7 months

As usual, time has flown by and Aaron is another month older. He has been busy army crawling all over the house, and within the last week he learned how to get himself to sitting from crawling, pull himself up to his knees, which quickly led to [gasp] pulling himself up to standing. This kid is a go-getter for sure. He is often found stuck in tight spaces, and his little arms and legs are bruised from crawling and climbing, often over his brothers' toys. He's pretty tough, rarely crying if he tips over or gets run over by a brother. Here are some photos of the little guy's seventh month highlights.

 First bites of food.

 I'm not sure if this is the intended use of an exersaucer.

 This either.

 Cuddling at the park with Auntie Laura.

 And with friend Ellie on vacation in Zillah.

 Enjoying some banana.

 Playing with mega legos, but distracted by the camera strap.

 This would be so much cuter without a certain brother's bottom half in the background. 

 Climbing up.

 He's a multi-tasker...crawling while carrying and chewing on a toy.

 I think he wants something.

Ah. Something else to chew on.

Love him.

Eusterzelischror 2012

Our annual vacation with the awesome Eusterman and Stamschror families was last week.  What once was a 3-kid vacation has now blossomed into a 9-kid vacation (including babies in the tummy!).  We've come a long way since college:)

Daniel, Matthew, Aaron, Elizabeth, Cecilia, Noah, and Maximilian have become great friends, just like their Mommies and Daddies.  Thanks for hosting, Stamschror Family, and thanks for another year of great memories!

 Eusterzelischror 2012: The kids sure have grown up over the years!

 Living in Zillah comes with many benefits: lots of playing outside on large concrete pads, huge dirt fields, shooting (see later), fires, and more!

Traffic got a little heavy on the concrete pad.

Aaron loved being outside in his new Ergo Baby carrier.

Inevitably, all play moves to dirt after a while.

The three amigos 2012: Ellie, Daniel, and Noah. 

Casey has many skills.  One is as a giant horsey ride for nearly all the kids.  What a sport.

Matthew.

Huge rocks.  Kids.  Kids sitting on huge rocks.

However, chairs are usually more comfortable.

The small patch of grass in the back was great for "Ready, Set, Go".  Matthew likes to get a head start.

Casey asked for our help ridding his land of an infestation: Sage Rats.  Don't be fooled, these furry little things are a real menace to fields, and when there are 40+ ravaging your property, you need to take serious action. Here, Chris and Matt help spot targets for Casey.

All kidding aside, they really are a menace to land owners.  So much so you can hire exterminators that specialize in getting rid of them.  You can also get rid of them yourself the old fashioned way.

Sometimes it's hard to wait for your turn to use the .22

"Enemy at 11 o'clock moving SW behind the grass!"  Spotters always help.

Even the ladies had fun trying out the guns.

Cutest picture ever.  The men were so proud.

Daniel had plenty of chances to use his sunglasses in the Eastern Washington sun.

 MS Windows Desktop background submission idea.

"Daniel, please smile for the picture."

"Daniel, I'll give you candy if you smile."

Once Daniel heard we were going to build a fire he went into action.  Needless to say, we had plenty of wood.

 Fire and camp songs!

EUSTERZELISCHROR 2012!

See you in 2013!

St. Alphonsus' Parade of Nations

Daniel's school, St. Alphonsus, holds an annual Parade of Nations (kind of like the Olympic opening ceremony).

Each class is assigned a country to represent, and the week of instruction incorporates the food, arts, and history of that country.  Of course, it all culminates in an all-school concert and parade.  The kids are pretty cute dressed up to represent their respective countries, and the festivities get somewhat involved by the end of the week (which also corresponds to the end of school).  Enjoy!

Now that Auntie Laura is back in Seattle, Daniel was able to have his Godmother drop him off for the start of festivities.

Mommy, Matthew, Aaron, and Auntie Laura wait anxiously for the opening ceremonies.

St. Al's really pulls out all the stops for this.

Little Matthew can't wait to go to school...

The nations enter!!

Daniel's preschool class represented Romania!  Here, Daniel masters the art of looking away from Dad taking pictures.

 And here...

And the face block....

 And the half turn away...

Finally!  An enthusiastic frontal picture.

 The next morning saw all the nations parade around the block waiving flags and chanting their country's name.  The neighbors LOVED it.  There's nothing like hundreds of kids in a giant line, filing past your home and screaming at 8am.

 Mom and Dad spot Daniel in the crowd!

Here, Spain and Greece show their colors.

 

 What a great event.  Great job Daniel!  Romania would be proud.