January 30

Last week in Classical Conversations, the kids learned about the states of matter. You know: solid, liquid, gas, plasma?
Then we watched a Bill Nye the Science Guy episode about the same thing, and it mentioned making rock candy as an experiment. The kids were stoked, and we promptly began our experiment. Then we read the last step, which was "Wait 3-7 days".

Whomp, whomp, whooommmmp.

But today was 7 days, and we pulled our sticks out of the sugary goo to find rock candy! Hooray!
I'm not sure why I'm sharing this photo. Maybe it's the rock candy + liquid sugar + slice of cheddar cheese on her plate. Or maybe it's her funny shirt.
Or maybe it's the creamy quality of her skin.

Happy girl with homemade rock candy!

Happy boy who needs a haircut!

Yum. 
Right after this she asked me to put the pictures on Facebook. Will do, child.

Honestly, I thought the rock candy was unimpressive. I was expecting bigger sticks. But the kids were thrilled.

Then Eli woke up and was fussing and only wanted to be held.
Normal.
Except that when I offered to wrap him on my back like I always do, he actually agreed!
My 2 year old is letting me wrap him again!

OK, so I might have had to feed him some crackers to get him up in the world's sloppiest ruck.

He quickly wanted down, so I unwrapped him.
Then HE WANTED TO GO BACK UP!!!

Hooray! 
I love his mischievous little face peeking over my shoulder.

Maybe our babywearing days aren't over yet, after all!

January 29

Yesterday I wrote about how we celebrated Eli's second birthday, but it only involved one extended family member. Our families would never let us skip a birthday gathering, so tonight after dinner we had everyone over for cupcakes and presents.

Caleb, Daisy and Lily were really interested in buying gifts for Eli, which made my heart so happy! But then I thought about bringing more stuff into our home, and I thought about all the toys we already have that go un-played with, and I came up with a brilliant idea. I suggested that maybe the kids could find toys around the house that Eli might like; perhaps even toys he had never played with before.
They were off and running, and after shopping the house they had lots of great gifts for Eli. They even helped themselves to gift bags and tissue paper, and wrapped everything. The whole thing was an all-around win for me, because they handled it all themselves and I didn't have to lift a finger.

I still haven't taken Eli's official 2-year pictures, but after Daisy showed him what to do, he was eager to pose for the traditional picture in front of the chalkboard.
Seriously. How cute is this child?
Oh, did you notice the felt birthday crown I made for him? He decided he didn't like it, but was willing to wear it for pictures. I love this boy. Also, he's wearing his Superman shirt because he is currently obsessed with Superman.

These are all of the "gifts" the big kids found and wrapped for Eli. 
(I promise I edited this picture. I have no idea why it is so dark and yellow.)

I asked Eli what kind of cake he wanted, and he said, "Chokkit", so I gave the boy chocolate. 

I think he was a bit overwhelmed by all of the attention.

But he did a great job blowing out his candles!

And he thoroughly enjoyed that chokkit.

(His lip!)

Yum.

It was a fun - and rowdy - evening because Ryan, Max, and Jace were here. These kids have so much fun with their cousins!

Then Eli got to open his eight million presents. Some, like the Duplos above, were actually legitimate gifts from other family members. At bedtime, Eli told me that these Legos were his favorite gift.

Do you see how Caleb, Lily, and Daisy are all crowded around Eli? They were so excited to watch him open the presents they had found for him!

Grandmother gave Eli this latch board. Daisy had the same one at her preschool, so she was excited to show him how to use it.

Emily, Billy, and boys gave Eli a cool drill and tool set, and Jace explained how things worked.

Grandpa took a break from a wild game of whole-house hide-and-seek to help Eli with his latch board.

We had so much fun celebrating our two-year-old!

January 28

Happy birthday to Eli! Somehow I forgot to take a picture of him last night as his "Last picture as a one-year-old", and I still haven't taken his two-year pictures. I also forgot to hang balloons in his doorway this morning, but since he's still in a crib I figure it isn't that big of a deal? Such is the plight of a fourth child.

We did plan our day to be full of adventures, though. Today was cold and gray, but we spent quite a bit of time outside anyway. In the morning we went to a nearby ice festival, where we could watch ice carvers at work.
The kids were totally into this! I love getting to this competition in the morning, because you can really see how the carvers are sculpting their art out of simple blots of ice.

Lily is modeling one of the hats Grandpa gave her. She's totally focused on the carvers! Also, Chris and his cinched up hoodie hoods makes me cringe every time. But hey - I love the man, so I guess I have to deal with it.

Fire pits were a welcome relief!

My only explanation for this face is that he's seven and a half. Also, another Grandpa hat.

This carver and sculpture were our favorite.

And then my mom joined us! Lily and Caleb ran to her.

Caleb and Daisy are always excited to poke their faces through signs.

They also took advantage of the fact that Eli and Lily - who typically hog all of Grandma's attention - were with Chris and me. They soaked in their Grandma time!

Eli has been fighting being worn lately, but he didn't complain at all when I put him up on my back in my wrap strap meh dai. Really, he had the best seat in the house! This was my first time wearing a child when we each had a puffy coat on; usually I put my coat over the both of us, but this worked pretty well.

When we got home, I turned on Eli's first year video, and the kids had so much fun watching pictures of their baby brother.

Eli really enjoyed the pictures of himself, too.

While the little ones napped, the big ones and I went grocery shopping and Chris put an extra seat in our van. We got home just in time to load up in the van and head out for an evening hike. A near-ish conservation area was hosting a guided nighttime hike focusing on owls and maple syrup and ending with hot cocoa. Chris was skeptical about the owl part, but since Eli really loves hiking, we went. Even better, my mom came along with us!

Mom snapped this picture of us right before the hike began, at dusk. We had headlamps, and the kids were wearing snow pants and three layers of clothing to keep them warm. Eli rode on my back in the meh dai, and Lily was on Chris' back in the Lillebaby CarryOn Air. The hike was only 1.5 miles, and we were really excited!

Eli insisted on his doggy hat and a head lamp of his own.

Goodness, he's cute!

There was actually a pretty large group; it was maybe 30 people? There was a group of boys Caleb's age, but otherwise ours were the youngest children there. Chris let Lily walk some of the time, and wore her on his back the rest of the time. See her in the light pink coat, Caleb in maroon, and Daisy in bright pink above?
You can also see my mom above. She is such a good sport! I was so proud of how she soldiered through the hike, which was more challenging than I anticipated, despite her knee replacement surgery four months ago.

Daisy was a champ during our hike. She complained a little bit, but did a really great job.

Number one hiker of the night went to Caleb, though. He had so much fun, and was totally engaged the whole time. Sadly, this is my last picture because... the sun set. We scrambled up a muddy hill, walked along a high ridge, and even saw an owl! (Lily was on Chris' back when we saw the owl, and she was definitely scared. Everyone else was fine.) Mom got a great workout, but managed to keep up with everyone. 
And Eli? Every time our group stopped to talk or look at something, he shouted, "Keep hiking! Keep hiking!" A couple of times, he cheerfully informed me, "I hiking, Mama! I hiking!" I think it was a good birthday adventure for him.
After the hike (and hot cocoa), we stopped at a nearby restaurant for dinner. They didn't have many dessert options, so we stopped somewhere else for chocolate chip cookies on the way home. And that is how we celebrated sweet Eli's second birthday.



January 27

Eli turns two years old tomorrow, so he had his two-year well check today. He was not particularly cooperative, but we were able to get his stats. He clocks in at 24.25 pounds, 33.5 inches tall, and 19" head circumference. His height and weight are both between 20-25th percentiles, and his head is well over 50th percentile. Developmentally, he is right on track! My 35-week preemie is a real boy now.

Tonight was the Pinewood Derby for Caleb's Cub Scout Pack. Like last year, Chris got a car kit for Daisy, too, and had enough scrap wood to make another car for Lily. The girls were so excited!
Eli was really interested in the proceedings, too. Look at how he sat so nicely watching the cars!

Caleb's car performed really well! He won all of his races, but his times weren't fast enough to make it to the top eight.

That's his car, zooming to take the lead! (I somehow forgot to take "glamour shots" of his car.)

How sweet are they? Caleb was either really proud that his siblings were there, or really anxious around his peers and more comfortable with the little ones. 

The girls had to wait to the very end to race their cars. Lily's won. She didn't understand this, but Daisy sure did. 

January 26

Gymnastics Day!
Gymnastics Day!
Gymnastics Day!

The kids love Gymnastics Day even more now that our class is super-small and comprised only of friends who are about the same age as them.

Eli is totally into all things gymnastics.

What? You want a video of him? Of course!


I also have video of Daisy:

No video of Caleb or Lily, but they were there. Caleb is interested in the "Ninja Classes" the gym offers, but I think he'll be disappointed when he realizes that they are more like "American Ninja Warrior" and not like the Lego Ninjago books and TV shows he loves.

They always sing the bumblebee song and get stamps at the end of class.

I love that Eli gets to participate, too!

January 25

We had a busy morning today. It was my first babywearing meeting as an educator, and my first meeting as the meeting leader. Unfortunately, my kids are starting to hate going to meetings. They have to sit and entertain themselves (in a nicely stocked play area) for 2.5 hours, and that's rough. 

In an attempt to make things easier for them, we stopped at the library on our way to the meeting and picked up some new books.
New library books make everything better!

They were so excited about their books that they sat down under the library self check-out station and started reading before I could even finish checking out books! I love that I'm raising little readers.

The meeting was hectic, but fine. Afterwards, Eli was a goof.

He's not supposed to sit on the couch like this, but he was so cute and proud of himself that I had to take a picture.

I'm not entirely sure what happened to his pants, but he is really proud of his (much too small, newborn-sized) penguin socks.

After dinner tonight, the kids rode scooters in the basement. It's a normal thing around here, but I realized I've never photographed it.

This is why I've never photographed it. Yucky light, hectic surroundings, embarrassing basement.

But happy kids, who are getting really good at scooter-ing in tight spaces! (Daisy is ready to move up to a big kid scooter. Maybe she'll get one for her birthday!)

Oh, and this. Eli needed some fresh air on his bottom, so he had naked time in the basement. His little cheeks are too cute!