6th Month Annibirthery

Busy blog day today for me...

This guy,

is 6 months old today.

There are times when I literally, (yes mom, literally), can NOT believe it.

February seems like six months ago. February itself took about six months to pass.

But I see new babies and can already not really remember him being that tiny. That new.

And I tried to enjoy it. To relish it. To soak it in. Having a pinched nerve and not being able to walk for two weeks really helped with that. I lived in the recliner with him. Only getting up to eat and use the facilities.

But still.

They change so fast.

He is a joy to have around. Many many people comment on how he is the happiest baby that they've ever seen.

And I would have to agree.

I don't know if it's that "third child" thing. If he has inherited his dad's and Grandpa Eddy's laid-back-ness or what. But he is pretty agreeable 99% of the time.

This last month he learned to sit up. Pop up on his hands and knees and really wants to crawl. His first tooth has popped through (months earlier than either of his sisters). And he eats rice cereal and oatmeal. We will start trying other solids since we are headed into the beautiful harvest season.

His stats on 8/30/13

Height: 26.5 inches - 50%

Weight: 16 lbs. 1 oz. - 25%

Both girls LOVE him so much. I think that Mae might love him a bit more. She has named him "LeeLee" and pretty much only refers to him that way. It is starting to stick. Bob is afraid that he is never going to know his name is Russell.

We are settling into a new routine with school starting and there are many exciting adventures ahead.

[Etta at six months]

[Mae at six months]

Bob's Back to School

We have another person in our house who goes to school each fall.

I guess this is another tradition that we have:

2008

2009

2010 - First first day

2010 - Second first day

2011

2012

[Note how each entry about poor Bob gets shorter and shorter each year...]

First Day(s) of School

On Monday Etta started Kindergarten.

Kindergarten.

That means that today was my 6th year of not going to school (to work).

That is the same number of years that I had a first day of school as a teacher. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that one.

But with four burners going this morning and a baby on my hip I couldn't imagine any place else that I would rather be. Slightly different than six years ago.

We all make choices with our lives. And unfortunately the media (social media??) tries to convince us that we are making the wrong choices. With everything. Breast vs. bottle. SAHM vs. working mom. Co-sleeping vs. cry it out. And we let it bother us? Why is that? I must admit, I am just as guilty as everyone else of . . . feeling guilty about the choices that I make.

Am I always calm? Is my house always spotless? Um . . . no. Are there days that I wish that I was going to Jenifer Junior High School to teach? Yes. But am I overall happy with the choices that I have made? Most definitely.

But back to our star of the post.

Etta is in Kindergarten.

She is in a K-2 class at Beacon Christian School. There are 6 kids in Kindergarten and 15 kids total. 9 boys and 6 girls. That totally works for her!

This summer she learned how to ride her bike without training wheels, took swimming lessons, learned to tie her shoes and taught herself how to whistle. She doesn't mind helping me out as long as I give her real, actual chores to do. No pretend busy work for this girl.

We butt heads, argue and don't always get along. I don't know if it is because we are very alike or very different. But we do usually read together every afternoon and I love having her run errands with me.

This year I am hoping that she learns how to read. Really read. Not just sight words and memorizing (which she is very good at).

I am proud of her determination. Proud that she is confident in her likes. Proud of the fact that she knows how she likes her hair.

She is my eldest.

At her desk.

Second day of school. Shirt and socks that she picked out at Old Navy all by herself!

Spring Concert

Another group of pictures that I neglected:

Accompanying Riley Dieter, a clarinet student that I have been working with for two years.

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. And Eyes I guess.

First concert.

Playing the bells. That is Joe next to Etta. He will be in second grade this fall.

Adding their black olive finger tips. They sang "Galump went the little tree frog". Teacher Angel is so creative!

Mae wasn't so sure.

But went with it.

I kept waiting for her to start munching.

Teacher Angel was very generous in allowing Mae to always participate.

Pre-School Graduation

Because seriously, I haven't put these on the Internet yet? And I guess I'm not too late because school doesn't start for a whole week.

Right?

Right?!

Waiting for the festivities to start. Posing for various cameras.

Getting ready to go on stage. I really hope that she grows out of putting everything in her mouth.

Waiting some more.

They performed various things that they had learned during the year. Preschoolers are in turquoise, the kindergartners in orange.

Very happy girl.

Now waiting to get her diploma.

The hand off.

Very proud. That is wonderful Teacher Angel in the back.

Etta had a very very good time in preschool at Beacon Christian this past school year. There were seven kids in her Pre-K/Kindergarten class. And she was the youngest! (Which I think comes out through the pictures.)

We got to watch her develop learn and grow in amazing ways. She loved school, but sometimes not so much for the actual school part of it. More for the friends and running. But that is okay too.

Her teacher, Teacher Angel, was an amazing PATIENT woman and we were so blessed to have her work with Etta all year. She has moved on and Etta will have a new teacher in the K-2 classroom. But I'm sure that things will be just as wonderful.

I guess that one of the reasons people take so many pictures is so that they can see how much kids change over a period of time. I can't believe how much Etta has changed this summer. She learned how to swim, tie her shoes and ride a bike. And, as she informed me yesterday, whistle. I think that may be her proudest accomplishment.

So, good bye pre-school, hello Kindergarten!

3 or 13?

Conversation I had with Mae tonight.

(To set the mood: Etta & Mae had been playing "Going To a Concert" very well together. Bob was at a school board meeting. Russell was fed but getting restless.)

Emily: Time to take a bath.

Mae: I DON'T WANNA TAKE A BATH!!!

Emily: Well, it's time to take a bath. [Picked her up and carried her into the bedroom to get ready to go in the bathtub.]

Mae: I don't want you to live in this house anymore!

Emily: Mae, we talked about that. That's not a nice thing to say. Maybe I don't want YOU to live in this house any more. [Parenting not at it's finest.]

Mae: Fine. I DON'T WANNA LIVE IN THIS HOUSE ANYMORE!!!

[Said multiple times until I finally got her calmed down enough to understand what she was saying.]

Emily: What?

Mae: I don't wanna live in this house anymore. I want to live in my OWN house!

Three? Really?! She is only going to be three?

But then we talked about how she was sad because she and Etta couldn't play "Going to a Concert" anymore tonight but that they could play something else fun while taking a bath. Crisis averted.

Pretend Play

Over heard during play time:

Mae: Can we play kid and dad?

Etta: No, we have to play mom and dad. You be the mom, I'll be the dad.

Mae: I don't want to be the mom. I want to be Superman.

Five Month Annibirthery!

Plus a week and two days. That's what happens when you travel.

At five months Russell is "the happiest baby I've ever seen" according to just about every person who meets him. The only time he even gets slightly upset is if I'm a little tardy with his meals. But even then he'll give you a smile mid-bottle if you share one with him.

He is a rolling machine and likes to be in his walker. He will "walk" until he runs into something and then I will "reset" him and it starts all over again. We also put him in the Johnny Jump Up (from when I was a baby) and he seems to enjoy that also.

We started feeding him rice cereal a couple of weeks ago. After a rough first, too thin feeding he has really taken to it. After this box is gone I will start the oatmeal cereal.

The girls love him. He loves the girls.

He looks long to me, but I think that he is a wee bit compared to other kids his age. But he is happy and healthy and we couldn't ask for a better babe!

(I couldn't help it. I couldn't pick just one.)

Bent legs. Favorite way to have them. Or pumping them up and down.  Not usually still.

Okay, maybe one.

Or both. Kind of.

Note: His hand is crammed in his mouth for every picture. He had just gotten done eating. Every day I check three or four times  once to see if a tooth is showing its whiteness. Nope.

This is taking too long. I'm outta here.

Etta at five months. Apparently she was sitting up at this point but had barely started rolling. What?!

Mae at five months. And she was already "talking" at 5 months. I guess I shouldn't be surprised at how much she talks now I guess.