Say hello to the smiliest, funnest and cuddliest baby around (hmm, can I make up any more words?)!
Sunrise is now 27.25 inches tall (75 %ile).....
... 17 lbs. 6 oz. (50 %ile)....
and still has a small head (41.8 cm and 5 %ile).
He will sit up for a half hour by himself and just play with toys. He has rolled over a few times by himself, but just looks at me like, "what's the point of this anyway?"
He sleeps 10-12 hours a night and is loving food. This time around I am not using as much traditional baby food- I just mash up whatever's on my plate and feed it to him. Tonight he had smashed peas and pasta and gobbled it right up.
He grabs anything in front of him and tries to shove it in his mouth. And if you can catch his eye, he will give you the biggest toothless grin ever.
We got out our old walker for him to sit in, but he has actually figured out how to get around in that thing. We don't have stairs down to a basement, so he is pretty confined. Sometimes I'll be cooking and trip over him when he sneaks up behind me!
He loves watching his siblings and has just figured out a fun way to imitate them- by SCREAMING!
He has rolls and chubby cheeks and chunky legs and is so fun to have around!
We love you little guy!
**** click on this one to see something very special about this, uh, classy photo****
Yes, indeed. What have we been up to? I mean, it's already December! Where did November go? How is it that Christmas is right around the corner already, and I have TWO stockings to finish sewing (yes, poor Tornado has had a whip-stiched-at-the-last-minute-to-hold-it-together stocking for the last couple years)?? Well, we did take on a few projects around here. And by we, I mean of course, me. Thunder is busy enough with work and church to be crazy like me! Something new I got to try is a solar oven:
I know it looks like some hokey science project that will never work, but it actually does! My first try cooking didn't go so well because I didn't get it out there early enough. But the second day, I put out some sliced apples with brown sugar and they turned out really well!
I went to a class by Sue Moyers (srmoyers{at}hotmail.com) where she showed us how to cut and fold the ovens from large roll of material she had purchased for us. It feels like thick, squishy foil. To cook, you have to have a small dark pan with a lid. Then put the pan inside an oven turkey bag and elevate the whole thing (I put mine up on an old can of diced green chilis). Then just face it towards the sun around 10 AM and that's it. Magic! It got too hot to touch after about 5 minutes. I thought it was freakin' RAD!
One night the boys just grabbed their sleeping bags and headed out for a loverly sunset. The mountains really are beautiful here.
Ah, and on to the projects! We were having an indian summer, and so I decided why not just paint a few rooms?!? A few months ago I rearranged the kids into different bedrooms and tried to decorate, but I was prego at the time and couldn't paint. So I decided it was time! Cloudburst's room was destined to be yellow, since she kept asking for a yellow room. The color ended up being very BRIGHT! And she had no idea I was painting while she was at school, so here is her reaction:
I did 3 walls yellow, and left the one behind her bed tan. You think I wanted to redo all those flowers?? But the desk was bugging me. SO MUCH. So I bought some stain...
... and refinished the whole dang thing! It took quite a bit longer than I thought it would, but I love how it turned out. Now all the furniture in there is dark.
And the poor boys were at the store when I was buying paint, so I couldn't just NOT get paint for their room right? I was going to paint their room all blue, but Thunder thought it might look a little "babyish," if I remember right, and so I decided, why not try some stripes?
After taking over my life for 4 days, I got those darn stripes taped...
and painted!
I love how it turned out.
Good thing the kids took care of themselves!!
And then our indian summer was over... and all the kids took a dare from their dad and rolled around in the snow with no shirts on (yes even Cloudburst!).
My goodness, the years fly by so fast! I still remember bringing you home from the hospital to our apartment in Provo. Our home hadn't been finished yet and you were only weeks old when we had to move. You've always been so good at going with the flow. Even today, you are my child who rarely complains. When we go on hikes, or go somewhere too cold, or stay somewhere a long time, you don't whine. You do have your breaking point, of course, but I am always amazed that my youngest walker will walk the furthest and be happy.
You are my third child, and my second boy. You work extra hard to make sure you don't get lost in the shuffle! You are so inquisitive and interested in things around you. You test everything. You love the noise of playing loudly, but will also sit down for quiet concentrated time with books and toys. You are very clever in the way you figure out toys and are fun to watch.
You love to pull stools and chairs around the kitchen, always wanting to see what's going on and how you can help. You never want to be out of the loop or lose a turn. You find out what's going on and you become part of it.
You share a room with your older brother and you really idolize him. You follow his lead and copy whatever he does, whether right or wrong!
You are by far the cleanest child we have. You manage to make your way into the shower just about every morning while one of us is getting ready, and sometimes back into the tub at night. You know how to wash your own hair (although you also like to dump shampoo down the drain) and find your own towel after getting out. You always smell good! Well, except for your feet. You do have stinky feet!
For now, you are our wild child! You seem to have boundless energy that goes and goes and goes... until you come to me and announce you are tired and ready for bed. Your zest for life is infectious- both to your parents and to your siblings. You often start great wrestling matches with Dad and are a leader at organizing imaginary playtime with your older brother and sister. I am amazed at your imagination and the details you describe.
You were a late walker, but you would never know that now. You run and play with all the big kids on our street. You have even managed to sneak out of the house by yourself a couple times, just trying to get in some extra time on your bike. You talk so well for a boy your age, and really express your thoughts and feelings with big words. You make sure to tell everyone that you are a "big dog."
You have an amazing capacity to remember songs. You know all the words to "God Bless the USA" and several others. In the car, you ask me to turn on certain songs because you have memorized the numbers for all the songs. In fact, you know the CD better than I do! You already do great leading music when we have family night. I am so impressed with your memory and love of great songs.
Your dad and I love the quiet moments in the morning when you climb in bed with us just a few minutes before we need to get up- how do you know to come in just then? You truly are one-of-a-kind and you just make me smile. I love you so much!
You are now a big 5 year old! I am so proud of you and the choices you make.
You have such a compassionate heart. You often compliment me and others around you. You always ask to be my helper when I cook, or when I need to bring in groceries. You are very thoughtful and notice when people need a helping hand. Sometimes you will bring me a snack and a drink for no reason at all- just to be nice.
I love watching you explore the world around you. You are not afraid to take risks, and sometimes you come inside covered in dirt and maybe even missing a shoe that got stuck in "quicksand!" You like to plant seeds and see if they will grow, dump sand on the trampoline, run along the new trail by our house and just be outside. In fact, you will stay outside for hours at a time when the weather's nice.
You are so independent but also love to play with neighbors and friends. You tend to gravitate towards older kids and are very social. When we go places you will jump right in with a group of kids you don't know, and join their game. Since I was so shy growing up, I love watching you fearlessly walk up to anyone to say hi. You are aware of the feelings of the people around you, and are careful not to tease anyone too much... well, most of the time! You do have siblings!
I do believe you have a tender heart, and sometimes you get your feelings hurt. You just want to do the right thing, and hate getting in trouble. You do make mistakes. A lot of the time, you are just trying things out and figuring out the way they work...like trying to sharpen a pencil with a knife! You try so hard to please your dad and I, and we appreciate your efforts so much.
You love to have fun by singing in the car in your cute raspy voice, dancing around the house with your brother and sister, trying to make baby Sunrise laugh, running around with friends outside, doing gymnastics at the gym and at home, making up great adventure stories and finding props to act them out, and going with Dad to the store. You love your dad so much, and want to be just like him. You do push-ups and follow him around outside to help him.
Tornado just loves you. He follows you around and copies everything you do. You go out of your way to include him, and share toys with him and let him play your games. My heart melts when you two hug out of the blue. You are also great friends with Cloudburst. In fact, you wear the same size shoes (13) and now weigh more than her (51 pounds). You also have a special dance and song to make Sunrise laugh.
You truly are a ray of Sunshine. I hope you can feel how much we love you!
A few weeks before Halloween, I was talking to my mom and we realized that after having a few October babies and a fall trip last year, she had been with us for nearly all of our Halloweens! So we decided on a last minute trip and she came out to visit for Halloween again. It is now the official Grandma holiday around here!
This year we had a witch (with Pippy Longstocking braids for fun), Optimus Prime, Spider Man, and a zebra. Oh, and I was a witch also, and had a Ghostbuster for my date! We had fun at a church Trunk or Treat and at the various school activities...
Last year Thunder scared the dickens out of the small kids in our neighborhood. He dressed up in a scary mask and just sat on the dark porch...people didn't know if it was real or not, and then he would growl! This year I set it all up to look the same... but it was fake this year people! Haha.
Thunder took the kids around on the John Deere. It was fairly warm that night.
Nice shot Sunrise!
Grandma got to help us with a photo shoot of a new CGull bag for the Cricut machine.
And we had a little photo shoot of Grandma with Sunrise! It was dark and the lighting wasn't the best... but we had great subjects, don't you think?
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