Bonus Post: Sound Bites 63

Me: What don't you like about the oranges?
Matthias: They hurt my mouth. And my feelings.

Kaitlyn: How many Jesus's are there? He keeps getting born.

Matthias: Daddy, when I'm a grown up I'm going to be much nicer than you are.

Matthias, listening to a song in Spanish: Mom, what Spanish do we speak?

Me: ...We speak English.

Matthias: What do they speak?

Me: Spanish.

Olivia: Can I have mac and cheese for lunch?

Bryan: No, Kaitlyn's eating it.

Kaitlyn: Sorry, Olivia. I'm just trying to be fat like Dad.

Me: Are you my baby?

Theo: No, I elephant!

Me: You're my elephant?

Theo: No! I triceratops. Roar!

Matthias asked about the wires along the side of the road. I told him about land lines and then Kaitlyn was explaining more things to him. I could only kind of hear since they sit in the backseat of the van, but here's what came through:

Kaitlyn: You know how me and you can do wifi? Well mom can't.

Kaitlyn: Every house has wifi. Like that house right there, one wifi. Just one.

Kaitlyn: I think you can go through it, but technically mom said we'll bonk into it.

Matthias: Unless we have goggles.

Kaitlyn: Right. If you have goggles then you can try to grab it.

And then there was something about God putting protection around houses so no one could steal their one wifi.

January 23-February 13

Theodore has figured out that Kaitlyn can read and now asks her to read him books frequently. This works out perfectly because Kaitlyn needs to practice reading for school and she's more likely to read to Theodore than she is to read to me.

Matthias has moved into the green phonics books (the third set).

Theo is not a baby. If you call him a baby, he will say, "I not a baby, I a Theo." He also likes to identify as a triceratops on occasion, especially in church. We have frequent conversations about how he can't be a dinosaur in church. This does not dissuade him from trying.

We had two snow/ice days in a row at the end of January. The girls were sad to miss school but happy to sleep in.

Yesterday we attended a wedding. It was very small and child friendly and we had a good time.

Jacob and Rachel's baby, Michael, was baptized yesterday. Due to the distance and the aforementioned wedding, this marks the first Fenton grandchild whose baptism I have not attended. I did play around with trying to make it work, but it was not to be. It was a good run.

The girls and I finished up Tuck Everlasting and have moved on to A History of Helpless Harry. I have instituted a new rule: They are not allowed to read ahead.

Our new favorite movie is Encanto. And because we have an Alexa, our new favorite soundtrack is also Encanto. We're so busy not talking about Bruno over here, it's amazing we have time for anything else.

January Pictures

Sleeping children. Someone asked me to take these and I can't remember why:

A puzzle I got for Christmas. It's all lines, so there are letters on the back to help sort pieces. I have decided not to use the letters at first. We'll see how it goes.

January 9-23

I had this idea in my head that once the basement was finished I would somewhat magically begin finishing projects. I would have a dedicated sewing space, everything would be stored nicely and easy to find... That's the end of the realistic expectations. Somehow the optimistic crafter part of my brain also decided that I would choose to finish all my easily noticed half finished projects before starting new ones. The rest of my brain that has always known that the optimistic crafter part was delusional, because no amount of new space or perfect organization will change my habits or personality. Yet I was content to allow optimistic crafter to dream. And now here we are, basement complete, and I do not have a pile of finished projects. It's probably because I don't have my desk yet. I'm quite sure that's when the magic will occur.

The holidays might have broken us this year. I don't know exactly what part, and it could have started earlier than Christmas, but I've noticed that since everyone departed in early January we haven't been able to string together any number of tidy days. Often we can't even get one. There are piles of things that simply don't have homes. There are toys that just get kicked to the side and not dealt with. My counter is never completely clear. Maybe I wasn't as together as I thought I was in the fall, but suddenly I feel much more like Sisyphus than I did 3 months ago. This house is my mountain, and the top (or the floor, I suppose) is not in sight.

I took the crib down this week. Now we wait for God to laugh...

We finished The Whipping Boy and moved on to Tuck Everlasting. I meant to read Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH next, but it was in the basement and it's cold outside. So we're reading Tuck Everlasting now and Mrs. Frisby will have to wait.

Kaitlyn's violin lessons have stalled. She doesn't know what to practice or how to practice, so she doesn't practice and she's not excited to keep trying. I'm not excited to keep pushing, so we're on hold until she's a little older. The older girls have a dedicated practice time now (and a reminder on Alexa to practice), so I'm hoping that their habits will improve. Gretchen is learning Amazing Grace on guitar right now and is pleased that she can play something recognizable.

I am pleased to report that I beat an expert+ level in Beat Saber. This is my new time consuming project. Maybe that's why my house is having trouble.

January 2-9

We had the pleasure of having the Bossards, Smiths, and Fentons here over Christmas break. The Smiths and the Fentons left last Sunday evening, the Bossards left Monday morning. All of the children had a lot of fun playing together during the visit. Julian and Theodore had a tenuous peace, mostly due to the fact that Julian cares about cars and Theodore cares about dinosaurs. Dorothea is the four year old Theodore needs in his life and spent her time marshalling the under 3 crowd into willing followers of her plans. Julian was less interested in these, but Theodore and Annemarie were happy to participate. Matthias and Walter played together for a few days while Kaitlyn was visiting Rudy and then Kaitlyn and Walter played together when she returned. The big kids spent a lot of time playing board games and Legos.

While everyone was here, us women dyed our hair. I have actually had a dark reddish purple streak since September when Sarah (Creighton) and Murry convinced me to dye my hair with them. It was advertised as pink (by Murry, not the box) but was actually burgundy and was very subdued given how dark my hair is. Bryan was very disappointed that my "Anna streak" was barely distinguishable from my normal hair. Since I am now a "person who dyes her hair," he gave me a box of neon pink hair dye for Christmas. Jacque was in for the hair dying adventure and Angelina was up to the challenge of helping us. To get actual pink color, we had to bleach our hair first. One round of bleach on dark hair produces an orangey color, but we were not brave enough to bleach it again in the quest for pale blond. We did do two applications of pink color in an attempt to get it more vibrant, which I think worked. I now have a noticeable pinky orange Anna streak and Jacque has the same color on the underside of her hair. Hers is hidden when her hair is down and mine has a thin layer of uncolored hair over the top so it can be mostly hidden if I try. Angelina and Justine applied pink to unbleached hair and now Angelina has a purplish streak on the underside of her hair. Justine maybe has purple tips, but her hair is too dark to tell. Bryan was excited that we all tried it anyway.

I thought school would resume on Monday, but then Sunday night we discovered that they didn't have to go back until Tuesday, so Monday was a bonus day of vacation. We had Olivia's friend, Elaine, over in the morning and then I ran into the Miroglios at Aldi so Gretchen's friend, Ava, came home with me and stayed for the afternoon.

On Wednesday, Kaitlyn woke up with a sore throat, so I kept her home. That turned out to be a good thing because Wednesday afternoon Jacque called and said they had covid. We scrambled around and found a place to get rapid tests done to see if the girls could still go to school the next day. Seven negative rapid tests. They're half vaccinated and had no symptoms, so they wore masks and went to school. Olivia was very relieved, because she'd just started her two week reign as fourth grade's Big Kahuna and she was worried she'd miss most of it due to quarantine. Kaitlyn stayed home on Thursday as well out of an abundance of caution, but her sore throat was completely gone so she attended on Friday. Bryan did stay confined to bed Thursday morning feeling achy and congested, but he rallied for the afternoon and then was fine Friday except for a slight cough. His usual colds are longer and more severe than that, so we're not convinced he had covid at all. I did have quite a lot of soreness in my left arm at the injection site of my covid booster -- the booster I received before Christmas -- on Wednesday morning (before we found out about the Smiths), which caused Bryan and me to joke about how my vaccine was activating. Other than that weird precognitive display by my arm, though, I've been fine.  We're waiting for lab results to come in, but all of us seem to have missed it.

We have a house blessing this evening and then we have one full normal week of school before MLK Jr Day gives us next Monday off.

Gretchen discovered a hat that used to belong to Justine. It's off white and has a rolled brim. It's quite Gretchen and she loves it and wears it everywhere. It suits her and looks very cute.

Kaitlyn discovered some lens-less glasses that used to belong to me. They're probably from when I was 9, because they're metal frames rather than plastic. They fit Kaitlyn well, though, and she loves them. I fixed the one missing screw and she wears them at home when she remembers they exist.

Matthias spends his days either playing video games or whining about how he wants to play video games. We have rules to cut down on the whining, which work sometimes. Often he'll sneak off and hide under a blanket with his video game of choice and hope that I don't notice the suspicious lump in the middle of the couch. It's a losing battle that I'm tired of fighting so he gets away with it a lot. Perks of being the fourth four year old, I suppose. If I'm willing to devote all my attention to holding his attention, he will deign to play a board game or do a puzzle with me. We tried a 500 piece puzzle together, but that was too intimidating for him. 60-100 pieces is his sweet spot right now, although he wants help for anything with more than 48 pieces. He will happily listen to me read and reluctantly read to me when required. He's making good progress, but I think he's bored with the book choices at his reading level.

Theodore is a great age right now. He's pleasant and fun to be around and does cute things. In the bathtub last night he had a medicine syringe and wanted to shoot water on the wall. I walked him through the steps verbally: Stick it in the water, pull the plunger, point it at the wall, squirt. He got too excited, though, and jumped the gun on the squirt, so by the time it cleared the surface of the water it was empty already. So I showed him. Stick it, pull, point, squirt, stick it, pull, point, squirt. I gave him the syringe. Stick it, pull, stop, stop, STOP, okay now lift it out, lift it, point, squirt! When he was successful, there were peals of laughter. He finally got into a good rhythm and I didn't have to monitor every step. But then, a few minutes later, he'd pull before he hit the water, or squirt before lifting. Then he'd be backwards and no amount of verbal instruction could fix the cycle in his poor little brain. I'd watch him push air bubbles into the bath water, pull the syringe out, point it at the wall, and wait excitedly for the water that never appeared as he yanked back on the plunger. So we'd start over. Two year olds are delightfully dumb sometimes.

We have an Alexa now, and the kids like to play their favorite songs over and over. They have songs from Just Dance, songs from TV shows, and songs that they've heard us play. We listen to a lot of Dinosaurs Marching, Backstreet's Back, Miraculous Theme Song, I'm a Barbie Girl, Soy Yo, Baby Shark, and Oops, I Did it Again. One morning Alexa told me that I could program her to play Dinosaur King Theme Song every morning at 7 am. Did I want to enable this? ... No. On Thursday, Kaitlyn and Matthias managed to get Alexa on a loop and we were on a perpetual Bear Hunt all day long. They didn't even have to keep requesting it. Theodore can almost say "Alexa." It still comes out wrong, so he doesn't get what he wants, but as soon as he masters it there will be no stopping his demands.

We have an Oculus now as well, and it contains the first video game Bryan has found me playing voluntarily when I could be doing something else. Beat Saber is similar to Guitar Hero or Dance, Dance, Revolution, but with light sabers that slice blocks to the rhythm. I'm surprisingly decent at it, especially considering how little time I spend on video games. Will and I decided that having a music background definitely helps. I was excited to be the best person I know, consistently beating levels on hard and working on beating them on expert. Then I found out that James can beat them on expert consistently and I have to be second best. Boo. Olivia has been using the oculus to play mini golf with Opa once or twice a week while they chat. The other kids haven't really gotten into it yet, but their day will come. If anyone else has an oculus and wants to join the mini golf games, let me know.

I've started a new routine of reading aloud to the boys and girls separately before bed. The boys just pick picture books for me to read to them. The girls listen to chapter books that I choose. We've read Where the Red Fern Grows and finished Julie of the Wolves a couple of nights ago. Last night we started The Whipping Boy. Suggestions for future read alouds are welcome. :)

No pictures this week, mostly due to the fact that I dumped over 400 into the last post of 2021. I had to get it done so that I could order my blog book with the New Year's coupon code. Now that's finished and I'm starting 2022 strong with a normal, newsy post. I even went back to my old titles. We'll see how long it lasts. Now to summon the motivation for a Christmas letter...

More Pictures than Anyone Could Possibly Care About

There are over 400 pictures here. Consider yourself warned.

Olivia at school:

Gretchen at school:

Kaitlyn at school:

Pictures at Grandma and Grandpa's:

A project done at the neighbor's house:

With Rudy and August:

Our basement work in progress:

Kids playing on the clubhouse:

Discovering a dinosaur unicorn bone:

Theodore:

A chilly bright week hike:

And a chilly bright week softball game:

Matching masks from Oma!

Gretchen made this dress. It's held together primarily with scotch tape, so durability might be an issue:

Gretchen at a friend's bowling birthday party:

This is not a current picture. Jillian, James, Johannah, fall 2005?

Olivia's piano recital. And with her friend, Elaine. May 2021.

At Bryan's cousin's wedding. June 2021.

Some friends spotted Kaitlyn and Bryan at the store:

The Smiths Visit:

The boys use the rug as a blanket:

New haircuts for the boys! Carrie cut the hair and took the pictures.

Theodore at grandma's house. Probably roaring.

Matthias's birthday:

Pool party at grandma's:

More pictures from grandma and grandpa's:

Dinner at the Met. Not pictured: Bryan. Or dinner.

I can't remember what this picture was supposed to prove.

Matthias's dream vacation with grandma and grandpa:

Baking for the cookie walk:

Kaitlyn and Matthias hold Samuel:

Gretchen reads to her brothers:

I told Bryan not to touch the dough before baking it. He has regrets.

Fancy dresses:

Someone thought our calendar would be better if all the magnets were flipped over.

And oil change:

Planting a forest of maple tresse:

Snow, two days after we planted the trees:

Migraine Johannah looks like a strung out celebrity:

He thinks he fits. He's wrong:

At least Theodore put on boots:

Gretchen's unicorn birthday cake, more pictures of the dinosaur unicorn bone discovery, and other birthday happenings:

A new lego table:

Miscellaneous family pictures:

This is how we discovered that Theodore could open jar lids.

Playing with buckets:

The Weys visit:

Everyone stores their colored pencils in a slice of bread:

Gymnastics awards:

Matthias is very proud of this dragon he got me:

Me: Take this Styrofoam directly to the trash can. Do not shred it all over the floor.

Girls:

Such helpful boys:

Pictures for grandma:

A new project -- extend the patio:

Grandma wanted more options:

Bryan spends a lot of time buried under toys:

Making faces:

Snug as a bug:

We made a dinner cake:

Theodore uses a fancy glass:

Gretchen's summer baseball experience:

Take 9 women to Ikea... Yes, all those carts are ours.

Preparing for a pillow fight:

Adding detail to reverse coloring pages:

More Keshia and Tyler's house pictures:

And more bucket pictures:

Someone got into the pantry:

Zoo pictures:

Twin dinosaurs:

Poor sick baby:

Matthias: Mom, I spy... A ball!

Gretchen's fashion statement:

Matthias got a punching dinosaur for his birthday:

A dinosaur cake:

Kaitlyn's inventinve spelling:

Theodore likes to pick one thing each shopping trip to be his favorite:

4 out of 5 down for the count:

This is life as the fifth:

Relaxing:

Packed to the brim for a week long series of trips:

A failed selfie of 9 people:

Me:

Art projects:

Counting cans:

Olivia is 10:

Kaitlyn and Kevin:

Walter is taller:

The finished patio. We did eventually get rid of the cage.

Picking up uniforms for Kaitlyn:

Theodore found a slug:

Playing in the sprinkler:

Watching a movie:

First (or maybe third?) day of school:

All pictures are growl worthy:

Baking a cake:

Theodore's birthday:

So much regret:

Gretchen took an art class:

Hiding from the video game police:

The gateway color. September 2021.

Mom and Theo:

Curious boys:

Theodore thought he'd improve the calendar:

Pockets!

Matthias shut Theodore in the cage so he could eat his lunch in peace:

I lost Matthias. When I followed the snores, he was rolled up in the rug.

Gretchen got a chance to play goalie:

School pictures:

Reading together:

The girls found dress up clothes from my childhood:

Making applesauce:

A new haircut:

She didn't buy these glasses, but they made her laugh:

Bryan's least favorite place to find children: In the doorway.

Us:

And me:

We rearranged to watch moveis:

Visiting the Bossards:

When Theo's seat faces the front he deals with the sun like this:

Out of batteries:

Organizing Qwirkle:

Playing with the boys:

Samuel at his baptism. Feb 6, 2021.

Olivia at school. May 2021. We need to work on that Aufdemberge slouch:

I fixed our clock to show Matthias's most import ant times of day. Purple is when his sisters come home. Green is when we have screen time. Pink is bedtime.

Enjoying the trampoline on a mild December day:

A roller skating dance party:

Our Christmas picture:

Presents at Grandma and Grandpa's:

Decorating sugar cookies:

Matthias thinks he looks like Uncle Tyler:

Video games:

Ticket to Ride:

A nap in the kitchen:

Full of Christmas spirit:

Thanksgiving with the cousins.

Theodore, Annemarie, and Joseph find a television:

They have their own beds...

Olivia at her November recital. And Matthias's shoes, because he was the photographer.

Theodore and mom:

A marble run:

Dinosaur life:

Joseph and Theodore play cars and piano:

Bryan didn't match the lightbulbs. Now we have a weird spotlight.

A trip to the zoo:

This is how Olivia's fourth grade teacher announces parent teacher conferences:

The boys liked this giant chair. Matthias liked the giant tires:

Gretch:

Cousins:

Christmas pajamas and pictures:

This is not who we expected to catch playing the wii:

Why are we making this face?

The boys leave their beds for a book-filled sleepover on the floor several times a month:

More cookie walk:

Kaitlyn was a sheep in the Christmas concert:

Slippers. Matthias, Kaitlyn, Theodore:

Ugly sweater day:

Someone found his Christmas gift early:

"We're a three headed monster!"

A potholder dinosaur and a backpack full of dinosaurs.

Hair dye adventures:

His mom bought him this shirt and he loves it. No one knows why on either count:

Applying hair chalk:

A cousin picture with hair chalk:

Kaitlyn visits Rudy:

Post bleach, pre pink dye:

Making fudge and reading a book:

Trying to get a Christmas cousin lineup: