Greta- 18 months

Greta turned 18 months and now I am reminded why I do an 18 month update. There's just so much that happens between 1 and 1.5. Greta started walking around 16 months. She went from taking zero steps to taking 10. I wonder if that trend will hold true for her- once she's ready, she will do it! 

She has just a handful of words- bunny (her most prized possession) is "bu" and ball sounds very similar to this. She does say mom and dad- she can distinguish between her siblings and says names for them, but they basically sound all the same. Much to Haddie's delight, hers has been the most distinguishable. Probably her cutest word is "shoes". She really enjoys picking her shoes in the morning now. Oh and how could I forget, we all very much understand her "no"- she almost makes it into a two syllable and I don't know how to phonetically type it out so we'll just have to consult our videos once we read this and don't remember. :) 

She still sucks her left thumb when she's sleeping or if she has her bunny. She is doing pretty well in nursery at church, she usually cries at the initial drop off but then finds her people and bunny. She dances when she hears music and sometimes claps. At Sams Club the other day I noticed she was especially keen on smiling and waving to people who weren't paying her any attention and then those that looked at her and tried to talk to her, she gave them her scowl. 

Her siblings still think shes the best thing ever. Knox is learning how to play with Greta especially now that the big kids are all at school. It is the sweetest. Since they both have their lovies they're pretty attached to, Greta will go get Knox's fox and hand it to him. It's really precious. They have some moments of fighting too, but mostly love. 

Height- 30" (10th percentile)

Weight- 22.4# (30th percentile)

Micah is 9

Micah turned 9 in the middle of April and then the "end-of-school" started. :) I told myself I had to get his update done before June otherwise my brain would turn into mush. 

When we think of Micah we think about what a great friend he is. He has a variety of kids in his class that he talks about and he knows real details about them. Whenever my kids get invited to a birthday party, I ask what kind of gift their friend would like and he can always come up with something. I heard one of his friends describe him as the "class clown" so I'm trusting his teacher would have told me if that was a problem. He loves to laugh and make others laugh too. That's true at home too. Micah and Eli have really gotten into sports cards. They both still love the Dallas Cowboys. It's wild to me how much they have picked up from reading cards. He adores Emmit Smith and when the boys play football he loves playing running back. He's so shifty fast- I think he often surpises people with his speed. They know what era certain players are from based on the card design and know rookie years to players from looking them up. I will admit, the hobby sometimes makes me crazy when I walk in their room, but overall it's been a good bonding experience for the boys and not a bad way to get some sneaky reading in. :) 

Micah received the core essentials award at the end of the school year this year. He and his buddy Marshall and I genuinely think he was just as happy for Marshall as he was himself. He's just the best cheerleader. Oh, and he's become a good photographer for us at Eli's baseball so that has been really handy for this mom. He is anxiously awaiting the start of his season- kid pitch! 

This past year meant a diagnosis for Micah too. He has alopecia areata. If you've seen him in person, I'm certain you've noticed. It's an autoimmune disease and his dermatologist has given us hope that his hair growth will return, but of course it isn't guaranteed. For now, it seems his hair loss has stalled out, so we're just treating the spots and will see his doctor next month. He has done awesome with it- kids ask of course, but he tells them the name and they move on. I think it's evidence of what a good friend he is to others, because they haven't picked on him about it at all. 

Of all of our kids, Micah is the most emotive about missing his Grandpa Wichert. He often will tell us stories he remembers in the most random of moments. I'm so glad God made him this way. Micah is such a gift to our whole family. Our prayer continues to be as Micah grows in stature that he will grow in favor with God and men. We are confident that God who began His good work will see it to completion- that Micah will grow to hear the voice of God and respond in obedience. Oh God, let it be. 

Height- 51.5"

Weight- 58.8lb 

Knox is 3

Oh Knox, Knoxie, Knox Joshua. What a wild joy you are! 

 Knox is a complete juxtaposition of no-limit, go-till-you-drop, never-ask-for-permission, passionate AND gentle, sweet, perceptive, and loving. He's not unlike most 3 year olds where he's just a roller coaster, but I do think he's special because I'm his mama. He is the first to give a hug- often to us or his Grandma Bonnie (probably his favorite person) or to a person he doesn't know that I'm talking to at a baseball game. I've seen it enough times to know what's coming- it starts with a leg hug, a "what's your name" followed by a "what's your favorite color". I love being along for the ride that is "Knox". Oh, and his favorite color is "red, like Marshall". 

Knox loves: paw patrol, puzzles (he's crazy good at them), hugs, food, climbing step stools and cabinets to get food, foxie, trains, cars, dirt (he made a dirt pillow at baseball), books, friends, other people's food, singing (his voice is so loud and he's currently singing a lot of Annie and Sing 2), Bluey (who doesn't like Bluey), and talking to Abby on the phone (our babysitter).

 Knox is a kid that I often wish I could see what's going on in his mind. As his vocabulary and communication skills grow, I'm getting more of a glimpse and it is honestly helpful. He usually has a good reason for doing what he's doing, but it often has us spinning until we realize. 

 He did flood our bathroom this year. I think the big kids will remember that forever. He also can open our garage door by getting a broom handle and hitting the buttom. If that makes you nervous it should, but also we are constantly all on "Knox watch". He really is very similar to Curious George- he usually has a good reason, but also doesn't often listen to "reason". Can't believe we've gotten to have him in our family for 3 years. It's going to be a fun ride seeing what God has for him and who he's made him to be.

Height- 37.75"

Weight- 36.2 lb

Lana is 5

Lana Mae, how did we get to 5 already? You are so excited to be in kindergarten and we are ready to see you bloom there.

Lana loves: deciding what her brain tells her what color is her favorite that day (it changes a lot), playing barbies, playing legos, coloring and drawing and any kind of art project, the corners of her elephant blanket, playing with Haddie (she LOVES her), when Abby comes to play (babysit), swinging, talking about kindergarten, singing, playing house (especially if everyone is the person she assigns), her friends (Frank, Katie, and Mary), she also loves doing "best friend day" where she chooses a sibling to focus her attention and fun with. If a siblings is home sick from school, Lana would say something like "well I guess it's best friends day with Eli today". If it's Eli, for example, she'll ask if he wants to look at sports cards with her. She really just likes being with people and is sweet to know what everyone likes. 

 Lana has BIG feelings- often accompanies with loud reactions. It's fun (sometimes) to walk her through those and see her process. We know from past experience (older kids) that as they grow in their understanding of themselves they also grow in their emotional understanding. She hates hates hates being left out- both the reality of it and the perceived reality. She wants to be in the action. She is pretty absent minded which makes me wonder what she's thinking about. I often have to tell her to pay attention to where her feet are- because she trips, runs into, and falls a fair amount. I just think she's in a dream land- I think it's fun. She goes to extremes pretty easily- in the same meal she will say "this is my favorite food ever, mom" to shortly after saying "actually, I don't like it". I've learned to not take a compliment or criticism too seriously. :) Oh, and my favorite word she says is "airmaplane" (airplane). 

Lana had her tonsils and adenoids removed in January and ear tubes put in. So far, we've noticed she can hear and process much better. We're so thankful we went ahead and had the surgery done as we think her quality of life has improved. 

I don't know that anyone else is more excited for summer than Lana- to have all her siblings home every day. She is looking forward to swimming and nature and lots and lots of playing house. Lana Mae, we love you so! You add a spunk and spice our family needed. You love our family and talk about us all the time. We're excited to see what God has for you in year 6. Love you to pieces. 

Height- 44.5" 

Weight- 45.2 lb

Greta is 1

Oh Greta Girl, how on earth did we get to one already? What a sweet sweet baby you are. 

Greta going to bed on her birthday- her siblings adore her.

Greta really is the best baby. She has become more of a mama's girl in the last month or two, but is still just pretty laid back and sweet. She loves her bunny and sucks her left thumb. She sleeps through the night and depending on her morning wake up time either takes a short morning nap and a longer afternoon one or skips the morning one altogether. 

She is still arm-over-arm army crawling everywhere. She is quite fast at it. There are times when she will get on her knees and crawl, but usually opts for the quicker belly crawl. She is pulling up some and hasn't shown much interest in taking any steps- she will if I'm holding her hands though. 

Greta is in size 12m clothes and size 3 diapers- she's a little thing. Her jabbers are so cute. She likes to make an "OH" face a lot. She will occasionally say mama and dada, but not a ton. Her "OH" face often leads into a jabber of "nonononononono". It's terribly cute. She also has 4 top and bottom teeth. 

Our last baby. <3

She enjoys music and bobs her head to it. She also seems to like our dog Luna. When we get out of the car, Greta starts looking for her. All the kids adore Greta. It's been fun in the last month or so watching she and Knox's friendship develop. He's starting to understand how to play gently and she loves having him close. The big girls love being able to pick her up and love on her. Her big brothers are really helpful and often say things like "she's just SO cute". I love how they all love her. 

Haddie is 7

Haddie was sick on her actual birthday. I can still see it in her eyes when we were able to have her ice cream cake. 

In my mind I had already written this one, but alas I have not. Haddie is well into her 7th year, but I'll jot down some things that make her special and we all really enjoy about her. 

She's a really good friend. She shows this at school and at home. Whenever a situation comes up, she is very aware of her sister and brothers and how they will react. She tends to be a mother about it which often is received well. She is a natural with her baby sister too. She can hold her and comfort her really well. She likes to be put in charge of things. Just the other day she told me her teacher sent her on an errand with another students and I could tell she was proud of herself. For the record, we're proud of her too. 

Haddie is a great singer and has enjoyed being in ballet this year. I believe she is going to try softball this summer, since her best big friend Grace is a softball girl. :) She also has grown leaps and bounds with our dog Luna. There are days where she doesn't want anything to do with her, but she will choose days where she will go outside with Luna. It makes me wonder what kind of self talk she does before walking out that door, because I don't ever know when it will happen. 

Haddie likes to play pretend with Lana and Micah if he's up for it. Lately they've been a part of a rescue team that has some interesting nuances to it. I told them it sounded like the Paw Patrol and they were so offended. The girls also still love Barbies, art projects, playdough, and playing restaurant at the "Wichert Welcome"- their playhouse restaurant. 

I think Haddie will love having Lana with her at BGS next year. Haddie's worst part of the day is getting out of bed- especially toward the end of the school week, so I'm hopeful Lana's enthusiasm will help that next year. :) She does love school though, and has come along quite beautifully in her reading this year. First grade is so much fun for all of that. 

We are so proud of Haddie and love her to pieces. She still seems to have a sense about people in pain and likes to hug and cuddle. She can fit into any space next to me on the couch no matter how small. She just wants to be close. I wonder what God will do with this as she grows. 

The girls' Christmas performance for ballet was adorable.

Greta- 11 months

Greta Girl (which is what Knox calls her every time he says her name) is 11 months old and is as sweet as can be. She is rocking her Kansas shirt because it's so close to Kansas' birthday. This month, she has all 4 top teeth through and has become quite the little eater. She only nurses first thing in the morning and last thing at night. 

She's still army crawling her way every where and just this week started pulling up to standing in her bed. She's such a little thing. She will occasionally get on her knees and look like she wants to crawl the traditional way. Her favorite toy seems to be cups- especially in the bath tub. 

Pictured below is Greta's new trick that we all just love. It's like she's saying "wow".