"Update blog" has been on my To Do List since June (and on the backburner of my brain before that). So today, I figured I need to quit putting it off since it only seems to get more overwhelming with each passing month. So then the great decision was "Where do I start?" And since I last posted in *ahem* January, I figured I'd just start looking at our pictures from February and work up to October. So this is definitely more condensed than I'd like to be, but it'll get the job done. And, once again, I promise to TRY to do better in the future...
So before I start in on the pictures, let me give you the run down of anything I think I can update you on.
Ryan: Same ol', same ol', with the exception of his job change, which we sent out in our annual letter in February. He's still big into hunting, fishing, shooting...as much as he can be with a more-than-full-time job and a wife+three kids, anyway. He turned 35 in September, so he's officially as old as his wife now!
He celebrated 13 blissful years of marriage to his doting, over-worked, under-paid wife in June. I'm sure he'll tell you it doesn't feel like he's been married more than a day (Hey! It's MY blog!!).
Trish: Still filling in as a physical therapist at the hospital, nursing home and outpatient clinics. They never seem to be short of "needing me." If anything, I feel guilty when I can't help them out. But, for now, I enjoy and feel led to be at home, so I really get to deterimine how much or how little I work. I'll keep working as a PT a bit just to keep my license, in the event that I ever have to/choose to work full time for pay again.
I did pick up the job of "teacher" this fall..for second grade, kindergarten, and preschool. We made the decision last spring to homeschool this fall...for a variety of reasons, which I'll get into later. It took a while to get into a groove of how it all was going to work at home, but I think we've arrived now. We seem to have a good schedule down, everyone knows what to expect and I'm almost done planning for the year. There was definitely a HUGE learning curve on my part, figuring out what to expect from myself and my kids. Finding that balance between expecting them to work without being a drill sargent was something that came more quickly than I was expecting.
Logan: He'll be EIGHT!!! on Christmas eve. Can that be possible? He's such a sweet boy. He loves taking care of Sadie; he likes to "babysit" her while I take a shower and he jumps at opportunities to put on her socks, comb her hair, read her a book, etc. Definitely a first-born personality all the way.
He does great in school, a definite quick-learner. That's probably been my biggest adjustment. He catches on to concepts really quickly and then he's ready to move on (especially in math)...keeps me on my toes! His favorite subjects are math and geography, which suits me fine.
He's also started the Cub Scouts this year, which should be a lot of fun. I'm hoping it'll give me some direction in teaching him some "boy" skills (making a fire, etc.). I'm not the most self-sufficient female that ever lived. Ryan can certainly teach him some of that stuff, but summers are short here and it's dark by the time Ryan gets home most of the year, so that leaves at least some of it up to me.
He seems more mature than what I would expect from a 7-year-old. He definitely didn't inherit his mother's hot temper. He's very logical and rational when something doesn't go right and he's a big help in assisting his brother with learning those skills as well.
Carter: He's in kindergarten this year and just turned six. He also loves his baby sister, but in more of a smothering (as opposed to "mothering") way. He can't seem to get enough of hugging her. Unfortunately, when he reaches to hug her, she's just the right height that he ends up squeezing her head. In fact, when he prays, he often says "Thank you for my family...and thank you for Sadie..." He's got a special place in his heart for his sister.
Carter's working on some pre-reading stuff, something he didn't get much of in preschool last year. We're hoping to move on to actual reading after Christmas. I'm thinking he'll catch on quickly, just watching the things he's learned in a few short months.
He's still my spontaneous, energetic, "act-before-I-think" child. Always will be, I suspect. He's also incredibly emotional at times, which drives me nuts (probably because I'm the same way...), but we're beginning to see some self-control emerge. He has an imagination that doesn't quit, forever acting out some fantasy as he's walking through the house. I don't know where his mind goes most days, but he seems to be happy when he's there.
Sadie: Ah, my girl. She's so different that my boys (DUH!). Her language, her motor skills, her temperment. All of it. And she fits the description of the typical baby of the family, as the clown. She makes us laugh every day...and when she knows she has an audience, she definitely works it.
She's been my first child to do/say the typical "I do it", "Mine!" and "No!". However, we can already reason with her, which is nice. I'm not sure how much of it is because she's a girl and how much of it is because we expect more from her. She likes to help clean the table and start her laundry. Oh, if I could go back and start over with the boys with the knowledge I have now...we would not have gotten into some of the bad patterns that we did.
Sadie continually blows us away with the things she says, whether just because it's funny ("I'm the Princess Sadie") or because she's showing us what she knows ("Is this China, Mommy?" (pointing to our map)). She definitely loves her daddy and sure misses him when he's out of town.
She's all girly-girl, with her many pairs of shoes, her coats, her dollies and her purses. She recently got her nails painted by a girl at church and that was a HUGE hit ("Nails so pretty, mommy.").
So I guess I'll let you see some pictures of my children now, since that's probably why you read this.
FEBRUARY:
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| Sadie's first oreo. As you can see, oreos can also be crushed up and used as a facial treatment. It must work; she's still blemish free! |
MARCH: This was the month our house went BACK on the market. You may or may not recall we had put our house on the market in May 2008, hoping to eventually sell it and move closer to town. BUT, with a crummy housing market, it got to the point where having a house showing every 4 months was nothing more than an inconvenience. So we let it drop off the market in October, thinking we'd put it back on when the market improved.
BUT, as it turns out, Ryan ended up with an offer to work out of Three Bears' Corporate office (located about 4 hours from here), so the house is back on the market...and we've had TWO showings. Thankfully, Ryan can do most of his work from here and then he travels to Wasilla every couple of weeks for a few days to deal with things there. However, it could certainly be much worse. He's only 4 hours away and his boss has put no pressure on him to move to Wasilla on a deadline. So we're thankful for the arrangement we have. And when the house sells, we'll be moving. I have a feeling we'll be here a while...
APRIL:
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| Carter catching snowflakes |
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| One of the many days I emptied the pockets of Carter's snowpants. There are two pockets, each one about double the size of the red truck in the picture. Apparently, he's a hoarder with talents in packing efficiency. |
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| I love denim dresses on little girls. Thankfully, Sadie's friend Addyson has given her about six of them. |
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| The first lost tooth. It had been barely hanging on for weeks. Then one morning, Carter was goofing off, pretending to punch Logan. He barely touched Logan's chin and the tooth broke free! Carter loves to tell the dentist that he punched his brother in the face and that's how he lost his first tooth. |
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| I don't know why, but I love pictures of my kids sleeping. |
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| Sadie playing out in the snow. Daddy nicknamed her "Grimace" in this snowsuit. |
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| Logan in another year of indoor soccer. |
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| Sadie figuring out she's just a smidge too big for her baby's stroller. |
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See what I mean? I like pics of my kids sleeping.
The boys DO have their own bed, but rarely sleep apart.
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MAY:
School's out! I love this time of year, getting to have my kiddos home all the time.
Carter's school program. I think these next two pics describe him pretty well:
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Obviously, the little boy next to him is a little more reserved...and mature...and quiet...and attentive...and TOTALLY NOT AMUSED by my Carter! (And yes, my son is wearing rainboots!)
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| Apparently the program got a bit long for the preschoolers. |
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| Logan at Water Safety Days...just BEFORE they tipped the boat over. |
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| And another sleeping pic. |
We have Pinewood Derby races each May at our church. It's a great event where the adult males in the church get to spend a ridiculous amount of money and time on little wooden cars for their kids. There's a big race, ribbons are given out, food is eaten. I think we call it "fellowship." (Seriously, it's a great time...but it's become something I now have to figure into our annual budget.).
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| Sadie's stroller |
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| Carter's First Place Ribbon |
Grandma Jan came up for a week to visit in May as well. We had awesome weather and spent most of our days outside. Of course, the time passes all too quickly, so here we are, saying "Until next time" at the airport.
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| The girls |
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| ...and the silly faces. |
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| Daddy's attempt at controlling Sadie's wandering. |
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| Mmmmmmm, ice cream. |
JUNE:
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| A favorite past time of Logan & Sadie's. Sadie gets in the laundry basket, Logan fills with with as much "fluff" as he can, and then he pushes her all over the house. Who needs toys? |
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| Front yard visitors. |
JULY:
The highlight of July was having cousin Avery visit from Arizona (well, okay...her parents too). We got to spend lots of time with her in the few days they were here.
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| Introducting Avery to our new playground in Soldotna. |
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| We even saw bears while she was here (and yes, we saw those fishermen run and jump into their boat about a minute after this photo was taken). |
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| Sadie modeling her hat and pants that match (even though the hat is too small). |
AUGUST:
Carter turning SIX was the big news for August. I still remember holding that tiny 5-pound baby boy, wondering how on earth I was ever going to manage the two of them when I got home. I don't know how well I've done it, but he's survived to age six, so that's gotta count for something!
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Logan at Jumpin' Junction; he's been jumping hard.
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Carter's candy kaleidoscope...thus the big smile!
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Our attempt to get to the state fair was nixed by the downpour of rain. However, the kids didn't mind. We went to Bouncin' Bears, they got to sleep in a hotel for two nights and watched movies on the portable DVD player. Every now and then, they ARE easy to please.
All asleep in the hotel...
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| Pigtails! |
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| Sleeping with all the necessities...blanket, Violet, cup of water and a baby (and there's at least six more babies and two more blankies in the crib). |
SEPTEMBER:
A day at the park and the beach with the kids.
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| Logan supervising little sister on the tiger. |
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| Digging in the sand. |
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| Beach toes |
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| Daddy entertaining the kids with "mentos in a diet coke." |
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| Pigtails and a purse! |
OCTOBER:
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| Kicking back and watching Mulan to wrap up our unit on China. |
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| Our model of the Nile River. The boys "planted" (dumped) seeds in the soil on either side and then we flooded the banks...and about a week later, we had lots of grass! |
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| I never realized watching a bean sprout would be so fascinating. They really got a kick out of seeing the root come out and turn down, regardless of which way the seed was put in. |
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Blowing up a balloon with CO2. It was a nice variety from the traditional "homemade volcano."
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Homemade crayons: learning about changing states of matter.
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Logan with his origami box (studying Japan).
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| Modeling the Cub Scouts Uniform once I got all of those patches sewn on. |
I think my biggest challenge to homeschooling is Sadie. The day we started school was the day she stopped being self-entertaining. Actually, she just wants to be in on what we're doing. As soon as I call one of the boys to the table for a lesson, she comes running "I do 'cool' too, Mommy?"
And so rather than fight it, I'm running with it. Thankfully, there are people more creative than I that have some incredible ideas for toddlers and preschool online. So Sadie sits at the table with us and does her "school." She's got her colors and shapes down, she holds a pencil perfectly and she likes to match things (color to color, etc.). So we're already moving onto numbers since she counts to 10 by herself (when she wants to). I actually spend just as much time preparing Sadie's lessons as I do the boys'. So on the days she's not interested (which is very rare), I just let her play. But as soon as she asks, I've got things ready to go for her.
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| I saw this with colored poms and an ice cube tray. Since I didn't have those, I used cotton balls and a paint palette. Pinch, pick up, transfer to the tray and let go. |
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| It was such a bit hit, she did it again later that same day, only with her fruit snacks. She has incredible fine motor skills (or so I think, compared to the boys at this age.) |
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| Connect 4 is a favorite too...patterns, fine motor, counting...And I was just trying to get four in a row before Logan did! |
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| A nice fall day. The boys raked the leaves into a pile on the driveway and then crashed through them with the big wheel...over...and over...and over... |
Halloween costumes are ready to go. Ryan came up with the idea of Angry Birds. They had been quite obsessed with Angry Birds since cousin Avery introduced the to the game on her iPad in July. I searched online and found some great costumes...for $70!!! Are you kidding? So then I searched for patterns and came across a homemade pattern and gave it a whirl. I can't sew a straight line to save my life, but my little guys don't care. They're basically a big pillow on the front and a sheet of fabric on the back. The faces were out of felt, which I drew by hand, cut out and sewed on. They're pretty excited about these.
