O is for Organization {how we plan and organize our days}

by Meghan // April 6, 2015 // No Comments

Organization.

I have talked about organization in our home and homeschool before. I keep a general routine in place, and organize our school in such a way that it makes me life easier.

Posts to how we organize:

Organizing and Schedules/Routines

Our homeschool and life routine is ever changing (though not by much) simply because we have a baby in the house whose feeding and sleeping schedule changes as she ages. Here is what we are doing now with a 4.5 yo, 2.5 yo, and 6.5 month old.

6:00am Hubby and I are up emptying dishwasher, starting laundry, making breakfast, etc
7:00am Wake time for all, I nurse and bottle baby while older two eat breakfast
7:30-8:30am In this time I clean up the kitchen, pump after nursing Ila, and we begin our Sonlight P4/5 read alouds and circle/calendar time.
8:30 Ila goes down for nap 1
8:30-10:30 We continue school-this includes Bible, our SL read alouds, Max’s BFIAR, calendar and circle time song/poem/memory work, Lexie’s AAR, Math, HWOT, and a science video some days. We are also memorizing maps (which we’ve been doing informally for some time) just continuing work on: the 50 states, continents, and countries Daddy has visited and their geography (this is for fun and is NOT formal). On Fridays we do an art lesson using ARTistic Pursuits (which we LOVE-link & review coming soon!).
10:30-11:30 Lexie goes downstairs for independent play, Max goes to their room for his Independent play.
11:00 I get Ila up, nurse, solids, bottle then she chills while I make Lexie and Max’s lunch.
11:30- L and M eat lunch, then play outside weather permitting
12:15- Max down for Nap
12:30 Ila down for nap 2, then hubby or I do Lexie’s nap with her and she goes down stairs to rest; some days she may quietly play dolls upstairs, or she can rest for an hour then go outside for an hour.
3:00 Max up, Ila up and nurse, solids, bottle
3:30 snack for Lexie and Max, then outside to play weather permitting
4:30 Ila down for last cat-nap; I start dinner
5:30 Ila up from cat nap
5:45 we eat dinner as a family (Ila will soon get solids with us here), then baths and silly show or books with Daddy
6:30 nurse and bottle Ila
6:45 Lexie and Max to bed (daddy does this while I put Ila down)
7pm- Mommy and Daddy begin their night! =)

The only things here set in stone are the kids’ naps and eating times. Everything else has just fallen into place naturally. I prefer getting school done in the morning so we have the afternoons to read, play outside, run errands, cook, etc. Once it is off my plate I feel like we have the rest of the day to do whatever we want, or continue learning about other things. As they get older and school takes longer, that will change but for now we can accomplish all that I feel is important in a few hours in the morning.

We clean up after each transition- so: before independent play, before naps, before daddy gets home, before bed, and always before we can go outside. This also encourages them not to ransack any one area in the house and leave it! 😉

On Tuesday night we pick up the entire house- everything goes in its place and Wednesday morning is cleaning day! The kids go down stairs after I put Ila down for her nap, and at that time I clean. They have already taken their clothes to the laundry room, picked up any toys that were out, helped clear the breakfast table, etc. I clean the house top to bottom alternating a different “deep clean” area each week (fans, blinds, baseboards, walls, etc). I try to use Tuesday night as my declutter/clean out time. I do a whole-house declutter three times a year, and I usually hire a company that does Hard rubbish removals. It’s surprising how much junk collects up over time! Fellow parents might already be aware of this, but the biggest mess in the house is usually toys that are strewn everywhere. If you’ve got the space, a playroom can take care of this problem. A friend had a nifty hack and got something like a prefab she shed to use as a playroom as they didn’t have enough rooms in their house and it works great for them.

Planning

For my homeschool planner I use the Mardel Simple Plan Homeschool Planner and I LOVE IT. I did use the Ultimate Homeschool Planner for a while and I did like it, too. I think either of these will fit most homeschooler’s needs. I just prefer the Mardel planner (and can’t link it for you because they don’t have them in stock until June or July).

For home and life in general, I use (and LIVE by) my Erin Condren Life Planner. I use it for everything not homeschool related-tracking Ila’s schedule, menu planning, to do lists, bills, purchases made, my monthly oils order, library books, husband’s travel, our travel plans, etc. basically everything NOT homeschool related. The ECLP is spiral bound, which is fine, but I chose to arc mine and will probably never turn back. I love it!

I may even arc our SL instructor’s guides; it might make it less desirable to others for resale, but we will be using the cores for all 3 children, which means I will have them for some time and I want them to be as convenient for me as possible, and that may mean arc punching them. I am still debating, but will definitely let you know what I decide and include a post!

So, that’s it! O is definitely for Organization in our home and homeschool.

How do you stay organized and on top of things in your home?

Baby Summary 17 Weeks {WW 14-19}

by Meghan // January 17, 2015 // No Comments

WW 19 summary lookin like big sister {QuietInTheChaos.com}

Looking like her Big Sister, wearing the same jammies, same age. Lexie on left, Ila on right

(I started this post last week. Ila is now 18 weeks and we are still trucking through this WW.)

Ila was 17 weeks Thursday, January 8th. Really, it has been so crazy here, I thought she was 16 weeks- I can’t seem to keep up.

Ila is in the absolute dreaded WW (wonder week) 14-19. And oh man, are we aaaaall up in it! On top of that, she is teething, so life is just hard. I have been rubbing diluted oils on her gums to help with pain and am waiting on her teething necklace to get here. Naps and wake time length are just all over the place. I can’t wait for this WW to end!

She is somewhere around 15 Lbs I think, and is still practicing rolling from tummy to back. She sits up nice and straight with support, and holds her head up so well. She is sitting in the bumbo for one meal a day; we are practicing with oatmeal and apple sauce but she really doesn’t care anything about it. But I figure we should start now so that when it is time that she definitely needs solids (at 6 months or so) it doesn’t take us another month or two to get them in her. She still spits the oatmeal out; but she is nursing and then taking 5-7ounces of formula so it is DEFINITELY time for this big girl to get some solids in her belly!

She has started practicing with consonant sounds like “buh” and is infatuated with her hands. She loves to talk, but isn’t her same smiley self these days, thanks to the icky teeth.

Overall she is developing well and is a sweet baby. We all just lover her =)

Baby (#3) Summary: 11 weeks

by Meghan // December 29, 2014 // No Comments

(written a few weeks ago, Ila is now 14 weeks)

Baby Summary- 11 weeks {QuietInTheChaos.com}

(she has watermarks so crazies online don’t steal her sweet baby face)

Yep- it has been ELEVEN weeks since Baby Ila (or Ila-Dila, as the kids call her) was born. I can’t believe it! And unlike my first two, she has yet to have a baby summary post! I do these for two main reasons: as as journal for myself to remember what my babies were doing when, and to help readers looking for baby sleep schedules/routines.

Schedule/Routine

I will just start with our schedule, and go into details after that. Right now we are doing a 3 hour routine, but I think she is about ready for 3.5- 4 hours between feedings. (YAY)

7:00-wake/nurse/bottle/play
7:55- down for nap
10:00- wake/nurse/bottle/play
10:55- down for nap
1:00- wake/nurse/bottle/play
1:55- down for nap
4:00- wake/nurse/bottle/play
4:55 down for nap
She has been waking at this nap, and fussing because she is swaddled (which she normally loves) which makes me think she is about ready to drop this nap and move on to a 4 hour routine. But I am just hesitant yet, because she sleeps SO GOOD at naps and night, and I don’t want to mess that up!
7:00 wake/nurse/bottle BED

She is in bed every night before 8. The process of nursing and bottling takes us about 40 minutes, and there is no play time before bed at this stage. Lately, she has been having a hard time falling asleep at bedtime (again, a sign we need to drop the 4th nap and extend time between feedings), but is generally happy.

—

Before the last few days, we have steadily been at a 50 minute wake time since about …6 weeks? Before that we were at 45 minutes, which was just enough time to change her diaper, feed, and re-swaddle her for bed (mainly because feeding takes us so long). But this week she jumped up to a 55 minute waketime YAY. So you may wonder, how do you know when they’re ready for a longer wake time? She was staying up and talking at naps, happily, and then would fuss a bit before falling asleep (Because by that point she was over tired). So I knew it was time to push WT; I always jump in 5 minute increments and give it a day or two to work itself out before moving another 5 minutes, if it is needed; especially when they are this little. When they are older (2yrs+) I may move in 15 min increments.

For feedings we nurse, then she takes a bottle. But I have to sneak the bottle in, or she won’t take it. She just wants to nurse, which makes it hard for anyone else to feed her. In that way she is different from my other babies. With Lexie, from 4-9 months I was doing my internship/graduating from college, so we only got to nurse morning and at night; Max was in so much pain he just wanted a bottle then refluxed it all back up … he refused to nurse from about 5 months on. Ila LOVES to nurse; she goes crazy with excitement when it is time to nurse and does not want that bottle. but since I have a low supply, she has to take a bottle… I am pumping after 1-2 feedings a day to help with my supply. I just don’t have time to pump after every feeding.

Personality

Overall, Ila is a very happy girl. She rarely cries, smiles all the time, loves to snuggle and lights up the minute she sees or hears Mister and Lexie. They *LOVE* her. They want to hold her, talk to her, snuggle her, hold her hand, and read her books non stop. They join me for putting her down for all her naps and happily sing “Jesus Loves Me” each time- it is pretty precious.

Personality wise, she is so easy going compared to the other two. Well, Lexie was colicy some days, and had a very strong willed, determined personality. Max was easy going but had so many issues with reflux, that made him difficult. God knew I needed a break when he gave me Ila!

Development

Developmentally, she is on target I guess? I am not really keeping up this time (funny how that happens). She has discovered her hands, kicks her legs a lot, and talks. Oooh, how she talks. I love it! =) She isn’t in a rush to do anything, doesn’t care much about moving around; Lexie and Max were both trying to roll at this point. She just enjoys talking and being tickled.

Hopefully I will keep up better with her development/summary posts; probably not weekly, but monthly.

Tot Time {sorting by color} December 2014

by Meghan // December 22, 2014 // No Comments

The month of December we were going to take a short break from learning time, however- both kids are still begging to do it each day! So I decided to use this month as a trial for including Max in our structured learning time. Up to this point he has just been too destructive and too much of a distraction for Lexie.

Two Year Old Development

However, about 10-12 days ago, Max woke up a different child! (Mister is 27 months old) He is suddenly (a bit more) obedient, more independent, talking in complete sentences, eating so neatly, dressing himself, and his melt downs have become non-existent. (YAY!) During the time that Lexie is working on her school work, Max has been coloring, identifying letters, and sorting by color (his favorite) with us at the counter. He loves being included, and this fits well with our ultimate goal of everyone learning together.

This is my FAVORITE stage! He has started showing interest in a bit more structured learning (Lexie always showed interest so we have done it since she was tiny). Of course everything is through play and we/they play all day because that is the most important way for them to learn.

One thing I will mention is that, as much as I wanted to, I have tried not to push him to do learning time with us; he just wasn’t ready. And although it was hard for a few months during his really terrible two’s, ~~OMG~~ he has come out of that developmental leap ready to participate a bit!

Between Mister participating in learning time, and Ila stretching her wake time and feeding schedule, we have an ever evolving daily routine. So for a quick run down, our new routine looks something like this:

7am- daddy gets them up, eat breakfast, while mommy feeds Ila
7:55/8am – Ila goes down for nap, mommy cleans kitchen from breakfast, does a few chores, everyone ready for the day, kids outside if weather permits
8:45am- Sonlight readings for the day, Bible verse of the week, and discussion of any books we read. Sometimes we watch a video about what we have read (for instance this week we watched a few youtube videos on octopi, coral reefs, and sunken ships on the ipad. this is a treat, not a regular thing)
9:30/9:45- learning time- this includes Lexie’s All About reading, practicing sight word ring, shapes ring, HWOT work, any copy work, and math practice. We don’t do all these things every day. Some days we just doodle, color, and talk!
10:30- Max and Lexie to independent play/mommy feeds Ila
11:30- Ila down, big two eat lunch, outside if weather permits
12:15 Max down for nap
12:30 Lexie down for nap
1:30/2 Ila up to eat
2:30/3pm Ila down for nap
3:00-3:300 L and M up from nap, outside again if weather permits, if not we play and read
somewhere in here I prep dinner if I haven’t already
4:30/5- Ila up and eats
5:30/6- eat dinner; Ila back down for last nap of day (we are working on stretching to a 4 hour schedule, when we get there she will drop this nap and do a bit earlier bedtime. Until then she usually needs to be held during this cat nap. We don’t have the swing up or I would use it instead)
6:40- L and M to bed
7pm- Ila’s last feeding of the day, in bed by 7:40

And that is it for now. Hopefully in the next 4-6 weeks Ila will have her 3.5hr feedings stretched to every 4 hours. AAAAAH the 4 hour feeding schedule- YAY. That is when things really get easier. But for now, this is working out well for everyone. I have a little bit of time right now while all the kids are down for nap that I can rest, blog, or sew. =)

But, back to learning time- sometimes after we do our Sonlight readings for the day, we just sit at the table and talk while we all doodle and color. During this time Lexie spells words, practices writing and drawing, Max identifies letters, shapes, and numbers that I write on his paper. We also count, Max may go get a puzzle to work on, etc. So we are learning but it is much less formal and just as important as the formal stuff we do. This is a precious time, and I am so fired up about teaching them!

I am so excited about this time together! It is so much fun watching Max grow and develop from a baby into a big boy toddler; and Lexie is just becoming a sweet, precious little lady, while Ila is becoming more alert every day. We have so much fun.

**One more thing I want to add- I never thought Max’s terrible two’s would end. It was truly hard, stressful, and I was learning to breathe my way through the day. But IT DOES END. And on the other side there is a happy, independent, clumsy, and sweet phase- that’s where we are. Lexie never had terrible two’s (or at least they weren’t very hard if she did) so it was all new to me. If you’re a new mama in the throws of tantrums and all that is the two’s, just continue to be consistent and steadfast because it does end; and when it does, all the time, effort, and discipline you have put in during the hard time pays off!

And it is so much fun! So let the tot-time blog posts begin.

Weekly Wrap Up: September 6, 2014

by Meghan // September 24, 2014 // No Comments

{written week of September 6, 2014} Lexie has been very excited about learning time- she loves our “learning time books” (Sonlight read alouds) and doing her activities. I had planned to sorta put school on the back burner these last few weeks before baby, but she is having no part of that This week Lexie (4) has been working on:

reading with AAR (she is doing great!) and sight words
writing numbers 1-10 with Singapore and identifying more difficult shapes (soon to be 3d shapes)
fine motor skills/writing & strokes HWOT
Bible, read alouds, and science with Sonlight
Bears lapbooks (she wanted to learn about bears)
we have also been playing with play do and Sands Alive for fine motor and creativity
writing words- she has “writing books” her daddy brings her from each country he visits. She has been practicing writing out words phonetically. It is amazing what she can write! very proud of her

Max has also become VERY interested in our “learning time books,” aka read alouds. He likes to climb in my lap and read with us, which is great. He even retold a story (kinda..) to his daddy when he got home the other night. He is also learning his shapes and we are still working on his letters. For his birthday, my Granny got him this ABC puzzle by HAPE Toys; we *love* this puzzle because it allows him to manipulate the letters (standing them up, etc). It is wonderful for tactile learners. I hope to start Before Five In A Row with him after Christmas- I think he will really enjoy the stories and activities.

Playing letter sound BINGO- part of AAR Level 1

Overall it has been a wonderful last few weeks in our homeschool, before we add another tiny human to our home!

Baby and Preschooler Summaries: 18 months and 3.5yrs

by Meghan // April 9, 2014 // No Comments

{I began this post in march, but just now finished proof reading and editing errors. So, It is a month late! =) }

On March 2, Mister will be 18 months- we FINALLY have molars! He has cut the top right, and just finished the bottom right. He is now getting the right eye tooth, and has started cutting the left molars. I have to be honest- I was starting to wonder if we should see a dentist such as Dentist Framingham to see what was going on. The boy hasn’t had a tooth in months! By 18 months, Lexie had ALL but her two year molars. She had a mouth FULL of teeth, poor Max doesn’t. Hopefully by summer he will be about done (of course then it will be time for his two year molars …).

His sleep is mostly good. He takes one nap; I put him down at 12:00 on the dot, and he stays in bed until 2:30-3:00 depending on how long he sleeps. During all the teething his naps have been hit or miss- some days they are only an 1.5 hours, other days they are over 2. I have been rubbing diluted thieves oil on his gums before naps and bed time, and he loves it. The thieves helps numbs his gums.

building a city with unit bocks

Language

I have looked back at Lexie’s 17-18 month summaries, and wow! That girl was talking like crazy (and has never slowed down …). Mister had lots of words, but isn’t using complete sentences. The most he says in the way of sentences at this point is “bye bye, dada!” Everything else consist of one or two words for things he wants.

He signs more and please, and uses words for most everything else. He is bad about wanting to grunt for things- but I really try to make him use his words instead of responding to his grunts.

Physical Development

His physical development is crazy good- especially his fine motor skills. For a boy, he has always had advanced fine motor skills. His gross motor skills are good too-climbing stairs, moving stools, climbing on furniture, kicking a ball. He and Lexie love to “play soccer” in the back yard or in the house. He recently learned to climb the ladder on the playground out back, and is very proud of himself. Lexie is in gymnastics, so naturally she is all the time doing rolls and cartwheels around the house. Mister tries SO hard to do forward rolls like big sister. It is pretty cute.

shape sorter during morning “learning time”

He especially loves to tinker with things; you will often find him putting small toys inside cups, pretending to eat with a spoon, or stashing odd and ends inside a jar. Water is still his favorite activity, and calms him instantly. He will just let the water run through his fingers and is instantly soothed.

Personality

Personality wise- Max Payne is all boy. he never stops. Ever.

He is determined, and gets frustrated very easily. He is very vocal about what he does and does not like, over all is very sensitive, and snuggly. The only time he stops to relax is if he is getting tired. He loves to read books, but a few pages in has to get up and do something, then come back to finish. During playdates he does great- he snuggles me at first, and then is off to play and explore, even in new settings.

mommy and max time

Lexie is most definitely his favorite person; he follows her around and does what she tells him to … most of the time. He is her little minion- she asks him to pick up her toys or hand her something and he just doesn’t so happily. Haha, that probably won’t last much longer.

Overall Max is a joy and my biggest challenge ~~(other than losing the weight I put on while pregnant with him)~~. He gets bored easily and wants to do everything big sister does, even when he isn’t quite capable. That frustrates him. But it won’t be long and he will be doing everything she does and more!

When we decided to get Lexie a violin for her third birthday, and start her in lessons there were some people that told us “good luck with that; a 3 year old in violin. ha.” I am proud my girl has proven them wrong! =) She graduated from her practice violin (which helps young children get used to handling the violin, the weight of it on their shoulder, etc) her teacher made to her real violin. She is learning to play little rhymes on each string/note and where to put her fingers. She knows all her positions and how to hold her violin properly, though she is getting used to the new shoulder rest.

Overall, Lexie is a snuggly, sweet, happy, girl who is very eager to learn. The more she can take in the better- there is no such thing as too much information or reading at this point. I struggle to keep up with her thirst for knowledge and that is where she challenges me- I am always on my toes trying to fill her need and love of learning. I can’t believe she will be 4 this year. Where has the time gone?

Graduating from practice violin to real violin

Baby Summary: Babywise Baby 1 year

by Meghan // September 30, 2013 // No Comments

Happy First Birthday!

Well, sweet little Mister is a year old!

*tear*

He is just so dang sweet.

And he loves me, and wants me for comfort, etc.

But he is obsessed with
his daddy. I may have mentioned in another post, but Max doesn’t say “dada.”

He GROWLS it. It is hilarious! And so sweet. So then J.Tom growls back at him “Maaax,” then Mister responds … and they have this whole man code thing going on.

Pretty cute.

He also LOVES his cars and trucks that he can push around. He pushes them all around the house, and likes to load things up in the dump truck bed.

Right now, his favorite “hand” toy is his Kevin the Crane Train, my dad got him for his birthday. He loves that thing and carries it around most of the day.

If he doesn’t have the crane train, he has his lovie. Oh my. It goes everywhere! It’s pretty cute. And if he isn’t holding it right that minute, it better be close by, or he walks around aimlessly until he finds it. Then resumes his previous activity.

reading his birthday card, with lovie close by =)

He still loves Scarlet, very much. They “bond” through the screen door. haha “dag dag dag”- which is dog dog dog. And sometimes it comes out “da da da,” and we only know he isn’t talking about his daddy, because he isn’t growling it (and he is looking at Scarlet…). haha

What else? …

His favorite foods are peanut butter, banana (NANA!!!), any fruit really, chilli with rice, eggs, oatmeal, and anything we are eating that he can have.

He’s just so pretty!

He is now on the coconut milk tonic from Eat Fat, Lose Fat. It has the equivalent calories to cow’s milk, and he loves it. He still takes it from a bottle. He took it from a sippy once, and then refused it for an entire day after that… I am not really concerned about the bottle, because he only takes it a few times a day, and we will break it eventually.

He LOVES his kombucha out of his sippy though. Give him some “bucha bucha” in his sippy and he walks around like he owns the place. So I am sure he will accept the milk in it soon. No rush here though.

We are still a no go on the cow’s milk- it makes his throw up all day, and scream when laying down. And that was only a spoon of dairy. Hopefully he will outgrow this by 2?

Goodnight Moon is his favorite book… we read that at bedtime along with a few other favorites. He is doing the motions to twinkle twinkle little star.

OH! This was so cool- we were in church last Sunday, and he pointed at the star in his book, and said “sta!” I was so proud! =) He has only done it once since then. He can point to it if you ask, he just sorta refuses to say it. Polar opposite of his big sister…

Mister is obsessed with my watch, which we call a clock, overhead lights, and dumping things.

If he can put something inside something else- he is a happy little camper! The other day he just took his whole puzzle over to the trash can and dumped it in! That was fun cleaning up ..
When Lexie and I are playing with something in the floor, he immediately starts tearing it apart and putting it into its respective container/tote/box (blocks, animals, balls, etc). haha

“truck truck”

Mister and lovie it at the state fair

I know, the boy is never in clothes. Well, he has been lately because of the cooler temps. But have I told you what a sucker I am for sweet baby fat rolls in cloth diapers?! *Guilty*

My mama says he looks like a little hippy boy …. I’m good with that! =)

Big bear in the playground tunnel (this was an impromptu walk to the playground, hence no clothes..)

Happy Bear

SO, last month I took this picture of Max in my lap. And I immediately thought of this picture of my brother. My brother, Jeremy is on the left, Max is on the right.

Lookin like my Uncle Jeremy

Kinda amazing.

But then, there are days he looks like my baby pictures:

Anyway, that was just for fun. I think Jeremy would be proud that Mister looks like him.

So … he enjoys just hanging out in one of his block boxes …

the box … the lovie.

He weighs in at 23.8 pounds (we FINALLY got a scale in the house) and I am not sure on height. Thi is good considering the rough start he had with formula and milk, reflux,and poor weight gain for the first 6-8 months of this life. But he is on track now!

Sleep is still two naps, and 12-13hours at night. We tried moving the first nap back, like I mentioned in my last update. But that totally backfired with shorter naps and earlier morning wake times. So we are still at a 2 hour wake time before first nap, 3 hours before second nap, and 4 hours before bed (usually 6:30-7pm). It is working, knock on wood.

We are coming into wonder week 56, but he always starts them early by a week or two, so I think that is what this last disruption has actually been. I figure by the end of it he will either naturally push that nap back, or completely drop a nap on his own. Max has always consolidated his sleep on his own- I attribute that to him never having been in daycare where they determine his sleep, and thus disrupt it.

We have been able to naturally work with his sleep needs and it fits in great with our family routines, so it works for us! Clothes are 18 months, I figure we will be completely in 18-24 and 24 after Christmas.

Bubby LOVES his sissy Lexie

He was in a 4 shoe this summer, and he is wearing a 4.5 wide stride rite walker now. This boy has the flattest, fattest little feet ever. haha They’re so cute! Lexie had really wide feet but super high arches. Mister’s little feet are so flat.

And I guess that’s it. Still putting everything in his mouth. Everything. Enjoys playing “what can I dunk in the toilet today?!” Poor Lexie does a really good job at keeping her toilet lid down in her bathroom, but sometimes …. and I think Max just had a radar that tells him the lid is up. haha

OK, I think that is about it for our 12 month summary. He is just a super sweet little mister!

Weekly Wrap-Up Sept 20, 2013- Play With Me by Marie Hall Ets

by Meghan // September 23, 2013 // No Comments

This last week has been a LOT of fun!

We started each day off with Bible time at beakfast, like always. We also did our memory work here- Lexie has learned Matthew 7:12, and a poem about the wind over the course of the last few weeks. I thought about doing a weekly verse and a weekly poem, but at this age I feel like maybe that’s just too much. So I think we will do one or two a month. Oh, and she has both memorized already. We will just continue reviewing them.

Then we did a few chores and went down stairs for calendar, and story time. Here is when Mister plays with us, we do a little circle time, and
Pooh series by A.A.Milne. We are reading The House At Pooh Corner.

And Lexie just loves it. She asks to read the chapters over and over, and retells the stories. She likes t be sure she gets every detail correct. Maybe she is a future writer? =)

We also have my original collection in one bound book, I think it was what I got on my first Christmas? Or maybe later, but I know I was young. It is my favorite book.

Each day we read our weekly BFIAR story, which was Play with Me by Marie Hall Ets.

Lexie LOVED this story, and the activities we did with it (we used the pond pack from Homeschool Creations and Homeschool Share). She had me read it over and over and over … while I read, she colored or we snuggled.

The activities were a lot of fun, and included a “Who Am I?” clue word game, and gluing which is Lexie’s favorite!

(this is actually a tracing activity we didn’t get to last week for our BFIAR story, and she wanted to do it)

We also went to the library to play and get our apple and fall books for this week. (YAY!)

One day we went to the park and played. There, we collected tiny pine cones, talked about what animals might live there, climbed a tree, blew dandelions … you know the typical nature walk kinda things. =)

Friday we packed up and went camping at Neobrara State Park. It was awesome, and a much needed family weekend. I will write about it another time. =)

This week we finished (FINALLY!) our thank you cards from Bug and Mister’s birthdays. Now I just have to get them addressed and in the mail ..

We also had a wonderful playdate at a friend’s house, played outside a ton (LOVE fall weather), and worked in the garden. Lexie is such a great helper in the garden and enjoys finding what we have on the vine each morning.

Her Great-grandaddy Payne would be proud of his littler gardener.

Protector of the tomatoes (Scarlet likes to eat them off the plant ..)

Playing outside with Lilly

Mister and his favorite person- “dag dag!” = dog dog!

Sweet bear at the park, just hanging out and climbing on the slide.

he was actually tasting leaves …

The result of her big morning at the park. First day of a nap in 2 weeks- AAAAH!

Since she took a nap, she got to go to walmart late with mama- check out the sundress and camo boots!

Some of the last few days’ harvest- what are now fermented tomatoes!

He just loves to eat

waky waky sleepy Lexie!

Loves for his dog dog

What did you do this past week with your littles and family?

Weekly Wrap Up: Week of August 11

by Meghan // August 26, 2013 // No Comments

This is a review of what we did the week of August 11th … we are only a little behind! =)

We started the week by going to Lincoln for a dentist appointment. The kids got their teeth cleaned and all checked out. Everything turned out great!

Lexie has never been one to want to draw. She sorta freaks out because she “doesn’t know how” to draw pictures like she sees in books. SO we have been walking through the things that pictures need. She comes up with some GREAT stuff! =)

This is a picture of Daddy with big daddy hair haha

She really enjoys our patterning block cards. Thanks to my mom we have what seems like hundreds of patterning blocks! (There’s nothing like having a teacher for a Mia!) They are so much fun to sort, stack, and make pictures!

We got all ready for gymnastics one Thursday, only to arrive and realize the last week for summer session was the week before! So, we decided to hit up the library where she got books all about what? Why, trains of course! And I grabbed the wonderful book, “The Well Trained Mind,” which is about classical education.

She loves free time downstairs with all our learning toys. One of her favorites is the etch a sketch, which was mine and my brother’s when we were kids. One day she brought it to me and said, “Look! I made a Nebraska and Arkansas!” Arkansas is reversed, but I gotta say, it looks pretty good to me!

ANd in our free time, we watched daddy work on his smoker:

We made pallets on the floor to watch The Sound of Music, Lexie’s favorite!

Max got his first peanut butter: Yum!

Max learned all about driving the Cozy Coupe:

And eating mud:

Then at the end of the week, we built a fort in the living room!

So, that was our week for the week of August 11th! What have you and your family done this month? Share in the comments!

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38 week baby summary

by Meghan // June 13, 2013 // No Comments

Max is now 39 weeks (9.5 months), so this is the update for last week, his 38th week of life.

Let’s just say Max is now moving, fast! He is crawling everywhere, and is pulling up on everything! If he can get his hands on it, he pulls up on it. He likes to chase Lexie all around the house.

His new favorite thing? Dancing! He loves to dance and bounce.

He is still eating tons of finger foods. I have been steaming him fresh veggies, freezing them on a cookie sheet, and then storing them in bags for quick meals. I can’t get him to eat much off of a spoon anymore, he wants to chew!

Speaking of chewing, we have two top teeth! That was not fun, but they are here.

His days look like this:

7am wake and bottle
730 breakfast and play
8:55 down for nap
10:30 up from nap
11:30 bottle
12:00 lunch with mommy, daddy, and lexie
12:40/1:00/1:30 nap, depending on how long his first nap was
2:30/3:00 up from nap (nap is usually 1.5 hrs from whatever time he fell asleep)
3:30 bottle and snack, offer juice in sippy
5:30 dinner with family
6:30 bedtime- we shoot for 7pm, but he is usually begging for milk and bed at this point.

His naps have been SO great. He has been feeling better since the teeth finally got here, not as whiny and clingy as the last week or two. Literally, overnight he became my happy boy again.

We went to the pool Friday, and Daddy surprised us by leaving work early to join. We had a great time, and max loved the pool! We tried again, without daddy, to see if I could manage everyone by myself, and it was a success. So it looks like we will be getting a membership for the summer. They also have a toddler time from 12-1 certain days of the week. It is time just for the littles to play and enjoy the water. We may try once or twice a week, since that is lunch and wind down time for nap. It’s not usually hot enough for the water that early here, or at least it hasn’t been yet.

I have reduced his reflux meds from 4ml, to 3ml. So far so good. He has some spitting up while playing and crawling, but nothing that seems to bother him. Getting the medicine in him is still a challenge; we will both be so happy when he doesn’t have to take it anymore.

He did great at the chiropractor last week. His lower back was out of alignment and Dr C asked if he had been constipated … as a matter of fact he had been! Kinda crazy. He got adjusted, took a nap, and woke up poopy. True story.

Lexie has been her usual sweet self. She loves playing with Max, and looks forward to our snuggles in the morning and after nap; daddy has been traveling and she gets extra affectionate when he is gone. I think she needs that extra security.

She randomly sleeps for naps throughout the week, but always lays down for 1.5-2 hours for rest. Her bedtime is still 6:30 with no nap, she falls asleep right away and sleeps until 6:45-7am the next morning (usually). We have tried a later bedtime, and get an earlier wake time, which tells me she isn’t getting enough sleep when she goes down later. So we are sticking with early bedtime to keep from waking up at 5-6am! On days she naps, bedtime is closer to 7:30pm.