Linus is Six

Linus turned six.  I keep telling him to stop growing but he won't listen.  After throwing him a Star Wars party, we kept his actual birthday low key.  Since it is the day before Halloween, I try to somehow limit how much sugar is going into him.

He had the best day ever at school.  Not only did he get to bring cupcakes, that morning his class had donuts for some reason.  He came home high on life and sugar.  We feasted on some of his favorite foods--Kraft mac n cheese and apple slices.  Dessert was a cookies and cream ice cream cake.

We gave Linus some Harry Potter glasses and gryffindor tie.  I unsuccessfully tried to learn to tie a windsor knot.   We also got Linus some Ancient Egypt playmobil.  The look of extreme joy on his face when he saw the playmobil made my week.

I like to call this picture, "Haggard mom lights candles."  Earlier I spent the morning in Eileen's class helping with Halloween festivities.  I went as a construction worker.

Clapping hooray.  He is getting the hang of this birthday business.

 Harry Potter

Linus blows me away at six years old.  He is so smart and articulate and creative.

Loves:  math, science, books, Star Wars, Legos, Minecraft, Super Mario Brothers, Playmobil, Ancient Egypt, Harry Potter, creepy spooky stuff, Starbucks, camo, drawing, swimming, and his baby brother.  He technically loves Eileen, but he adores terrorizing her.

Hates:  not getting his own way, being forced to earn screen time, chores, almost anything his mother cooks, when Eileen copies him, taking the time to use good handwriting, and time outs.

Linus can be so much fun to hang out with.  He likes board games and has the ability to play games meant for older kids.  I refuse to play Risk with him.  I figure it is something he and Dave can have a special bond over.  He's gotten really good at a few games so much that I have to play at my top form and sometimes I still can't beat him.   Linus likes adventure and is up for almost anything.  Sometimes it is easy to forget how young he actually is.

Linus is still strong willed and stubborn.  I know that these traits will one day serve him well.  I tell myself this many times a day as he slowly drives me crazy.

Happy Birthday Linus. 

From the Mouths of Babes in October

Linus:  Mama did you know Robin is ticklish?  He's totally my clone.

Me:  Do you like my hair?  (After a cut and color)
Linus:  Uh huh.
Me:  What do you like about it?
Linus:  It's combed?
Me:  Humph.

Linus:  They terrify me.  (on why he doesn't like the Muppets)

And then we also went to the pumpkin patch.  I like places that feel more like a farm and less like an amusement park.  I especially like Oxbow Farm between Carnation and Duvall.  We ran into an old camp friend which was fun too.  We managed to catch a break in between rainstorms.

my hair does not like moisture

there was a mixture of feelings from the group

A Non-Pinterest Worthy Birthday

I am a mean mean mama and do not let my kids have large birthday extravaganzas every year.  This is partly because they are expensive and I worry about my kids becoming entitled, but more so because we have 4 birthdays in the span of a month.  That is a whole lot of birthday without the addition of large parties.  That said, I decided that I would let Linus have a party this year.  Six is a pretty big deal.  I thought he would want to have a Halloween party with his whole class or maybe a few friends doing a Lego birthday party at Math n Stuff.  Linus surprised me when he told me he did not want a friend birthday, but rather a party with all of his cousins.  I know.  So sweet.

A cousin party simplified things quite a bit.  We already gather once a month with my husband's family to celebrate all the birthdays in the month.  Linus was okay if the other three October birthday people were feted as well.  While I was surprised by his guest list, I was not by the theme request--LEGO Star Wars.

Parenthood has become a competition of sorts and Pinterest exists in part to let over achievers brag about how much better they are at the gig.  I have a love hate relationship with the site.  It is great for coming up with ideas and organizing them.  There are a lot of moms who obviously love their children more than I love my own and thus are willing to throw an over the top Star Wars birthday party.  I can only imagine the time, money, and energy spent on what I saw.  I opted against sewing Jedi robes for everyone and merely got some ideas for activities.  I downloaded decorations off of Etsy that I could print at home.  I opted against water bottle and candy bar labels.

I'm pretty happy with the results.  There was theme stuff, I set up an indoor Jedi training obstacle course, we played Escape the Death Star (hot potato).  I got a tuxedo cake from Costco (yum) and put a mini Lego starfighter on top.

The challenge of hosting a cousin birthday party is that kids range in age from one to twelve.  I am generally opposed to goody bags.  As the big activity I assembled bags of Legos and then let the kids all create their own starfighters.  I was blown away by what the kids created.

We opened presents on the back deck.  As I have said before, Linus has amazing, loving, and creative cousins (and aunts and uncles).  His cousin, Colby, made him a bow with arrows.  Aunt Jenna made him a quiver.  His cousin, Mason, made him a Calvin-ball set (from Calvin and Hobbes).  Linus is very excited about the Star Wars decals for his wall (although I think I might get rid of the Leia in the gold slave outfit...).  There was so much thought put into all the gifts.  I was touched.

sometimes snuggling is better than opening gifts

with bow, arrow, quiver, and Calvin ball mask

Another perk to a cousin birthday?  The big kids help clean up.  After everyone left, Dave and I collapsed into bed.  I didn't have to get up in the morning because it was my birthday.  After Starbucks and flowers in bed, I got to go to a bouncy house birthday party.  There were naps, long phone calls with friends, Princess Bride watching, Thai food and leftover cake, and Walking Dead.  It was a good day.

35 years old.  No longer a young adult.  Is 35 middle-aged?  That seems weird.

It was a lot of birthday for one weekend.  Linus suggested we eat healthier today.  The party might not win any awards on Pinterest, but I think the birthday boy didn't mind at all.

Robin at 1

Our baby bird is living up to his name.

But he is still the biggest of the big boys in our hearts.

We went to the doctor this morning.  After four shots, he was not a happy boy.  Here are the stats:

Height: 28 inches (2nd percentile)
Weight: 18 lbs 12 oz (11.79 percentile)
Head Circumference 18 inches (37th percentile)

Robin is so sweet, so little, so silly, and so lovable.  He thinks it is hilarious to drop things repeatedly from the changing table, like his binky.  He loves to put objects into another.  Robin squeals and his whole body will shake if he thinks you are going to read him a book.  He is very patient when Linus reads to him.  Other favorite pastimes include: ripping glasses from people's faces, baths, nursing, and snuggling.

Even one year later, I am still completely blissed out by this baby.  I love when he giggles when I make the milk sign at him.  The best moment of my day is after bedtime nursing when he snuggles in as I rock and sing to him in the rocking chair.  It is sheer joy and no matter how tired I am, it is hard to put him down because the whole world around us seems to disappear during our nighttime ritual.

Robin has been taking his own time growing up and meeting milestones.  He finally learned to get into a sitting position at a little over 11 months.  He clapped 1 week before 12 months.  Robin finally crawled 2 days before his birthday.  He wanted to get to Mo Willem's Elephant and Piggie Lets Go For a Drive.  This further demonstrates his refined literary tastes.  His favorite place to crawl to is the fireplace vent--trouble.  Just two days ago he waved bye bye for the first time.  Grandma was the recipient of this milestone.

Elf on the shelf

I've mentioned to a few people that I was starting to get concerned about Robin's development, that my motherly instincts said something wasn't quite right.  It's one thing to mention it to a close friend, it's another to tell your doctor that you think your child is developmentally delayed.  I was surprised how hard it was to say out loud, maybe because it made it more real.  The doctor agreed with my assessment and we now have a referral to Children's Hospital for gross motor and language delays.  I'm not too worried.  I just want to do what's right for my child.  If there is a problem, I want to intervene as soon as possible.  If they say he is just our itty bitty baby who is doing things in his own time, great.  If they recommend weekly therapy, well that's great too.

Right now we are just focused on loving our baby bird. Because really, how could you not?

And then he turned 1

My baby boy is one.

It all happened way too fast.  I tried to make it a special day.  We spent a lovely morning at the zoo while poor Linus was at school, followed by meaty naps.  While the kids slept, I prepared for a little party.  Robin got a pirate theme because I was walking the aisles of Target and saw a cute pirate hat for him.  You can't quite see the red and black streamers hanging.

We invited his godparents, Megan and Rocky, to celebrate with us.  We feasted on gluten free spaghetti, bread, and peas.

"It's a birthday parrrr-ty."

Robin was stoic about presents and let his siblings help open them.  Eileen was very excited about all his new toys.  Dave and I got him a Green Toys ferry and a quiet book (those soft books with things like zippers, buttons, and shoe tying).  Robin loved the toys he got from Megan and Rocky.

Linus gave Robin his sticker collection.

I made a vanilla bean cake with chocolate frosting (gluten, soy, and dairy free).  Linus said he wasn't going to eat it because it had dark chocolate and dark chocolate is healthy.  The cake also uses pureed white beans, which failed to impress him.  Linus changed his mind and ate it after sampling the frosting.  Robin thoroughly enjoyed the whole cake experience.

Happy Birthday Baby Bird.