was right in her element.

If she had her way the entire world would be made of trampolines and climbing structures. 

Bored girls waiting in line for the climbing wall:

Megan, Emma & Catherine

Other party friends not pictured: Sophie, Grace, and another Emma.

Catherine made it to the top!

Aaron spent the last hour or so of his time at this battle place. Despite losing almost every single round, he happily climbed out of the blocks and immediately got back in line for another go. He won one or two rounds fair and square, plus "won" a round or two against Jason and Seth. He was so pleased with himself whenever he was the last one standing! 

It was loud, crazy, and chaotic, but all the party-goers LOVED it. Happy 8th, Miss Catherine!

February Fun

February was simultaneously so cold that our pond froze solid and so warm that the kids didn't need even a jacket the day they decided to test the strength of the ice. I was imagining my quite pregnant self having to dash across the ice to rescue someone. Thankfully we avoided that scenario!

Enjoying pink heart pancakes, strawberry milk and conversation hearts for breakfast on Valentine's Day. 

Thanks to a snow storm our co-op Valentine's party was postponed a week. It conveniently fell on Catherine's birthday, which pleased her immensely. They were all very thrilled with their ridiculous piles of sugary treats. 

My Best Friend

Drawing is still high on Aaron's list of favorite activities. I can't decide which one I like more: the Chewbacca-esque guy in the center or the cyclops holding the earth on the left.

As part of our homeschool, the kids can earn 'attitude points' by completing all their schoolwork and chores without (too much) whining. They save these points up for various rewards. Seth and Catherine tend to use theirs to get out of doing math, but Aaron saved his up for a date with Mom. He very specifically requested "pink ice cream in a cone." Not what I would have picked in February, but I will admit that it was very delicious! 

A rather new obsession is sending things in the mail. This picture shows a card and a small package with a peach ring inside that he wanted to send to Grandpa Russell. Unfortunately, our mail carrier doesn't seem to know what to do with a tiny card that says "Arizona" on it. Next up on our list: learning to address and stamp an envelope!

He and Elise are about 50/50 now with playing/fighting. When they get into a good groove, they will play together for HOURS (usually playing animals). But there are still lots of moments when it degenerates into battles (usually instigated by Elise's teasing). Aaron's new favorite threat is, "Elise! I will not play babies with you!" 

He's also obsessed with her hair (which really is super soft and fun to touch). He'll compulsively touch it and kiss it and rub it on his face when she's nearby. She is not a fan and tends to retaliate with flailing and punching. Doesn't stop him, though. 

We are fully in the "hours and hours of questions" phase. Yesterday during dinner he went on for probably 30 minutes or more about Great Wolf Lodge and how much it would cost to build one in our yard, and how big it would be, and how much people would pay, and...and...and... It's hilarious when it's not exhausting (especially because he has a tendency to ask the exact same question 5 or 6 times in the course of a conversation). 

After a couple of years of waffling back and forth, we finally decided to have Aaron evaluated at Kennedy Krieger. The entire staff was completely charmed by him. When his evaluator finally came in she said, "The girls up front told me he was the most adorable little boy they'd ever seen!" So clearly it's not just my mom-bias!

Despite being stuck in the same room for three hours of questioning (for me) and testing (for him), he was remarkably cooperative and mellow. The evaluator and I were both very impressed. 

Ultimately, he was diagnosed with a higher-level language processing disorder. Specifically, he has a hard time with any language that isn't very concrete. He will probably struggle with this his entire life. Luckily he already seems more naturally inclined toward math and science which will involve much less figurative language. 

Surprisingly, he was also diagnosed with hypermobility, which means his joints extend beyond the normal range. This can make controlling his body very difficult since he doesn't get the normal feedback from his movements. I was SO grateful to hear this because he has struggled for years with his motor skills. His pediatrician didn't seem to think it was concerning and the evaluation from the school system blamed it on our "large family." Apparently they don't understand that having more kids makes me LESS likely to dress my own kid, not more...

She also informed us that he is 100% not on the autism spectrum, which was something we had considered. He has several tendencies that look very autistic, but his social skills (read: charm) were a clear indicator that autism is not the issue here. She did warn us that she's seeing early signs of mild ADHD and anxiety. I'm grateful to have a heads up on that front. 

I left the evaluation feeling so relieved to have answers. It was also a blessing because it answered some questions I'd been having about Seth as well. 

I sure love this little guy. I'm so excited to see what he decides to do with his gifts. The other night he told us he was going to be a "math-petitioner" when he grows up. I think even Math itself might give up and answer his questions after a few hours of Aaron interrogation...

Co-op

This is our second year at our co-op and we have really loved it. I know from experience how hard it can be to find a co-op that is well-run and a good fit. I love having my kids learn some skills that can be hard to teach when it's just me (due dates, communication with teachers, working to each teacher's expectations, etc.). It's not perfect, but it's by far the best thing we've found.

In November two of the directors asked to meet with me. I assumed it was to find out if we were planning to continue for the next year. Jon & I had just discussed it during a date the weekend before and I was excited to be able to give them a definite yes.

But that wasn't what happened. Instead they told me that they were working to focus on their purpose and mission as a co-op. It's always been a nominally Christian co-op, but it was very low-key. Some of the curricula would mention Christian themes, but it wasn't overt. 

That was going to change. For the upcoming year they wanted to be very clear that the co-op was Christian and that the things being taught would reflect a Christian perspective. It all sounded fine until they mentioned the phrase "statement of faith." 

My heart dropped. In our area almost all of the homeschool co-ops are Christian. Almost all of them have some variety of faith statement. And almost all of them contain language that makes it difficult or impossible for someone of our faith to sign.  Finding a co-op that was well-run and let us join was no easy task. Now I felt like it was all going to come crashing down. My one thread of hope was that they had obviously wanted to get my opinion before they made it official. Maybe there was room for some discussion.

A few days later they emailed me their potential faith statement and asked for my thoughts. I cried when I read it. Even though they had obviously tried to make it work for our family based on their (limited) understanding of our beliefs, I knew we couldn't sign it as it was. I was also uncomfortable with the idea of engaging in theological discussions over things like the nature of God or salvation. 

After many, many discussions with Jon and my veteran homeschooler friend Bente, I composed a response. Jon went through and edited for context and clarity. Then we sent it off and crossed our fingers. 

The next day I got a text: they wanted to meet with me & Jon to discuss in person. I was extremely nervous since I had no idea how things were going to go. I was worried we would end up in a situation where we would appear to be questioning the legitimacy of their faith, which is exactly what I didn't want to do. I did a lot of praying that there would be understanding on both sides.

I was still feeling sick when we walked into the meeting. Thankfully, within minutes they made it clear that they had read through our response and had made one key change we had suggested: instead of signing a statement of faith saying that we BELIEVED these things, we would sign a statement acknowledging that the TEACHINGS at co-op would be based on these things. Basically, whatever my personal beliefs may be, as long as I was comfortable with my children being taught these things and as long as I promised not to teach contrary to their statement, we were welcome. 

I felt at peace immediately. And then it got even better! They gave us a preview of their plans for the upcoming year, which made some drastic changes. It would be a simpler, more joyful focus on learning. Art and music would be integrated into their humanities. History would be taught through books and stories. Younger grades would have nature studies for their science. Basically, all the things I had been concerned about with co-op were being addressed. It was an answer to a prayer that I hadn't actually voiced. I left that meeting feeling a million times better about everything.

And so we are happily enjoying our time at co-op and very much looking forward to next year! For now we're working on wrapping up our study of the periodic table in my chemistry classes:

(4th and 5th grade, Seth is on the far right)

(2nd grade, Catherine on the right)

And we're enjoying pretending to make campfires outside while studying Little House on the Prairie during literature class:

(Catherine's in the silver coat and red shoes)

Sometimes I am annoyed by the inflexibility that comes with joining a co-op and having a schedule (like when I just want to slack off for a few days when we're feeling blah), but the benefits of the resources and friendships more than make up for the inconvenience! 

January Fun

First good snow of the year!

We weren't expecting this much, so it was a fun surprise.

January also means homeschool classes at the Maryland Science Center. Seth, Aaron & Catherine all got to take a class, plus we got to enjoy all the displays. We ended up staying much longer than I expected because they were so interested in seeing everything.

Bed of nails Catherine

Bed of nails Seth

No bed of nails Aaron.

He wholeheartedly refused.

They had a really cool display on light that we'd never seen before. I was required to take many, many pictures while we were in there. 

Catherine being possessed by Seth

A very blue Elise (it was all lit by blacklight).

"Mom, take da picture of me!"

I think we've now completed all our standard Baltimore field trips for the year!

Second Christmas

We survived the drive home without any issues this time. We think we figured out approximately where we were when we wrecked exactly a year earlier, but it's hard to tell. Most of the freeway around that area is very curvy.

When we got home and unloaded, it was time to open all the gifts we had left at home (which was most of them). We had a very special gift for the girls:

Little Critters!

Emma Knox has some of these and Catherine LOVES them. When their neighbor decided to sell some of hers, we jumped at it. Catherine loves all the tiny furniture, dishes and things. Elise loves all the little animals. Unfortunately, she tends to make chaos out of whatever arrangements Catherine makes in the house. Hopefully as she gets older it will be more of a cooperative play and less of a disaster.

Seth and Catherine took a sewing class during the fall (which they both LOVED). For one of their last projects they wanted to make Elise a new soft blanket (she LOVES soft things). They let her pick out the cloth, then had their teacher help them make it into a blanket.  

Ready to open

Snuggles for the new soft blanket: 

I also got these super cute and comfy slip-on tennis shoes from Bubba.

Slip-ons are my best friend when I'm pregnant. 

I didn't take pictures of everyone opening gifts, but we were all quite spoiled and happy with our gifts. It was also nice to be back in our own home and especially our own beds!