Updates on the kiddoes

I decided it was time to post some school pics and just a quick update on what each of the kids is doing.

Aaron just turned 10 in July and he is my scientist, brainiac, let-me-tell-you-about-my-latest-idea, child. He loves to invent, and when he isn't inventing he's reading. He is getting to be quite responsible and is such a help around the house and with Asher. He is such a good big brother...he will take him and change him and play with him. His job is cleaning the bathroom and taking out the trash, and laundry.
Lela is about to be 9 in Oct. And I have really been noticing lately how fast she is growing up. Of course, she has always been my responsible one (even before Aaron ever was) but has gotten more so. I have to always remind myself to not put too much on her and Aaron and to spread the responsibilities to the little ones too. Her job is keeping the beds made and room clean in the bedroom. And laundry. She too loves to read and has recently discovered the prequels to the Little House books..."The Caroline Years"...and is really enjoying them. She loves to design clothes and can't wait for school to start. (We were waiting until Sept. so we actually have about a week left.)

Alyssa is my third, and quite possibly my biggest, book worm. If you can't find her she is on her bed with her nose in a book. Or she is cutting out paper dolls. This child loves to cut stuff out...and it makes the biggest mess, but her attention to detail is pretty amazing. She will turn 8 right after Lela turns 9. Though there is only 13 months between them sometimes I think it seems like a couple years. Ironically, Alyssa has just gone through a growth spurt and has passed Lela up in height, but she is still very much younger in her actions. She is such a contradiction of noticing every little detail and yet being completely oblivious to obvious things. She is very thorough in her work but does tend to take forever....but we are working on that. Her job is to unload the dishwasher and put all the dishes away as well as help with laundry. (EVERYBODY has to help with laundry.=) She is anxious to start school too.

Isaac is 6 and he will be starting first grade. He is so excited. Although he can read basic 3 letter words and is good with knowing his phonics he hasn't had a whole lot of practice reading bigger words and books so we will be focusing on that alot. He can memorize ANYTHING and quotes it at any given time. Sometimes to my great embarrassment, if it happens to be lines from movies. He enjoys jokes and pretending to be cartoon characters. He is learning responsibility with feeding the dog and cleaning off the table.
Levi is 4 now, and in this picture looks so innocent. But he is really a little rascal. haha. He keeps us in stitches with his antics and comments! Everything from sword fighting and a fake british accent to pretending he is Buzz Lightyear or Woody. =) He is so ready to be in "thchool" that I'm going to let him be in pre-school this year. We'll see how much we get done. hmmm.
Ky is about to turn 3 in two weeks. She thinks she was born grown and tries to boss or "mommy" all the others. her jobs involve helping put away laundry and picking up the toys and shoes and books with Levi, as well as other random errands. She is extremely helpful and good at getting what she is sent for, but I have my hands full trying to keep track of where she is and what she is doing. Lots of training going on here. She thinks she is a beautician because she gives herself a haircut about every 6 months or so. I finally had it long enough to all go back in her pony tail when she snipped it again. So I gave her a little chin bob. Here is the picture with her hair cut.

I think it looks pretty cute and is staying out of her face (and food) much better. =)

And HERE is Asher. He is 9 months on Sun. and he just spent the last several weeks cutting 4 teeth. He is our little doll man and is getting so mobile. He pull up on everything now and is all over the place if I ever let him out of the playpen. He is still such a jolly baby and loves to jabber and imitate sounds and faces. He has learned how to clap his hands too and says "yay, yay".

About a week ago, Pete called me up out of the blue and offered to keep the kids if Ed and I wanted to go out somewhere. Well, we had been trying to plan one but were having a hard time trying to figure when we could get a babysitter. ( I'm pretty picky about who I leave them with and I hate to ask family too much...) So anyway, needless to say we took him up on the offer. (He is such a sweet brother... Holly would have helped but she was at work.) I decided to take Asher along as I didn't want to rush back and I figured he would be hungry if I didn't ( he is eating some solid foods now but still nurses pretty often). So he came with us and it was still fun. He is just one child and he isn't running around yet. =) Well, we took our time and enjoyed ourselves, and the minute we walked in the door Asher starts bouncing up and down and squealing and laughing like he hadn't seen the kids in forever! I couldn't believe it. Then we realized he has probably never been alone with us with out the kids that he can remember. It was adorable! He was soooo excited to see his brothers and sisters again. =)

Anyway...I have tons more to tell but that will have to wait. This was just about the kids!