November was a blur. I lost a week due to some sinus trouble and so the month felt even faster than usual. Even with it going by quickly, plenty happened over at the Maes household.
Atticus taught himself how to do cartwheels! They're what I have always called "oompa-loompa" cartwheels but it's a great start. I can't wait for our local recreation centers to open again so he can take some more gymnastics classes.
Another very exciting development has been the end of pullups. He no longer needs them at night. Hooray!
His artwork for school is killing me. You can see his loves daily: animals (often accompanied by little known animal facts) and the military. He also likes to add blood to get a reaction, the little stinker. His teacher is awesome and totally gets him (and all little boys, for that matter.)
He spent a LONG time drawing this gun case, with all sorts of weapons he would put in it.
Here he is with his friends from his kindergarten class. Notice their computers. He's never met these boys in person! He was so happy when he finally made new friends from class.
Here are some wolves hunting. You can see the "blud" coming from their prey.
He knows so much about animals that I've stopped arguing or looking up the animal facts he shares with me. He's been right. Every time. It makes us laugh. You gotta love the Kratt brothers!
And the biggest milestone that has happened? He turned 6 years old! Technically, it's in the month of December, but since I'm posting this late I'll share it now. He requested pumpkin pie instead of cake on his actual birthday but we will be making cake with a battle scene on it for his army birthday party. (You can see the pumpkin pies he drew below when asked about his favorite Thanksgiving food.)
The kid is still one of the most appreciative children I've ever seen. He LOVED every present he received so much and used them all throughout the day.
His reading skills just keep improving (he wowed me today) and he is such a sweet big brother. He always tries to help when he hears Lucy crying, holds her whenever needed and has even learned to hold her while standing up.
What's really cool is how much Lucy loves him. She's a little more hesitant about Hinckley (he's a little unpredictable) but is visibly relaxed whenever held by Atticus. Makes my heart so happy.
Atticusisms:
- "You meanie head!"
- "I don't think I'll knock on _____'s door as much... She has a crush on me!"
- "Don't eat it all. I know how much you eat... to make your milk."
- "Oh no! Rudolph is swimming in the lake and he drowned!" (while working on an assignment.)
- "That picture is so good! You should put it in a museum so people can see it!" (To his teacher.)
- "Best present ever- you, Lucy, Hinckley and Daddy." (said first thing in the morning on his birthday.)
- "Best birfday ever." (Said multiple times throughout the day.)
- "Worst birfday ever." (Said a few times, especially after banging his thumb.)
- "It's my birfday!" (Said to everyone he saw at the store and on the street.)
Things have gotten a little easier with Hinckley this month. He's still very hard (without love and logic I think I would be at a total loss!) but man is he cute.
He's still absolutely obsessed with Batman. He wears his mask all day, every day (he has to take it off to sleep, to eat, to bathe and if he wants to wrestle.) He is in character whenever his mask is on. In fact, once I pulled it up while he was talking to see what would happen and he changed his voice, mid-sentence. Honestly, it makes almost everything he says hilarious because it's done in his gruff, Batman voice.
We do have to draw the line when it comes to praying. He's tried many times to pray with his voice.
He even went to his 3-year-old appointment with the helmet on at the beginning of the month. The nurses and doctor loved it. He was so quiet and afraid, it hurt my heart to see him cry. He was trying so hard to be brave. Thank heavens, after the initial inspection (with no shots or pain) he perked right up and got more chatty with his Batman voice. He prayed at dinner a little later, "Help Eekee (Hinckley) to be brave again."
Speaking of his doctor's visit, he weighed in at 33.5 lbs and was 36 in. long. So he's at an average weight but on the short side. No surprise here. He's a little muscle man, I tell you what!
Another obsession he has is with our new next door neighbor. They moved in over the summer and she has a son Atticus's age. He talks about her all the time (he'll wake up from his naps and the first thing he'll say is about seeing her and playing with her.) He even told me he wanted to kiss her on the lips, ha ha! I didn't realize boys this young could like girls but he definitely has a crush on her. It's adorable.
As hard as he can be, he is still so sweet and compassionate. Whenever Atticus is in pain he responds immediately. A friend teaching Joy School said that when one of the girls started to cry he ran to her and hugged her, asking, "Are you okay? What's wrong?!" When I was struggling with my sinus headache (it got pretty bad for a couple days) he was so sweet and concerned and insisted on putting a bandaid on my forehead. He has such a soft heart.
He has a favorite friend at Joy School who he gets to see three days a week. When I asked him who his hero was Hinckley didn't hesitate- Huddy. You can see his reasons in the picture we drew together.
He doesn't have any confidence in his ability to draw (I think he's a perfectionist- he'll say, "I can't do it! You help me!" so he'll hold the pencil with me) but man, can he trace well for his age! Here is one example below (Atticus wrote "Hinckley" above it.)
He came home from Joy School a couple weeks ago with this cookbook and it had us in STITCHES.
Hinckley Speaks:
- "You meanie head!"
- "You da wost mom evuh!"
- "I hope you have a pinata!" (Said to his cousin on his birthday.)
- "I'm okay!" (Said in his Batman voice after tripping and falling. Such a funny moment!)
- "We never hit or kick or push..." (Sung with his Batman voice to Atticus when he was getting rough.)
- "Right now I Eekee ("Hinckley") but after I eat dinner I be BATMAN."
- ("Stop hitting the wall!") "But I'm hitting the pinata!" (He was practicing on the wall...?)
- "Mom, could you put Baby Lucy back in you tummy?"
- ("What did they bring to Baby Jesus?") "Gold, fwankincense and muw." (Said in Batman voice.)
- ("Wow! You're a smarty pants!") "No, I a Batman smarty-pants."
Oh, Lucy. She definitely has all of us wrapped around her little finger. She is just so darn cute.
Here she is, below, on her first Thanksgiving.
She smiles a lot now. Smiles are saved almost exclusively for when she can see someone's face. We even had her first real laugh on December 3rd.
At her two month appointment at the beginning of the month she was 11 lbs 4.5 oz and 22 inches long. So she's at an average weight and on the tall side- our tallest baby yet, so far.
She LOVES music and singing. That's when we get our biggest smiles. In fact, she coos so much when I sing to her that I'm almost positive she's trying to sing along. Just the possibility of having a daughter who might sing with me makes me so happy!
Here she is in an outfit both of the boys wore at this age:
Atticus
Hinckley
Our favorite hour of the day right now is just before her bedtime. We put the boys down and I'll hang out with her by the Christmas tree. She loves the lighting and can get so animated as we sing Christmas songs.
There is so much in the world that is filling us with anger and fear but for that hour or so we can forget it all and find peace. It's a great, daily reminder of another tiny infant who changed the world- our Savior, Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.
