Nathan is 3.5!

Nathan, at 3.5 years old you weigh 41.2 lb and are 42 3/8" tall.  You are my big boy!  You are
comfortably wearing your 5T clothing and should be wearing size 10 shoes...but Matthew still has them as his indoor shoes.  We are waiting patiently for school to be over, and then you can have those.

{Liam, Nathan, Jackson}

Nathan, at 3.5 years old, you grasp concepts and absorb information so quickly.  You never cease to amaze me with the words you use.  "Mom, I'm frustrated!" I heard you exclaim when something wasn't working the way you wanted it to.  You print your name in uppercase letters with ease; now I'm working on getting you to write it smaller so that it can fit in one row.  You also started trying to print your name using a lowercase 'a' and 'h'.  You saw how Matthew and Kayla formed those letters and have copied them.  You can count up to 30.  You don't quite know how to read numbers higher than 10, but ask me all the time what different combinations of numbers mean so I'm sure it won't be long before you know.

You aren't scared to talk to kids older than you, and aren't afraid to ask questions in a large group of people.  You are the only one of your siblings that will talk to your older Struik cousins without needing encouragement to, and you frequently are blurting out answers or asking questions in Children's Church, in front of the church during the children's message, or during Noah's Ark Learning Start or Family Storytime.  It's cute.  You are also very confident during performances in front of the church, singing/talking as loud as you can.

You like to run.  During a recent visit to Tynehead you practically ran the whole loop.  You enjoy riding your bike, and had no problem when we moved you up to a 14" bike from your 12" bike.

Nathan, you still love everything "princess".  Ariel is your favourite.  You love dressing up in princess dresses or playing barbies with your cousin, Liam.  You like to pretend your barbies are getting married.

You love watching movies, often suggesting that we have "movie night" downstairs in the basement.

You thrive with routine.  If you had your way, you would eat the exact same thing for breakfast (a bowl of Froot Loops and a banana) and lunch (a slice of bread with chocolate icing) every. single. day.  If something different is being offered for lunch, we have to lie and say that all the chocolate icing is gone, otherwise you will throw a fit.  Dinnertime has been very interesting this past month.  Even though you are the most independent child of our so far, you are the most dependent at dinnertime.  You claim that you cannot feed yourself and proceed to throw a huge crying fit.  I have cracked down on you this past month, so we have had even more tears as you beg for me to help you eat.  I refuse.  You are given a deadline and if you haven't finished your dinner by that time, there is some sort of consequence (not going outside after dinner, not watching a movie, no dessert, etc).  So far, you've managed to get every last bite in your mouth just before time is up.  Some nights you even completely undress at the dinner table after everyone else have left and moved on to other activities, hoping that we will pay attention to you if you are sitting there naked.  To your chagrin, we just ignore you.  :)

You fall asleep very quickly each night, even if Olivia is still talking.  You've started waking up in the middle of the night on a regular basis, and then you come and sleep on our floor for the rest of the night.  You seem to have no problem with lying on the floor, so I haven't tried to send you back to your own room.

Nathan, you love Olivia SO MUCH.  You like to call her, "Olivie" for short, and smother her with hugs and kisses.  Every morning when you wake up you give her your baby, puppy, and blankie.

You are definitely a great child, with a frustrating side :).  I really look forward to seeing how you develop and learn these next six months!

Olivia is 20 Months Old!

Olivia, at 20 months old you weigh 25.6  lb and are 33 5/8" tall.  You are comfortably in your 2T clothes and have started wearing size 7 shoes.

You are quite something.  When I'm asked what your personality is like, there are two words I like to give: sweet and stubborn.  You can be the cutest little girl with the sweetest little giggle when you are in a good mood, but when you are not, watch out!  You are stubborn!  You know what you want and you don't like to be told otherwise.  You have started hitting or crying/yelling to express your anger.  I had a fifteen minute battle with you the other day at the greenhouses when you didn't want to ride your bike; you wanted to be carried.  You picked the wrong person to fight with, because I too, am stubborn!  You screamed for fifteen minutes in the middle of shipping until you finally realized that I wasn't going to give in to you and you started to bike.  If you are refusing to listen to/do what I ask of you, a quick threat of being put to bed usually gets you to cooperate.

You LOVE being outside.  Often you cry when we walk from the car to the house because you just don't want to go inside.  We walked at Tynehead this past weekend and you ran 2/3 of it.  I'm not kidding.  You were in your element!  Just like Nathan at your age, you can often be found walking in the house with your boots on, waiting for someone to let you outside.  You are quickly figuring out how to jump on the trampoline.

{Olivia and Emma}

Your talking has really started to come along.  You can often be heard babbling away, and are gaining confidence in your ability to repeat words that are asked of you.  Off of the top of my head, your vocabulary includes:
Mommy, Daddy, Riley, help, me, mine, donkey, bunny, dog, bottle, baby, bike, car, boat, train, choo choo, colour, ball

{Olivia and Riley}

You love colouring.  Any time one of the older kids is colouring at the kitchen table, you can be found right there with them.  Now I just have to teach you how to put the marker lids on all the way!

You also love going swimming.  You have no fear.  You love going down the slide and going completely under the water.  I switched you over from your ring floaty to puddle jumpers and it took you a couple minutes to figure out how to balance yourself in the water with them, but then you were totally fine.  You throw a huge tantrum when we have to get out of the pool, regardless of how long we've been in there.  You tantrum the entire time you are being changed, and the entire time everyone else is getting changed.

You willingly let me do your hair each morning, which is wonderful.

You love bath time, even though you are often squished in with your older siblings.  You have recently discovered that it's fun to lay on your tummy in the bathtub and push yourself forwards and backwards.

You have begun to sleep through the night again, since your soother was taken away a month and a half ago.  There are still times when you wake up during the night crying, and if I'm in a tired daze I just end up taking you in bed with Daddy and I.  If I'm alert enough, I make you stay in your own crib.  Poor child, you don't know which version of me you are going to get each time!

Matthew and Kayla are SIX!

I can't believe Matthew and Kayla are six.  Each day/week/month/year seems to go so quickly (but slow at the same time!).  I read through their entry from when they were five, and I feel like they haven't really changed; their personalities are very much the same, they are just a little bit bigger and a little bit smarter.

{After completing a homework assignment for Kindergarten which required pictures of them, I realized that I hadn't taken many of them together over the past year.  I've since tried to ensure I get one every few months!}

MATTHEW

Matthew weighs 41.2 lb and is 44 3/4" tall.  He is at the end of his size 5 clothes and is in the beginning of size 6.  He wears size 11 or 12 shoes.

Matthew is very entertaining.  When he is in a great mood, he is extremely happy.  His eyes just light up when he is excited or when he thinks something someone has done or said is funny.  When he is angry the look he can give is priceless.  A few times he has thrown his arms down by his sides and growled at me.  As much as he wants to hate me sometimes, he just can't bring himself to do it.  When Matthew's in a bad mood, him and Jon don't work so well together.  Jon realizes when it's happening and is quick to let me takeover, which is good.

Matthew has the world's greatest laugh!  Always has, and I guess always will.  He is the best person to watch a funny cartoon or movie with because he laughs so quickly.  Kayla and Nathan typically follow his lead - when he laughs, they start too with their semi-forced laughs.

Matthew is a quick learner.  His reading is really taking off, with him sounding out words all the time.  Whether it be on tv, in a book, or on a building while we are driving, he is not scared to sound them out.  He loves counting and doing math.  I feel like if I sat down with him and actually worked with him he would be so much further then where he is...but I'm not in a rush for him to grow up.  His penmanship is on the messy side because he just doesn't care.  He's learned to print his name smaller so that he can always fit it in one line, and now he just needs to work on neatness.  He also doesn't care if he goes out of the lines when colouring... he's just proud when he actually finishes a picture.  He loves doing mazes, and completes even the more difficult ones with ease.

{Taken in the fall}

He is a great runner.  He is okay at swimming; he doesn't have the body strength to swim the distances that Kayla can, but that's okay.  He also doesn't have the same drive to do it perfectly, which is okay, too (or so I tell myself!).  He's taken a liking to skipping rope and hitting a baseball, but doesn't do either for too long at a time.  It will be nice this spring and summer when I can maybe focus on playing sports outside with him.  He has completed one set of skating lessons, and improved immensely.  He had to get over his fear of getting hurt when he falls.  Even still, each time he gets on the ice he's super cautious until his confidence gets back up.  He was extremely proud of himself for passing preschool one and preschool two in one set!  Since he's six now he can't participate in the preschool levels and has to join the 'big' kids.

{Running around the 'Little Park' near our house}

Matthew loves babies.  He loved Riley last summer and has started to love Brayden now.  He talks to them so sweetly.  He loves helping Jackson when they go to Children's Church, whether it be holding a door open for him or helping him get his donation money out of his pocket.

Matthew loves girls.  He always plays with girls at school, and has recently developed a close friendship with a girl, Sophie.  She isn't even in his class!  They play together every recess and he even invited her to his birthday party.  I knew that they had held hands before (that's how he kept his hands warm during recess in the winter), but when I was doing his birthday interview with him (below) I found out that they have kissed!  After we had finished I nicely explained that he shouldn't kiss anyone that's not a family member until he's 15.

Matthew can be extremely good at eating, or extremely frustrating.  If he's in a good mood and loves what has been made for dinner, he eats it eagerly and asks for seconds and is proud of how he is going to be so big.  If he doesn't like it or is just plain grumpy, he takes forever, while climbing all over his chair.

He LOVES getting his back scratched.  He will sit on your lap and lift up his shirt so that you'll know to scratch.

KAYLA

Kayla weighs 46.8 lb and is 46 3/4" tall.  She typically wears size 6 clothes, but has started with some size 7s.  She wears size 13 shoes.

Kayla continues to be the easiest child to parent.  She is a happy child, loves to do things correctly, follows rules, and helps out when asked to.  She is seldom in trouble.  Even if there are instances where she needs any sort of disciplining it doesn't take much to make her realize that what she has done was not acceptable.  That happens like twice a year though (no exaggerating there!).

She loves stuffed animals, and has really taken a liking for Beanie Boos.  Her collection is up to three!  Her favourite thing to do is crafts, which unfortunately I don't let her do often enough.  The mess she (and the others who then also want to craft) makes just frustrates me.  I can't stand a mess!  Every now and then I give in to her pleas, and silently curse as I clean up after them as it's often just easier to do it myself.

Kayla loves to draw.  Every day she's drawing something.  She doesn't come up with ideas easily on her own, so often draws what she's seen someone else draw.

{Taken in the Fall}

She is very neat at printing, and will quickly correct how she forms a letter when I point it out to her.

Kayla loves socks.  If I could let her choose any clothing from a store, she would choose socks.  That girl has more socks than anyone else I know.

Kayla does not like to sing.  Even with encouragement, she barely moves her mouth and you can't hear a word.

Kayla can be extremely crazy, if she's in the mood.  When she's in the mood, she makes Matthew laugh so much.  She just talks silly and pretends to be weird.  She also loves to bug me by repeating everything I say, word for word.  So annoying!

Kayla struggles somewhat socially in school (in my opinion), because she is quite shy.  Matthew has abandoned her for Sophie, so I'm trying to encourage her to make sure she asks another kid in their class if she can join in their play, rather than just running around by herself.  She doesn't seem to mind when she is by herself, but I feel like I need to keep reminding her to have the confidence to play with others.  My Mom says I was the same way at school and I never once felt alone at school...I was just content to not have a best friend and just played with whomever was in my class that year.  I still don't have many friends, and am perfectly content :).  Anyways, that turned out to not be much about Kayla anymore!

She is my best eater!  She eats everything without complaints and super quickly.  There have been a couple instances where Jon has made dinner too spicy, and if Kayla complains, then I don't force her to eat it.  The boys complain way more often for no reason, so they have to eat everything unless Kayla has an issue with it.  I trust her and her reactions to situations/foods.

{That's pretty much the extent of my cake decorating each birthday.  Prepare a box mix, add some store-bought icing, throw a figurine of their 'theme' on there with some candies and candles and voila!  They're happy with it so that's perfect for me.}

{Matthew struggled in blowing out his candles.  Then the mention of all his girlfriends he would have made him laugh and so blowing out was useless at that point.}

BIRTHDAY INTERVIEWS:

1. What's your name?  Matthew

2. How old are you?   6
3. What is your favourite color?  White, blue, and yellow, and light pink   
4. What is your favourite toy?   Nerf Gun
5. What is your favourite fruit?   Kiwi
6. What is your favourite tv show or movie?  Mr. Maker and Finding Dory   
7. What is your favourite game?   Candyland
8. What is your favourite animal?   Dog and a cat
9. What is your favourite song?   Jingle Bells
10. What is your favourite book?   Let's Find My Bear (...where can he be?...I remember that.)
11. Who is your best friend?  Sophie
12. Who are you going to marry?   I don't know!
13. How many kids are you going to have when you are married?   I don't know.  10.
14. What is your favourite thing to eat for breakfast?   Kiwi (??)
15. What is your favourite cereal?   Corn Pops
16. What is your favourite thing to eat for lunch?  Fruit  
17. What is your favourite thing to eat for dinner?   Chicken Strips and Fries.  Wait!  Soup!
18. What is your favourite thing to do outside?   Run
19. What is your favourite drink?   That is something cold.  Or if it's something hot I would say hot chocolate.  Milk and water and juice.
20. What is your favourite snack?   Fruit
21. When is your bedtime?  7 o'clock.  Wait.  8 o'clock.
22. What do you like to take to bed with you at night?  My baby
23. What is your favourite holiday?  Going to Disneyland 
24. What do you want to be when you grow up?   To be a policeman
25. Name one thing you do really well?   Doing school
26. What makes you feel sad?  When someone hurts me
27. What makes you feel happy?  When someone kisses me.  (Me: Has anyone kissed you?  Matthew: Ya.  Me: Sophie?  Matthew: Ya, and hug!  Me: Kissed you where?  Matthew: I think on my lips.)
28. If you could choose a different name, what would you choose?  Name (?) 
29. Where do you want to go on vacation?   To Disneyland
30. What is your favourite thing to do?   Play at recess.  Run around with Sophie.
31. What is your favourite thing to do with Mom?   Cuddle with you
32. What is your favourite thing to do with Dad?   Hit him
33. What's your favourite thing to do with your siblings?   Hit Nathan.  Hug Kayla.  Kiss Olivia.

1. What's your name?  Kayla
2. How old are you?   6
3. What is your favourite color?   Pink
4. What is your favourite toy?   I don't know
5. What is your favourite fruit?   Strawberry
6. What is your favourite tv show or movie?  A unicorn movie
7. What is your favourite game?   Sneaky Squirrel.  Uno.
8. What is your favourite animal?   Dog
9. What is your favourite song?   Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
10. What is your favourite book?   Don't have one
11. Who is your best friend?  Remy and Carly
12. Who are you going to marry?   I don't know
13. How many kids are you going to have when you are married?   3
14. What is your favourite thing to eat for breakfast?   Toasted peanut butter and jam.
15. What is your favourite cereal?   Captain Crunch
16. What is your favourite thing to eat for lunch?  Wraps
17. What is your favourite thing to eat for dinner?   Soup
18. What is your favourite thing to do outside?   Rollerblade
19. What is your favourite drink?   Lemonade.  I mean fruit punch
20. What is your favourite snack?   Freezie
21. When is your bedtime?   7 0'clock
22. What do you like to take to bed with you at night?  Dot
23. What is your favourite holiday?   Monday
24. What do you want to be when you grow up?   Police girl
25. Name one thing you do really well?   Rollerblading
26. What makes you feel sad?  When someone hits me
27. What makes you feel happy? When someone does a joke
28. If you could choose a different name, what would you choose?  Sanna   
29. Where do you want to go on vacation?   Disneyland
30. What is your favourite thing to do?   Go rollerblading
31. What is your favourite thing to do with Mom?   A craft
32. What is your favourite thing to do with Dad?   Rollerblading
33. What's your favourite thing to do with your siblings?   Play Sneaky Squirrel

No Soother Update

After just over a month, Olivia has now fully adjusted to not having a soother.  A MONTH!  She has slept through the night for the past three nights, which has been wonderful.  My timing in taking her soother away may not have been the best, because since then she has cut three teeth.  She has been my worst teether, so it must have been a little harsh for her to teeth while not having her soother.  Oh well.  We persevered!  We've also discovered that she falls asleep best if put in bed on her tummy.  That was a game changer, too!