Kid update late November

I'll put photos in the next post but here's what the kids are up to these days:

Asher
*5 months today - weighs 15.2 lbs - this has caused me a bit of worry. Ash was our biggest babe at birth and had a physique very much like the other boys (as opposed to petite little Mia). Yet, he seems to actually be built more like Mia and has developed a finer bone-structure. Akiva was 18 lbs at 5 months...Benj was a whopping 20 lbs... Mia was a petite 14.8 lbs - only a drop less than our Ash. Our doctor says he isn't worried, however. I'm not yet convinced.
* Rolled on Oct 20 and, like the others, didn't particularly like being on his stomach. He does it again every so often but clearly doesn't enjoy the results.
* Can almost sit propped up on his hands and can stand for several seconds when holding my hands
*Talks and giggles and coos. he really looks like he's trying to say things - he knows what he means and just can't get his body to cooperate.
*Is all about the eye contact. He loves to watch his brothers and sister and smiles when they talk directly to him. I really get the sense that this kid knows what's going on already and is just waiting to be able to communicate more effectively. His
*His eyes right now are a gray-blue around the outside with stars of gold near the pupil. Hard to catch on camera.
*Is less enamored with his pacifier though still loves to have things in his mouth (fists, especially).

Mia
*Hoo, boy, where do I start? This kid has a vocabulary a mile long. She speaks in complex sentences. She can count and identify numbers of objects. If I say, please bring me two forks, she brings two forks. My mom tells the story of me reciting "Twas the Night before Christmas" at the age of 2.5. Watching my boys' verbal development, I admit I thought she must exaggerate. But I really could see how Mia, in another few months, could do it.
*she's a girl. She likes sparkles and dress up clothes. She's picks out her own clothes (within reason). Her favorite outfits include leggings or tights and often a skirt. Don't mistake her for a wallflower, however. She can knock heads together with kids twice her age (see Akiva: age almost-5)
*she loves Asher, but will tell me "Put Asher in that blue chair" when she wants to be on my lap by herself.
*per Milotay tradition, she has received more than her fair share of bites from her brothers. She gives almost as good as she gets.

Benjy
*Likes to be called Benjy or Boodletay, thankyouverymuch. Gone are his Postman days.
*Is all-of-a-sudden a little BOY. He's gotten taller, his shoulders are broader and he has little boy arm muscles.
*Sometimes has trouble at the park. He's used to operating as second in command of the Milotay Kid Pack. He will try to pull rank on kids at the park ("you guys are babies! You can't come through here!") and I think is slowly learning to follow Kiv's friendlier approach. Will keep an eye on this.
*Loves to do puzzles and can do some pretty amazing ones.
*Can recognize probably 10 letters and always knows a capital 'B' when he sees one "Look, Mom! It's my name!"
*Seems to have developed some British speech patterns no doubt owing to the fact that some of his favorite shows are in British English. I've had at least two people at the park ask if my kids have and accent...plus they call horse chestnuts 'conkers'.

Kiv
*I can't believe this kid is going to be 5.
*Can count to 13 and can number objects to 4 or 5. If I ask him to get forks for everyone in the family, he'll get the right number.
*Is more interested in letters and sounds in the past 2 months
*Will sit and listen to a chapter book for 15 min at night. We started E. Nesbit's The Railway Children tonight
*Loves his Biology Buddies class at the Swan Lake Nature Centre
*Is very interested in talking about death right now. He plays games that involve shooting and killing (I try to be nonchalant but inside my hair is standing on end). The other day I made a roast for supper. Kiv asked repeatedly throughout the meal "Is this dead cow? Did this cow used to be alive? How did the cow get dead? Did they drain out all the blood?" After eating all his roast, he pushed his plate toward the roast pan and said, "MMM! That dead cow was delicious! Can I have some more dead cow, please?" Mark and I cracked up but I admit to contemplating becoming a vegetarian after that lovely conversation.
*Is learning to play computer games on PBS Kids and sites like it. He was never really interested and we weren't really interested in pushing it.