The nose knows

Levi's really going to appreciate having Jacob for a big brother. Who else can be counted on to continually point out every part of his body to him?

At least he's not poking him in the eyes anymore.

New technology

We borrowed an iPad to see if perhaps it could be of some benefit to our family. (I know, I know. We're a little behind on this fad. Luddites, remember?) I had big dreams of downloading lots of cool educational apps and adding a new level of technology to our homeschooling.

Instead, my kids have figured out how to turn the thing on and fire up a game of Angry Birds by themselves. They even take turns with the touch screen, cheering each other on as they heave birds high into the air. It's cute, but this is not the quite the educational use I had in mind.

When I made them put it away, they retreated to their rooms. Moments later I heard crashing and cacophonous laughter coming from Caleb's room. Turns out, if they can't play Angry Birds, they'll be angry birds. They had constructed their very own tower of books and stuffed animals, and were taking turns heaving their own bodies at it and laughing hysterically when it all came tumbling down.

I gave them my "What in the world are you doing?" look.

"We're angry Mommy! We're angry birds!" Caleb explained.

"We're going to explode all these animals!" added Abby.

I turned to leave while my two furious fowl commenced reconstructing their tower of books and animals.

Maybe the iPad can be educational for us after all. This totally counts as P.E.

Big promotion

She's been able to swim the length of the pool independently for a while. But her teacher was pretty clear that she was not going to move Abby up to the next level until she could do it without complaining. (I like this teacher a lot.)

Today she did it, and just like that, my Seahorse is officially and Angelfish.

Her swim school gives away bracelets to mark each level completed, so today we added the angelfish level one to her wrist. She's pretty proud of her new accomplishment. I'm pretty sure these bracelets aren't coming off her arm for a while.

My littlest littles

It didn't take long for Jacob to lose his seat in the baby swing.

Levi's loving the cool fall breeze on his face, and Jacob's loving being pushed too high on the big boy swings.

This new arrangement seems to suit both my of littlest littles very well.

It never gets old

Same blanket, same baby. This kid is very easy to please.

Jacob (6 months old)
June 2011

Pleasure reading

 Her language arts reading books are boring for both of us. Honestly, I think if I have to hear one more story about Pat the Fat Rat, I will scream. And I'm pretty sure Abby feels the same about having to read them to me.

So instead, I let her host family story time. She picks the book, and we all attempt to sit around and listen to her read. Caleb and Jacob usually build something in the background or pester one another while the story unfolds, and I peek over her shoulder to make sure she's pronouncing things properly while trying to keep Jacob from stepping on the baby. Levi is a pretty captive audience, only because he can't roll away yet, and the fact that he smiles whenever he hears Abby's voice is  a pretty big encouragement to our budding reader.

When she's done, if Caleb's been a good listener she'll let him pick out a book for her to read to him. (Abby gets to make the call, and I'm pretty sure this is determined solely based on how many times he didn't interrupt her.)

They've started on Little House in the Big Woods, and when she finishes it, we'll celebrate the completion of her first chapter book that she read all by herself. 

That beats Pat the Rat any day.

April Fools

Naptime at our house begins promptly at 1 p.m. Actual napping may or may not follow soon after, but in all honesty, I care very little as long as my primary naptime rules (be quiet, stay in your bed, only get up to go potty) are followed.

Today, in lieu of sleep, Caleb spent the first two hours of his nap quietly removing all of his socks and underwear from his dresser, stuffing the underwear inside the socks, then replacing them in his sock drawer.

I had to ask why.

He smiled. I could tell a very good joke was coming.

"So it looks like I have double socks, and zero underpants," he replied sheepishly. "And when you looked in my drawer, you'd think all my underpants were lost."

I kind of always knew he'd be the practical jokester. I just didn't see it coming this early.

That's my girl

Abby: "Me and spiders don't get along so well."

Me: "Why not, Abby?"

Abby: "'Cause I'm allergic to them."

Me: "So what happens if you see one?"

Abby: "Caleb's a gentleman. He kills them for me."

Creative writing

Jacob's starting to get the hang of our homeschool routine.

"Let's do language arts on the porch," I announced.

Caleb grabbed his seat at the picnic table, armed with his lowercase letter workbook and some crayons.

Abby inspected her pencil to be sure it was properly sharpened in preparation for her spelling test.

And Jacob dumped out all our letter magnets and proceeded to make a train out of them

There's something for everyone at the Fisher Preparatory Academy for Excellence in Learning.

Three smiling, one snoozing

September 2012
Caleb (3), Abby (5), Jacob (1), Levi (2 months)

We headed out for our first day of Community Bible Study today. It's our sixth year, and I'm pleased to say that getting them to smile is finally getting easier. (Marshmallow bribery works wonders.)

Getting them out the door is another story. I really need them to learn to tie their own shoes.

September 2011
Abby (4), Jacob (10 months), Caleb (2)

September 2010
Abby (3), Caleb (1)

September 2009
Abby (2), Caleb (7 months)

September 2008
Abby (1)