Graham--2 years old!

Graham at two years old

• One of his true talents is jumping.  I'm not sure I know any toddlers who can jump repeatedly off of two feet as well as he can (He's been jumping off the ground since he was 14 months).  He can hold his own on the trampoline with the big kids.
• He's really a physically advanced kid--he can run fast, climb, jump and control his body well. He's got little fear.
• He loves being outside, loves dogs, loves running around with the big kids.
• Always talks about going to Gramma's house or Pop Pop's house.
• His talking has been slow but is really starting to take off. He's putting a few words together at a time ("more muffin, please.") and is saying a lot more words.
• He's well-mannered and says "please" and "thank you" often and without prompting.
• He goes down for naps and to bed well. He loves pointing out all the stars on his robot blanket. We often sing "You Are My Sunshine" or "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" at night, and he is so cute when he sings along with me.
• He loves music and will often start singing a related song if you mention the word boat, bus, spider, star, etc. He loves to watch Baby Bum on Netflix but also is liking Daniel Tiger lately. He's got a really good ear for melodies.
• We love how he says everyone's names in the family.  We're actually quite impressed with his ability to remember the names of friends and cousins.  He refers to himself as "Grambo."
• He is a pro at pushing chairs around the kitchen, so he can reach all the things mom doesn't want him to.
• He loves to color and draw. He mostly just draws little swirly lines but he does hold his writing utensil correctly!  He insists that we draw him dogs often.
• His eyes change so much when he's teasing or being mischievous. He makes sure to make eye contact, give you a sneaky grin and then take off running with whatever item he knows you don't want him to have. It might be a phone, a toy or a game piece. He thinks it's hilarious.
• He likes building towers and train tracks. He's always carrying around little Paw Patrol figures/finger puppets.
• He still pulls at his ear and sucks his fingers A LOT.
• He recently was given a haircut by his 3-year-old sister, which led to his first buzz cut.  It was so sad to cut off his long blonde hair!
• He tries to tell knock-knock jokes and frequently says, "Mommy, watch this!" throughout the day. Also a lot of "I see?" and "I try?"
• He loves look-and-find books.
• He has a cute little gasp that we hear a million times a day at things that aren't all that surprising or extraordinary.

Graham's birthday celebration
We celebrated twice for this two year old.  The day before his birthday, we teamed up with his bday buddy, Luther Swett, for a joint celebration that included pizza, cake and a slip 'n slide.  The next day (Sunday), We had a simple celebration that included the cutest little puppy cupcakes. Graham was thrilled.  He couldn't quite figure out how to blow out the candles.  He was so cute and sheepish about the whole thing. The video of it is adorable. It also took him a loooong time to decide to eat his cupcake. We have some cute video of him finally biting off the nose and then going in for some frosting--all without using his hands.  For his birthday, his sweet siblings all made him pictures; Emmett painted him some of Graham's favorite animal faces. He also got a new hooded bath towel, a Paw Patrol look & find book and a new scooter.

*One month later update:*
He talks so much these days!  His vocabulary is increasing exponentially, which is so fun. We hear a lot of "Lo!" (Look!), "My turn!" "Help me, Mommy!" (repeated over and over) and "Let's go, Mommy!" (as he pulls off my sheets).  He has such a fun personality.  Also, he's learned how to climb out of the pack 'n play and crib and also how to open doors, which has really changed what bedtime and nap time look like (not for the better). Also, loves Little Einsteins.

Caroline--6 years old!

6-year-old Caroline and her Frozen II birthday cake

A snapshot of Caroline:
• Is always doing cartwheels, handstands, climbing on furniture, window sills and trees. Figured out front handsprings on the trampoline.
• Started learning the piano this spring.  She loves singing and listening to music.
• Has BIG emotions and dramatic reactions.  She's easily offended and has a strong "evil eye" game. Luckily being sweet and loving is also in the mix on occasion.
• Loves her Kindergarten teacher (Ms. Moshkowski) and is an ideal student in the classroom.  Her teacher said she wants to clone her.
• Recently started reading the Harry Potter series with Dad and Emmett (and sometimes Mom).
• Doesn't like Mom to do her hair unless she wants it in pig tails.  She's figured out how to do her own pony tail and loves to wear headbands. I have to bribe her with something really good for her to let me curl her hair.
• She has a hard time falling asleep at night. Her imagination goes wild with scary thoughts.
• Loves screen time. Any and all she can get (which isn't nearly as much as she wants).
• Asks SO MANY questions when watching new movies.  Just watch (or listen) and you'll find out is usually our response. :)
• Is really good at taking care of younger kids.  She'll be a top notch babysitter when she's old enough!  Also, she loves to be the boss.
• Sometime whispers in our ears that she loves us, but sometimes whispers, "you are my worst enemy."

How we celebrated:
For months Caroline had been planning a Frozen II party with her friends, so she was disappointed that the pandemic/quarantine interfered with her plans but we think we pulled off a pretty fabulous birthday for her anyway.

She woke up to a decorated door with an awesome Frozen II poster made by Emmett. We had pancakes with whipped cream and sprinkles for breakfast and she got to open one present:  a darling floral romper and 6 envelopes that she got to open through out the day.  Each envelope had a special activity that she got to do:

1. Paint nails with mom. 

2. Spend one-on-one time with Grandma Schmutz at her house.

3. Have lunch out with Dad.

4. FaceTime with favorite friends (Lydia, Daniel, Abigail--though Abigail surprised her by showing up at her door for an in person visit!)

5. Play games with Emmett.  (This turned into reading Harry Potter).

6. Go out for a fun family treat. (Pelican snowballs!)

She was thrilled about all of these activities. She also got a little gift from Ms. Alyssa left on our doorstep ,and Sister Adamson brought her some flowers!  Caroline felt so special.

Caroline was adamant about having a two-layered Frozen II cake.  I had to design my own, since the internet gave me nothing I wanted to replicate.  It was a multi-day project with baking the cake, baking and icing the cookies (Caroline helped put on the sugar crystals), making the rice krispy top layer and the icing/decorating it all; but in the end, I think it fulfilled all her dreams.  :)
Caroline requested pasta alfredo for dinner, then we started the official celebrations.  Caroline was not impressed as we all serenaded her with "Sweet Caroline." She covered her face with her hands the entire time.  However, she cheered up when it came to blowing out the candles and opening presents. She received lots of gifts that made her smile from ear to ear: her own umbrella (two of them, actually!); a unicorn coin bank; a go-to-bed kit with new unicorn pjs, a weighted blanket and a new cd mix; new skorts and t-shirts; and Ana & Elsa dolls!  We wrapped up the evening watching Frozen II.

 Hanging with Grandma

 Birthday pancakes!

 Being serenaded is soooo irritating. "Why do we have to do this every birthday?!"

Video-chatting with Lydia

Caroline's birthday interview: 
Mom: How old are you today?
Caroline: Six!

M: What is your favorite color?
C: Anything!

M: What are some things you like to do?
C: I like playing, I love roller blading, I like gymnastics, I like helping my mom make stuff like cookies or cakes.

M: What is your thing to watch?
C: Disney+

M: What is your favorite thing about school?
C: I love recess. I love snack time and lunch time. There's a special type of math that I like. It's measuring stuff like school supplies and bugs.

M: What do you want to be when you grow up?
C: I would like to be, well, I don't know if I really want to be a nurse, but I think I'm going to be a nurse or work at Pelican's.

M: Do you have any boyfriends?
C: Mom, I don't want to tell them. Fine, I'll tell them.  My boyfriend is Daniel! 

M: Who are some of your favorite friends?
C: Abigail, Daniel, Lydia

M: Do you have a favorite book?
C: I really like the library books at Easley. They have a lot of cool books like Diary of a Fly Guy and Diary of a Worm Guy.

M: What is your favorite song to listen to in Dad's car?
C: Taylor Swift.  I like Stay or Welcome to New York. 

M: Do you have any other favorite things to listen to?
C: Kidsbop.  Also, Radiohead and 21 Pilots.

M: Anything you're looking forward to about being six?
C: Well, my cousin Khalil said it's really fun to be six and I've never been six before and I don't know what it's going to be like.

 Outing to get snowballs.  It's quarantine time so we had to sit on the curb.

 Opening presents. :)

Birthday poster by Emmett

School writing assignment a few days after her birthday.

 Daniel Jacobs, Ms. Moshkowski & Caroline

 Abigail Brown & Caroline

My strawberry-picking buddy!

Emmett--8 years old

{text written in August; pictures not added until November 😁}

Things about our now 8-year-old Emmett:

• He keeps a tidy room.  He likes to be organized and for everything to have a place.
• He's affectionate.  I have to pry myself out of his goodnight hugs nearly every night. :)
• He likes adventure and trying new things.  This summer he hiked a difficult 7-mile summit trail and learned how to kayak.
• He owns the fact that he's "short for his age."
• He says "vs." as the letters v and s rather than versus.  "At recess I play basketball me "vee ess" all the girls."
• He's a bit scroogey about his money.  He likes to save and count it.
• He loves and excels in school.
• When Emmett gets in trouble it's usually because he sneakily continued reading after lights out.   He reads all the time. He always brings a book in the car so he doesn't waste time getting bored. :)
• When getting a kids meal at Chick-fil-A, he chooses a toy over ice cream because it's something that lasts.
• He started official piano lessons this month (August).  He's doing great!
• He also started taking gymnastics classes.  He's in an all boys class with a great coach and enjoying it so far!
• He loves playing games and is especially happy when he finds someone who will play chess with him.
• He enjoys soccer and tennis and is looking forward to playing some basketball and baseball this next year.
• He doesn't draw as much as he used to, but he still blows me away on occasion with the ease at which he can draw perspective and certain detail.
• {addition} He's become very interested in football this season.  He'd watch all the games (pro and college) every weekend if we'd let him.  He likes to keep track of the rankings and win/loss records. He throws the football around every day after school, often giving the play-by-play.

How we celebrated:
On Emmett's actual birthday, we surprised Emmett with a balloon avalanche when he opened his door in the morning.  I hadn't previously thought about how terrifying that might be in the early morning and he said we gave him a "heart attack." :)  He got to open one present at breakfast (a remote control car) and Clark took Chick-fil-a to him for lunch together at school.  That afternoon we headed to the most "epic" dreamland of all 8-year-old boys:  Galaxy Fun Park.  They had an end-of-summer special where the kids got to do unlimited activities + 30 minutes in the trampoline park.  His friend Alden came along and they + his sisters had a grand time riding bumper cars and go carts, playing laser tag, etc. 

We saved birthday cake and presents for the weekend when we got to celebrate with Grandma Schmutz, Grandma Moulton & Pop Pop, Vaughn & girls, and Celia & Benson and family.  Emmett's ice cream cake was all things brownie, cookie, oreo and ganache, with a hint of Harry Potter.  He was pretty darling blowing out his candles and we all laughed a lot during that and his birthday interview.  He was thrilled about his gifts which included an electric pencil sharpener, legos and new puma shoes. 

Birthday interview:
Q: What is your favorite color?
A: Either black or green or yellow.

Q: What is your favorite animal?
A: One of them are snakes

Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?
A: Scientist.  I don't which scientist though.

Q: What are some of your favorite things to do?
A: Videogames, do sports (bolwing, swimming, tennis)

Q: What do you like to do with dad?
A: Play videogames and games with him?

Q: What do you like to do with mom?
A: Play games with her.

Q: What do you like to do with your sisters?
A: Play with them.

Q: What are some of your talents?
A: Drawing, knowing a lot about dinosaurs and animals

Q: What's the best book you've read?
A: Wings of Fire

Q: Who is the cutest girl in your class?
A: What the heck?! {blushing, laughing, covering face}

Q: How many girls have asked you to be their boyfriend?
A: {more giggling and laughing}

Norah--3 years old

Oh, this girl.  She is both a delightful and tyrannical little three year old with eyes that both twinkle and rage.  She's got opinions about who buckles/unbuckles her, where she sits, who prays at meal time, who does or doesn't seem to be listening to her right this very second, etc.  She's also got a great laugh, big hugs to share and creative and imaginative personality. We love her!

Things about 3-year-old Norah:
• She plays dead by closing her eyes and sticking out her tongue.  She thinks it's hilarious.
• For every picture we have of her beautiful smile, we have about a hundred of her pulling silly faces.
• She does not want to be left behind.  She panics nearly any time someone opens the door saying "Don't leave without me!"
• She's determined that wearing underwear entitles her to all the privileges that "big kids" get.
• She loves electric hand dryers and gets the biggest grin on her face anytime she uses them.
• She finally learned to speak clearly enough for Alexa to understand her some of the time.
• She sings all the time.  Her wide repertoire includes such songs as A Million Dreams (The Greatest Showman); Cowboy, Take Me Away (Dixie Chicks); Man or Muppet (The Muppet Movie); Old MacDonald (Sesame Street), The Judge (21 Pilots), The Miracle (Primary), to name a few.  One of the best things ever is to hear her sing "like a boy."
• Her favorite show is Umizoomi.
• Her best friends are her cousin, Lola, and her friend, Elaine, who lives just down the street.
• She's loves to play games and is pretty good at Old Maid, Uno, Koala Capers and Go Fish.
• Everyone is "her" when it comes to pronouns. As in: "Her is playing in the toilet" (Graham).
• She loves to look through our chatbooks and point out places she wants to go again.