milestones 9, 7.5, 5.5 and 1

L, 9 years old

Favorite color: teal and red

Favorite food: asparagus and enchiladas

Favorite treat: red velvet cake and suckers

Favorite movie: Beauty and the Beast (live action) and Mary Poppins

Favorite book: Inkheart

Favorite activities: dance and reading

Favorite toys: crafts (finger weaving and looming) and legos

Favorite animal: lion

Favorite place to go: Big Air Hang Time (trampoline park) or frozen yogurt shop and the library

Favorite/Dream vacation: Hawaii or a cruise

What I want to be when I grow up: a nurse

I dream about: what I would do with a million dollars! (buy a phone and yarn)

I worry about: losing my family, upcoming SAGE test

I’m good at: dance, reading and piano

I want to be better at: singing, remembering to do what I’m asked so I don’t make mom mad

Someday I want to: land an aerial 

I’m thankful for: my family, taking dance, my talents

I like it best when: I’m playing with Eva

From mom: This little sweetheart is quickly becoming a lady.  She is exceptionally talented and works so hard.  She goes to dance and piano without hesitation.  She has a really hard time with corrections, prone to tears and so self conscious, but always takes the corrections so seriously and works hard to perfect it. She’s very emotional and easily upset or embarrassed.  I love that she talks to me and confides in me and I want so much to help smooth everything over for her. She loves to read, loves her crafts and quite literally cannot stand still, she’s always dancing.  She’s got a crazy sweet tooth and a very generous heart. She is so sweet and this careful treading into the preteen years is terrifying but so exciting.

A, 7.5 years old

Favorite color: the whole rainbow!

Favorite food: spaghetti, tortellini, sushi

Favorite treat: creamies and dad’s coldstone ice cream

Favorite movie: Moana and Bedtime Stories and Karate Kid

Favorite book: Magic of the Rainbow (series)

Favorite activities: karate and playing with friends and art

Favorite toys: art kit, Mittens (stuffed cat), Raven (yoga Barbie), legos

Favorite animal: cat and dolphins

Favorite place to go: my friends’ house or bowling or drive in theatre

Favorite/Dream vacation: Hawaii or New York or Legoland

What I want to be when I grow up: veterinarian and a pop star

I dream about: being a pop star and being a mermaid or fairy or superhero

I worry about: losing Mittens, not having my family

I’m good at: art, taking care of Z, spending time with friends

I want to be better at: not shouting

Someday I want to: live in New York

I’m thankful for: my family, especially little Z, and my friends

I like it best when: I’m with my family and my friends

From mom: A lives at full speed, she’s always happy and full of energy.  Karate has been such a great challenge for her and has helped focused some of her energy and teach her control. She loves to be with her friends, constantly begging for playdates (which is unfortunately hard to do regularly in our busy schedule).  She has such a vivid imagination and makes friends so easily everywhere we go.  She can get pretty grumpy if things don’t go her way but is pretty good at shaking it off and making up her own thing when that happens. She is such a good helper and dotes on baby Z.  She’s almost always the first to respond when I need help.  She’s creative and artistic and increasingly into fashion.  She’s much pickier than her sisters about her clothes (especially fabric and textures) and loves to express herself with bright colors and fun combinations.  She is ambitious and wants to try everything. She took to piano like a fish to water and slips away to play her favorite songs multiple times each day. I love her energy and excitement!

E, 5.5 years old

Favorite color: blue, purple and pink

Favorite food: Ramen and mac n cheese and root beer and pasta

Favorite treat: tootsie rolls and M&Ms

Favorite movie: Moana and Cinderella

Favorite book: Amelia Bedelia

Favorite activities: play outside and jump on my trampoline and swing on the swingset

Favorite toys: my pandas, Penny and Prince, and Barbies

Favorite animal: panda

Favorite place to go: to the park and Grammy’s house and GrandmaGreat’s cabin

What I want to be when I grow up: ballet teacher and a mom

I dream about: holding 500 pandas in the same hand!

I worry about: when my pandas get lost

I’m good at: making Z laugh, giving hugs and cuddling mom

I want to be better at: piano

Someday I want to: go back to Hawaii

I’m thankful for: my brother

I like it best when: I have my family with me

From mom: E is my wild card. She is tender and sweet and cuddly. In the blink of an eye, she can be fiery and stubborn. She is silly and happy and fun. She is charming and knows how to work me over to get what she wants. She knows that when Daddy is out of town she can sneak into my room at bedtime and ask to be my teddy bear. She gives the best hugs and I love listening to her stories. She tries her hardest to keep up with sisters and tries so hard to be helpful w baby Z. She gets frustrated easily but doesn’t give up. Like piano—she has a hard time sitting through the lesson or struggles to learn something new but I love that she wants to keep trying.

Z, 1 year old (according to his sisters)

Favorite color: blue, like his big bright eyes!

Favorite food: cheerios, broccoli, grapes, yogurt, blueberries, French fries, banana

Favorite treat: popcorn

Favorite movie: doesn’t watch tv.  At all. 

Favorite book: Baby Words Book, Itsy Bitsy Spider

Favorite activities: putting stuff in his mouth, crawling up the stairs, tick tock, peek a boo, playing tiger

Favorite toys: finger puppets, light up ball, superhero Little People figurines, teething banana, superman

Favorite animal: our cat

Favorite place to go: to bed, the library

What I want to be when I grow up: bigger.  A doctor. 

I dream about: eating cheerios

I worry about: when he can’t see his sisters, being stuck in his carseat

I’m good at: making everyone smile, waving, winking, crawling, making a mess!

I want to be better at: walking and talking, not chewing on the dvds!

Someday I want to: climb Mt Everest

I’m thankful for: his sisters, Tylonel

I like it best when: sister read to him, he hugs mom and holds her ponytail, when E pretends to fall over

From mom: I cannot get enough of this tiny snuggly man. He is so happy and charming and irresistibly sweet. He crawls at lightning speed, can pull himself up and traverse furniture but has zero interest in walking. He loves to wrestle and chase and play peek a boo. He’s super ticklish and has a contagious laugh. I love his winking face! He waves without prompting and responds to “more?” and “all done?” by shaking his head for no or imitating for yes. He says mama, dada, papa, done and cat. He is very expressive and can jabber away to tell me exactly what he thinks. He loves to hug (especially if he can grab onto my braid), head butt (mostly daddy, “bonk”) and leans in with a happy, open mouth to kiss. He still grinds his teeth occasionally and has all 4 molars. He loves going to bed. He eagerly drinks down his bottle of milk and rarely allows me to cuddle or rock him to sleep.  Instead I lay him in his bed with his bedtime bear under one arm and his truck blanket over him. As soon as I leave and shut the door, he flips onto his belly, gathers up his blankets to hug under him and sleeps stink-bug style. He loves to pull laundry off the couch as I’m folding it, chew on the DVD cases and scatter cheerios from off his tray in every direction. He loves his forward facing carseat and threw a fit the one time I tried to put him in rear facing since the big turn around. He is solid and strong and off the charts in all measurements. He loves to look out the window at home waiting for sisters to come home and loves to bang on the piano next to them while they practice. He loves the grocery store and showers everyone with smiles and waves in passing. He is so happy and sweet and easy going. I can’t get enough of his squishy cheeks, gorgeous blue eyes and happy smile.  I tease him that he is our puzzle piece, a perfect fit into our little family and exactly what we needed.