Six Months

Oh, Little Stink! How are we already to six months?! Time is just passing by so quickly, but we sure love watching you figure out new things. Here's what you've been up to this month:

You LOVE the toys on the jumperoo.

Still not much jumping yet, though...

You put up with a LOT from your siblings.

Like I said, you put up with a LOT.

Wearing the same outfit your brothers all wore.

They both wore it at Easter, but there's no way you'll be fitting in this at age 1 

(even though it is technically a 12 month outfit). 

Seth

It's kind of freaky sometimes how much you look like little Seth.

Aaron

Aaron's thighs have nothing on your thighs.

Like all your siblings (except Aaron), you LOVE Daddy.

He comes home from work, carries you around and shows you interesting things:

Solid food...that's been kind of a disaster. You seem to like it, but you just can't handle the texture. If it's not pureed, you gag on it. And when you gag, you vomit. Every. Time. Despite this, I still tried to let you gnaw on a pizza crust at my Stake leadership training meeting. Unsurprisingly, you gagged. And then barfed. But not just a regular-sized barf. This was MASSIVE. You covered yourself, my skirt, my legs, and filled one of my shoes with barf. We left immediately, with you riding home naked and me driving home shoeless. 

The pizza crust, pre-barf

You still hate tummy time, but we still make you do it.

And you're still not consistently rolling over either direction.

I love this picture! 

Look at that drooly baby jaw and those delicious cheeks...

Pretty sure this counts as cannibalism...

Apparently I should just feed you popsicles.

Can't gag on popsicles...

You are still the most popular baby in church. It's actually gotten to the point where I almost dread showing up and having to mediate between the girls fighting over you. But it's nice that you are so adored (and also nice that I don't have to hold you during church)! 

Emma has even gotten to the point where she'll ask to wear your carrier. Probably because you're a giant (just barely below 20 lbs at your 6 month appointment). Also because it's a guaranteed way to get you to nap:

Carrier + dangle head = best nap ever

Did I mention you put up with a lot from your siblings?

Elise wanted you to be a baby wolf, and so you were:

You finally fit into my favorite onesie (size 9 months), so I snapped some adorable pictures:

Oh, wait. This bottom one is actually Seth.

You waver between looking exactly like Seth and exactly like Elise.

Here's Elise at nine months.

Definitely siblings. 

And here's Elise at 3.5, with her terrified baby brother:

We love you and all your chubby, adorable sweetness.

Happy six months, Little Stinky!

(Official stats: 19 lbs, 14 oz. and 30 inches.

Just couldn't quite break that 20 lb. limit!)

Adventures at Home

When we're not running all over the place for field trips, we still manage to keep everyone entertained with adventures at home. One Saturday our neighborhood was having a garage sale and the kids decided to make and sell cookies, milk & lemonade. Catherine was the designated baker:

Aaron & Seth were in charge of sales:

They did manage to make some money, but not as much as they were dreaming about.

We'll have to try again in the spring.

Despite my protestations that I like her hair long, Catherine was ready for another bob. Thankfully my friend Geri does a much better job at this than I do! Elise was even brave enough to get hers cut as well. 

Two adorable girls with bobs

We also participated in the annual insanity known as "making cut-out sugar cookies." As you can see from the photo, neither Seth nor Aaron were interested in doing much helping this year (other than eating). Thankfully the girls were still all in. 

Elijah was also all in...into eating graham crackers while we made cookies!

Field Trips

We tried to sneak in several field trips in October while the weather is still pretty nice. Every year I schedule a trip to Lohr's Orchard with a group of friends and homeschoolers. Most years the weather is cool but nice. Sometimes cold and wet. This year it was a balmy 95 degrees and full sunlight. It was miserable. 

Poor little hot baby...

Sweaty girl with her apple

Thankfully the next field trip provided us with some actual fall weather. A friend arranged a trip to the Farmyard. It was a bit of a drive and, honestly, there wasn't much there. But the kids loved seeing the animals, riding the wagon/hayride and making birdfeeders. And I'm always happy to get to hang out with friends! 

Peanut butter birdfeeders

Catherine's turn

Aaron on the giant chair

And Catherine on the giant chair (also Elise)

We're definitely lucky to live so close to so many beautiful farms!

Our final field trip took us up to Philadelphia to the Penn Museum to learn about Ancient Egypt. Seth & Catherine went off with older groups, so I didn't get to see what they did. But Aaron & Elise had a a great time learning about papyrus and making their own (using paper):

Elise was a big fan of the free glue access.

After the classes we were given time to roam freely. During the tour the guide didn't take the littles to this area because she was worried it would be disturbing to them. Well, my kids found it anyway and were completely fascinated. We looked at this mummy for a LOOOONNNGG time. 

Probably the coolest area was where they had historians working on preserving artifacts. Their work area was surrounded by glass so you could see what they were doing. There were also a couple of windows where you could ask questions. Bente took Catherine for a closer look. The woman working there not only answered all their questions, she even let Catherine try out the magnifying goggles!

This was one of those times where I am (again) grateful we have the chance to homeschool. Even if she had gotten to go on a field trip to the Penn Museum with her class at school, there's no way she would have had such an individual opportunity like this one. 

Seth and Brie were there, too.

And another mummy. 

Group photo in the Egyptian area.

Such a cool field trip, and grateful for friends who will come with us (and help with my kids). 

Adventures

In an attempt to get myself and the kids outside more often, I joined a local Wild + Free group to meet up for some hikes and outdoor activities. We've only managed to attend once due to schedules and napping Elijah, but it was quite the adventure...

We were late for the meetup and the group was actually leaving as we arrived. We decided to hike around a big by ourselves anyway. There was a short loop path on the map that I thought we would try. What I didn't realize is that the trail was poorly marked, so instead of a nice 1-2 mile hike, we ended up doing FOUR MILES. FOUR MILES by myself with five kids, one of whom kept either stopping to touch every plant and rock or rushing ahead and falling (cue tears). 

Four tired kids at the halfway point.

We thought there would be a place to play in the creek but there was a steep drop to the water with no safe way to enter. Boo. 

I was SO grateful I decided to give my new baby carrier a try for this hike. It has the most amazing back support, which I definitely needed after four miles of carrying this chunk:

These two (and Aaron, generally) loved rushing ahead and then sitting on the trail until Elise, Elijah & I approached. Then they'd dash off again:

By the time we made it out, we were all exhausted and it was starting to get dark. In the moment it was insane, but I'm still glad we did it!

We also hit up the Maryland Science Center for their homeschool classes. Aaron insisted on another bed of nails picture:

And, miracle of miracles, after years of watching her siblings, and then thinking about it, and then backing out at the last minute, Elise FINALLY braved the bed of nails!

They had this really cool wall where you posed against it while a light flashed. When you stepped away, you could see the "shadow" on the wall. We had a lot of fun playing with this one!

On our way into the Science Center I promised the kids we could eat lunch and play in the fountain on the way home. I'm still not 100% sure they were allowed to be running around in the water, but no one stopped us! They were all happy and soaked for the drive home. 

We also managed to sneak some time in at the Knoxes. Luke and Elise are great friends, and he wanted to take her for a ride. I snapped this picture and died laughing at their faces. I told Melissa this is foreshadowing of what's to come in about 12 years...

Aaron at Six

Dear Aaron Buddy,

You were SO EXCITED to be six! Six apparently means big kid status. As soon as your birthday rolled around, you started telling everyone you were in first grade now. I guess if you average kindergarten-level language arts with 2nd grade math, you get first grade!

In true Aaron form, you continue to do things either not at all, or at 100%. Last year I tried to spend a bit of time teaching you how to read. You hated it. Since it was summertime, I backed off, figuring we'd try again in the fall. Guess who taught himself to read over the summer? We're learning that this is just how you tend to do things: in short, intense bursts.

You are prone to obsessions that last for months. For a while it was Legendaries, Buffs, and Shrimps thanks to some Roblox game you were playing. Then it was gems (we checked out literally every library book about gems). Now it's black holes and wormholes.

You still love math and are about 2/3 of the way through 2nd grade math. You're slightly ahead of Catherine as far as memorizing multiplication facts but slightly behind her in understanding division.

You're still extremely literal. My favorite example came from a friend at church. She was talking to Grandma Cathy (who was visiting) and used the phrase, "We're happy to have you!" You immediately stopped her. "What do you mean 'have her'? How do you 'have' her?" You grilled her until it made sense to you. She also mentioned that during summer camp at her house you were the main lunch attraction. Apparently they would ask you crazy math questions ("What's 512+23?") and be constantly amazed at this little boy doing these calculations in his head.

You still love order and predictability. Regardless of what time we had lunch, I count on you popping into the kitchen at EXACTLY 3:30 pm for snack time. You also keep tabs on our weekly schedule. "Today is Monday, so it's PE, right?" Thankfully you're not too upset when things have to shift around. This love of routine also makes you my best table-clearer and shoe-put-awayer.

Our biggest issue right now is pestering. Generally you are not the one doing the pestering--you are the one being pestered. Constantly. By all three of your siblings (Elijah is not in the pestering business yet). They love getting you all riled up and it really doesn't take much to make you scream. A look. A phrase. A whispered tease. "MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!" We're working really hard on trying to ignore the pestering, but not much progress is being made...

You still love being loved. Generally you get your snuggles from two sources: me or Elijah. Elijah doesn't always appreciate your very "hands on, in your face" form of love, but that doesn't stop you.

I'm so grateful to have you in our family. You are my best friend and I adore you. Can't wait to see what you're going to do with that brain of yours.

Love, Mom

Aaron's Six Year Old Interview:
(You're wearing a mesh half-shirt over your clothing that was originally for an 80's rocker costume. It's your chain mail armor and we see it a LOT.)

1. What's your favorite color? "Red, cause it's a cool color. And hot."

2. What is your favorite food? "Food, not dessert? My favorite food is apples and cherries."

3. Who is your best friend? "My like best one I have? London, probably."

4. What's your favorite movie? "Hmm...my favorite movie is either the scary and cool one or the scary one. Probably Garfield or...Garfield. One of the Garfield movies are one of my favorite movies."

5. What's your favorite toy? "Plastic blocks."

6. What's your favorite game to play? "Lava Bolt (a game he made up)."

7. What's your favorite game to play on electronics? "Either Roblox or Minecraft."

8. What's your favorite snack? "Yogurt with M&Ms." (Thanks for the random addition to our groceries, Walmart pickup).

9. What's your favorite animal? "Dogs and cats cause they're like small animals and they're the easiest ones to tame."

10. What do you want to be when you grow up? "To mine. For gems and crystals and granite."

11. What's your favorite song? "Super Trooper" (a song he made up and hummed for me. There were infected soldiers spawning).

12. What's your favorite Primary song? "I Am a Child of God."

13. What's your favorite book? "Gem books and crystal books and rock books."

14. What's your favorite school subject? "Gems and crystals and rocks."

"I don't like eating Brussels sprouts. And eating carrots and eating tomatoes. But I like throwing Brussels sprouts into the drain. I would kind of like that." (He actually does like Brussels sprouts. 

But Seth & Catherine don't so he talks like they do, despite snarfing all the sprouts when I cook them). 

Aaron Turns 6

Aaron got to celebrate his birthday several times thanks to the way scheduling worked out this year. First was his "friend" party at the trampoline park. He was allowed to invite two friends to come jump. He picked London (from co-op) and Rachel (from church). When his siblings pestered him about inviting two girls, he seemed genuinely confused. He doesn't think of them as "girls", just as his friends! Plus he's always been drawn to girls as his friends and playmates. 

He wanted white chocolate raspberry cupcakes with peach rings.

They were surprisingly good (minus the peach rings).

Out goes the candle!

London, Rachel, Aaron & Elise (who can't be left out of any pictures)

Climbing with London

He had SO MUCH FUN and even graciously thanked London for the Little Mermaid Lego set she personally picked out for him (although he looked very confused when he opened it). Best birthday party ever!

Funny story: Jon gave Rachel a ride home and took Aaron with him for company. He came home almost crying with laughter. Apparently Rachel was telling jokes in the backseat as they were driving. I wish I had written down the exact words, but it went something like this:

R: "Knock, knock."
A: "Who's there?"
R: "Aaron!"
A: "Aaron who?"
R: "Aaron the Candyman! Want a light bulb?" CLAP LOUDLY "Ouch!"

Part #2 happened on Sunday so that Knoxes and Uncle Timmy could attend. This was much simper: just leftover cupcakes. The Knoxes game him Hungry Hungry Hippos, which has been a huge hit around here!

Then it was party #3 on his actual birthday! Seth & Catherine built him a throne out of foam blocks and blankets. He was thrilled! Plus he got to play on his iPad as long as he wanted for his birthday. What more could a little boy want?

We had to stop at Shoprite and get some giant birthday donuts:

I love everything about this picture.

The freckles, the hair, the powdered sugar moustache...

Last night I went in to give him his last kiss as a five-year-old. His eyes lit up.

"Tomorrow I will be SIX??"

"Yes, best friend."

"And soon I will be SEVEN!"

I might have teared up a little because he's absolutely right. Soon he will be seven. Then twelve. Then eighteen. And even while I'm desperately trying to soak it all up, I know it's passing by quickly. So enjoy six, Aaron Buddy. And don't be in such a hurry: time goes fast enough as it is.