Flamingo Fun Run

One sunny day in ... September, I think ... Bob loaded up three children and drove to Grangeville to walk a 5K.

By himself.

Because he is an incredible dad like that.

I took Ethan and went to Moscow for an SAI day. And ended up stranded in the Winco parking lot with Rachel, a baby, a bunch of groceries while it was 1,000 degrees. [Okay, maybe not that hot, but when you have a friend, a baby and groceries (including milk), it may as well be 1,000 degrees.]

The event was a fundraiser for a type Spinal Muscular Atrophy. A girl from Grangeville set it up as part of her senior project. [Side note: many kids (and I'm guessing parents) don't agree with the senior projects that they have to do. As far as I can tell, if students take them seriously, there is a lot of good that can come from them.]

They had to be to Grangeville by 8:00 a.m. I think. Before then. The race started at 8:00. Getting our crew up and ready to go by 8:00 is usually a feat all in itself. To be anywhere that is 70+ minutes away? Bob is incredible.

Etta and Bob were registered officially. So that Grandma Cynthia could get the flamingo shirt (did I ever give that to you??) and Etta would have one to match.

Etta can do a 5K. Maybe not run it, but complete it. Mae .... not so much. Let's just say that I'm glad I wasn't there and I think Bob wished that I was.

Getting ready to race.

Getting flamingo pics for Cynthia.

Off we go!

Now any time we go anywhere early in the morning the kids expect donuts. (More on
that in the next post, or see this post about donuts.) Bob didn't get any before
they left town but did find maple "fingers" at a place in Grangeville. I believe
they were maple bars cut in half the long way. Ingenious!

They stopped to see the dinosaur. Unfortunately it was locked but they could
peer in the windows. You may be able to see it too.

The Fair

I have about 20 more pictures of the fair. But most are awkward. Backs of heads, similar shots .... cute for me, but kind of repetitive for everyone else. Like at the petting zoo. Russell looked so adorable with all of the animals. I think I got a picture of him with every single one that he touched. But here is the highlight reel.

Matching hair.

Cheese!

Etta with Rudy the Rooster. He got a blue ribbon.
And a girlfriend.
He was not happy when it was time to go.

Mae with Rudy.

Huckleberry ice cream cone to share with Grandma. A fair tradition.

Yes, they are all dressed in orange shirts. I match them, in bright colors, when we are going to be in big crowds and/or road trips. Makes it easier to spot them and if one of them gets lost I don't have to remember four different outfits to describe. Just one bright color.

[I did not forget about Ethan. He was in the front pack, probably sleeping, the entire time we were there. Makes it a little hard to get a good picture.]

Twinsies!

Mae says that they are twins.

And that she is his favorite.

One of those statements is true.

Mae is very attentive to Ethan and can usually calm him if he is feeling left out ever. One of her favorite things to do is to "hold him the sitting up way".

I have to stay close though because when she is done she is d.o.n.e. (Cue the tip-to-the-side, the push-off-the-front, or the I'm-just-going-to-get-up-now.)

These first few pics are when Ethan was still in his no smile stage.

He likes it.

No. No, really. He does really like it.

This is one of my favs. She was "reading" to him. Actually saying the nursery rhymes
in this book. It was darn near one of the cutest things I have ever seen.

Here is the most recent session. Just a couple of weeks ago. See? He does like it!

Russell Love

This kid.

This kid is going to turn two in a few weeks.

I love him so much.

He is so smiley, happy, helpful.

Most of the time.

He has recently decided that even though his birthday isn't for about five more weeks he would just go ahead and turn two.

But, for the most part, his cuteness and agreeability make up for the rest of it.

When Etta was born it would drive me absolutely crazy when people would say, "Oh, boys and girls are SO different!"

Seriously people, kids are kids, right?

I guess not.

Because Russell is different. So, so, so different than his sisters.

He does climb more than they ever did or still do. He likes to get really, really dirty. Not just play in the dirt as the girls do. But dig deep and just throw dirt around. Everywhere. And to jump in puddles. Any kind of puddles. To finger paint with his food. His favorite water activity is the dogs' water dish.

But he has a gentle side too. He plays more make believe with stuffed animals than either of the girls did/do. I caught him the other day lifting the shades in his room so his "Baby" (stuffed animal lovey, that he named himself) could see outside too. He loves Ethan to death (sometimes almost literally) and is cozy and cuddly.

All this to say that he is such a wonderful part of our family. We love him so much.

Well, maybe not mid tantrum, but those don't usually last for very long.

The Olden Days

The girls love Little House on the Prairie. We read through it together. So when there was an article on our local paper about a girl who refinished a one-room school house in our area for her senior project we had a little field trip. It was so much fun!

Little kids in the front, bigger kids in the back.

Heat source.

Toys that they may have played with.

A picture just for Grandma Cynthia.

Official name of this school. 1892-1938

On our way home we stopped to look at our beautiful valley.

Breath taking.

Love

These pics were taken on September 14th, just a few days shy of Ethan turning 2 months old.

Mae is going to love him to death. (Or at least into the deep end.)

Six Month Annibirthery! (And a few more too...)

One of my favorite things about blogging is being able to mark time in pictures.

I don't take the very best pictures. I don't consistently take many pictures. But one set that I do take is the kids' annibirthery pictures. (To those of you new here, annibirthery pictures are pictures on the "Foot Rug" each month for the first year of each child's life.) I started with Etta and have been pretty good at getting everybody.

With my computer being out of commission I wasn't able to post each month of Ethan's progress. I did get his one month annibirthery up before black out.

But now we can get back on track.

Two months.

Links to the others at 2 months.

While jammies are not required, they are a pretty consistent theme also.

Cheese!

Three months.
Still a very serious kid.

Three month links.

Mae is johnny-on-the-spot when it comes to photo time.

Four months.

Four month links.

Seriously. What are you doing?

There it is! The elusive smile.

Five months. The smiles are coming easier.

Five month links.

Russell wanted to be in the pic but was having difficulties following directions.
Okay Russell, lay down.

No, turn the other way.
...
The other other way.
(I got a few more of these but they all look pretty much the same. It was actually hysterical as it was happening. Check out the look on Mae's face in the above pic.)

Okay, everybody is laying the right way AND Ethan is smiling. I absolutely love this shot. Too bad Etta was at school.

Six month links.

Six months.

Today Ethan turned six months old.

Six months.

I can't believe it.

Six months ago we received "the" phone call that changed our lives forever. A tiny baby was born, thousands of miles away. We had only found out about his existence one week prior. The whole thing still blows my mind.

On a daily basis.

At six months Ethan is almost sitting on his own. Almost ready to start some solid food. Almost rolling over. (He has a few times, starting last Friday, but since has shown very little interest.) Almost sprouting teeth. (One has broken through, and then receded, and then broken through. Repeat.)

He went from being off the {growth} charts to the negative side to being the biggest of our four kids by five months old.

He is a champion sleeper with three 2+ hour naps during the day and a solid 7-8 hours every night. He is very content, very happy, not afraid of strangers, knows who is mom and loves Mae the most. (Sshhhhh, don't tell the other kids.)

We are so blessed to have him as a part of our family and are looking forward to the next six months!

[I won't have current stats until his appointment Monday. I'll try to get them added after we see the doctor.]

6 Month Stats:

Weight: 16 pounds 12 oz. = 34th percentile
Height: 25 3/4 inches = 14th percentile
Head Circumference: 42 cm = 13 percentile

Fire Fighters

Henry and Mae are going to be fire fighters when they grow up. We had Henry over for a playdate so they could practice.

Russell wanted in on the water action too!