Well, first off with some family help we loaded two IKEA shoeboxes with tons of art supplies (paper, pencils, crayons, markers, colored pencils, coloring book or colored paper), princess dress-ups, hair clips, nail polish, brain puzzles like a Rubix cube, games like Uno and the jumping pegs in a wooden board game, mini candy canes, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, soap, pink washcloth, and mini scriptures. We sent them out for Operation Christmas Child!
A caught a slug, a worm, a millipede, a caterpillar, a pillbug, and several snails in the last week. They all died, as did her fish. And her underwater snail, which climbed out of its waterbowl and escaped behind the dresser. Bad pet luck.
A invented her own version of "There's a Hole in the Bucket" today:
There's a hole in the fan, dear Liza, dear Liza
There's a hole in the fan, dear Liza, a hole.
Then fix it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Then fix it dear Henry, dear Henry, fix it.
With what shall I fix it, dear Liza, dear Liza,
With what shall I fix it, dear Liza, with what?
With metal, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
With metal, dear Henry, dear Henry, with metal.
With what shall I stick it, dear Liza, dear Liza,
With what shall I stick it, dear Liza, with what?
With tape, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
With tape, dear Henry, dear Henry, with tape.
But the tape is too loose, dear Liza, dear Liza,
But the tape is too loose, dear Liza, too loose.
Then glue it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Then glue it, dear Henry, dear Henry, glue it.
But the metal's too little, dear Liza, dear Liza,
But the metal's too little, dear Liza, too little.
The End!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Baby G again
He is smart and helpful. It's so cute. He's one but he will use a rag to clean spills (and will mime using a rag when he finds a spill until someone gives him a rag, then he uses it on the spill). He unloads the dishwasher (and sometimes gives me the dishes), and when I say we're done/ready to start the dishwasher, he used to play with the soap tray but now he goes to the undersink cabinet, pulls on the locked door, reaches for the soap when I open the door, and tries to hold the box to pour the soap in the tray. Then he closes the door and sometimes reaches for the settings to turn it on. When I'm doing laundry, he pulls the lint trap out of the dryer, pulls off handfuls of lint, and then puts it back. (He can almost get it in correctly.) If I say "clothes" while doing laundry, he tries to "close" the dryer door. That's one of his favorite jobs. He'll help putting things back in a container if you show him.
He can also climb pretty well--the bathtub, the kid chairs, pulling himself up to chairs at the doctor's office by pure upper body strength, climbing correctly off the bed, etc. He is great at getting caps off markers and pens within seconds. He gives the BEST hugs still.
I'm "mam" and J is "da." He's very clear with signing "milk" (for milk only now), "all done," and pointing to what he wants. He will drink out of anything--anyone's cup, any beverage, will swipe soda cans, rice milk boxes, coconut milk boxes, cups with straws, anything. Just not bottles, LOL. He is very, very clear about what he wants generally. He can run now! This week he started dancing to music, and now if I say, "dance" he starts dancing, even if there's no music playing. He can reach almost anything--if it's on the table or the counter, he can usually figure out a way to get it. He can reach a large percentage of the table from the floor. He can reach the counter from the computer chair or in someone's arms (diving down at what he wants). He also loves sweets.
In other news, I'm doing NaNoWriMo and I'm at 22,282 words right now. Woohoo!
He can also climb pretty well--the bathtub, the kid chairs, pulling himself up to chairs at the doctor's office by pure upper body strength, climbing correctly off the bed, etc. He is great at getting caps off markers and pens within seconds. He gives the BEST hugs still.
I'm "mam" and J is "da." He's very clear with signing "milk" (for milk only now), "all done," and pointing to what he wants. He will drink out of anything--anyone's cup, any beverage, will swipe soda cans, rice milk boxes, coconut milk boxes, cups with straws, anything. Just not bottles, LOL. He is very, very clear about what he wants generally. He can run now! This week he started dancing to music, and now if I say, "dance" he starts dancing, even if there's no music playing. He can reach almost anything--if it's on the table or the counter, he can usually figure out a way to get it. He can reach a large percentage of the table from the floor. He can reach the counter from the computer chair or in someone's arms (diving down at what he wants). He also loves sweets.
In other news, I'm doing NaNoWriMo and I'm at 22,282 words right now. Woohoo!
Friday, November 4, 2011
Heehee
Today we went for a walk. During the walk we discovered a secret passage, were chased by pirates (cars and flower spies), became invisible princesses, avoided the fences of electricity (but if you have a puffy coat or grapes from a brick wall you could touch the fence safely), followed a secret path, found a secret park (seriously!), acquired the 4 Leaves of Prophecy that would protect us as long as they remained on the branch (we lost two!), a magic wand, two curvy swords, a bow and three arrows, the Leaf of Prophecy that teaches bad guys to be good, looked for the Greatest Superheros (grasshoppers), climbed The Wall before the guards came, avoided the black moth spies, saw the black birds that could rip us in half, ran home, saw pirates coming, went inside, locked the door magically, then C and I cast protective spells on all the windows, A looked through the Crystal (prism) to see if the pirates were coming, and then we withstood a direct pirate assault.
Also, baby G loves to make faces where he purses his lips, wrinkles up his nose, and snorts loudly out his nose. He also adores anything related to cooking. He plays with his cooking toys, with pans, with pots, and especially using kitchen utensils IN pots. If I'm cooking he tries to get up to the stove, and if I'm holding him he will grab for the spoon and try to stick it in my pot. He uses the potty too, sometimes. :D
Also, baby G loves to make faces where he purses his lips, wrinkles up his nose, and snorts loudly out his nose. He also adores anything related to cooking. He plays with his cooking toys, with pans, with pots, and especially using kitchen utensils IN pots. If I'm cooking he tries to get up to the stove, and if I'm holding him he will grab for the spoon and try to stick it in my pot. He uses the potty too, sometimes. :D
Saturday, October 29, 2011
New stuff
Baby G can RUN now! He's 1, so he's not really "Baby" G anymore, either. He can climb the couch, the bathtub, off the bed, etc. He loves the wooden puzzles with the big knobs, esp his shapes puzzle. He is getting his Tooth the Fourth.
A is flooring me with her mind again. She was pretending to be a mermaid from Mexico this morning, and is explaining to me the differences in tail shape between Mexican and traditional mermaids, and explaining her diet and her interactions with the migratory Monarch butterflies there. I didn’t even know she knew what Mexico was!
A is flooring me with her mind again. She was pretending to be a mermaid from Mexico this morning, and is explaining to me the differences in tail shape between Mexican and traditional mermaids, and explaining her diet and her interactions with the migratory Monarch butterflies there. I didn’t even know she knew what Mexico was!
Mexican mermaids have tail fins that are positioned almost vertically, while the other mermaids have tail fins that are almost completely horizontal. She provided a physical illustration for me. Monarch butterflies in Mexico swarm to the Mexican mermaids and lift them to the tree branches, but the mermaids fall back to the rivers because they can’t fly.
Heehee.
A also wants to fly to the rainforest and tell people to STOP cutting it down, to "adopt" a Monarch butterfly through the World Wildlife Fund, and to go to Costa Rica and catch a butterfly. We are planning a neighborhood recycling program as a more local way to help the deforestation.
A is learning multiplication and division right now, and enjoying that.
C got her "BOB books" that are all easy, 3-letter words, and she's thrilled that she has books SHE can read ALL BY HERSELF.
I've been doing more temple work, found some names (yay! story later), and got my hair cut finally. I've also been spinning more, and knitting. I'm getting ready for NaNoWriMo next month.
Jeremy is having a stressful time with his English class (rough professor), but the other classes are going well! Registration for new classes are next week.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
AWESOME day
So, baby G is 1!
But today's post is about our AWESOME day.
I've felt like I really need to go to the temple & do the initiatories my dad gave me the last few weeks. So I finally figured out a way (slipping out before J's morning class on Sat) and went to the temple yesterday. I noticed one name had no parents listed, and "sealing to parents" was blacked. For some reason, I felt like I needed to go find her parents. I looked on familysearch.org when I got home (the fact that I even remembered to was a miracle, lol), and I found her marriage record with her parents listed! I guessed that the work was already done for them, but I sent the info to my dad, and the next day we checked. She was in "the system," with no parents listed. We found what appear to be her parents, but with no children listed, and their work is not done. Everything matches. I'm going to the family history library tomorrow to verify (see if we can find the family together on the newly indexed 1880 census records), and then we can connect the family lines and seal them together. YAY!!!!!!
Next cool thing today: I've been sitting baby G on his squishy potty seat in between diaper changes recently. He likes it, and has started peeing most times I do this. Today J called me in to the bathroom to see G trying to put the cushy potty seat up on the potty himself. I took off his diaper and sure enough, he was peeing. Wow--he really seems to understand this!
Last cool thing for today: A has been in vision therapy for a little over two months. When it started, she generally had to be forced to read even one page of an easy reader or picture book (not including reciting memorized books). She would get very upset at the idea of reading. She said she could NOT do it, especially not with small letters. Today, she asked me if she could read a page of the chapter book we're reading at bedtime. It's an abridged version of "The Time Machine" by H.G. Wells. It has the slightly larger, more spaced type typical of the abridged/easier versions, but it is still a chapter book, solid pages of text with interspersed pages of B&W illustrations. She read EVERY PAGE of the chapter except one. I read the third page, and by the time I was done she was excited again and read the rest of it herself. She is over the moon that she "can read CHAPTER books!!!!!!!!" She did wonderfully, reading words like "aluminum" and "delightful" herself. Awesome!!!!
But today's post is about our AWESOME day.
I've felt like I really need to go to the temple & do the initiatories my dad gave me the last few weeks. So I finally figured out a way (slipping out before J's morning class on Sat) and went to the temple yesterday. I noticed one name had no parents listed, and "sealing to parents" was blacked. For some reason, I felt like I needed to go find her parents. I looked on familysearch.org when I got home (the fact that I even remembered to was a miracle, lol), and I found her marriage record with her parents listed! I guessed that the work was already done for them, but I sent the info to my dad, and the next day we checked. She was in "the system," with no parents listed. We found what appear to be her parents, but with no children listed, and their work is not done. Everything matches. I'm going to the family history library tomorrow to verify (see if we can find the family together on the newly indexed 1880 census records), and then we can connect the family lines and seal them together. YAY!!!!!!
Next cool thing today: I've been sitting baby G on his squishy potty seat in between diaper changes recently. He likes it, and has started peeing most times I do this. Today J called me in to the bathroom to see G trying to put the cushy potty seat up on the potty himself. I took off his diaper and sure enough, he was peeing. Wow--he really seems to understand this!
Last cool thing for today: A has been in vision therapy for a little over two months. When it started, she generally had to be forced to read even one page of an easy reader or picture book (not including reciting memorized books). She would get very upset at the idea of reading. She said she could NOT do it, especially not with small letters. Today, she asked me if she could read a page of the chapter book we're reading at bedtime. It's an abridged version of "The Time Machine" by H.G. Wells. It has the slightly larger, more spaced type typical of the abridged/easier versions, but it is still a chapter book, solid pages of text with interspersed pages of B&W illustrations. She read EVERY PAGE of the chapter except one. I read the third page, and by the time I was done she was excited again and read the rest of it herself. She is over the moon that she "can read CHAPTER books!!!!!!!!" She did wonderfully, reading words like "aluminum" and "delightful" herself. Awesome!!!!
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Baby G
Before I forget, I want to write a few little things about baby G. He will be a year soon and won't be doing all of these.
I love how when he smiles, his cheekbones sail up, his eyes crinkle into quarter-moons, his whole mouth opens in a giant grin and he just glows. His eyes sparkle, I swear!
When he is happy, he sits up, bounces once, throws his arms in the air, leans forwards and lands with his hands SLAM on the ground, and crawls forwards with is head wiggling back & forth and his bum swishing around behind him as he crawls as fast as he can, giggling.
His hair goes into a natural faux mohawk whenever he gets a bath.
Right now he is doing a lot of walking sideways, like he used to along the walls/couch, but across the floor. It looks like he's dancing, and sometimes he goes in circles sideways.
He loves to tip over containers, put things back in containers (esp crayons), eat crayons, play with pots/pans/utensils, turn book pages, and draw (as best as he can).
I love how when he smiles, his cheekbones sail up, his eyes crinkle into quarter-moons, his whole mouth opens in a giant grin and he just glows. His eyes sparkle, I swear!
When he is happy, he sits up, bounces once, throws his arms in the air, leans forwards and lands with his hands SLAM on the ground, and crawls forwards with is head wiggling back & forth and his bum swishing around behind him as he crawls as fast as he can, giggling.
His hair goes into a natural faux mohawk whenever he gets a bath.
Right now he is doing a lot of walking sideways, like he used to along the walls/couch, but across the floor. It looks like he's dancing, and sometimes he goes in circles sideways.
He loves to tip over containers, put things back in containers (esp crayons), eat crayons, play with pots/pans/utensils, turn book pages, and draw (as best as he can).
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Updates!
It's been waaaaay too long. Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.
1) Charter school did NOT work out well with A. Long story, the school psychologist never really even entered the picture (tried to contact for two months, still never got name/schedule/phone number/email, no response to email-forwarded-to-office-manager, etc), A was bored out of her sweet little mind and starting to detest school, etc. J actually told me to go pull her out, and he is one who wanted her in a school, any school! So we are in a homeschooling charter school now--weird, huh? They pay for a part of your homeschooling materials, and A goes there one full day a week for fine arts classes. They also do the sorts of things you associate with 1st grade (she's in 1st there--they had less hoops to jump through, lol)--catch and observe praying mantises and a grasshopper, have a class rabbit to feed carrots, eat snack & lunch outside on the grass, etc.
Baby G decided crawling was lots of fun, but walking is where it's at now. This week he's been testing out walking short distances on his own more often, even more yesterday, and today he decided it was FUN. He was walking from chair to counter, chair to chair, table to chair, halfway across the kitchen (he celebrated with giggly victory laps crawling), halfway across the kitchen again, etc, etc. He can also crouch down or lean over and then stand back up.
C is back in her preschool plus doing some homeschool. She loves both, and her preschool teacher loves her to pieces. She wanted to learn about earthquakes so we did that last week, along with volcanoes. This week we all learned about maps and directions, followed a map to deliver birthday invitations, and made a map of our house. (Both of the girls--they do the fun stuff together.)
The girls are a year older! Hooray! Their party is Saturday. I hope I find the camera charger before Saturday. It is lost agaaaaaaaain.
We saw Bill Nye. Squeeeeeee!!!!! We heard him speak, answer questions, met him, and got pictures taken with him. He is just like you'd expect from his show--funny plus hard science, for over an hour. It was awesome. He's currently big on global warming, personal ways to go green, and space exploration/studies. Also sundials... (long story).
1) Charter school did NOT work out well with A. Long story, the school psychologist never really even entered the picture (tried to contact for two months, still never got name/schedule/phone number/email, no response to email-forwarded-to-office-manager, etc), A was bored out of her sweet little mind and starting to detest school, etc. J actually told me to go pull her out, and he is one who wanted her in a school, any school! So we are in a homeschooling charter school now--weird, huh? They pay for a part of your homeschooling materials, and A goes there one full day a week for fine arts classes. They also do the sorts of things you associate with 1st grade (she's in 1st there--they had less hoops to jump through, lol)--catch and observe praying mantises and a grasshopper, have a class rabbit to feed carrots, eat snack & lunch outside on the grass, etc.
Baby G decided crawling was lots of fun, but walking is where it's at now. This week he's been testing out walking short distances on his own more often, even more yesterday, and today he decided it was FUN. He was walking from chair to counter, chair to chair, table to chair, halfway across the kitchen (he celebrated with giggly victory laps crawling), halfway across the kitchen again, etc, etc. He can also crouch down or lean over and then stand back up.
C is back in her preschool plus doing some homeschool. She loves both, and her preschool teacher loves her to pieces. She wanted to learn about earthquakes so we did that last week, along with volcanoes. This week we all learned about maps and directions, followed a map to deliver birthday invitations, and made a map of our house. (Both of the girls--they do the fun stuff together.)
The girls are a year older! Hooray! Their party is Saturday. I hope I find the camera charger before Saturday. It is lost agaaaaaaaain.
We saw Bill Nye. Squeeeeeee!!!!! We heard him speak, answer questions, met him, and got pictures taken with him. He is just like you'd expect from his show--funny plus hard science, for over an hour. It was awesome. He's currently big on global warming, personal ways to go green, and space exploration/studies. Also sundials... (long story).
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Quick update
My brother W is here for a few weeks. Yay! My dad & my other brother visited for a few days, too. Awesomesauce. W is cleaning the house as his rent payment. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay.
A has been in vision therapy for 2 weeks. After the first couple of days, she started reading signs outside voluntarily. Last week she did her daily reading (reading aloud to me) with NO complaining at all, for any of it. That has never happened before. Usually reading anything on her own results in a large freakout, I can't do it, you need to help me, I can't read small words, etc. This time, no problems AT. ALL. :D Tonight, she came out at bedtime to ask what books she could read. She is currently in bed, reading (actually READING, not looking at the pictures or reciting from memory) "The Cat in the Hat" voluntarily. That is the first time EVER that she has read, READ, something completely on her own & voluntarily. Hooray!!!!!!!
J's summer classes are over. Another hooray!!! He aced one & juuuuuust missed getting an A- in the other (the really hard one). Now, two weeks off!
A has been in vision therapy for 2 weeks. After the first couple of days, she started reading signs outside voluntarily. Last week she did her daily reading (reading aloud to me) with NO complaining at all, for any of it. That has never happened before. Usually reading anything on her own results in a large freakout, I can't do it, you need to help me, I can't read small words, etc. This time, no problems AT. ALL. :D Tonight, she came out at bedtime to ask what books she could read. She is currently in bed, reading (actually READING, not looking at the pictures or reciting from memory) "The Cat in the Hat" voluntarily. That is the first time EVER that she has read, READ, something completely on her own & voluntarily. Hooray!!!!!!!
J's summer classes are over. Another hooray!!! He aced one & juuuuuust missed getting an A- in the other (the really hard one). Now, two weeks off!
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Church stories
Today A's Primary class learned about the 10 commandments, and "My parents help me learn to obey the commandments." Her teacher talked to me after class and told me that A shared a very relevant story when they discussed commandments in class. A told how yesterday we went to the thrift store & (among other things) tried shoes on baby G. They fit well & we left them on his feet as we shopped. When we went to the car, I realized he was still wearing the shoes & we forgot to pay for them, so we all went back inside and bought the shoes. Her teacher was amazed that A not only remembered the story, but put it together with the idea of learning the commandments and shared it on her own. They really are watching what we do!!!!
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Fun
G loves to play with water. He had his face buried in my giant water cup this evening, giggling at it, babbling into it, blowing bubbles in the water, nearly choking on it, laughing about it and wanting more as soon as he recovered, over and over and over. So cute.
G is also allergic to nuts, milk, and egg whites. The peanuts are the most severe as far as we know, and he has two Epi-pen Jrs. I ordered him some allergic-to-peanuts-don't-you-dare-feed-me-stuff bling today.
C started her gymnastics on Monday. She wants to go every day. I wish I could send her twice a week! She has literally been practicing every single day since her class, working on the moves she learned and the ones she was too scared to try in class.
G is also allergic to nuts, milk, and egg whites. The peanuts are the most severe as far as we know, and he has two Epi-pen Jrs. I ordered him some allergic-to-peanuts-don't-you-dare-feed-me-stuff bling today.
C started her gymnastics on Monday. She wants to go every day. I wish I could send her twice a week! She has literally been practicing every single day since her class, working on the moves she learned and the ones she was too scared to try in class.
A story from A
A: Did you know, long long ago, they washed with dry rags and soda? And there was no water--no ponds, no lakes. And no stores--no food! They died. But it was long ago. They lived before I was born.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Nice!
C just sniffed a little root beer and declared, "I've this ta-fore! (before) My daddy cooked it in a big pot! He said we had to finish it at Brooke's house!" She is entirely correct. Months ago we had an Elder's Quorum activity and J cooked up some homemade root beer and finished it on location.
C then went on to sing, "A Tisket, A Tasket" perfectly.
We visited A's school again last night. Yay! It's amazing. We will discuss possible acceleration with the school psychologist next month.
G now points for things he wants or places he wants to go. He cruises around furniture beautifully, even crossing his feet over each other to get where he's going. He also will get excited while sitting, throw his arms in the air, and launch himself directly towards what's exciting him.
C then went on to sing, "A Tisket, A Tasket" perfectly.
We visited A's school again last night. Yay! It's amazing. We will discuss possible acceleration with the school psychologist next month.
G now points for things he wants or places he wants to go. He cruises around furniture beautifully, even crossing his feet over each other to get where he's going. He also will get excited while sitting, throw his arms in the air, and launch himself directly towards what's exciting him.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Gems from the kids
C, about the lowercase "m": It looks like nostrils!
C, about big kid Harry Potter: He still has an owie on his head. That's sad.
A is doing 2-digit addition plus low-level multiplication and division. Woo-whee! She also broke her glasses again.
C, about big kid Harry Potter: He still has an owie on his head. That's sad.
A is doing 2-digit addition plus low-level multiplication and division. Woo-whee! She also broke her glasses again.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Updates
We had the WEIRDEST week ever a couple of weeks ago. We're finally recovering. Basically, I had weird bug bites every night, but only me. Swamp cooler broke. Fixed it. Dishwasher broke. Found tiny bugs in the bathroom. Thought they were body lice, then thought they were scabies. Dh went for a scabies script but it's not scabies. Nope. Microscope and observation of the crime scene to the rescue--infestation of bird mites. Eating ME. Coming from the ceiling vent in the bathroom. Sprayed a ton of bleach & pesticide in the bathroom. Evicted mama & three feathered/flying babies from the vent hose. Sprayed in the vent. Swamp cooler broke again. Got a window A/C. Window A/C broke. Fixed it. Made peach freezer jam. The end.
Also, the girls finished their summer swim lessons! The are both VERY comfortable in the water now. C can't quite swim on her own yet. A can swim on her back in that fun, bent-limbed little-kid splashy way. Today we went to the free swim, ran into some friends (who were also taking swim lessons), and A's friend was swimming underwater. So A watched her and also started swimming underwater (forwards, not holding nose). I was shocked. We are pondering a pool pass for next year with some tax return money.
Next week, we have two eye appointments for A and G has his first allergy testing. C will be starting gymnastics, too, I think. She has been playing gymnastics & practicing all afternoon.
Also, the girls finished their summer swim lessons! The are both VERY comfortable in the water now. C can't quite swim on her own yet. A can swim on her back in that fun, bent-limbed little-kid splashy way. Today we went to the free swim, ran into some friends (who were also taking swim lessons), and A's friend was swimming underwater. So A watched her and also started swimming underwater (forwards, not holding nose). I was shocked. We are pondering a pool pass for next year with some tax return money.
Next week, we have two eye appointments for A and G has his first allergy testing. C will be starting gymnastics, too, I think. She has been playing gymnastics & practicing all afternoon.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Baby G
He gives even better baby kisses now. He used to hold his mouth open & hold still, waiting for a kiss. Now he leans in & gives big open-mouth kisses right on your cheek, or your nose, or your chin. He grins when he does it.
He also can crawl very fast now, and will chase you happily around the house. He tracked down J in the bedroom, C in the bathroom, the girls in the playroom, etc. He loves to be with people.
He should go in for allergy testing next month. He keeps getting more rashes, today hives, so I really hope we get definitive results on allergens he reacts to next month.
He also can crawl very fast now, and will chase you happily around the house. He tracked down J in the bedroom, C in the bathroom, the girls in the playroom, etc. He loves to be with people.
He should go in for allergy testing next month. He keeps getting more rashes, today hives, so I really hope we get definitive results on allergens he reacts to next month.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Ummm... cool but ?
Feeding baby G tonight. He ate for a bit and than SAID, "Done." I stared for a minute and asked C what she thought G said. "He said all done!" He then signed milk and refused any more food. So. Ummm. Yeah. ? I'm sure it's a total fluke, but... whoa.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Shameless brag
I taught A the basic idea of division today with a couple of problems, and then posed the question of "What is 10/2?" to her. She knows her addition to ten fairly well so I thought, why not. Her answer? "I thiiiink it should be 5." She grabbed the felt 5 for the felt board & stuck it on as the answer.
:D
They are both doing well in swim class too, but that was the wow moment for today. :D
:D
They are both doing well in swim class too, but that was the wow moment for today. :D
Monday, June 20, 2011
Fun day!
Swim lessons started today. C fell in the water in the first two minutes, went under--and popped back up, desperately swimming backwards above the surface for a couple yards before her teacher got her. Wow! Then they went back to normal stuff like assisted back floats and blowing bubbles with their noses.
I went in to the girls' bedroom to see what they were doing. C was laying down with her eyes closed (pretending to sleep). A told me C had bellybutton cancer and was already asleep for surgery, and A was using her glasses case as the laser to cut open the bellybutton and get to the cancer. I kid you not. LOVE!!
C tried her 3rd gymnastics facility today. WIN! C actually liked the hardcore one the best, but she still said this one was "super fun" and she's happy about going back. This one was much more relaxed & gentle in its environment, but still great at teaching. The older kids were all relaxed but working hard, with fabulous technique. They are a very successful competition gym but they appear extremely competent rather than demanding & a bit crazy, lol. Much more of a learning environment with less stress but high expectations. And it's cheaper!!
I went in to the girls' bedroom to see what they were doing. C was laying down with her eyes closed (pretending to sleep). A told me C had bellybutton cancer and was already asleep for surgery, and A was using her glasses case as the laser to cut open the bellybutton and get to the cancer. I kid you not. LOVE!!
C tried her 3rd gymnastics facility today. WIN! C actually liked the hardcore one the best, but she still said this one was "super fun" and she's happy about going back. This one was much more relaxed & gentle in its environment, but still great at teaching. The older kids were all relaxed but working hard, with fabulous technique. They are a very successful competition gym but they appear extremely competent rather than demanding & a bit crazy, lol. Much more of a learning environment with less stress but high expectations. And it's cheaper!!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
The girlies having fun
We are looking for a gymnasium for C. We tried one that was not a good fit (mostly playing around to music, very little actual gymnastics or instruction). We do that on our own, lol. C had fun but said it was only a little fun and that she didn't want to go back. She loved one particular part but that seemed to be it. Today we tried a more serious gymnasium, a full hour of actual gymnastics instruction, geared to kids her age but expecting them to do it. She did fabulously and loved it. Her favorite was "everything" and she wants to go back. It is a competitive gym so it looks a bit intimidating at the higher levels. I also want to try another gym before we decide, but she did very well today.
A watched surgery (real) for 1.5 hours yesterday! She loves her science. She also is working on her art. For geography she turned a picture of a honeybee into a cutout puppet on a stick with toilet paper wings for the proper texture/color. Today she made a dragonfly in 3-D. She put a pipe cleaner through a long straw for the body and tail (the bent end), made two pipe cleaner legs in the back and 4 on the front, and made two large wings of blue pipe cleaners (two per wing) with yellow pipe cleaner stripes (so it has "yellow and clear striped wings"). Awesome!!
A watched surgery (real) for 1.5 hours yesterday! She loves her science. She also is working on her art. For geography she turned a picture of a honeybee into a cutout puppet on a stick with toilet paper wings for the proper texture/color. Today she made a dragonfly in 3-D. She put a pipe cleaner through a long straw for the body and tail (the bent end), made two pipe cleaner legs in the back and 4 on the front, and made two large wings of blue pipe cleaners (two per wing) with yellow pipe cleaner stripes (so it has "yellow and clear striped wings"). Awesome!!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
:D
J is working very hard & aceing his classes so far. After a scary previous encounter with biology, in a complete turnaround he loves it now. He spent a long time on Saturday looking at many substances/items under the microscope with A, and he wants to buy a 1500x light microscope that incorporates a camera so we can study a lot more with it and take pictures for further study. A and I are very excited about this plan. :D We also spent this morning discussing possible God-directed evolution scenarios re: Adam & Eve & their immediate children & evolved hominids. I love that man.
J's mom's dog of 14 years is dying, and will be put down on his mom's birthday tomorrow if she makes it through the night. Sadness.
The girls graduated preschool! They each performed a talent. C sang her favorite Dr. Horrible song (most of the guy part of "My Eyes"). A read a story she wrote, and then sang part of another Dr. Horrible song, "Brand New Day." The first part is a fast monologue so she hummed that part.
G is now crawling, sitting, pulling himself up on furniture & people, cruising around furniture, bracing on the floor with his legs straight, and now he's letting go of things and standing for a second or three before leaning towards a person to pick him up (before he falls over). His favorite food is fresh raspberry. He now has object permanence, loves peek-a-boo, and will follow you around the house (calling, "Muh-muh!" if it's after me. He also says, "da-da" but I'm not sure if it's for J or just because it sounds fun). He also freaks out in the car a bit more because he KNOWS you're there & you're not coming to save him, WHY????!!!!!!!. Poor kid.
J's mom's dog of 14 years is dying, and will be put down on his mom's birthday tomorrow if she makes it through the night. Sadness.
The girls graduated preschool! They each performed a talent. C sang her favorite Dr. Horrible song (most of the guy part of "My Eyes"). A read a story she wrote, and then sang part of another Dr. Horrible song, "Brand New Day." The first part is a fast monologue so she hummed that part.
G is now crawling, sitting, pulling himself up on furniture & people, cruising around furniture, bracing on the floor with his legs straight, and now he's letting go of things and standing for a second or three before leaning towards a person to pick him up (before he falls over). His favorite food is fresh raspberry. He now has object permanence, loves peek-a-boo, and will follow you around the house (calling, "Muh-muh!" if it's after me. He also says, "da-da" but I'm not sure if it's for J or just because it sounds fun). He also freaks out in the car a bit more because he KNOWS you're there & you're not coming to save him, WHY????!!!!!!!. Poor kid.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Going grey
Nothing like having C and her kindred spirit 4-year-old friend disappear inside of 30 seconds at a park, be missing for at least 20 minutes, have J on his way & my friend ready to call the cops, and then have another friend's kid find them skinny dipping in a little fountain pool without a fountain hidden in a bunch of trees at the back of the park (laying down because the water was warmer than the air and so the very tops of their heads were all that was visible and that only from maybe 25 feet away if you were looking right at them).
Friday, May 27, 2011
YAY!!!!
Baby G crawled FORWARDS!!! (He's been crawling backwards for about 2 months and was none too happy about that, lol.)
New stuff
Blogger wasn't working for a while. Back now!
AWe ordered a basic dissection kit and let A's scientist side run free. "It's just like SURGERY!!!!" Monday we dissected a huge (11") earthworm and a grasshopper. We found out the grasshopper was female (4 points on the backside). Did you know a grasshopper's heart is just a huge blood vessel running along its back? That was essentially practice for today--Frog Dissection Day. It was a bit odd at first ("What if it was still alive?" and how its tongue was sticking out) but once we got into it (literally), A loved it. She did a lot of the cutting work herself on all three dissections. We found the heart, saw the three chambers, chopped it & saw a septum, found the lungs, chopped one & saw the space for air & the spongy lung structure, found the liver, gall bladder, stomach, intestines, etc. We found a mystery round object & removed/bissected it to discover it was the spleen. We found the testes (it's a boy!) and other assorted parts. Baby G was freaking out a lot so eventually I let A play around on her own while I bounced the baby, and she decided to investigate the strong jumping legs. I took a quick video of her starting that part. She found muscles, an artery/vein, and eventually the bone. A also found the webbed feet, explained the purpose of the webbing to C, and worked to remove the webbing. She wanted to see the brain but the skull is a very effective barrier. We did see a large artery/vein (not sure which) on the skull bringing blood to the area, though. There are, of course, pictures. :p
C's only comment was, "Dissect smells gross." She then left.
Quote from A: The scriptures are like a compass, but with words and paper!
A said she never wants to be apart from me (or J) and that when she gets married to Someone, Someone and she would come to get us and we would buy bed (for her 6 kids she plans to have and for all of us grownups) and we would live together. Then she decided that we would live next to each other instead, with a park next to our houses so we could “meet every day” and go to the park together and play with her kids. Awwwwwwww.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Update
A's caterpillar (Hofer Cookie Millie) died. A mourned for about a minute & then asked if we could cut it open to see what was inside it. Yep. That's A.
J's school is intense this term!!!! He got a 102% on his first Bio test though so all his hard work pays off!
C has a trial gymnastics class next month to see how she likes it. Yay!
A decided we should have 13 kids. Ummmm... probably not, sorry lovey.
A turned vegetarian for about a day. J was getting scared & he finally turned her back to omnivore with some steak. Psh. :p
I might be ADD. That explains A LOT. Trying fish oil treatment for now.
J's school is intense this term!!!! He got a 102% on his first Bio test though so all his hard work pays off!
C has a trial gymnastics class next month to see how she likes it. Yay!
A decided we should have 13 kids. Ummmm... probably not, sorry lovey.
A turned vegetarian for about a day. J was getting scared & he finally turned her back to omnivore with some steak. Psh. :p
I might be ADD. That explains A LOT. Trying fish oil treatment for now.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
:)
Baby G gives me raspberries on my arm now. It's cute.
J found where he put the charger for the camera battery so I can take pics again. Hooray!
We found a caterpillar & are attempting to raise it in our "butterfly habitat" (the kind where you send away the coupon for caterpillars). We'll see how that goes....
J found where he put the charger for the camera battery so I can take pics again. Hooray!
We found a caterpillar & are attempting to raise it in our "butterfly habitat" (the kind where you send away the coupon for caterpillars). We'll see how that goes....
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Also
Things I forgot:
J got his semester grades. 4.0 ftw!!
I *pink sparkly heart* tax returns. Pink. Sparkly. Heart. We have a ton of new organizers now, and some actual decorations on the wall, and a folding spinning wheel is en route. And we got a chest freezer!
I get to pick up my essential oils (DoTerra) on Monday. Hopefully they will help with this nasty combo of croupy cough and allergy season, plus many other things. (I plan to use Mom--hi Mom!--as a guinea pig in August with the frankincense, which helps the central nervous system.)
A friend is learning to do energy work & tried some on baby G. He was SO much happier & more mellow for a week and a half after that. Then it was J's week off school so I kept leaving G with J and heading out on my own a bunch and that totally messed G up. After the fourth time I left in a couple of days, he started freaking out. So, she's going to work on him a bit more later. (And she's free, lol! I love friends.)
Got another bunkbed from another friend, for when baby G is bigger & has a sibling. It will hang out in the storage shed until then.
J got his semester grades. 4.0 ftw!!
I *pink sparkly heart* tax returns. Pink. Sparkly. Heart. We have a ton of new organizers now, and some actual decorations on the wall, and a folding spinning wheel is en route. And we got a chest freezer!
I get to pick up my essential oils (DoTerra) on Monday. Hopefully they will help with this nasty combo of croupy cough and allergy season, plus many other things. (I plan to use Mom--hi Mom!--as a guinea pig in August with the frankincense, which helps the central nervous system.)
A friend is learning to do energy work & tried some on baby G. He was SO much happier & more mellow for a week and a half after that. Then it was J's week off school so I kept leaving G with J and heading out on my own a bunch and that totally messed G up. After the fourth time I left in a couple of days, he started freaking out. So, she's going to work on him a bit more later. (And she's free, lol! I love friends.)
Got another bunkbed from another friend, for when baby G is bigger & has a sibling. It will hang out in the storage shed until then.
Quickly
Sick again.
C loves plain bagels--"from planes--airplanes!"
DoTerra meeting last night. Awesome. Hopefully that will help with the sick thing.
C loves plain bagels--"from planes--airplanes!"
DoTerra meeting last night. Awesome. Hopefully that will help with the sick thing.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Hungry boy
We have now determined that "uh-mama" means "milk now!!" not just "mama." Or maybe it's just the "I want... something!" sound and as a baby that's usually milk.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Awww
Sometimes when baby G wants me, he yells, "uh-ma-ma! Uh-ma-ma!" Heehee.
We also had this exchange about a week ago.
G: Hey DADA!
J: Yes?
G: I-WUH-WAH!
J: I love you too.
G: Aaaaah!
Heehee. He definitely likes to "talk" and uses pretty advanced babbling when he wants to. He is also content to just holler though :p
We also had this exchange about a week ago.
G: Hey DADA!
J: Yes?
G: I-WUH-WAH!
J: I love you too.
G: Aaaaah!
Heehee. He definitely likes to "talk" and uses pretty advanced babbling when he wants to. He is also content to just holler though :p
Thursday, April 21, 2011
It's hard being a baby.
G can now scoot... but only backwards! He is very frustrated by this. He ended up halfway under the table this morning.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Baby G
Baby G is much too young to talk at 6 months, but he has suddenly figured out how to YELL, in varying tones, pitches, and modulations. He found the talks at church fascinating today & tried to join in joyfully at the top of his lungs. Repeatedly. The whole meeting. "Aaaaah! Aouh! WAAAHR! Ooo-ahhh!"
He is also signing a bit--"all done" for, well, "I'm all done" a.k.a. "PICK ME UP NOW!!!" and "milk" for the obvious. He will get super happy if you understand him. If he's signing "all done" and I ask him, "Do you want milk?" he keeps crying and signing. Then I ask, "all done?" and he laughs & stops crying for a bit. (If I don't follow through & pick him up then he goes back to crying & is even louder.)
He is also signing a bit--"all done" for, well, "I'm all done" a.k.a. "PICK ME UP NOW!!!" and "milk" for the obvious. He will get super happy if you understand him. If he's signing "all done" and I ask him, "Do you want milk?" he keeps crying and signing. Then I ask, "all done?" and he laughs & stops crying for a bit. (If I don't follow through & pick him up then he goes back to crying & is even louder.)
Friday, April 15, 2011
More funnies
We just got a phonebook on the porch. A asked, “A foam book? Does it teach you how to make foam?!”
I watched a video about spinning wool last night. C was shrieking, "They made YARN from SHEEP WOOL!!!" and A told me this morning that she is going to spin. She doesn't want me to teach her at all because, "I already know how. I watched the video last night."
I watched a video about spinning wool last night. C was shrieking, "They made YARN from SHEEP WOOL!!!" and A told me this morning that she is going to spin. She doesn't want me to teach her at all because, "I already know how. I watched the video last night."
Monday, April 11, 2011
...
We're playing house-of-sick-people-during-the-last-two-weeks-of-the-semester. More updates when we're over this!! Had fun with my family last week even with being sick though! (There's a 2-3 week cold/near-bronchitis going around. We're on week 1.5.)
Friday, March 25, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
A new title
A has declared herself Princess Pi. Pi is spelled Pila, with a silent "l" that makes the "i" use the long vowel sound. Ah, the concept of phonics in the hands of a 5-year-old. A made a comment that she loves to tell stories (which she does), so I asked her to tell me about Princess Pi. She answered, "Princess Pi is me. I don't need to tell stories about myself." This was of course accompanied with the "DUH, mom" look. Princess Pi is also spoken about by A in the third person. Princess Pi only needs a bath when her hair is dirty (as A is about to get in the bath).
G randomly has two rashes on his face. I have no idea why. Typical. He's always got some weird rash going on, lol.
The kids' step-grandma is coming out to help with step-sister's new baby today! I wonder if we'll get to see her sometime.
G randomly has two rashes on his face. I have no idea why. Typical. He's always got some weird rash going on, lol.
The kids' step-grandma is coming out to help with step-sister's new baby today! I wonder if we'll get to see her sometime.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
It's snowing.
Right now. March 22. Snow falling like crazy.
I just got over what looks like strep. I am not quite 100% yet but I should be in a day or two. Or three. Blech. I'm SO glad to "not be just laying on the brown chair all day not moving," as A put it. I kind of ruined J's spring break with all of that. :(
The girls learned about snakes & armadillos as preschool today, so they are playing armadillo roll into a ball when a predator comes, and they already played rattlesnake rattling in warning to make me run away to a safe distance, and armadillo eating ants with a long (straw) tongue. Good times! I love their preschool.
I turned in A's paperwork for her charter school. Hooray!! It's near a park so I'm already making plans for weekly park trips on the way home from school & park time with C after dropping A off, etc. The school is also in horse territory so that will be fun to see.
G is trying to crawl. As of two days ago he's no longer just pushing up on his arms & looking around but instead he's madly thrashing around with his arms & legs, acting rather desperate to GO somewhere. It's so cute.
J's younger brother got us... oh, something I can't say quite yet because it's part of a Hofer surprise... thing... but we love it. Love! More on that later.
Jeremy's step-sister had her baby!! Yay!
I just got over what looks like strep. I am not quite 100% yet but I should be in a day or two. Or three. Blech. I'm SO glad to "not be just laying on the brown chair all day not moving," as A put it. I kind of ruined J's spring break with all of that. :(
The girls learned about snakes & armadillos as preschool today, so they are playing armadillo roll into a ball when a predator comes, and they already played rattlesnake rattling in warning to make me run away to a safe distance, and armadillo eating ants with a long (straw) tongue. Good times! I love their preschool.
I turned in A's paperwork for her charter school. Hooray!! It's near a park so I'm already making plans for weekly park trips on the way home from school & park time with C after dropping A off, etc. The school is also in horse territory so that will be fun to see.
G is trying to crawl. As of two days ago he's no longer just pushing up on his arms & looking around but instead he's madly thrashing around with his arms & legs, acting rather desperate to GO somewhere. It's so cute.
J's younger brother got us... oh, something I can't say quite yet because it's part of a Hofer surprise... thing... but we love it. Love! More on that later.
Jeremy's step-sister had her baby!! Yay!
Monday, March 14, 2011
Huh.
Yeah, our kids are unique, LOL. The girls were playing "my sister is dead and my mother is not dead," also known as "dead and not dead" earlier. Apparently that means one of them lays down as the dead person & the other one pretends to be the mom & cries over the other's body. Alanna said she came up with it from her own head. Yeah.... Interesting....
On an up note, lol, the girls got some workbooks from Great-grandma Betty today! They both wrote thank-you notes and hopefully I will remember to mail them.
Sunday we went to the Provo temple & walked the grounds, sat & ate a snack while playing a game & reading, & then the girls joined another family with kids for a kid-run game of hide & seek. Fun times!
On an up note, lol, the girls got some workbooks from Great-grandma Betty today! They both wrote thank-you notes and hopefully I will remember to mail them.
Sunday we went to the Provo temple & walked the grounds, sat & ate a snack while playing a game & reading, & then the girls joined another family with kids for a kid-run game of hide & seek. Fun times!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
YAYNESS!!!
Yes, yayness is a word. I declare it to me so.
Even if it may only land in the Urban Dictionary where invented words live.
:D
A got into QR, the super awesome amazing charter school (read: FREE) that really emphasizes the arts & where I think she will be absolutely thrilled. We toured several & this is the one that even just from the tour, she really wanted to attend & she has been telling many people all about it, and what she'll learn there, & what they start teaching next year, etc. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (It was a random lottery so we had no idea if she would get in or not. I just opened the email that says YES!!!)
Okay, now for exclamation point part the second, A has been reading a lot this week. Besides Frog & Toad, she also has been reading through (slowly, carefully, & with a little help) "The Enchanted Castle," which features words like "disappeared" and, well, "enchanted castle." This isn't something she would have even tried to read say a month ago. She's doing beautifully--sounding out everything she doesn't know & not having any issues when I show her what it does sound like (and she's sounding it out properly--it's not her fault English doesn't follow its own rules). It also has new interesting concepts like a "sitting room" and a "fork" in the road. It's been a lot of fun so far.
So, while I was helping A read "The Enchanted Castle" this evening, C looked over and said, "Will you teach me how to read?" Okay!! She's been dabbling with it lately, sounding out letters in words & guessing what they turn in to, and I've been teaching her a bit on purpose and playing some letter games with simple words, etc. So we sat down & read through a very basic book (it uses three words in various combinations for easy reading) and she enjoyed that. After the first couple of pages she started, "I can do it myself!" and she sounded out the words, asking if she wasn't sure, and she did beautifully herself. Then I wrote a couple of simple words (bat, bed) and she read those correctly as well as one that A wrote for her (aldo, which was her phonetic version of "I'll do"). They wanted to do more but it was already past bedtime. Go go, super readers!
Even if it may only land in the Urban Dictionary where invented words live.
:D
A got into QR, the super awesome amazing charter school (read: FREE) that really emphasizes the arts & where I think she will be absolutely thrilled. We toured several & this is the one that even just from the tour, she really wanted to attend & she has been telling many people all about it, and what she'll learn there, & what they start teaching next year, etc. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (It was a random lottery so we had no idea if she would get in or not. I just opened the email that says YES!!!)
Okay, now for exclamation point part the second, A has been reading a lot this week. Besides Frog & Toad, she also has been reading through (slowly, carefully, & with a little help) "The Enchanted Castle," which features words like "disappeared" and, well, "enchanted castle." This isn't something she would have even tried to read say a month ago. She's doing beautifully--sounding out everything she doesn't know & not having any issues when I show her what it does sound like (and she's sounding it out properly--it's not her fault English doesn't follow its own rules). It also has new interesting concepts like a "sitting room" and a "fork" in the road. It's been a lot of fun so far.
So, while I was helping A read "The Enchanted Castle" this evening, C looked over and said, "Will you teach me how to read?" Okay!! She's been dabbling with it lately, sounding out letters in words & guessing what they turn in to, and I've been teaching her a bit on purpose and playing some letter games with simple words, etc. So we sat down & read through a very basic book (it uses three words in various combinations for easy reading) and she enjoyed that. After the first couple of pages she started, "I can do it myself!" and she sounded out the words, asking if she wasn't sure, and she did beautifully herself. Then I wrote a couple of simple words (bat, bed) and she read those correctly as well as one that A wrote for her (aldo, which was her phonetic version of "I'll do"). They wanted to do more but it was already past bedtime. Go go, super readers!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Da Future
My very long term plan is to become fluent enough in ASL to foster (or even foster-adopt) a deaf child. That would be in probably 5-10 years of course--we plan to have at least one more "of our own" first & we'd need more space & Jeremy would probably need to be finished with school 'cause we like to have food/good job, lol! But I like that as a long term plan.
As of Friday's mail we still haven't heard from any charter schools. I'll update when we do, of course!
As of Friday's mail we still haven't heard from any charter schools. I'll update when we do, of course!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
:)
The girls went to the Fairy Tea Party (with no tea, lol) at the library yesterday. However, I forgot the camera, and when we got home A said she did NOT want me taking a pic of her costume. Oh well--everyone has probably seen pics of their dresses already on PhotoBucket. They dress up for a princess fairy pretend session pretty much daily. I actually wasn't there, because babies weren't allowed. G, not me :p They went with a friend & her mom. I know they saw a ballet dance, some fairy ceremonies (lol), had some fairy treats, and got a sealed vial of "fairy dust" pink sand and a fairy charm with a silver ribbon necklace. It looked like lots of fun--definitely worth $5.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Hmm
We were going to make thank you notes and maybe cookies today & go to the library, but instead...
I have a migraine and we have visiting teaching (done), preschool, playgroup (debating on that), and a birthday party (just A, so C will probably be extremely upset). But it is raining (yay!) and I am almost done with A's hat, and J is doing well in school. He's still cranking out that 4.0 and was top of his math class last time it was tallied. Hooray!! It's midterms this coming week, and I'm sure he'll do fabulously.
I have a migraine and we have visiting teaching (done), preschool, playgroup (debating on that), and a birthday party (just A, so C will probably be extremely upset). But it is raining (yay!) and I am almost done with A's hat, and J is doing well in school. He's still cranking out that 4.0 and was top of his math class last time it was tallied. Hooray!! It's midterms this coming week, and I'm sure he'll do fabulously.
Monday, February 28, 2011
More stuff
We started a fun princess study.
Also, C sounded out her first word entirely on her own in Feb (but it was "cook" and she used the short o sound twice instead of oo, so it sounded like a dirty word, LOL)!
J's dad is retiring today!!!!! Woohoo for him!!!
J's mom is not doing well health-wise. Prayers would be appreciated.
Also, C sounded out her first word entirely on her own in Feb (but it was "cook" and she used the short o sound twice instead of oo, so it sounded like a dirty word, LOL)!
J's dad is retiring today!!!!! Woohoo for him!!!
J's mom is not doing well health-wise. Prayers would be appreciated.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Fun with talents
C discovered the piano at church recently, and it t urns out she has a natural touch & ear. Jeremy started showing her the basics on his keyboard and I have brought her to church on youth night to play around with the piano. If her interest keeps up we'd like to find some way to get her in piano lessons, maybe in the autumn.
A has been reading herself a lot more this week. Reading is normally not her favorite thing to do as she gets frustrated when she doesn't know a word. Now we have the first book she has ever repeatedly wanted to read aloud to me herself--Frog & Toad Together. She's through "A List" and halfway into "The Garden" in that.
G is having more allergic rashes to who knows what. Oh well, lol. He's still super-cute. The sign for his name is a "G" and the sign for "smile."
C wants to play piano (keyboard) again, gotta go!
A has been reading herself a lot more this week. Reading is normally not her favorite thing to do as she gets frustrated when she doesn't know a word. Now we have the first book she has ever repeatedly wanted to read aloud to me herself--Frog & Toad Together. She's through "A List" and halfway into "The Garden" in that.
G is having more allergic rashes to who knows what. Oh well, lol. He's still super-cute. The sign for his name is a "G" and the sign for "smile."
C wants to play piano (keyboard) again, gotta go!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
A real update
Yeah, I know. I'll try this blogging thing again. As an actual update this time! With no grammar! (Well, barely any.)
First, another kiddo quote.
J: What kind of animal do you think Buzzy is?
C: A bunny!
A: I think he's just a pretend character.
Now, on to the actual update. I am too lazy to send out a proper email right now, so this way I can post a little bit & say I'll come back later to post more. Hah. Hah. :p
G is 19 lbs. Yes, those numbers are correct. 19. C is only 26 or 27. A can barely carry him now.
I like knitting. It is relaxing. But I need to not pick patterns that are insanely difficult, lol.
This week we discovered Axe Cop. http://axecop.com/index.php/acepisodes/read/episode_1/ It is written (dictated) by a 5-year-old and his cartoonist older brother illustrates it into a comic. It's fantabulous. We all love it, and it has boosted A's art & writing fun to a new level. She has been doing tons and tons of art lately, but after reading Axe Cop she is now attaching stories to her art. Today she drew a picture & composed page one of what she says will be a 20-page book. The picture is chalk on white paper but she wants to paint over it tomorrow, perhaps a pic will be coming then. Here is the text of page one of her story:
The sneaky cat snuck up on the bunny rabbit to eat it. The bunny rabbit ran away, jumping higher and higher. Its last jump bounced all the way up into the sky, and when it landed the earth shook and broke. The bounce was so hard that the earth broke in half and squished flatter and flatter until it became an oval. There was no dirt showing, only flowers. The cat’s family had a fire in a cage ready for the bunny. They took all of the bunny’s fur off before they cooked it, so it was only meat. Then the cat’s entire family sneaked up on another bunny rabbit and dragged it off with their teeth until they hunted one hundred rabbits.
We should find out next week if A got into the amazing charter school (at least in round 1). Praying praying praying....
First, another kiddo quote.
J: What kind of animal do you think Buzzy is?
C: A bunny!
A: I think he's just a pretend character.
Now, on to the actual update. I am too lazy to send out a proper email right now, so this way I can post a little bit & say I'll come back later to post more. Hah. Hah. :p
G is 19 lbs. Yes, those numbers are correct. 19. C is only 26 or 27. A can barely carry him now.
I like knitting. It is relaxing. But I need to not pick patterns that are insanely difficult, lol.
This week we discovered Axe Cop. http://axecop.com/index.php/acepisodes/read/episode_1/ It is written (dictated) by a 5-year-old and his cartoonist older brother illustrates it into a comic. It's fantabulous. We all love it, and it has boosted A's art & writing fun to a new level. She has been doing tons and tons of art lately, but after reading Axe Cop she is now attaching stories to her art. Today she drew a picture & composed page one of what she says will be a 20-page book. The picture is chalk on white paper but she wants to paint over it tomorrow, perhaps a pic will be coming then. Here is the text of page one of her story:
The sneaky cat snuck up on the bunny rabbit to eat it. The bunny rabbit ran away, jumping higher and higher. Its last jump bounced all the way up into the sky, and when it landed the earth shook and broke. The bounce was so hard that the earth broke in half and squished flatter and flatter until it became an oval. There was no dirt showing, only flowers. The cat’s family had a fire in a cage ready for the bunny. They took all of the bunny’s fur off before they cooked it, so it was only meat. Then the cat’s entire family sneaked up on another bunny rabbit and dragged it off with their teeth until they hunted one hundred rabbits.
We should find out next week if A got into the amazing charter school (at least in round 1). Praying praying praying....
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