Seth Facts

1. Seth is 4 years old!

2. He is 40 inches tall and in the 44th percentile.

3. He's 37 pounds and is in the 67th percentile for weight.

4. The obsession with my hair continues. He still on occasion will grab it and run it across his face, but more often he just "needs to kiss my hair". We'll be driving somewhere and he'll reach for it just saying he needs to kiss it once, or I'll be on the couch and he'll run from his room to go to the bathroom but must stop to give my hair a kiss. :) So funny, but cute.

5. Seth is mostly sleep trained now, and will sleep in his own bed, but on occasion goes through spurts where he'll climb into bed with us to sleep. Not sure if it's bad dreams or he just can't sleep. We're sometimes able to just lie with him for a bit in his bed and he'd fall back to sleep but sometimes he's just quiet and sneaky and just climbs right between us and we won't even wake up or know until we get a head in the back or a foot in the face. :p

6. Seth is super sweet. He's also at an age that he likes to test boundaries. He tries to do things he shouldn't like a normal 3 year old boy but he's also so quick to please others. I can tell he doesn't like making us upset and is always very quick to say sorry.

7. He is a very active boy. He runs around, wrestles with his brothers. Plays with action figures and plays pretend fighting games all the time, by himself or with others. He's getting rough and more destructive with things. He's all boy.

8. Seth has a softer side although it's tricky to see sometimes. He's sensitive and loves cuddling and being close to others.  But he likes to wrestle and is a little rough as well so he has a hard time calming down and being gentle with his hugs. He likes to get right into people's faces and I have to remind him to back up and be careful. He's definitely not as shy as his older siblings and will play and wrestle with visitors if they give him the opportunity. He likes to give everyone hugs and will make his way around a room giving hugs when we're saying goodbye. :)

9. He says the funniest things sometimes. He makes us laugh all the time. Many of the things he says are sayings that we have no idea where he picked them up.

10. Favorites... color- red, song- Popcorn Popping, show/movie- Power Rangers/ Spiderman, food- pizza/ fruit, dessert- chocolate chip cookies, activity- play with toys, animal- lion, drink- kool aid (cuz it's red), wants to be a dad and zoo keeper when he grows up.

Everett Facts

1. Everett's 7 years old

2. He is now 48 inches tall and in the 51st percentile.

3. He weighs 47 pounds and is in the 30th percentile.

4. Everett has started 1st grade this year. He likes school and so far his favorite part is the computer lab. Claire and him love to ride their scooters home together by themselves this year.

5. Everett loves to climb. He's always climbing on things, including furniture and on top of all playground equipment. He's made me nervous quite a few times with his dare devil attitude. He's really good at monkey bars and balancing.

6. He still has a love for games. He likes card games, board games, video games, etc. He's gotten a lot better at not being too competitive as well which makes playing games with him pretty fun. He's smart and good at so many things.

7. Everett is already such a good reader. Thanks to Claire's help, he is already reading things on his own without much help.

8. He loves to make lists and calendars and he stays up late writing point systems and ranking games for his action figures. :) He likes to talk gibberish and make up his own silly language on the spot. He still is always trying to make people laugh by being silly. We love his silliness.  :)

9. Everett talks and plays with Claire so much but he's also playing more and more with Seth. The two of them have so much fun together playing more boyish games, but they also probably fight the most as well. I think it's true though that you fight more with the ones closest to you so hopefully they'll always be good friends. Everett is a good brother to Caleb as well and always tries to include him when he can. :)

10. Favorites... song- Nephi's Courage, show/movie- Storybots and Dino Dan, food- spaghetti, dessert- oreo milkshakes, activity- play games, color- gold, animal- dog, drink- Sprite, game- UNO, toy- Big Dinosaur, holiday- Halloween and Easter, day of the week- Saturday and Monday, Wants to be a PE teacher when he grows up.

Claire Facts

1.  Claire is 9 years old! She is half way to adulthood. Yikes!

2.  Claire is 51 inches tall and in the 29th percentile. 3 inches taller than last year!

3. She is 59 pounds and in the 32nd percentile for weight.

4. Claire is starting 4th grade and her favorite subject is still art. She's gotten closer with some old friends. Her friend Kiery moved farther away and to a different school, but she's been getting along with some other girls that have been in her classes.

5. This last summer, she made really good friends with the girl across the street- Maddi. They would capture bugs and ride scooters and bikes. They would make stores and clubs and play dress up with their stuffed bears. It's been good for her to get out of the house and it's been a new experience for us as parents letting her become more and more independent.

6. Speaking of becoming more independent, she is growing up so fast. She likes to do things as much as she can on her own, including walking to activity days and back and showering on her own. Sometimes she wants to do things that mommy and daddy are not quite ready for and it's caused some hard moments as we both try to compromise and work on ways that we're both comfortable.

7. Claire loves art and crafts. She makes all sorts of things out of cardboard and tape. She loves creating gadgets, purses, games, whatever she can think of. She uses up a roll of tape a week and leaves her room covered in pieces of cardboard and tape, but she's creating things. :)

8. She is the sweetest girl. She's learning and growing so much. She's obedient and sensitive. She sees  a mess or one of us struggling and is quick to help (sometimes without even being asked). She's emotional and occasionally has shown a little anxiety in situations. She is shy around new people, but once she's opened up she can be so friendly and fun to be around. We love her sweetness.

9. Claire and Everett still continue to be the best of friends still. They talk and play together and Everett likes to join her and Maddi when playing outside. I love that she's always willing to include him even with other friends around. She's helpful with Seth and Caleb still but also loves to play and tickle or wrestle with them. She gives Seth piggy back rides and picks up Caleb and mothers him. She's excited for baby girl to come so she can have a little sister to help and play with. :)

10. Favorites... color- aqua, activity- coloring or playing with friends, book- Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, song- Gethsemane, show/movie- Sabrina the teenage witch, food- spaghetti, dessert- ice cream, holiday- Christmas, day of the week- Saturday, animal- horse and black panther, drink- kool aid, game- Harry Potter trivia game, toy- Pink Build a Bear (Lizzy), Actor or Teacher when you grow up.

Caleb's 18 Month Facts

1. Caleb is 18 months old, so... time for a "facts blog". :)

2. Caleb is 24 pounds and in the 47th percentile for weight.

3. He is 32 and a half inches tall and in the 51st percentile.

4. Unlike any of my other boys, Caleb is pretty attached to his paci. We've started to make sure he only has it at night and quiet time, but with another baby coming, I'm dreading taking it away, cuz he loves it. I'm sure it's also been soothing to him while he's teething. He has 4 teeth on top and 4 on bottom, and some molars I'm pretty sure are on their way in.

5. Caleb knows a bunch of words, specifically he says - mommy, daddy, ball, no, baby, doggie, sad, me, snack, bye, hi and cookie.

6. Much to our dismay, Caleb has a habit of hitting. If he's told "no" he will get upset and hit the person who told him no. We put him in time out in his room, which he hates and will give us a nice hug afterwards when we let him out. Hopefully, he's starting to understand. ;)

7. Caleb is definitely my most adventurous and independent child. He does what he wants and goes where he wants, and if he hears us calling him back, he will quicken his steps but won't even bother turning around. He's constantly climbing up things and he'll even push chairs around to get to higher places. He has a natural curiosity for everything and loves to see new things and check them out.

8. Caleb has been sleeping in our bed since he was born. I don't think he's spent even one full night in his crib. Since he wasn't using it and to make it easier to night potty train Everett, we decided to take the crib down. So now he doesn't really have his own bed and sleeps with us cuz he has no where else to go. I tried getting him to settle down with Seth in his bed, but gave up. We might try that again later. I've had to put a big pillow between us though so I can at least prepare him a little for the night time separation from me.

9. He loves animals, especially dogs. He sees a dog from far away and gets super excited and he makes "woof" sounds at it. It's pretty funny. He clearly says "doggie!", it's so cute. He also loves seeing other animals. We recently took our kids to the zoo and he was getting excited and pointing at all the animals he saw. He did get a little nervous next to the big sea lion window though. :P

10. Caleb is a joy to have around. He keeps us on our toes and we have to keep an extra eye on him at  all times, but Claire is getting so good at working with him and helping us out and he handles Seth's play so well even when it gets a little rough. He's a tough little boy but is so sweet at times as well. He can give me some of the cutest, sweetest hugs when he's sad. We love having him in our family. :)

All About Caleb

1. Caleb is one year old already! :)

 2. Caleb is 21 pounds 14 ounces and in the 57th percentile.

3. He is 30 inches tall and in the 51st percentile.

4. Caleb has been walking since about 10 months. I felt like it crept up on us so quickly. We caught a good video of it on Everett's birthday. He had to learn quickly I guess to keep up with his siblings. :) Just a week or two after his birthday he started climbing as well and would climb up onto the table from the chairs. We have to really keep a close eye on him so he doesn't hurt himself. This kid has no fear. :)

5. Caleb has had a few ear infections this year. He wasn't taking the medicine very well so when we discovered the last one we had to go back to the doctors again and again for three separate shots. :( Not fun. He's also been teething a bit as well so it makes for a cranky baby sometimes (especially at nights). One of the reasons for the ear infections could be from me nursing while laying down. We're hoping once weaned, it won't happen as often.

6. He has a funny little habit lately of reaching his hand down my shirt when he's fussy and wants to nurse...He'll reach down my shirt, swiping and grabbing at anything he can until I have to either give in and nurse him or put him down or something so he can't reach. He also will reach down and just swipe or rub my chest when he's cuddling in my arms before falling asleep or in the middle of the night when he's having a hard time sleeping.

7. I have not done well with sleep training my youngest two boys. I've been lying down with him for naps, in my bed, so he goes down without any fuss. It gives me a little time to read scriptures while laying with him for a bit and later he just climbs out of bed and comes out super happy when he wakes up. :) At bedtime it's a little harder. I sit in the boys room until he falls asleep continually giving him a paci, soothing him or patting his back until he falls asleep. Then, as soon as he wakes up  we bring him into our bed to sleep with us.

8. Caleb says a few words or at least blabbers like he knows a few words... He says mamama, dadada,  (I don't think he's trying to say mama or dada yet though). He says ba I think for (bottle, banana, or ball) and he says moh (more).  He's also got his waving hi and goodbye down. :)

9. He's eating pretty well. He likes bananas, grapes, strawberries, yogurt, cheese, chicken, and interestingly... fresh tomatoes. :) It took him a little bit to figure out how to use a sippy cup but he finally figured it out and loves chocolate milk. :)

10. Caleb seems to love his siblings. He looks up to Claire. She helps pick him up and carries him around. When we left the kids for a few hours with my sister, he didn't want to leave Claire's side. He thinks Everett is so funny. Everett's always trying to make him laugh and he usually succeeds. And Seth is so full of love and is always either smothering him with hugs or wanting to involve him in their play which is maybe a little bit rough for a boy his size. Caleb handles it well though. He gets right back up and tries to play just as rough. He's adorable and we all love him so!

All About Seth

1. Seth is 3 years old!

2. Seth weighs 32.2 pounds and is in the 57th percentile.

3. He is 37 inches putting him in the 40th percentile.

4. Seth is still so obsessed with hair, especially my hair. He's always running his hands and sometimes his toys (despite my requests for him not to) through my hair. He loves to grab some and brush his cheek or face with it, so cute. :)

5. Seth still sleeps in our bed occasionally. I goes through spurts where he'll sleep in his own bed all night and he'll get a treat, but very often he wakes up and just wants to join us in bed, it's hard not to let me when he's so sad and cute in the middle of the night. :p

6. We started potty training Seth just a little bit before his birthday and he did really well. He seemed to catch on pretty quickly. :)

7. Seth is our little cuddle buddy. He loves hugs and he loves being close to us when he's sleeping. He loves piggy back rides and he loves sitting with the other kids on the couch watching movies. He's always been so friendly and loving to Caleb, he's just always been a sweet boy!

8. Seth loves playing with Everett especially with his action figures. He's very much all boy when it comes to playing with toys. He turns everything into shooters and play fights and wrestles and runs around with Everett. They get a little rough and competitive together at times.

9. His speech is so cute right now. I love how he calls things "perfect" right now. Not sure where he picks up things at times but he finds a word he likes and uses it a lot. :)

10. Favorites: song- Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam, show/movie-Animal Mechanicals, food- fruit dessert/treat-marshmallows, color- red, activity-play with claire and everett, animal-lion, book-look and find ones, drink- toy- wants to be himself when he grows up

All About Everett

1. Everett is now 6 years old.

2. Everett weighs 41.6 pounds and is in the 24th percentile.

3. He's 45 inches tall and in the 41st percentile for height.

4. He started Kindergarten this year,  just a week after his birthday.  He's super smart and already know all his letters and is actually reading pretty well, most of the sight words anyway.

5. Everett really likes his games still. He likes playing Minecraft with Claire and building little towns and cities, and he got a new Lego Batman game that he enjoys. He still loves to play card games and board games as well. He's definitely got a little competitive streak in him and gets a little sad when he loses but we're doing our best to teach him to try his best and just play to have fun. :)

6. He's really been getting more into dinosaurs. He can name a lot more dinosaurs than I can. He watches Dino Dan and is always telling me fun facts about some dinosaurs. :)

7. Everett has an appreciation for music. He's doing so well on the piano (when we remember to practice) and he remembers the words to the primary songs so well. And when he dances, he dances with a beat, full of energy. :)

8. He likes to chew on everything. Usually it's Bounce, his pet stuffed monkey, but we'll often find wet blankets and shirts and the other day, the end of his tie. :p

9. Everett has so much energy! He's always climbing on the furniture (despite my requests for him not to), running around chasing or letting his little brothers chase him, or just trying to do some sort of stunt.

10. favorites: song-Nephi's Courage, show/movie-Despicable Me 3, food-pizza, dessert-oreo milkshakes, activity-video games, color-red, animal-dog, book-Hop on Pop, drink-Sprite, game-Lego Batman video game, toy-dinosaurs, holiday-Halloween, day of the week-Monday, wants to be a PE teacher when he grows up.