Slow down, Sweet Francie.

Last week she started eating solid foods. This week she's sitting up and trying to crawl. Next week she will ask me for the car keys, so she can meet her friends at the mall.

Homeschool

We have been working with Peter on his letter sounds and geography. He still has another year at home before preschool, so we'll be hitting the books (and the parks, of course).

An Epic Birthday Party

Henry was very involved with his birthday party planning this year. He had several requests - a Star Wars theme, a trampoline park location, and a Darth Vader t-shirt. And the invitation was all his idea. He wanted to frame a copy.  He was also very specific about the cake. Henry likes chocolate cake, but his best friend, Garrett, only likes vanilla cake. Henry was adamant that we needed to have both flavors so Garrett wouldn't be disappointed.  Luckily Henry has a Mama who likes to bake.  We had chocolate lightsaber cupcakes and vanilla stormtrooper cupcakes. And everyone was happy.

Henry and his 10 closest friends from school ran wild through the trampoline park. They flipped in the foam pit, bounced to the basketball hoop, and played dodgeball against a rival birthday party of 9 year old girls. Daddy had as much fun as the 6 year old boys. We sent all the boys home (nice and sweaty!) with their own Star Wars masks and pretzel lightsabers.

A feast for Frances

Just after her half-year birthday, Frances tried solid foods for the first time. She sat up proudly in the highchair. She wasn't sure what was coming next, but she was just happy to be there. I made her a bowl of oatmeal cereal. The faces she made after the first few bites were hilarious. She quickly went from perplexed to disgusted. And she was messy. Very messy. Now I feed her while she's wearing just a diaper. And she is a girl who knows what she likes - orange vegetables. Sweet taters, carrots, pumpkin are her favorites. Avocado and peas are not. She gags and then locks her jaw shut. I told the boys that sometimes babies can turn orange if they eat too many orange foods. They are disappointed every morning when they greet her in her crib and she doesn't look like an oompa-loompa.

Henry is 6 years old!

Likes: Building lego sets and using my imagination to create stories with them, going to school, reading books (I love Magic School Bus books or Wacky School Daze chapter books), learning about history and science, anything related to Star Wars, Avengers, or Skylanders, eating vegetables (especially mushy, canned ones from the school cafeteria), hotdogs, tacos, raspberries, cheese sticks, and popcorn, playdates with my best friend, Garrett, riding scooters with John in the backyard, going to bed early, telling jokes, holding Frances for a few minutes every night before bed, hiding and then jumping out to surprise people, watching Jake and the Neverland Pirates and anything Charlie Brown, reading to Peter when Mama and Daddy can't, and asking lots of questions about how things work (sometimes we have to ask Siri because Mama is stumped).

Dislikes: Handwriting (it's so messy that I may just be a doctor one day), eating spicy foods, having my photo taken (I have perfected the worst fake smile), coloring, and singing in any type of school performance.

Growth: I weigh 50 lbs., and I am 48 and 1/4 inches tall. This puts me in the 75th percentile for weight and the 95th percentile for height. I am one of the youngest boys in my kindergarten class, but I am the tallest.

 

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Here is my 6 year old interview.  More like 6 years and 1 month, but we did it!

Henry's 6th Birthday

On Henry's 6th birthday, he came bouncing in our room at 6:15AM. He had been counting down to his birthday for weeks. He found Star Wars masks, plates, and balloons in the kitchen. His brothers and sister were still sleeping, so he enjoyed a quiet breakfast of sprinkle pancakes with Mama and Daddy (John really enjoyed the Chewbacca mask once he woke up though). Then it was off to school, where Henry was celebrating his birthday with someone special - his teacher, Mrs. Barnes! He brought her a homemade card and a bouquet of her favorite flowers, "because girls love flowers", as Henry put it. I make Henry's lunch every day (except Thursday's because that's pizza day) and every day he asks for the exact same lunch. But this birthday lunch had a little something extra - a Ferrero Rocher hidden in the front pocket.

That afternoon, I went into Henry's classroom for the double birthday bash. The cookie cake was a hit! The kids were calling dibs on who got to eat Mrs. Barnes head or Henry's arm. Henry wanted a corner piece "with lots of chocolate frosting". Later Mrs. Barnes put on some music for the kids to dance too. I have a new appreciation for Henry's teachers after witnessing the craziness of 19 six year olds on a sugar high! The best part was watching Henry and his "not a girlfriend but a best friend who is a girl", Reagan, plugging their ears. My boy likes his peace and quiet.

After school, Henry came home to even more treats - a candy basket from Mimi, Papa, and Zia. He split a snickers bar with Pa. After a couple bites, he said, "I think that's enough treats. I don't want a tummy ache." My little, responsible, old man.

For his birthday dinner, Henry chose Moe's. He finished his tacos and asked to sit on my lap and snuggle because he was cold. My big 6 year old boy still likes to snuggle, thank goodness. Not that he needed any more treats, but after dinner, Henry picked Yogli Mogli instead of birthday cake. We still sang and put a candle in his candy filled yogurt cup. Frances watched the boys chow down. Her toes weren't nearly as delicious as frozen yogurt, but she made do.

We came home to open gifts. Henry was specific about what he wanted from us, "a playground ball, a Darth Vader hoodie, and Connect 4". We (or rather Amazon) delivered. He also received a new lego set from Grandma and Papou, and a basketball hoop from Nanna and Pa. I think Daddy enjoyed the new hoop as much as the boys did. And there was still more fun to be had at Henry's birthday party later that weekend!