Keeping up with the Kiddos: Rainbow Fish & Company

Christmas seems like ages ago. We have busted into the markers, erected the Lego kits, worn the socks. Kids have aged and life has changed. Let’s talk about that.

First, we pre-gamed by Christmas-tailgating all around Stark County. Christmas parties at work, at the pregnancy center, at church, the Timken pancake breakfast, and let’s not forget the Home Depot. A festivus to celebrate fake beards, granulated sugar, and the Nativity story. There was ample crafting and story-telling to adjoin the advent season. Everyone was more than capable of opening their own presents on Nuclear Christmas, we didn’t break a single ornament, and no one peed in their matching jammies.

Catching a falling goober stack

Undisclosed beverages at Timken

Sometimes they forget letters...
but I like to think they're saving them up for their future

He won Most Improved Santa at the company picnic

Our eastward December travels, as expected, included much singing, whistling, rejoicing, chocolate, and a bout of Covid. In Greensburg, Aunt Courtney received much love from the long-separated youngsters. Together with Mimi & Grandpap, we had a great visit to the Hartland’s Eve party and seeing Pappy & Kathy. In the down time, we enjoyed massive amounts of cookies & popcorn and time with the newest game, Quoridor, along with standards like Catan and Sleeping Queens. The kids re-mastered the “Aladdin game” (a glum little bonus feature (video game?) controlled by 3 buttons on a DVD remote) and 1000-piece puzzles while building the best marble track in town.

Petting the lamb

Number one priority in Carlisle was Baby Noah, the fashion icon, the stud muffin, the paparazzi puffball. We also enjoyed a few game and drinks, and perhaps a tractor ride (or 7) intermixed with wood splitting and fence fixing. Our trip over the hills to Gram’s house wouldn’t have been complete without a few vomit comets demanding a pull-over, but we all enjoyed pizza and punch either way.

Petting the babe

Since then, there’s been a tidal wave of activities. Sophia’s ballet recital concluded around Christmas and spring dance has resumed. Rainbow Fish the Musical started, rehearsed and finished all within the confines of this writing, featuring two young fancy guppies that look familiar. Elia played volleyball, we all learned to celebrate Wednesday nights with AWANA scripture memorization and parental date nights, and of course piano practice is still a thing. A bit of a lull since the musical, but we’re gearing up for more sports and soon, summer camps.

The Cast!

The Cheerleaders!

Dad had some great trips to visit Aunt Courtney in Orlando, and a youth retreat soon after while Mom gracious watched children. Now Dad’s up to the same (with Mimi’s help) as Mom visits Iowa for the last. time. ever. Among the trips, we’ve received quite a few visitors as well. Mimi & Grandpap visited for a weekend in January to celebrate 33 years of something…at a fancy barn nonetheless! The Dombachs and Josephs came in for the musical weekend and Big Nugget’s 9^th birthday (and for some helpful babysitting while Mom and Dad got uber elegant for a wedding). The Wontrop clan spent a recent weekend as well, bringing their love of kids and board games en route to see close friends before transferring to the UK this summer.

King's Landing

Same picture at Disney Springs, 25 years later

Since You've Been Gone (I can feast for the first time)

Elia has made a big step in her faith this spring, publicly praying “the sinner’s prayer” during a Parkside morning service altar call, and inviting Jesus into her life. She is learning quite a bit from AWANA, Dad’s dinner devotions, and her own personal reading of the Bible. We have many more years ahead of cultivating her faith (and she, ours), but we are super grateful for the ones we’ve had and how the Lord has used them. Now she’s 9 and ready to earn money doing all the things 8-year-olds can’t do, so hire her if you’re ready! We went to Waffle House to celebrate, and she ate 75% of the biggest meal they offer. She loves dessert, Legos, board games, audiobooks, crafting, and making up games and stories like the creative leader that she is. Questioning everything, missing nothing.

Happy 9th birthday, love WH

She picked out those glasses in 2 minutes.
Wedding dresses should be a breeze.

Sophia prefers paper books and reads them like her mother—her chapter books are bigger than the ones I read. Other than that, she’ll do the same as Elia. And did I mention Roller Coaster Tycoon? A favorite for them both. She can do all chores through Mom who gives her cleaning supplies, and has proved very helpful at more than just sweeping the dining room. Now (between all our kids) we get the dishes unloaded (and sometimes dirty dishes loaded), baseboards wiped, bathrooms cleaned, laundry folded, breakfasts made, sweeping, wiping and shoes put away. Kids be brushing their own teeth and getting in their own jammies. What else is there? We pray with them all each night, after which Sophia prays for Dad the same, “I hope you are happy for all your days,” before our final hymn. Amen.

The day she accidentally dressed up
(and styled her hair) as Thing #2

Cake, all part of this balanced breakfast.

Ezra, what a buddy. He is the liveliest, happiest, funniest, smartest puppy in our whole family. If it were acceptable to jump on couches and talk about butts at the table, he would reach boyhood nirvana. He likes to maximize time with boy cousins and church friends, you know, for sword fighting and chasing, so he definitely enjoys time with Luke and Peter & Noah, and will all the more in coming years when the age gap is less daunting. With the girls, he joins in where he can with princess tales and Sleeping Queens (his favorite game), but also spends every afternoon building wooden train tracks, playing with Legos, organizing toy cars, and listening to his Yoto player stories while dressed up as Batman.

I swear we feed them real food.

Again, I am smart-shamed by
the enormity of my kids' books

Summer, what a doll! Her hair is finally long enough to pony tail, but still she maintains what we call the “frizz halo”, from post-bath day #2 and beyond. She has a fun little feature where she yells a parent’s name really loud to get their attention and, once captured, proceeds with her request well below an audible volume. Dimmy is getting quite into her marker art and princess stories, but is the biggest fan ever of anything that is on TV. Her preference is Bluey and Gabby’s Dollhouse for now (still hasn’t tried Law and Order: Special Victims Units). She now gets her tiny toddler bed all to herself in the small far corner of the giant guest room, just she and her Calico Critters. She won the Cute Cherub award for the 4^th year running, still a shoe-in for the 5^th.