Autumn // 6 Years

Our favorite little kindergartner has been 6 for a whole week already! It was her golden birthday, too. 6 years old on the 6th. Her top request for her birthday was her very own lightsaber, she picked out her favorite outfit to wear to school on her birthday, and she reminded me multiple times to make sure to pick up donuts to bring to her class or else her classmates would all be "very disappointed" in her.

Autumn at 6 years old:

- Still as strong-willed as ever

- Has the cutest laugh ever, honestly

- LOVES books and is progressing very quickly with learning to read.

- The initial adjustment to kindergarten was a little rough (as I've said, she's strong-willed and free-spirited and likes to do things on her own timetable) but now that she's adjusted, she's thriving at school.

- Has "sticky fingers" (especially when it comes to treats and books)

- Can hold her own in Mario Kart against her older siblings

- Sings loudly and enthusiastically at school and church, with a great mind for remembering lyrics

- Still has a list of people she regularly cycles around to at church. If you're lucky enough to make her list, good luck getting rid of her. She'll be attached to you for life.

- Now that I think about it, she really loves people. Really. She's an extrovert, for sure.

- Her tastebuds change as frequently as Utah weather in the spring (which is to say, several times a day, every day.)

- Loves her Acrobatics class, but just barely dropped her dance class after being in it for a solid 6 months. The teacher is new and has a rather strict teaching style that doesn't mesh well with Autumn's free spirit. We'll try dance again in the fall!

- She's giving soccer a second chance this spring, but only because one of her best friends is signing up with her. We'll see if she actually plays this time!

- Was brave enough to go on Rise of the Resistance when we took a trip to Disneyland back in November, and loved it so much that I immediately took her on it a second time as my rider swap buddy

- Frequently wears two jackets to school, mainly because the zipper on her winter coat broke, so she wears a second lighter jacket that she can zip up

- Uses the Tonie Box that Lydia got for Christmas just as much as Lydia does

- Loves chapstick (who doesn't?)

- Wants me to read Harry Potter to her, but I'm just not ready for that time commitment yet #ThirdChildProblems

- Turning out to be a night owl like her big sister

- Also is probably the lightest sleeper in the family, aside from possibly me

- Likes to put the stickers she collects on her bedroom wall. She just might be getting a sticker album in her Easter basket because mama doesn't like the sticker wall!

We love you so much, Tumble. (I hope she always lets me use that nickname because I love it. Or "Tum" at the very least.)

Autumn // 5 Years

Tum Tum is five, and I can hardly believe it. Truly. She has been looking forward to her birthday for weeks and has been all smiles all day. She changed her mind on her birthday dessert multiple times before finally settling on donuts. (Of course...last night she said she wanted cake instead, but I said it was a bit late to be changing her mind again...so donuts and ice cream it was.)

This girl is quite the character. Let's chat about all things Autumn! (Pictures are forthcoming, as per usual. Austin's are up on his post now, so I'm making progress!)

Autumn at 5 years old:

- Situational Social Butterfly

- Treat Thief (heaven forbid you leave a treat unattended on the kitchen counter)

- Chapstick Addict

- Every time we have a visitor in our home that she likes, she yells "I LOVE YOU!" out the front door as they're leaving. (And if you're lucky she'll say, "I love you so much forever and ever.")

- She has a whole setlist of people that she goes around to during the first hour of church. She'll hop from family to family, settling herself in next to her favorite people for a few minutes before heading off to the next stop on her list. She'll add a new person/family to the list every couple of weeks.

- She still resists going to Primary most Sundays. There were several times in the past year when she would run out of the chapel before the prayer was done and hide somewhere to avoid going to Primary. Her usual hiding spot was up on the stage in the corner by the curtain. Once, Elder's Quorum had already started and she was hiding back there...nobody noticed! She didn't make a peep!

- There have also been a handful of days in the past year where I've had to hand her out the front door of the car at preschool drop-off because she didn't want to go and even once where I had to get out of the car and retrieve her from the back seat. MOST days she gets out of the car happily and willingly, though.

- Very good at Bop It! (her high score is somewhere in the 80s)

- Loves books and has been caught many times using a nightlight to look at books when she's supposed to be in bed (including tonight).

- Regularly sneaks down to her older siblings' rooms to take their stuff (mainly books).

- If her siblings love it, then she also loves it. Monkey see, monkey do.

- Strong-willed

- Still sucks her fingers (We've tried to stop her, but...well...see the previous line.)

- Dairy and beige foods are her favorite foods (breads, crackers, pretzels, cereal)

- Has her own room now that Austin has moved into his own room. She LOVES it.

- Went through a phase where she'd ask about death every few days. More specifically, when she would die. She didn't seem nervous or stressed about it, just curious.

- Loves to swim (but can't swim unassisted yet)

- Enjoys puzzles

- Loves to play a boardgame called "Race to the Treasure" in which the goal is to use path tiles to create a pathway from one end of the board to the other while collecting keys along the way.

- Classic third child. Interpret that as you will.

- Plays so well with her little sister while the older two are at school. They listen/dance to music, play with barbies and Little People, and play make-believe.

- Current music of choice: Descendents; Puss in Boots: The Last Wish; and various video game soundtracks.

- Started regularly refusing to dance during the first 20 minutes of her dance class (during the tap portion), so we just barely switched her to an acro (tumbling) class, and she LOVES it.

- Really wanted to play soccer last spring, and then spent most of each game refusing to play. She'd play a bit towards the end, but only because there were treats and I told her that only kids who play the game get the treats. I'll let you take one wild guess on whether I'll sign her up again this year or not. :P

- Getting tired of preschool, apparently, and just wants to go to the same school as her siblings. I can't even imagine her in kindergarten, she doesn't seem old enough! But that's still half a year away.

She does things completely on her own timetable, loves freely and openly, and keeps us on our toes. She brings a certain chaotic, "wild card" energy into our home, but not because she's hyper or uber-loud; the chaos comes from not knowing what she will do from day to day. Will she eat the chocolates that Doug bought for me? Will she accidentally damage one of her sibling's toys that she wasn't supposed to be playing with? Will she hide under her bed with a crayon and completely coat the wall with bright scribbles? (True story. Yes, she intentionally went under her bed to scribble because she knew it would be hidden from us.) Ah, Tumble Bum. We love you so much.

Dance Concert 2022

I figured that since the 2023 concert is happening in just over ONE MONTH, it was high time to finally get some pictures from the 2022 concert posted. Ooops. Pictures and blog posts have obviously been very low on my priorities list. But I've added pictures to the past few posts, so be sure to look back at those if you've been waiting to see them!

The 2022 concert was exciting because we had TWO little girlies involved with it! They both had fun, and the week leading up to the concert was crazy between the pictures and dress rehearsals (and Austin's t-ball games and other events/errands we had).

Nicole had three routines for the 2022 concert: one for her acrobatics class ("business people" costume), and then one ballet number and one tap number ("mazurka doll" costume). This was her last year doing tap, actually, which she is a little sad about, but our studio doesn't teach tap past this level. She turned up the sass to a full level 10 for her acro and jazz numbers. Quite the performer, ya know.

Meanwhile, Autumn and her two classmates were the envy of all the little girls because they had unicorn costumes. Autumn did so well on her dances and didn't have any stage fright! However, she was not expecting the traditional, loud "cast scream" that all the dancers do after the bows when the curtains close, and she was NOT a fan of that group scream. She refused to go out for the bows for her second performance because she didn't want to hear everyone scream again! Poor Tum Tum.

Our little dancers. Austin will join them this year because he's taking an acrobatics class at the studio, and Lydia will probably join them in the 2024 concert! THAT will be crazy. It already took me well over an hour to do hair and makeup for both of these girlies, and I had to do their hair 4 different times (5 for Nicole)! At least Austin won't need hair or makeup. Praise be to short-haired boys.

Autumn // 4 Years

This morning, I attempted to sing the "Happy Birthday" song to Autumn, and she got mad at me. Not the best start to a birthday, but once we got some breakfast in her she was much happier. She's not very keen on getting older because she WANTS to be "babied" (probably because she has a little sister who is "babied" constantly) but even Autumn gets excited about some of the perks of getting older (such as getting two gummy vitamins in the morning instead of just one).

Autumn at 4 years old:

- Loves any and all dairy products--especially milk--even though they don't completely agree with her digestive system

-  Will easily spend large chunks of time per day looking at books/"reading"/having me or Doug read books to her

- Enjoys listening to Disney movie soundtracks

- Has her own "playlist" on YouTube that has the most random assortment of songs and artists on it such as Sara Bareilles, Justin Bieber, Fergie, and Owl City

- Regularly sneaks down to her big sister's room to "borrow" her books, Polly Pockets, and art supplies

- Current top tv show of choice is Pinkalicious on PBS Kids

- Is starting to play well with her baby sister, and it's so fun to see them close themselves away in Autumn's bedroom and giggle in there together for a while

- Sugar addict

- Regularly sneaks onto the kitchen counter to swipe a cookie, or a sibling's toy that I put out of reach, or to take a sip out of my Swig cup

- Not very ticklish, but has a cute laugh when you can get her going

- Was very brave this past year and got comfortable with being in pools

- Enjoys easy hikes

- When the weather is not freezing (like it is right now!) she loves to ride around on a 3-wheel scooter

- Had a hard time adjusting to Primary at church for the first couple weeks (so hard to leave nursery, where she's been for 2 1/2 years and there's snacks and toys and baby sister to play with) but she's warming up to it now

- Scared of elevators for a while, but now is just mildly nervous in them

- Likes the idea of dogs, but gets nervous around dogs

- Monkey see, monkey do. If her siblings are into it, then so is she.

- Already talks about being excited for kindergarten and going to the same school as her siblings. Excuse me, miss, but you still have a year and a half before you head off to kindergarten!

- Dresses up in costumes a lot these days (princess dresses, old dance concert costumes, etc)

- Has the cutest little voice where her "l" sound comes out as a "w" sound (so "Lydia" becomes "Widia")

- Probably plays with Austin the most at this point in her life

- My first child to need a nightlight in her room (much to Austin's dismay, since they share a room currently. Yep, he prefers a very dark room.)

- I have to be careful to remove all books from her room at bedtime because she will take her blanket and pillow and lie down by the nightlight with her books and fall asleep reading. Cute, but then she's grouchy the next day.

- If she steals something she shouldn't have (treats, siblings' toys, ChapStick, etc.), she hides it in a corner of her closet. It's the one of the first places I look if something is missing, and I suspect Autumn might have taken it!

- Quiet yet goofy at preschool, and kind to her classmates

Love you lots, Tum Tum. We love watching you learn and grow!

Autumn // 3 Years

It happened. After over 7 years of parenting, I finally missed posting a birthday update ON my child's birthday. We love Autumn so so so so much, though. We had a scare with her health the past week, as well as some health issues for 2 weeks prior to that, so... nearly 3 weeks of health problems with her. I guess a birthday post was not even on my radar. She's on the mend, though, and I'm holding her a little tighter. Life can change so quickly. Give your babies a hug.

Well... let's talk about little Miss Autumn! What a joy she is to have in our family! We're all obsessed with her. She's clever and cute and the tiniest bit feisty. Also, can I mention how jealous I am that she can pull of that mustard yellow color? So jealous. I look like a tomato if I try to wear that shade.

Autumn at 3 years:

- Loves the music from the new "My Little Pony: A New Generation" movie and from "Encanto"

- Got a mechanical fish for her birthday that swims in a tank, and you can feed it with a magnetic fish feeder. She LOVES it, but she can only play with it for 10 minutes at a time and then we need to take the fish out of the water and let it dry so that it doesn't become water-logged and stop working. Once it's dry enough, she carries it around with her, and likes to take it in the car. She leaves it in her car seat cupholder.

- When the weather is nice, she and her big brother love to play for an hour or two in the backyard together. She loves to perch up in the 3rd level of our playset.

- Has been sick SO often this fall/winter, and I think we can blame part of that on her finger-sucking habit (and being in preschool... talk about a germ cesspool!)

- Loves preschool so much, though. She's the youngest one in there because she turned 2 1/2 (which is the minimum age) just before school started, but she's still thriving. Well, aside from getting sick a lot.

- Started dance classes back in August and has so much fun. I'm excited to see how she handles performing in the concert in June. She LOVES jumping around in her tap shoes.

- Loves looking at books and being read to. Princess/Disney books are her favorite.

- Sneaks into Nicole's bedroom to read HER books, and perhaps to play with her Polly Pockets.

- Kept taking her big sister's Heart of Te Fiti (an item from the movie "Moana"), so Santa put a blue one in her stocking. She doesn't mind that it's a different color than the original and sleeps with it at night.

- Mastered the art of riding a 3-wheel scooter

- Really likes cereal, berries, Ritz, frozen peas, mixed veggies, most pasta dishes, oat milk, soy milk, and ALL THE DESSERTS

- Got a pink sweatsuit for Christmas that she calls her "Pinkalicious" outfit

- Gets into cereal regularly

- Quite opinionated

- Has to do everything herself. Except buckling her seatbelt. She refuses to do that herself.

- Constantly listens for birds when we're outside. Loves hearing the sounds they make and seeing them fly or hop across the ground.

- So tiny and light. 27 lbs (post-sickness). She's probably around 8-9 lbs heavier than Lydia, but Lydia still feels heavier.

- Went through a phase where she was scared of her own boogers

- Holds her own when rough-housing with her brother

- Calls horses "Forseys"

- Sings to herself often and enjoys plinking notes on the piano

- I used to think her eyes were grey. Last year, I said they were "greyzel" (grey/hazel). This year, they're looking more hazel than anything, so that's what we'll settle on for her official eye color.

- The nickname "Tum" is still going strong, and it's my very favorite nickname. That, and Tummers.

- Says the funniest things, and we like to call them "Tum-isms". I really need to make an entire blog post just for the things she says, so keep an eye out for that.

- Lately has been requesting "We Are the Champions" as her bedtime song each night

- Likes to sit criss-cross-applesauce in her car seat when she has no shoes on. She's tiny enough to manage it nicely, and it looks quite comfortable.

Oh man, I love her so much, I could burst. Her little 3-year-old voice is so cute. Part of me really wants her to stay this little, ya know? Old enough to do some things for herself, but still small enough to be carried around and fit snugly on my lap.

Look at that cheesy smile!

Autumn // 2 Years

A baby no longer. True, I still call her "Baby Girl" but she's a full-blown toddler who keeps us on our toes and has the most amusing, endearing quirks. I wish I could bottle her up!

Autumn at age 2:

- "NO" is a favorite word of hers.

- She has an awesome deadpan glare. I try so hard not to laugh when she makes that face.

- Her grey eyes are starting to look more hazel in certain lighting, so... I don't even know what to label her eye color as anymore.

- If her siblings do it, then she wants to do it. Naturally.

- She went through a phase where she said, "Yup" in a very slow, lazy way. I'm bummed that I never got it on video before she stopped doing it!

- She has the cutest dance moves. You should see her do the "Tooty Ta" dance with her siblings.

- She is (finally) completely over her fear of baths. Now she's more than happy to hop in the tub.

- On the other hand, she has a strange fear of being on the kitchen counter. Other high places? Not a problem. Kitchen counter? Don't you DARE let go of me, mom.

- She is very good at saying Austin's name, and calls Nicole "Cole". She calls me Dad sometimes, oops!

- Her food preferences are...sophisticated? Peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Ew. Cheese quesadilla? Not a huge fan. Frozen pizza? She just eats the cheese off the top. Chicken stir fry with broccoli, carrots, and bell peppers, served over rice? She'll clear her plate and ask for more. Sweet pork and black beans? Load it up. GIRL, I need you to like the "quick and easy" foods because life is hectic and I can't make you fancy stuff for every meal!

- She DOES have a major sweet tooth, though. That's for sure. Nothing pumps her up like seeing a cookie coming her way.

- She also swipes cereal boxes out of the pantry, plops down on the ground, and munches away as fast as she can before I catch her in the act.

- Since we're talking about food so much, I should mention that she got a bunch of different snack foods for Christmas. I kid you not, when she pulled a large container of fish crackers out of a gift bag, she immediately insisted on opening them right there and proceeded to snack on them right out of the container and refused to open any other presents because that meant she'd have to stop eating her fishies.

- She loves to sit at the piano and "play" it like her big sister. She can also sing some decently recognizable melodies now!

- She acts interested in dogs, but if they come anywhere near her she FREAKS out. She loves cats and birds, along with other bigger animals as long as she can view them from a distance.

- She loves Mario, Elsa & Anna, Spiderman, and Woody & Buzz. She has adopted Austin's Woody & Buzz plushies as her own, and has also lain claim to Nicole's old Elsa plushie. Neither of her siblings have protested, so those plushies now live in her bed along with a handful of stuffed animals. 

- We moved her to a bed a couple weeks ago, and she has adjusted pretty well. She loves being a "big girl" and is very proud of her bed. During naptime, however, she takes a nap half of the days, and the other half she relocates herself UNDER her bed with some stuffed animals and just plays under there the whole time. I don't want her to give up her naps yet!!!

- She has a surprisingly robust vocabulary, and I'm delighted to be able to understand the gist of what she's trying to convey to me most of the time. She even says a few 2-3 word phrases (the most common being "I'm done!" and "All gone.") but mostly communicates using single words for now.

- She is quite the problem-solver. She is very observant. Very bright. Nothing gets past her!

- I sometimes find her tucked away in the corner of the couch flipping through a book. Sometimes she's even managed to pull a big fluffy blanket over her legs and just looks so cozy!

- She loves playing hide-and-seek! Her counting process usually sounds like: "One... two... one... two... COME!" and then she'll dash off in search of her siblings, who have definitely not had adequate time to hide properly and are giggling wildly in their mad dash to reach a suitable hiding spot. I love that she can play with them now, and that they include her so often.

- When she feels so inclined, she gives the very best snuggles, and might even throw in some back pats/rubs while she's at it. Always on her terms, though. She will give you a loud, "NO!" if you ask for snuggles and she's not in just the right mood.

- She loves interactive books with flaps and textures.

We love you, Nugget! You crack me up daily, and I love seeing you grow.

Autumn // 18 Months

THIS GIRL! Oh my goodness, I love her. Autumn is just... ugh, I can't even put it into words, she's so unique. I just love her and she's perfect and I want her to stay little always, the end. She keeps me on my toes, is quite resourceful and sharp, but is also such a quirky little goof. I mean, look at that ultra-cheesy smile!

It's crazy to think that she would officially be starting nursery at church this Sunday, were it not for the coronavirus. Well, without further ado, let's do an update on this cute toddler!

Autumn at 18 Months:

- She loves playing Ring-Around-the-Rosy, and sometimes I catch her saying, "ashes, ashes..." while spinning around by herself.

- When I ask her, "Where is your nose?" she will readily point to it... and then immediately start picking it. Whyyy, Autumn. She also loves when I ask where her belly is because I always tickle her after she points to it.

- She recently figured out how to open the pantry. All of a sudden it became very common for Autumn to come strolling out of the kitchen with a giant off-brand cereal bag slung over her shoulder (literally... like Santa with his toy sack) and a fistful of cereal that she's munching on. I've had to push the cereals back on the shelves so that the older kids can still reach them, but Autumn cannot.

- She loves to help load the dishwasher, and to help transfer clothes from the washer to the dryer.

- Her favorite books include: 5 Little Monkeys, a book about baby animals, and a collection of Frozen board books she got back on her birthday.

- She has quite the sweet tooth and KNOWS a treat when she sees one. Even if she's never tasted it before in her life... she has a 6th sense for sweets and will NOT stop protesting until you give her some.

- She loves sneaking into the bathrooms to steal other people's toothbrushes and such. We have to keep all bathroom doors closed.

- She adores her siblings and tries to follow them and play with them. Sometimes they enjoy her company and play nicely with her... and other times they go in a room and shut the door so she can't mess with what they're doing. It's hard to be a baby!

- When she DOES get to play with her siblings, it's really cute to see. She gets very loud and animated.

- Speaking of which, homegirl has a loud screech. Very loud.

- Autumn is a climber. I cannot emphasize this enough. My other 2 kids didn't give me anywhere near as much grief with climbing as this girl does. She climbs on the back of the couch and uses it to get onto the wide windowsill right behind it. She climbs onto the kitchen table. I once found her squished into the second floor of the Barbie house in the playroom. The climbing is not a recent development, by the way... it's been going on for a couple months now. That girl is non-stop! I fully expect her to start trying to climb out of her crib in the next couple months.

- She enjoys being spun and tossed and bounced, but she HATES swinging. I don't know why!

- At the beginning of the summer, she strongly disliked being in a swimming pool. Now, after a good handful of dips in Grandpa Kelly's pool, she's quite the water baby!

- She enjoys saying "Hiiiiiii!" to people (as long as she's in the right mood).

- She loves being outside, and going places in general! If you ask her if she wants to go on a walk, or go somewhere in the car, she will ALWAYS give a happy "Yes!" and head straight for the garage door.

- Also, she sticks her tongue out and makes a "th" sound a lot. The "th" sound shows up in a couple of the words she says, too, so "yes" actually sounds more like "yith" when she says it.

- She gives a loud "OH!" when she sees a living creature, be it a dog, cat, bird, butterfly, ant... if it's alive, she's excited to see it.

- She still loves her purple "binkie" (blanket) with hearts on it. Lots of love for binkie!

- On the rare occasion that she says her siblings' names, she calls her brother "Aus" and her sister "Cole".

Love ya, Tummer Bum. Never stop being... Autumn! We absolutely adore you! It's been another great half of a year with you.

Autumn // 1 Year

My baby is one! Noooo, be my baby foreeever!!! Poor Autumn spent her birthday trudging her way through her first major cold, so that wasn't fun, BUT she absolutely demolished her chocolate smash cake. No stuffy nose is going to keep her from her desserts!

In any case... she's rocking the mouth-breathing, as well as the constant eczema around her mouth that never seems to go away. All the drool from teething doesn't help, of course. We're excited for spring so the air is less dry and this girl's face can finally heal!

Well, let's talk about the birthday girl!

Autumn at 1 Year:

- Autumn has imprinted on a purple blanket with hearts on it. She LOVES that blanket! You can see it in the very first picture of this post.

- She has figured out how to scoot down staircases on her stomach. She still needs a bit of help at the top getting turned around to start coming down, but she's managed it with no help a couple times.

- She won't hold still for diaper changes anymore, unless I give her something to hold.

- To further elaborate on the topic of teething I mentioned earlier: another tooth cut in the past week, which brings the total up to 7. The 8th is working its way out right now. Poor baby... teething in addition to the cold. Sad!

- When the bathtub gets turned on, she drops what she's doing and books it up the stairs.

- Favorite foods include: beans of any kind, chili, pasta dishes, peanut butter toast, peaches, anything with basil pesto, pears, oranges, chicken enchiladas, sweet potatoes, and any desserts I'll let her get her mitts on.

- She has discovered how to unroll toilet paper, so now we keep all of the bathroom doors closed.

- She has finally added "Mama" to her vocabulary, although I usually only hear it when she wants me to pick her up. She gives a happy "Dad!" when Doug walks into the room, though. It's cute.

- Seeing Doug after he's been gone at work all day really makes her happy. She was grouchy yesterday from minimal napping and her stuffy nose, but she got so animated when Doug came come.

- Out of our three kids, Autumn is the one who looks the most like Doug.

- She's pretty skilled at getting into a standing position, but only just barely started cruising along furniture. She can toddle along fairly well if I'm holding onto both of her hands, though. Funny girl. I guess that she'll start walking sometime in March. She may surprise me, though!

- She has gotten past her "stranger danger" phase and is more ready and willing to let people other than me or Doug hold her now.

- She really likes being carried around up on Doug's shoulders.

- I always put a thick blanket across her lap in the car to help keep her warm (especially in the morning when we take Nicole to preschool... it's bitterly cold sometimes!) but she almost always chucks the blanket on the ground. Fine then, you strong-headed girl, be cold! Haha.

- She always pulls her shoes & socks off in the car too, for that matter.

- She loves to follow her siblings around (or try to, at least).


- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

And now, as is tradition, here's a line-up of pictures of my baby girl, from birth until now:

Newborn

 1 Month

2 Months

 3 Months

 4 Months

 5 Months

6 Months

 7 Months

 8 Months

 9 Months

10 Months

11 Months 

1 Year!

We all love you SO much, Autumn! I'm excited to see the cute quirks you develop as a toddler. This phase of life (very interactive, but not in the "tantrum" stage yet) is so fun. Here's to an awesome second year!