Acting for a Good Cause

If you want to know what Eli has been up to for the last three months, here's your answer. (And if you don't want to know, you may stop reading.)



Our stake put on a musical production of Savior of the World. Eli was approached by the director and asked to try out, at which time we discovered he can act and sing! He played the part of Ezra, a temple boy and helper to Zacharias and Elizabeth. The performers and crew worked hard and sacrificed their weekends for the past few months. I thought they did an excellent job (despite some glitches with the sound system.) It was apparently a testimony builder for many people, including cast, crew, and audience. The stake members were encouraged to use it as a missionary opportunity.



We weren't allowed to take pictures during the performance, but here are a few behind the scenes shots.




Eli was excited about the makeup--not.


Elizabeth and Zacharias.
These sweet people drove Eli to and from practice, thus saving our family from a massive headache.

When it was all over and Eli was receiving many compliments, I asked him if he would like to do something like this again and he replied, "Not in the near future."

Quarter of a Year

I'm three months old now. These pictures were actually taken a day after my three-month birthday, since my mom forgot to take my picture on the actual day.


My mom likes me because I let her snuggle me and I sleep through the night quite a bit.


I'm very smiley, especially in the morning, and I even laugh occasionally.


Everyone comments on what a chunker I am.


I find my fist quite fascinating. I'm really not cross-eyed.


I like a good bath.


And a good milk coma. I hope to have a neck some day.


Notice my post-bath fuzzy hair.

Mini-Me

This is how The Farmer and Malakai roll when they're together. They don't sit in the house gazing into each other's eyes. They farm. When Kai was just two weeks old, Greg had him out in the pasture and the baby stuck his fist way up into the horse's nostril. We joked that there may be some Spiderman-like reaction, and he would turn into Horseman.

It may have been a mistake to choose another "M" name for our child, since The Farmer can't stop calling him Micah. I'm guilty of it too, I'll admit.

Getting dressed up and high on sugar.

Mo-Tab

The Farmer and I dressed up for the first time since newly wed days, thanks to our fun friends who had a fun party for grown-ups. We're already planning next year's get-up.



TV reporter in TV

I told him that he was getting too old to go buy or make fancy costumes complete with swords and stuff and he needed to come up with something creative that we could put together. This was completely his idea. Greg helped a little with the box.



Daniel Boone

Seth ate his last piece of Halloween candy from last year just minutes before leaving to go trick-or-treating yesterday. I'm not making this up.



I've been calling this a leopard, but Eli informs me that, based on its color and spot pattern, it's actually a jaguar.



Monkey boy

He wore this outfit for about 20 minutes, just enough time to spit up all over it and leak pee on it.


I like the idea of making Halloween really fun for my kids, i.e. throwing a fun kids' party, making great costumes, decorating the house awesomely, making donuts like my mum did, etc. But I'm actually a pretty lame Halloween mom. And today I've thrown out a couple of half-hearted "Better stop eating so much candy" statements but haven't followed through on them at all. And that's the other thing: what should be done with all that candy? Better moms have come up with good solutions involving the kids trading in most of their candy and such, but I've never heard one that would actually work for our family. The best I can do is to slowly sneak Micah's candy over a few days, thus diminishing his stash without him noticing. I know: lame. I suppose there's always next year.

Stats

Kai had his one month check-up last week (on his 5 week birthday.) In other words, another excuse to post cute pictures of my rapidly changing child.

Here is the report:
Weight: 12 pounds (97th percentile)
Length: 23 inches (90th percentile)
Head: 38 3/4 centimeters (50th percentile)

I don't get to have little babies for very long.



And he sits up!

Seven Milestones

1. We have smileage from Malakai! Also, acne and cradle cap and an oily head.





2. Micah is riding sans training wheels.



In an effort to make me a bit crazy, he's already acting like Mr. Stuntman Daredevil.






3. Seth had his first car accident, involving an out-of-control wheelie and the van in the driveway.





4. Eli baked and decorated his first birthday cake, which he described as his greatest cooking accomplishment yet. I don't know; I thought the Mother's Day pull-aparts were pretty good. (I just noticed the stray hand picking at the front of the cake.)




5. Greg turned 38!



I included a second picture, because it's so cute.

6. This thing weaseled its way into my house, despite the fact that I clearly forbade indoor pets. I'm not sure how it happened, but it had something to do with the eldest animal-loving son, multiple attempts to trap a stray kitten in the barn, two big dogs outside that like to chase and eat small animals, etc.

The Farmer and I had a discussion as he was petting the kitten on our bed. I told him that I like to look at animals in a zoo or read about them in a book; I just don't like to touch them or have them touching my bed. He replied that he didn't understand how someone wouldn't want to pet and hold their animals. Apparently, I wasn't born with the animal-loving gene like everyone else in the family.


7. I slept for 6 hours straight!!!



Thanks baby.

Bear With Me

I've been camera-happy during the past 12 days.





This is the big brother that can't wait to start playing catch in a few years.



This is the brother that wouldn't hold the baby at first, but now does so eagerly.






This is the brother that's actually a big help to me, at least during the one day since Grandma left to go home.



The aforementioned grandma. We miss her big time.



We call him "finger-toes." Or "monkey-toes."



I have a dad-zonked-out-on-the-couch photo series with all the newborns; (you know how exhausting it is to have your wife get up several times each night to nurse the baby). With all the stuff that's been going on with the other children and with work, this has been the only chance this dad has had to zonk out.



Check out the cowlick.



Chillin'



Bros.