Owen, this is your first ever spelling pre-test, recorded forever. Look at how great you did! You had never written most of these words before. I am so proud of you, Son! And I love how excited you got every time you got a word exactly right. You are a joy to teach.
I feel so overwhelmingly blessed to have them home with me for another year. Not only am I really excited about our curriculum and what all we are learning, but also I simply love being around my kids. It's going to be a great year of deepening our love for the Lord, working on good character, building deeper sibling relationships and practicing respecting each other.
This is what our school desk (AKA kitchen table) looks like. Jonesy cooed happily away while we worked on making passports for our people of the world class.
Our passports were very fancy, complete with glitter glue. O drew some pretty cool stamps inside of his of places he would like to visit one day.
Nosy's passport took days to dry! Check out that pile of glitter glue!
Owen with his first reader.
These are my books for the year. Pretty intimidating! I can't believe we are going to cover all that material in only one year! It is taking me about two hours each evening to prepare for the next day. These books include the schedule and lesson plans I am to follow. Any fun games or crafts (the kids' favorite part of the day) I come up with in addition to the material provided. Hopefully, as I get more familiar with the curriculum, I will be able to prepare in less time.
Looking way too grown up!
Nosy rarely leaves the fence during the games. He analyzes every play.
Surprise! Papa showed up to root for Joel and Jeremy. Owen ran up to Papa and said, "This game is even more extra-special by-cuz you are here." So sweet.I LOVE back to school time! Just the smell of brand new crayons gets my juices flowing. I guess my excitement is contagious because both Boys are raring to go as well. I had not planned on starting school until after Labor Day, but O and Nosy have been begging to get going ever since our huge box o' books arrived in the mail. How can I resist? We moved the first day up to this Monday which means the weekend is for celebrating!
How do we celebrate going back to school? With some great food, of course. We ate delicious burgers and dogs at Mooya, and then moseyed over to the nearby frozen yogurt joint. They even have a sugar free version that is just right for Nosy.
In case you don't remember, Jeremy is a sucker for man-sized mazes. This one was more boy-sized, but it was fun all the same.
All aboard!
It brings me such deep-down, soul-satisfying, pure JOY to watch my kids have so much fun. The ear-to-ear grins they sport, the giggles and belly laughs that they let loose, the twinkles in their eyes. I can't help but grin and giggle myself watching them. At one point, Jeremy looked over at me nursing Jones. "Is this what being a mom is like? Is this what you do on a play date?" "Pretty much," I told him. "That's cool. It's much more fun than I thought it would be." He basically summed my life up: It is so much more fun, more fulfilling, more filled with joy than I ever could have imagined. I am so blessed.
Peaceful naps after a great day.Every time I turned around, this Guy was sipping from the fountains. Incredibly gross if you ask me! He is always thinking of others though, and especially his baby brother. One time he came over to us with a mouthful of cool water. "For Gones," he proudly told me after I had made him spit it out. "Gonah might be thirsty too! I can give him one of my drinks."
I just love it that each of the Big Boys pauses often in their play to chit chat with Jones. And every time they get a smile or a tiny coo, they come running to tell me every detail with such excitement. Just today Nosy said, "Mommymommymommy, Jonesy made five noises just like 'aa-oooh.' FIVE times, Mommy! He talked to me!" Sweet O keeps track of exactly how many grins he coaxes from Jonah each day. I worried that they would eventually get tired of a tiny Brother that doesn't do much, but they seem to love him more all the time.
As you can see, it's a tough life!
Look who else just can't get enough of you, Tiny Boy. These Guys are head over heals for you. They can't wait for you to grow big enough to wrestle with them. In the meantime, they love to sing to you, chit chat with you, tell you stories, hold you on their laps, and pat your sweet baby head.
You are still super laid back and easy-going. You sleep well and eat great. You rarely get upset, even when you are hungry. Car rides are not your fave, but we can deal with that.
You are trying so hard to communicate with us. Your tiny mouth gets to working (You make such funny faces!) and your arms flap and your legs pump. So far, no smiles or coos though. I know they are right around the corner and I can't wait! I absolutely love your newborness, but I can't wait to get to know you more.
You woke up on the very morning of your two month birthday and gave me this! An enormous grin. And coos and smiles and squeals. We chatted for about 15 minutes before you got sleepy. It is as if your switch turned on and all of a sudden you can smile and vocalize. How charming you are, Tweedle Dee. I love every single ounce of you!
