They Grow Up So Fast!

So since I blog about once a year about the family, I figure I better give an update on all the kiddos.

Let's start with Hailey.  This year she turned 8 and one of the first questions everyone asked was when she was getting baptized.  Well, she still hasn't.  It's not that she doesn't want to, but we want her to really understand what she's doing and she's not quite there yet.  She's getting closer, but we don't want to do it just because most kids do at 8.  She's different, and so we are going to wait until she is ready.  We struggled with great difficulty in her transition to public school last year and it wasn't until the end of the year we started getting teacher notes like this:

The beginning of the school year was more of me, getting phone calls every single day to come pick up my daughter because she just couldn't be handled.  It was a lot of work.  Because of how many difficulties she was having with her peers and what was expected of her we decided to hold her back and repeat the 3rd grade this year.  So she skipped 1st grade, but then repeated 3rd, so she's back with other kids her age.  She knows all the curriculum already, and I am still a little concerned about her being challenged enough, but I am happy to say I think we have her paired with a great teacher.  Even the first week of school which was really a challenge didn't produce any phone calls where I was needed and not once did she leave the school on her own.  (Yes, she did that in Roosevelt.  Not the best phone call to get.  "Hello, Mrs. Pratt? Your autistic daughter left the school grounds and we were wondering if you could come help us find her.")

She really enjoys going to school and every day she's told me "School was great!"  I ask her to elaborate and why was it so great and she says, "Mom, it was just so great I can't even remember."

Thankfully her very awesome teacher sends me emails almost every day telling me about any problems, and let's me know when Hailey really does have a super great day.

Hailey has decided she's not really a fan of riding bikes, and has no interest in taking off those training wheels, but she does love to run.  A girl after my own heart. 

She actually took fourth in the kids fun run race we did and she says that's because she fell or she definitely would've made top 3.

Hailey still LOVES the same things she did a couple years ago.  

She's really into Bad Kitty (even though a lot of kids have no idea who that is),  

Angry Birds,

Lego Friends

And writing stories.  I find out the most about my daughter through the stories she writes.  She's an amazing author and I love how she has a way to really express the way she's feeling inside when she doesn't know how to sit down and tell me about it.  (I love how she knows her Daddy will stick up for her.)

She tells me that when she grows up she is going to be one of two things: an author, 

Or a Gluten-Free Chef that owns her own restaurant. 

She loves chocolate, and a Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake with Bad Kitty in fondant, really made her birthday.

Oh, Luke.  He tells everyone his real name is Luke Skywalker Pratt.  We have many people who believe him.  He's into any kind of action packed super hero.  He is usually wearing a cape, or a mask, or hulk muscles, or an iron man costume, carrying a sword, or gun, or light saber, or maybe Captain America's shield or maybe an assortment of all of the above (he's not too picky.)

He definitely keeps us on our toes.  Last year we received a diagnosis of ADHD Combined.  We haven't really done anything with that quite yet, since we have been able to keep a handle on it, however, we are looking into other options because this happy go-getter is a pretty sad little fella after he gets frustrated.  That however, will be another post.  

He's still the Lego master, the things he comes up with amaze me.  He really loves Lego Ninjago, because it combines fighting and weapons and legos, how can he resist?

He's also quite the artist.  He really expresses himself best through pictures, drawings, and creations.  He's not a fan of school and try as I might to get the kids excited about school, he just isn't a fan.  I have a feeling he will always be one of those kids who's favorite subject is recess.

He started second grade this year and is begging for more independence.  The bus stop is a block away and every day he begs me to walk to and from it alone.  I usually go because Hailey and Hunter don't want to go alone, but I'm trying to give him a little more responsibility.  He's not a fan of running unless it involves chasing, weapons and a good and bad guy.  He doesn't really care for bikes or skateboards either.  We did enroll him in Karate this year hoping to get some of that extra energy out.

It's not his favorite thing, we've tried all kinds of sports, but he just isn't that kid.  He really just wants to create and have fun and once he finishes his commitment, that's alright with us.  Luke has decided he will be an avenger.  When I asked him what real job he wants to do he responded with, "I will be a cop, like dad except I'm wearing a suit of metal and I don't do the boring parts, just the fighting the bad guys parts."  

Oh, boy.

It amazes me how they are all so different.  Hunter seems to LOVE almost everything.  He loves running, he loves sports, he loves his bike.  He loves to laugh.  He is always making us giggle and is always trying to have fun.

This kid LOVES being outside, even in 120* heat.  He goes outside, digs and runs and rides and comes in for ice water and to rinse his head in the sink ("cause it's all sweaty mommy") and then runs back outside for more.  It's a very rare day when he doesn't get in the shower and you can see the pounds of dirt wash down the drain.  Speaking of which he LOVES showers too.  He wakes up before his alarm asking if he can take his shower yet.  

But he's not just a fan of the physical stuff,

He LOVES school and loves to learn.  He graduated Rusty and Rosy and was one of the highest level achievers in the program.  He's already reading most easy readers with sight words and sounding out the words he doesn't know.  His Kindergarten teacher is pretty impressed.  He wants to be a Fireman and a builder.  He wants to work hard and run fast and be strong to save people from fires and put them out.  Then he wants to be able to build them a new house.  What a great heart!

My Diva Bella.  She's still our teeny tiny little princess at least a size or two behind her age.  Oh are we in trouble when she hits the teenage years.  She loves everything a stereotypical girl does I suppose.  She loves painting nails, jewelry, dance, gymnastics, princesses, preforming, dressing up and of course, chocolate.  

She changes her clothes no less than 6 times a day.  She wants everything to be pink or purple or maybe another color as long as it has some form of ruffle or bow or sparkle.

Last year she did dance and loved it, but was always throwing in a somersault and an attempted form of handspring or cartwheel so this year we have enrolled her in gymnastics.  She's really good and loves it.

She also truly loves Hello Kitty.

And loves being photographed and loves dancing and singing.

Since Hunter is in Kindergarten, she is going to a school alone for the first time and she's doing really well.  She loves going and will do the work but like Luke, her real passion is the socialization, playing and interacting.  Whenever we talk about her day it's never about what they learned, it's always about her friends and who said what or what boy or girl was mean or nice.

She's decided that when she grows up she wants to be a Mommy Princess.  She will be a mommy but have someone else do all the cleaning and hard work.  Better find a rich husband my dear :)

Little Mck!  Our sweet baby Mckayla is such a doll.  We had planned on her being our last and we really cherished her baby year.

She is such a happy baby and such the adventurer.  She loves to climb anything she can reach, which started out innocently enough.

But has now become quite a pain.  Nothing is safe! 

She crawled like this for a very long time.

But now she is walking and really getting into everything she can.

Now that she has a full mouth of teeth (4 molars in one week! What a week that was!).  She LOVES to eat.  She's already catching up to Bella in clothes.  She's doing a great job signing and while she only has a handful of words, she signs a bunch.  Her favorite sign is eat.  

She also loves blowing kisses and snuggling blankets.  My poor kids lose their blankets constantly because she wants them all.

All my kids absolutely LOVE playing with Daddy.  Mck can't wait til gets to play, although I'm not sure how Daddy's gonna reach them all when there are 6 of them to tickle.

And Baby 6.  Yes, we are still calling her Baby 6.  We are having a hard time finalizing a name, although we do have an idea it's not set in stone.

Here she is running in her first trimester.

And racing during her second.

But sadly, she has made an attempt to come a little early during the third, so running and racing has been postponed for the last tri.  We are still walking and not on bed rest like with Mck (THANKFULLY!)

Once I make it through September the doc will stop the pills and I'm a go ahead for any kind of activity again.  

That was a really fun day!