Ross is 5!

We celebrated Ross's 5th birthday in January, and he was very excited to have Grammie and Grandpa come visit. He is going to start kindergarten in August and is really looking forward to it. These days he really loves building Lego, baseball, soccer, riding his bike and scooter, helping me cook, working in the garage with Daddy, and playing with Henry. He is full of goofy songs, dances and noises and Henry thinks he is hilarious. Ross is always full of questions - about weather, the world, how things work, outer space, and heaven.

The day before Ross's birthday was Martin Luther King Day here, and since Madeleine didn't have school, they went mini-golfing. Ross has been wanting to go for a long time, so he was pretty excited. 

Henry helped celebrate in style, and didn't seem to mind sharing his half-birthday.

The day after Ross's birthday, I started feeling unwell, and suspected I might have appendicitis. By the next day I was feeling worse, and went to see a doctor, who said that although I didn't look sick enough to have appendicitis, I could have a CT scan to check if I wanted. I said I did, since I was pretty sure that's what it was! A few hours later I was in surgery to have my inflamed appendix removed, and I was home later that evening. I was incredibly thankful that my parents were here to help, especially since Steve was just getting over the flu. I was not supposed to lift anything (including Henry) for a week, so the extra sets of arms were very helpful. Here I am recovering the day after surgery, cozy with Henry.

After my parents left and I started feeling back to normal, I finally got around to taking some 6 month pictures of Henry.

He is sitting quite well on his own now, and although he's not yet rolling over, he does manage to scoot around a bit when he's lying on the floor. He weighed in at nearly 21 pounds last week, and is longer than either of the other two at this age. He has started eating with us at dinner, and has tried a variety of fruits and vegetables, although most of it ends up smeared all over rather than in his mouth.  Lately he has been waking up 1-2 times a night, but is also getting a second tooth and fighting a cold, so I am somewhat sympathetic. He naps morning and afternoon, and often has a short third nap too in the late afternoon. He has gotten quite vocal lately, and loves watching Ross and Madeleine.