Elise & Daddy

With the exception of Aaron, all my kids have been Daddy's kids. But Elise has taken it to an entirely new level. From the moment he walks in the door from work, she is at his side, begging to be carried around. Daddy is her happy place. It breaks her heart when he has to do something like go to work. Or prep for seminary. Or go upstairs without her. There's a lot of heartbreak in Elise's world when Dad is home. But then he picks her up again and all is right in her world:

Elise Update

This little girl. She is a handful. We joke that she has baby ADD: she's constantly on the go, constantly wanting our attention, constantly finding new ways to make messes. For example:

"I got this for you, Mom!"

She's also a little daredevil. This is a small retaining wall at the pond in our neighborhood:

Aaron was very, very concerned:

At almost 14 months old Elise is still not talking. Still not quite walking. But she can climb the ladder to get on the trampoline. She clearly has her priorities in order:

Trying out Aaron's car seat.

She was a big fan (she's still in the infant one. Great for naps). 

Her latest obsession is her "boo-fulls" as Aaron calls them. She loves to get into the bows and headbands and get all dolled up:

This is how real ladies get ready for bed:

So pleased with herself!

She also has taken to eating sidewalk chalk. And not just a small sample: she will keep going until I take the chalk away. It's disgusting: 

Chalk lipstick:

She has inherited my rats nest hair. Combined with her crazy cowlicks, she ends up with some fabulous styles:

She knows what she wants, how to get it, and how to make the rest of us do her bidding. All without saying a word. Very impressive, little kitty cat!

New Things

New things are always fun!

Like a new bike from Grandma (since someone still hasn't figured out pedaling):

Of course, someone else was a  big fan of the new bike:

Don't miss the 80's rocker hair.

After ten years, my old Chacos finally died. I found these awesome new ones on sale. Jon gave me the go-ahead and called them my early Mother's Day gift. I'm a very happy girl with my new Chacos!

School Pictures

I never buy school pictures. I bought myself a nice camera so I could take pictures myself and not be left to the mercy of some random school photographer. But I do enjoy seeing the "lovely" pictures when they come home. If nothing else, they are a very accurate glimpse into my kids' dressing habits (Seth is uncharacteristically well coordinated). 

Rain Gutter Regata

Our Cub Scout leader is awesome and does all the fun stuff. This time it was the Rain Gutter Regatta. Seth was very pleased with his boat (even if he did try to use a hammer to insert the screws). 

Seth did a great job racing:

Seth the Conqueror:

He ended up taking 4th place. Not bad at all!

Catherine was thrilled to get to attend. She had a great time hanging out with Tracie (who I have to thank for all of these pictures, since I'm always stuck at home with the babies):

Easter Sunday

Sometimes miracles happen and you get a decent Easter picture of all four kids!

And then there's Seth:

Elise is adorable, as usual:

And Catherine adores her big brother:

And Aaron got no individual pictures.

One decent group shot was all he could handle.

Happy Easter!

Assateague

The Knoxes are old pros at this Ocean City thing, so when they suggested a trip to Assateague Island I was so excited. I grew up reading the Misty book, so it was kind of a childhood dream come true. The kids were thrilled to see all the ponies as we drove in. 

Of course, it was still chilly.

Especially when you have zero body fat like Catherine:

Eating lunch and trying to keep warm:

Gabe & Seth had fun drawing cryptic symbols in the sand and casting spells on each other.

Thank you, Harry Potter:

Aaron kept his jacket and pants on the entire time and was quite pleased with the situation:

Catherine finally warmed up enough to try out her kite:

Rainbow Dash & Kylo Ren kites:

Elise was an amazing beach baby. She happily crawled through the sand, played with shells and rocks, ate the food...oh, and played in the trash whenever she got the chance:

Digging in the sand with someone's used plastic fork:

We spent a lovely day at the beach together. As we were driving out there was a small pack of ponies right off the road. I handed Bekah my phone and had her snap some pictures for me:

It ended up being a wonderful trip. My kids were all cooperative and helpful and we managed to get a decent amount of sleep. It still would have been more fun with Jon around, but it's nice to know that I can survive alone on vacation if I have to! But perhaps we spent a little too much time with the Knoxes. Catherine came home and made this list:

Elise

Aaron

Gabe

Seth

Catherine

Mom

Beko (Bekah)

We seemed to have gained two Knoxes and lost a Dad in our family...

Morning at the Beach

Despite my fears, the kids did amazingly well in the hotel room. Of course there was no sleeping in happening, so the next morning we found ourselves at the beach pretty early. I love the beach in the morning and my kids did, too.

Posing Catherine:

Gabe & Seth watching the dolphins:

Aaron was still very wary of the water. And the dolphins:

Catherine loved searching for shells (and crab limbs) in the tide pool:

Elise was happy as long as I was holding her:

She also very much enjoyed covering both of us with sand:

Catherine is a sweetheart and kept finding treasures for Aaron:

We spent about an hour on the beach before it was time for our next adventure!

Spring Break

The Knoxes invited us to join them in Ocean City over Spring Break. I was hesitant: Jon had big plans to work overtime and prep seminary over the break, so I would be alone. And sleeping with all four kids in one hotel room is always terrifying. But I knew the kids would be in heaven (and that the Knoxes would have lots of helpers, so I wouldn't really be alone), so we went! 

As expected, April at the beach is a little chilly. Thankfully it was warm enough that a jacket over a swimsuit did the trick:

Seth & Catherine finally cared about collecting shells this year.

I was starting to worry that something was wrong with them.

Elise was not super impressed with the cold beach:

Bekah tried to take her to see the waves. She was not impressed:

But Catherine was! 

And then there's Aaron, who was highly skeptical of the sand. And water. And the sharks.

(Actually dolphins, but they're all the same to Aaron):

Seth prepares for another run in the waves:

Elise getting some warm snuggles from Anna: