Jul. 17, 2008 Note to self...
Don't ever park the baby's little rocker chair in the hallway!!!
Hypothetically....someone, like Mommy, could trip over it in the dark as she is carrying a handful of grapes and a mug full of HOT tea. (and when I say trip over it....I mean completely not even see it and fall right over it) If this happened, this "someone" could really bang their leg pretty good and smash their face hard against the floor...possibly causing a nose bleed or worse...a broken nose. OK...yes, this happened the other night. Thankfully...all that was bruised was my leg and my emotional well being at the end of a very LONG day. And I still haven't gotten around to cleaning the large tea stain on my carpet. Frankly, not my biggest concern right now.
Playing outside with my boys sounds much more fun!!!!
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Jul. 17, 2008 Beach Combing
Last weekend the kids and I and my mom drove out to my Grandma's house. As always, it's such a special time. It was also a beautiful day so we walked down to the beach to look for some crabs. The tide was in pretty far, so it wasn't easy....but Aunt Tudy found a couple.
 O and C looking under rocks for crabs.
 This one is not alive, but still cool to look at. The boys kept telling me how "STINKY" it was.
 We also found quite a few whole shells which we painted later in the week.
 If you look closely, you can see Mt. Ranier in the distance. This picture does not do the view justice. O had just remarked earlier in the week that he had never seen Mt. Ranier, so it was great that he was able to see such a beautiful view of it on this clear day.
 This is a shot looking in the opposite direction. There used to be a fully intact bulk head and steps down to the beach from my Grandma's property, but slowly over time it has been destroyed by strong waves and the affects of time. We used a neighbors steps to get down to the beach which was nice.
 My mom braving the COLD water.
 Grandma Margaret reading to O. I loved watching them read together.
 Grandma M. teaching C to blow into an empty lemon bottle just the right way so that it would make a noise. She taught O to do this last time and he has now mastered the art of bottle blowing in order to make a neat low noise. |
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Jul. 17, 2008 Learning Contentment While Teaching Kickboxing
So I've been feeling a bit sorry for myself because I have NO time to workout....unless you want to count chasing the kids, cleaning up messes, making 3 meals and at least as many snacks per day, laundry, bouncing and holding T many hours of the day, putting away toys, did I mention chasing the kids and cleaning up messes??? Anyway, this is my "excersize". BUT it isn't what I have in mind when I think of getting in shape. So, as I was thinking about my dilemma the other day, when it occurred to me that I have more time than I realize to workout....WITH the kids. All I needed to do was start...so I did. It's been a LONG time, so I started out slowly by doing some floor excersizes and lo and behold....O and C jumped right in and did their version of crunches and leg lifts and stretches. Then I noticed O doing some hilarious kicks over a piece of yarn he had strung across the hallway. This made me think of when I used to do kickboxing many years ago. I LOVED IT and it was the only time in my life that I truly enjoyed working out. So, we rolled with it. I then became the boys' kickboxing teacher.....WHOA.....another hat to wear!!! But I love it and so did they. I managed to get one picture of O's front kick over the string. NICE!!! The lesson learned here....be content with what I have, including the time I have (or don't have) and the season of life we're in. Working out with my kids will be fun and good for all of us.
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Yesterday we spent the day with Jeff's family enjoying our annual 4th of July backyard games. As always, it was alot of fun. O and C had a blast playing while T was passed around and held with loving arms by many. Every year Uncle Mike comes up with the best games that he builds and puts together himself. We weren't able to stay for all of them this year, but enjoyed the ones we did get to play.
And yes, we keep score and win awards. It's all very competitive!!!
(in a good sportsmanship sort of way!) 
Let the games begin......
 The first game was golf. Each round was increasingly harder and included obstacles.
 I think we may need to get a set of golf clubs for the boys. O especially liked playing and was pretty good at it.
 This is O's cousin, M. They are inspecting all of the golf holes.
 T with Aunt Debbie. These two spent lots of time together.
 Next was a game of Forks. This is Jeff with cousin Terri from Texas. (Texas T) It's been 7 years since we've seen her. It was great to spend time with her.
 How the game is played: There are 2 teams of 2 standing across from each other. Each team takes turns rolling their balls into the "fork" across from them. Then they add up their points and the first team to 11 wins. I would love to create this game for our backyard....for kids you could really vary the scoring to help them learn math.
 Next was the Balloon Popping. This was alot of fun. We all took turns throwing darts at the balloons. The team to pop the last balloon wins. This is Aunt Connie.
 O loved this game. Can you see his dart in mid air? He popped quite a few balloons.
 Next we tried to play Cans, but the wind was not cooperating and kept knocking the stacked (empty) cans over. But O did throw a few balls and knocked them over too.
 Uncle Mike chasing C.
 Jeff with his Grandpa Berle and Grandma Wanda. I just love this picture!
 Great Grandma Wanda holding T.
 Cupcakes!!!!
 From left to right....Corey (Jen's boyfriend), Jen (Jeff's cousin) and Terri (Jeff's cousin).
Corey and Terri are having a healthy debate about something. 
 Jen and Terri
It was a fun day...very relaxing and great to spend time with family. |
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Our boys LOVE to play with their Fiddle Stix. It's one of the first things C asks for upon waking in the morning. Well, we only have a small collection of them, so I ordered a barely used set of 104 pieces 2 weeks ago....they finally arrived today!!! Now, hopefully, there will be enough for both of them to play with NICELY. They love to create "boom ballers" and "bug catcher machines" and "vacuums" etc. Oh, vacuums....another one of C's obsessions. I may just buy him his own for his birthday or Christmas. He LOVES mine....but that's a whole 'nother story.
 Cool dude with his Fiddle Stix. |
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Jul. 3, 2008 T rolled over
Our baby rolled over for the first time a couple days ago and has done it quite a bit since. It's so fun to see these milestones all over again.
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Jul. 2, 2008 Tuesday School....Fire Safety
There have been some changes in the way we are now approaching Tuesday School. Instead of all meeting together each week, we've decided to break up into small groups (2 moms and however many kids there are) and rotate between our homes. I love the way this is working out. It just feels better to have brought our Homeschool co-op back into our homes. And although we won't all get to see eachother each week, I think there will be a deeper connection between the kids and all of us moms. And we'll all get together for field trips.
Speaking of field trips...we are going to visit a Fire Station next Tuesday, so in preparation for that we decided to do a fire theme. Liz and her two kiddos J and A came over. First we read a book about firefighters. And then we had a fire drill. We pretended there was a fire in the house so we stopped, dropped and rolled...then crawled down the hall and out the back door. Liz is very pregnant and I was carrying T, so we walked. Once outside it was time to put out the fire. Ahead of time I drew flames (with chalk) on the back of our house. And then the boys took turns using buckets to scoop water out of a kiddie pool (lake) and toss it onto the flames. We told them that this was how firefighters used to put out fires before they had fire hoses to use. It involved alot of cooperation then just like today, only now they use hoses.
 O, C and Liz's son, J (in the firefighter jacket) passing the bucket of water.
 C used the hose and soaked me.
Once the kids were SOAKED, we came inside to have popcorn and fire engine red strawberries. Afterward, the kids learned a memory verse that was inspired by the bravery and fearlessness firefighters have..."The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid." Hebrews 13:6
Then Liz brought out popsicle sticks and glue to teach the kids the difference between a square and a rectangle. The kids did well with this and then they painted fire trucks with red and black paint. Very fun! Liz, we had a great time!
 Painting their fire trucks. Isn't Liz adorable? She's almost 7 months along with another little girl. And this is her big girl, A sitting next to her. |
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Jul. 2, 2008 Babies everywhere...
I got to spend some time with another good friend of mine, Lacey. She has quadruplets...3 girls and 1 boy. They are 7 and a half months old. Today we met at the park in our neighborhood. We live close to eachother, but due to both of us having new babies and life just happening, it's been tough for us to get together. So, finally we have. My boys were in baby heaven. Here are a few pictures from today. One of her daughters had a dr. appointment today, so she was with Daddy. When we left, O kept asking me about the "missing baby".
 Lacey with 3 of her 4 and my 2 big boys. The one in pink is miss M.
 This is little miss T.
 T and son, C. |
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Jul. 2, 2008 Miss M with Mr. T
We spent the day with my dear friend, Jenny at a park last week. We made sure to bring alot of "stuff" with us to keep the kids occupied and having fun. Even though, there are play structures, the amount of time we're able to spend together is lengthened if there are other activities. It was a great day!
This is a picture of Jenny's oldest daughter, M, laying in our tent with T. Yes, we brought a tent to the park.
 Very sweet!! |
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O has decided that he loves basketball and is learning how to dribble the ball. He is surprising me with how well he can do it. He says, "I'm a REALLY good basketballer, huh, mommy?!"
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Jul. 2, 2008 5 little boys sitting on a swing
My good friend, Leigh, came over the other day. Her boys played with mine while she ran some errands and then she came back to spend time with me. It was a fun afternoon. I got a kick out of how much time the boys spent just swinging on our porch swing that we now have set up under a covering out in the yard. I could see them carrying on long conversations about something....it was like a little boys club out there. I stayed close by where I could see them but could tell they were having fun pretending and playing without me interfering.
 My 3 on the left and her two, A and R on the right.
 R, dressed up as an Army guy, I think. Priceless!!! |
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Now that the weather has finally turned, we seem to be outside constantly. I love it. O and C do too.
 "Um, buddy, did you just spray yourself in the eye?"
 "...or was it possibly your little brother that squirted you? Hmmmm...it's a mystery!"
 This is C signing "wet".
 ...and laughing because he keeps squirting me after I keep telling him to keep the water outside.
 This works....he can spray me through the window.
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Jul. 2, 2008 Creepy Crawly Summer
We are continuing on with our bug theme, but have decided to include ALL things creepy crawly since we spend so much of our time outside. Our library is doing a summer reading program involving bugs and they have almost weekly kids events during the summer ranging from songs and puppet shows to storytelling...all about bugs. So, my friend, Jenny, and I have decided to use that as part of an ongoing theme in our homeschooling this summer. I'm very excited to be doing this together.
Here are some more of our fun finds...
 This is Freddy the Salamander and Frankie the Snail. They lived happily ever after in a cozy little tupperware bowl for a week before we let them part ways back into the wild.
 My mom found Freddy in her yard and caught him for her grandsons. What a good grandma she is!!!
 O was fascinated by his little friend.
 I thought the snail was pretty cool too.
 And of course, we still have our tadpoles. They're getting bigger, but still no legs. I think they only have a couple more weeks til this happens. Then we'll take them back to the pond where we found them. |
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For Father's Day weekend we spent one day with my Mom and Pa and the next day the five of us went up to Rattlesnake Lake and then played at home. It was a great weekend. Jeff said it was the best Father's Day he's ever had. He was so happy to spend the whole weekend outside with his family.
 O with Daddy
 Playing a little game of "Jet Ball".
 Uncle Matt playing too...
 Uncle Josh with his son, C and our C. They're only a few months apart and played pretty well
together.
 Hugging...so cute!
 C loves Grandpa's tractor!!
 Josh and Ginger
 Me and O. I rarely get to pick him up anymore (or need to)...he's such a big boy now. But
any chance I get to pick him up, I do. These years go by so fast.
 Jeff and me enjoying the day!
 This is the next day....we walked up to the Cedar River Watershed from Rattlesnake Lake.
 C the collector...he walks without wanting to be picked up as long as he can collect things along the way.
 Watching a Banana Slug cross the path.
 T enjoyed the stroll as well.
 Daddy and his boys taking a break.
 O getting a look at Rattlesnake Ledge....you could actually see people who had hiked up to the top. On Father's Day, it was crowded up there.
 See the ledge??
 Me with my big boys.
 The boys enjoyed playing and pretending to roast marshmallows around this fire pit where we ate our picnic lunch.
 And once home, we REALLY enjoyed the beer can chickens that Jeff
made and smoked in the Webber Bullet all day long. YUM!!!
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Jun. 30, 2008 Paper Mache Bugs
Last Friday we decided to make paper mache bugs...our messiest project yet, but oh so fun!! First we ripped up scratch paper. (I didn't have any newspaper). Then we blew up different shaped balloons. We had decided ahead of time to make a ladybug, an ant, and a worm (not a bug, but who cares). Then I mixed up a large batch of equal parts water and flour, put into big bowls and went to town making our bugs. Oh the gooey mess, the slimy feeling of immersing your hands (and arms) into a bowl full of goop...boy heaven! We had alot of fun creating our bugs. As it turned out we only had time to make a ladybug and a snail...the worm must have turned into a snail.
Once they were dry after a day or so, we painted them. I had high hopes of actually making our ladybug LOOK like a ladybug...but alas, the boys were only wanting to make their bug "look like a bad bug". OK?......so it's a bad bug, but still a bug and it's not about the final product, it's about the process...the "doing" part. And our snail looks a bit like a slug, but we had so much fun making these together. When we were done, O said, "mom, our bugs look gooder than better," to which I replied, "yes they do!" I couldn't argue! (we'll work on grammar later...)
 Making the goop
 See???? Boy heaven!!! A word of warning if you are going to try this at home....flour and water are literally like plaster once dry. Next time we'll do this in the grass. I really had to scrub the deck to get it clean.
 Ladybug drying in the sun.
 ...and the snail.
 The ladybug actually turned out really cute.....
 I was so happy that the kids had so much fun with this project AND that we completed it. There were so many steps to making these....maybe that's what held their interest.
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Jun. 28, 2008 Melting my heart....
This morning,I was giving T his liquid baby vitamins while he was laying down on the changing table....something I do every morning. His older brother, C, happened to be in the room playing and was watching very intently. When he saw me putting drops of "something" into his baby brother's mouth, he pushed a chair up to the table, climbed up, put his cheek against T's and then rested his hand on his forehead. I was amazed and my heart melted. This simple act of brotherly love from our 2 year old brought me to tears. So many times I can remember our oldest son, O, who is now 4 doing the very same thing with C as a baby. O always wanted to comfort his baby brother when he was getting his medicine or we were needing to use the suction machine on him. And anytime he knew we were giving C his meds, he'd come running down the hall to put his cheek against his brothers and rest his hand upon his forehead.
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Jun. 18, 2008 Great Children's Bible
We are reading a really good children's bible right now....O just loves it. Thank you, Linda, for loaning it to us. Now that there are 3 little ones to read to and attention spans are so different between 2 and 4 year olds...I'm finding that it's easiest to read to them at meal times while they are sitting at the table. That way I can also hold baby T at the same time...and everyone's happy! Anyway, I love this bible and the way it's written/broken down for little ones.
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Jun. 17, 2008 When I grow up....
| This morning O listed a few things he'd like to be when he grows up. Right now he wants to be a Fireman and a Policeman and an Astronaut. WOW!!! Then he asks me, "Mom, what do you want to be when you grow up?" I told me I was so happy because I am doing exactly what I've always wanted to be "when I grow up"...."a mom to my three boys and a wife to your daddy"...To which he replied, "yeah, but what do you really want to be when you grow up?" This really made me laugh and was a great reminder to me of how God has truly blessed my life. (even on the hard days!) |
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Jun. 13, 2008 Lots of pictures...
Finally, it was warm enough out to buy and use a sprinkler. That was weeks ago and it's been basically raining ever since. When is the sun going to shine for longer that a day or two? OK....so it was finally sunny for a couple days so we invited my friend, Jenny and her 3 kiddos over for some backyard fun. It was such a good day...it always is when we spend time together. Didn't get many pictures that day...but here are a few.
 Sweet F (Jenny's youngest) and C
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Jun. 13, 2008 Grandpa Wayne
This is a pic of us with my Pa. This is a pretty typical scene when Grandpa Wayne comes over. The kids climb up into his lap bearing books for him to read and toys for him to look at.
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When we visited with my friend, Linda, and her 4 kids last week I took this picture of her older daughter C laying on the floor with T. It was just precious. Linda, thanks for letting us borrow the play mat for a while. T really likes it.
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Jun. 13, 2008 Friday School
My Friday Morning Bible Study group just wrapped up for the season. We studied the book, 'The Way of Agape' by Chuck and Nancy Missler. It is definitely one of those books that I will need to read again. Because I was very pregnant throughout most of the study and then had a newborn towards the end, I had a tough time making time to do the reading. I did manage to join the women in our group most weeks though. I just LOVE those women. I am thankful for each and every one of them and how God has brought them in to my life.
Each week when we'd go, O and C went to their own classrooms and always had a great time. O and I called it Friday School. Anyway, I am also very thankful for Miss Kelly and Miss Leslie who were O's teachers. They have faithfully served in his class for such a long time and have really made learning about God and who He is FUN. It was always comforting to me when Miss Kelly and Miss Leslie were the ones ALWAYS there in his class....I think they really connected with the kids too.
C went to the Nursery each week until just recently when he "graduated" to the 2's class. I am also thankful for all the caregivers who so wonderfully took care of C and took the time to learn the ASL signs he uses most so they could better communicate with him.
So, THANK YOU ladies for blessing my boys on Friday mornings while I went to my bible study. It really was a blessing to me as well.
The last Friday we were there, the 2's class was combined with the 3's and 4's class, which was really fun for O and C because they were able to be together. Here is a picture of the project they worked on in class along with what they learned. This is just one example of the great bible stories and crafts they worked on each week.
 The kids made islands out of play doh, leaves, twigs, rocks etc and then
included a frog or a snake. O's has the snake and C chose a frog. |
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Jun. 13, 2008 Hide and seek
We play alot of hide and seek in our house....especially when it rains so often. (Grrrrrr.....) Anyway, we could hear giggling coming from the bathroom. So we went in to investigate....the kids were hiding in a little cabinet underneath the sink. I was surprised they both fit under there.
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Jun. 13, 2008 Me and little T Jun. 13, 2008 Great Grandma Margaret
We went to go visit my Grandma Margaret a couple weeks ago. Aunt Tudy was there too. We had so much fun and I just love spending time with them. The boys really had alot of fun playing out on Grandma's deck while we were there. She had a bag full of great surprises for them when we arrived....one of which were bubble makers.
 Grandma showing the boys how to use their new bubble wands. They LOVE them.
 This is my absolute favorite picture of my Grandma. She looks just lovely....like an angel.
 Isn't this gorgeous? Her whole deck is surrounded with beautiful plants and flowers that are all blooming right now. O and C really like this cute little gnome.....his name is Willie.
 Another sweet picture
We love you Grandma!!!
XXOOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXOXOXOOXXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXXOXOXO |
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Jun. 13, 2008 Breakfast at Matt & Shelby's
My brother, Matt, and sister-in-law, Shelby invited us over for breakfast along with my mom and step dad recently. It was SO nice. We really enjoy spending time with them. We always do. (breakfast was really yummy too!)
 Uncle Matt chillin' with O....watching Spiderman.
 Aunt Shelby snugglin' with T.
 Uncle Matt with T.
 I love this one of C. |
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Jun. 13, 2008 Visit with family
A couple weeks ago we were finally able to go visit with Jeff's family and introduce them to T. We've really missed them and were excited to be able to spend some time with them.
 Great Grandma Wanda with T.
 So sweet...
 Uncle Mike was such a good sport....they have a cat named Leo that was
hiding somewhere upstairs. O and C wanted to find him so they searched
and searched....Uncle Mike crawled up and down these stairs with the boys
over and over again in search of poor Leo. They always have alot of fun
with Uncle Mike!!!
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Last week O wanted he and C to be superheroes, but didn't have any capes. And everyone knows, you can't be a Superhero without a cape, right?! No problem...I just tied sweaters around their necks....and voila...instant Superheroes. And of course, I had to be one too. So, O and C were Goop Guys and I was Goop Girl. Goop is the stuff the they have been pretending to spray on everything for the last couple weeks...apparently it's green and can trap you if covered by it.
 O as Goop Guy
 C is Goop Guy (I'm guessing he's the sidekick)
And no, there are no photos of Goop Girl....but if you must know, her cape was white. |
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Jun. 12, 2008 Our baby boy
T is growing so fast...here are the latest pics of him. He'll be 3 months old in about a week. He's still a very easy going mellow little guy and just loves to cuddle.
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| Not too long ago we purchased some decent speakers for our laptop. I was hesitant to spend the money, but it has been well worth it. We use youtube alot. You can find almost any music or song you are looking for. Today O wanted to play "band practice". So, we got out the fiddlesticks and he made a tuba and some drum sticks. I was easily able to find many tuba and drum solos for the boys to listen to while they pretended to be the musicians. I'm amazed at the fun and educational things you can find on that site. |
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One of my greatest childhood memories growing up is of all the time my brother, Matt, and I spent exploring outside. We grew up only 5 or so miles away from where we live now. We spent so many days playing in the "mini-woods" next to our house. Hours would go by as we pretended to play "house" or some other make believe production. We'd mix up mud and huckleberries with our sticks carefully left there from the day before or pretend to be super heroes of some kind. Our mini-woods seemed magical to us. It also seemed HUGE at the time. I wonder now who came up with it's name. I've driven by those woods a few times and laugh at how mini, it truly was. But for us, it was where we learned how to play, how to pretend and make up stories, where we felt like we were in charge....and not in a grown up way, but in the way that kids need to feel when they're playing.....FREE.
Another one of our favorite places to let the hours slip away was "Bob's Pond". That, too, was a magical place. A nice old man named Bob owned the land down the hill from where we lived and happily allowed all of the neighborhood children to play there whenever they wanted. Thinking back now, I realize how dangerous it could have been to play there by ourselves. Not only was there a large pond, but the river paralleled his property as well. It was a different time though and everyone looked out for each other. We discovered so many different things and enjoyed every minute of our explorations each time we journeyed down the hill to Bob's Pond.
One of the memories I have is of us gathering frog eggs and pollywogs (tadpoles) and as much pond water as possible into a 5 gallon bucket. We'd then heave this heavy bucket as carefully as we could up the steep hill back to our house and just watch....it was fascinating to witness the life cycle of a frog. We did this for many years. Now that we have our own children, it's something I've looked forward to letting them do as well.
Jeff and I want our boys to have many many days of innocent playing and exploring outside like we did. I read recently that playing is child's work.....so true!
 Our first attempt to find frogs.
 O loved this....C, on the other hand, did not. I am holding him and his baby brother while taking this photo.
 This is the rotten branch that fell from high up in the trees and CRASHED down on the ground about 15 feet away from where the kids were playing. My heart jumped out of my body when this happened. O and C had to go inspect it.
 We spent the day with Linda and her 4 kiddos and we finally found tadpoles....lots of them. The kids got muddy and wet and had alot of fun. We thoroughly enjoyed watching them get so excited about their success.
 I think we have about 20 tadpoles or so. Can you see all the tiny ones at the top?
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I read about this idea somewhere online. It went over really well with the boys. I'm always trying to find things that I can do with both older boys....sometimes it's hard because the attention span is so different between the two. But this was fun for both in different ways.
 I numbered all of these eggs for O and then 12 more for C to play with.  Next we worked on number recognition and I had him count out coins according to the number showing on the egg. There's so much you can do with this. Since we were using coins, we also discussed pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters and their value. Later on when he's a little older, we could use this game to count out money.....the egg with a 7 on it could have a nickel and 2 pennies or 7 pennies. As he was counting out the coins, I noticed that he's starting to get the hang of simple addition and subtraction too.
 C loved filling the eggs and dumping them into the basket. A great learning activity for both boys. |
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Jun. 9, 2008 Bugs! Bugs! Bugs!
We've just finished up a mini unit study on Bugs. We were learning about the letter "I", so it seemed like a great time to learn about insects. We had alot of fun hunting for bugs and even catching a few. We are serious amateur bug catchers though. We quickly learned that it is hard to find bugs when it's cold and raining out. Where were all the creepy crawlies? Were they hiding from dreary weather too? We finally did manage to catch a few when we least expected it. And later had much more success over at my mom's house. The trick is to look underneath big rocks and especially wood. There were some pieces of plywood that had been sitting on the ground for a while that housed a whole zoo of insects which we were easily able to catch and put in their new home.....a plastic container with a breathable mesh covering fastened by a rubber band. We had every intention of only keeping them for a day or two and then letting them go...but then we made the mistake of leaving them outside and it RAINED. When I woke up in the morning to check on our little friends, I was horrified to see the container filled to the top with nowhere for the poor little bugs to go....well you know the rest. Note to self, next time we try this again, don't leave the bug house where drowning is a potential threat.
Anyway, O especially enjoyed catching and studying the different types of insects. I think his favorites were the ants because there are SO MANY different kinds.
 In addition to learning about insects, we talked alot about instruments. Both O and C LOVE all kinds of music. Not sure what instrument C may take up in the future...we're guessing the drums. O is stuck on the Tuba and really wants to take guitar lessons someday. Hmmmmm....
 Here is the inchworm O made out of one of Daddy's old socks.
 O and C making a spider web. This was alot of fun and kept them busy for quite a while.
 Their stuffed animals got "caught" in the web....as did I when I tried to walk down the hallway.
 There is a moth in this bug house. Check out that LONG hair. Wow!!!!
 This moth kept landing on our friends' hand over and over again while we were at the park.
 K and her pesky moth friend.
 And last, but not least, O wanted me to take a picture of this bee on our front door....."Mom, get as close as you can!"
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Jun. 7, 2008 Update on C's hearing and communication
Several months back, C had a CT scan which included a scan of his inner ears. Afterward, we were told that he did in fact have eardrums and would be a good candidate for ear canal re-constructive surgery at the age of 5. This was GREAT news because it would mean that his hearing would then be normal and he would no longer need hearing aides. We were so excited and happy for our little guy.
We went back to see his ENT last month and was then told after taking a close look at his scans that, NO, he in fact does NOT have eardrums and is not a good candidate for the surgery. He will always need hearing aides of some kind. We were so upset and sad about this news....not to mention, angry that our hopes were dashed. Still not sure why there was a discrepancy in the information given us, but it was very clear after taking a look at the CT that there were no eardrums. Even I could see that. Some time has passed since finding this out and we are all still EXTREMELY hopeful about C's communication. Even though he has a significant speech delay, he is very verbal and uses alot of ASL (his first language). When he is speaking, we usually understand what he's saying...it's everyone else that doesn't. Most of his verbal communication comes out in vowel sounds only. But as he wears his aides more consistently, we're confident that his speech will improve.
We're also excited that C is now in speech therapy as well. His therapist's name is Lauren and we really like her. During our first visit with her we came up with a list of goals which will not only address his speech, but his frustrations. It's one of our greatest struggles right now. He is frustrated most of the time because he has trouble communicating his wants and then doesn't always understand our communications with him. This usually ends in very aggressive behavior and lots of tantrums. Now, I know that he is also 2...so very 2....and that has much to do with his frustration as well. Being 2 must be frustrating at times. (I know it is for us!!!) We're so very thankful, though, that C will now have speech therapy once per week in our home in addition to meeting with his ASL teacher.
These are the new ear molds he just got. I decided he needed a little color. We'll probably choose another color or clear next time. He gets new ones about every 6 months.
I ran across this photo of C (with great Grandma M.) wearing his old bone conduction hearing aides. For obvious reasons they were very difficult to keep on him. We had to modify the strap by adding one across the top of his head, which helped alot. We're so glad he can now wear the behind the ear kind of hearing aides instead....and that they work well for him.
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May. 7, 2008 This and that
Still catching up with my entries. Here are a few misc. pics.
 Grandma Deb with T. So sweet!
 A day at the park.
 This is at the Indoor Playground in town. It was so nice to see O and C riding on this double trike together. Another first!!!
 A day at Rattlesnake Lake.
 I was informed that this was a spider cave.
 I am finally starting to thrill in seeing our boys get messy....mostly because they have so much FUN. Before it was all over, O had mud up to his elbows and knees. And as he so cautiously began playing in the mud....it was almost as if he was expecting me to tell him that he couldn't. Nope, not anymore...well, most of the time. Once he realized that it was OK for him to dig in, he exclaimed very excitedly, "MUD, Mom, it's what I've ALWAYS wanted!!!!" That made the mess totally worth it.
 Ohhhhhh......Mud sweet mud!
 And yes, C loved the mud too.
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May. 7, 2008 Great Homeschooling Book
I am currently reading a book I found at the library called Fundamentals of Homeschooling: Notes on Successful Family Living by Ann Lahrson-Fisher. I wish I had more time to write a review....but alas, I'm typing one handed at the moment because I'm holding baby T. I will say though, that it is an excellent book and I'm learning so much. It has reminded me just how important play time is for kids and that we need to protect that time for them. Because our homeschooling is becoming our lifestyle...a lifestyle of learning...I find that I need to get much more organized. This book is REALLY helping me in that area. It has also given me a myriad of ideas and activities to build into our everyday life to create an atmosphere for learning and fun....now to put it all to use...the journey continues.
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May. 7, 2008 Can we play in the sprinkler today?
There is not one single day that goes by lately that O does not ask, "Mom, can we go in the sprinkler today?" And if it's a sunny day, he asks several times before the day is over. Come on SUMMER!!!
 Yes, it's sunny....but notice the long pants and long sleeve shirt.
"No sprinkler today...sorry buddy."
 C and O basking in the sun. |
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