Help Mommy not to get mad.

April was a much better, healthier month for the Maes family.

Toward the beginning we watched General Conference (Atticus was so excited- to play bingo!- that he wouldn't finish his breakfast when the first session began.  He was singing a very different tune the next morning, ha ha)

We also celebrated Easter (for real).  We had the cutest Easter Bunny stop by our house.

Atticus was so cute looking for his breakfast, basket and his eggs- "I'm a good looker!"
We made Resurrection rolls and hot cross buns that evening, so hopefully the real message of Easter got across.

Hinckley has made so many fun changes!  He weighed in at 16 lbs 4 oz at the end of March.  He got his first tooth on April 20th (hooray!)

Can't wait until tooth #2 comes in!  He remains our sweet, drooly little boy.  He's rolling over all the time now, his fingers' dexterity is incredible, he's started eating avocado, he scooted backward a couple times (by accident), we love his prayer hands (he's a very holy guy!), squawks and screams.

He also started jumping this month.  He is a jumping addict!  Whether it be in our Johnny Jump-up or the jumper our dear friends have let us borrow, he becomes a little more like Tigger each day.
  

Below is a fun side by side of Atticus and Hinckley at 5 months.  While they definitely look like brothers, their differences are becoming more and more obvious.

Atticus has had his ups and downs this month.

The honeymoon period ended fairly quickly once Hinckley and I came home and I have to say, he has moments where he is nastier than ever.  Here's one such moment: "I don't want to be nice!"  This one is relatively tame, but the screaming and back talking are really out of control.  He really wants to be "mean."  But then, these last two or three days, he prays (unprompted!) for help to be nice...  Advice is welcome.

When he's not screaming, he's actually a pretty cool kid.  Here are some of the (very) positive changes that have taken place.  

He's getting more confident and coordinated.  Here he is playing baseball (follow the link).

He's spending more and more time playing with and comforting Hinckley.

He's starting to really dote on kids that are younger than him (he was hugging his friend Islay at a birthday party- "Mommy, I love Islay!" and talked about his playdate with Jace for at least a week- "Jace and I haded a delicious dinner!")  Previous to this he had mostly ignored younger children.

He loves picking flowers for me and other grown ups that he loves.  Sometimes it drives me crazy, but I love his underlying motive.  

He is eating so much more and a much bigger variety of foods.  Dane and I just stared at each other across the table in silent, jubilant shock as he reached for red pepper a couple weeks ago and told us he loved it.  He even asked to try zucchini several days ago and was saying how much he loved it.  This is all with no prompting, whatsoever, from us.

He also asks at least once a day to "clean."  I do not, however, want to mislead you.  Very little actual cleaning takes place.  He will grab a swiffer, tell me we need some "Bouncy music so we can get to work," (I must have said that our first time...) and request to listen to the Star Wars music (the Imperial Theme- his favorite song of all time).  He also absolutely LOVES the Dinosaur song (watch this video to watch him march along).  After a couple songs he will retire to his Spiderman chair, cozy up with a blanket, and listen to the rest of the songs we have on his kids playlist, remaining silent other than the occasional, "Mom, don't sing!" 

A change I'm less than thrilled about is his hair.  We said goodbye to his adorable curls once again.  While I was SO sad when they shaved it (it was definitely a team effort), it sure helps him stay cool so he can sleep better.

More fun April moments:

Joy School- T is for Tie Dye, Th is for Theater, Sh is for Shark.

After the shark lesson a mysterious package came in the mail for Atticus.  Watch this video to see the shark fin, dinosaur head and shark hat he and Hinckley received. 

Dane saved the day one morning- Atticus had woken up especially early and I was at the end of my rope (again).  Dane got him back to sleep for another hour and a half.  Hooray!

And I just love this birthday hug Atticus gave his sweet little friend Skye.

The biggest highlight of the month, though, was that Mimi and Uncle Danny came again!  Atticus was in heaven.  He and Uncle Danny played lightsabers any spare minute that they could and then we all went to the Pirate Fest at Craig Ranch Park for poor Mimi's birthday.  We had a blast!

Mimi even helped Atticus give his scripture at church.  It was a great visit!

Atticusisms:

• "You're my best fwiend."
• "You're not gonna be my best fwiend ever again!"
• "They're all saying hi to me!  Hi!" (to strangers at Costco)
• "I'm really awesome, Mom!" (while playing baseball)
• "I missed you, Daddy." (after Dane helped him through a night terror)
• "Kill her!" "I'm gonna cut off your blood!" "Mommy, can I slice you open?" and other savory, frightening phrases.
• "Why did Daddy marry you?" (Because he loves me.  I love him, and he loves me, just the way that we love you!) "Yeah, but I pick my boogers..." (his response was said very sadly, ha ha)
• Prayers- "Help Mommy not to get mad."  "Help me not to be mean."  
• "Mommy!  I saided a prayer that you wouldn't get mad."