Declan Hercules: April fun!

Hi friends!  There's a lot of photos below - but first I'm going to catch you up on what's going on in my life and Sister's life right now.  I'm still really enjoying being a big brother.  I love giving Nyx kisses and hugs every day, and I love that she gets to come drop me off and pick me up from school.  It messes with her naps a bit, but maybe she will learn to be super flexible!  She is getting bigger and bigger, but she is still pretty small - not even 11 pounds yet! She is still rocking the 2nd percentile for weight, but she is super tall like me.  I was fatter than she is at this age, but that's because Mama and Dada stuffed me like foie gras with my "tubie".   Miss Nyx is generally skeptical of the world, but she does give us some awesome smiles sometimes.  She can roll over, but only when she feels like it - other times she just gives up and lays her head down on her play mat and screams until someone rescues her. I'm not allowed to pick her up yet, but I help her roll onto her back which makes her happy. She really likes to stand up all the time - she is pretty strong, but not as strong as Hercules! She is also more fun now that she has found her voice and she makes all sorts of silly sounds.  Mama is working very hard to get her to say "Mama" as her first word!

I'm "four and three-quarters" now, and I like to remind everyone of this fact!  I'm still loving my school and my friends.  Swim lessons have started again which makes me super happy.  I'm learning to float on my back and dive to the bottom of the pool. I even tried the butterfly stroke last week for the first time!  I still go to gymnastics once a week and now I've started soccer on Saturdays.   I know all my uppercase letters and am learning my lowercase letters (though I don't much care for this whole "reading" thing!).  I know what sounds all the letters make so Mama is hoping to get me reading soon!  I like numbers more, though I still don't like the number 13 and routinely skip it when counting.  I do Splash Math most nights with Dada - I like that its a game and I don't feel like it is work!  I'm doing some algebra already!  

My favorite things to do at school are working on making "books" with my drawings in them, tracings of different countries and found objects.  My plan is to sell them to make a lot of money someday so that I can go to college.  I'm loving our new backyard and helping Mama in our flower and vegetable gardens.  

When I grow up I still want to be an Engineer and Mama's sous chef!  I love to help her chop and cook and am actually getting quite proficient with all the kitchen tools.  I make my breakfasts all by myself, except a grown up has to turn on the stove! 

We had some more professional family photos done!

Here I am, Talking about my goal to dig a hole to China

In honor of Earth Day, I learned some new songs!

Tummy time!

Take two!

                                     

sissy found her feet!

...and she found her voice too!

Here's our new backyard!  I finally have grass, but I love the firepit the most.  My awesome parents let me help build fires!

Playing on our new lawn!

Nyx can roll over!

Planting flowers with Dada - I got to pick out every single plant (which is why they are all different colors, shapes and sizes!)

All done planting vegetables (and my random rose bush) with Mama!

Sissy Nyx all dressed for our gardening day

Installing a new water hose bib with Grandpa

All cute for a random school day

                                      

Loving swim lessons!

Nyx in the Bumbo at 3 months (adjusted age) 

Me in the Bumbo at 5 months (adjusted age)

Me in the Bumbo at age 4-and-three-quarters (not adjusted!)...now my bottom gets stuck a little, but I'm so skinny I can still fit!

Nyx rocking Mama's jammies from 1977...she's a little diva!

Mama in 1978 - 3 months old

Baby Nyx in April 2016 - 3 months old - in the same dress!

Super Dada!

Good morning sleepy heads!

I got "breakthrough chicken pox" or some other awesome illness...despite all those awful shots Mama makes me get at the doctor's office!

Mama and Dada have figured out how to handle life with two kids...not sure if it is Nyx or myself who make them drink more...

Nyx gets placed in some weird locations

The colander in the sink! 

Sleepy sissy likes holding onto her bottle

Keevah's first swing ride --- she doesn't quite fit!

                                      

Teaching sissy how to swing!

Dinner with friends - I got dressed by myself and picked out my own outfit! I love ties and looking fancy

At a party with friends, eating cookies off a string!

With Felix on a rope swing

                                       

Loving playing with Felix!

I love helping bathe sissy

Happy girl!

Cute pic of Mama and Nyx

Sissy with Gee

With Grandpa, Gee and Nyx at the park

Loving my moments with Grandpa - they're gone for 6 weeks right now, so I had to get extra fun time in before they left for Italy and Jordan!

...and finally for your viewing pleasure - my favorite photo currently:

I love it when Sissy toots - but this one I found HILARIOUS and laughed for at least 10 minutes! All over Mama's pants and hands. Whoops! I NEVER did that!