Vacation

DECEMBER 2010

I wish I had more time to keep this updated. So much happens with 3 kids, especially when one is 2 (yes, she's 2!) and is learning something everyday.

I had to post because I just got done playing a duet with our 9-year old daughter. She's much better/faster than I am so she has to wait on me and sometimes just start over. She's so patient, but it is so fun to try and play a duet!

Jack is on the floor behind us trying to fix my vacuum. He had the job of vacuuming the living room today, but something got stuck, so he has completely (completely!) taken apart the vacuum head (central vac) and found the culprit. A bobby pin. He's now putting it back together. I love it that he can figure things out like that. He loves to build and figure out problems. I"m already starting to rely on him for some things around the house!

Charline is literally learning something new everyday. We started the 'Holding Time' technique at Thanksgiving and it has done wonders for this household. Even her preschool teacher mentioned how she was able to 'get over' an issue very quickly. YES! Major improvement over the several, many, lots of tantrums we were facing each day. She's a much happier kid and we are a much happier family! She is learning new words everyday, she said 'cow' today! I should really keep a list, it's so cute to hear. She went to our animal program today and go to see a turtle (wouldn't touch it) a snake (touched it, reluctantly), a flying squirrel and a turkey vulture. She also loves to help around the house, whether it's putting the dogs in the kennel while we go somewhere, helping unload the dishwasher or clear the table. She loves to help.

This past weekend I taught the older two how to cross-stitch. They love it. Jack seems to enjoy it more than Taylor, actually. I think it's because he's creating something. They are both excited to finish their project. We have to do it mostly during nap/bedtime so baby doesn't interfere :) They've both taken over the project and now know how to read the picture themselves and count stitches and everything. So, this year they've learned to sew, knit and cross-stitch. I hope we can continue to practice throughout next year!

Anyway, Christmas cards haven't even been started, but I am hoping to get something put together, probably will be after Christmas, possibly after the New Year. It's been hard to get in for pictures!

Thought I'd post a small update anyway.

~L

OCT 2010

How does life get busier and busier? Oh wait, I know the answer---ME! I over-schedule! In saying that, I really don't have time to write on here, but I need to, to remember better the cute/cool/not-so-cool things that happen with 3 kids.

I am writing because this morning, I came in our bedroom to make the bed and hear "mama? mama?" getting louder and louder. Charline's room is directly below ours, so I can easily hear crying/talking, etc. Jack had already been asking to go get her, so I said he could now. He went down and without being asked, changed a poopie and got her dressed. He's 6. 6. He LOVES taking care of his little sister.

Last Saturday, I ran to the Farmer's Market and while I was gone (Nathan was here, obviously), he had made fried eggs and toast for Taylor, then himself and when Charline got up a while later, he made her eggs and toast also. Did I mention he's 6???

He's also gotten Charline ready for bed the last 2 nights. Again, he changes her diaper and gets her pajamas on her. He will even give her a bath. Of course one of us is always around for all of this, but the fact that he is so willing to help his little sister (without being asked!) is so wonderful.

Not to leave out Taylor, she, too, is a little mother hen. She loves to play with Charline and distract her so she doesn't go into a full blown temper tantrum. She's the farmer, though. Jack would be more of a gardener, she's more of the farmer. She LOVES her chickens and taking care of them and it's strange, but they obviously love her back. They follow her and sometimes, she's the only one that get them to their pen at night!

Anyway LOTS to do today, need to go. Hopefully I'll be better about writing the happenings, because so many neat things go on around here.

~L

He has such a big heart for his sisters, it really makes me want to cry.

So much to write, so little time. I see I haven't posted for almost 3 months. We've all been adjusting very well. Charline continues to sleep well at night, eat good during the day and is growing like a weed!!

She had her 18mo. check-up at the doctor yesterday and she is actually ON the charts now--pretty close to 'normal' ranges!! She is over 22lb (gained 8lb since coming home) and has grown 3" since coming home also.

I should be better about writing more down in a journal or on the calendar, but it is so hard so I'll have to generalize. She has gotten SEVERAL new teeth in the last few weeks. She has already had her first haircut. She has been to the lake and lakehouse and had a blast. Although...she didn't like the lake water. She went to the beach/ocean 2times with me in Haiti (more times with her nannies) and loved it. She loves bath time and her little pool at home, but had an issue with the lake. :)

She has been to Silver Dollar City (huge amusement park) and LOVED the kiddie rides! We had to ride several times and she just squealed with delight.

We have all camped in the motorhome in Branson and in Springfield (I'll explain later) and figured out how to make that work.

I have taken her to a tea room, just her and me. It was fun! She has chased our chickens and duck. She loves the sandbox, although I need to watch her because she likes to eat the sand :) She still loves to be outside, especially without shoes on. Clothes are optional for her too :)

Not to leave out the older two...

Taylor has had her formal dance recital and it was beautiful! She had to learn her dance as well as another dance because she was asked to be the helper for a younger class. She did fantastic. She also had her formal piano recital. Again, she did fantastic. Her piano teacher has 39 students and she was one of 5 picked for an honor group to play for the 30minutes prior to the recital starting. She is a phenomenal piano player. She especially likes to record her playings on the piano and either sing along to her own accompaniment or choreograph ballet dances to go with her music.

Jack has gone rock climbing a couple of times and loves it. He's definitely our monkey boy, so rock climbing is right up his alley! He also has started tee ball this spring. We've enjoyed going to his games, but he's totally bored. Not enough action :)

6 weeks ago we started a minor remodel. They did some of what they had planned, got stuck on other projects, added new pantry cabinets, added a bigger deck and ended up doing really shoddy work on the inside. (Very long story shortened!!!) Part of the re-do was to completely re-finish the wood floor also. The contractor tried-2 times and he still didn't get it right----which is why we moved out for 10 days to a campground 5 minutes from our house, to let the floors get done. We enjoyed the pool while at the campground at least. We now have to have various other professionals (dry wall, paint, trim, etc) come in and fix all of our contractors mistakes, so after 6 weeks, our house is still a mess. Very stressful.

Anyway, that's been our busy life for the past 3 months in a nutshell. I'll try and post more regularly, but it seems so hard to find the time! By 8pm (when all kids SHOULD be in bed), I'm completely exhausted. Hopefully this summer will slow down at some point, so I can just relax and have some fun.

~L

Bike riding / planting seeds / Charline

Yesterday was a nice day and I decided it was time the kids learned to ride bikes w/o training wheels. I took them off and took off the pedals on Jack's bike (couldn't get them off T's bike) so they could work on balance before actually riding. That lasted 3 minutes, he was anxious to ride! I put the pedals back on and they got the hang of it in about 5 minutes and rode and rode. Thankfully we have quite a bit of pavement for them to practice since we don't live in a neighborhood that would have sidewalks. They now LOVE riding their bikes and Taylor's excited about riding her bike w/o all the noise the training wheels make!

Monday, we planted seeds in some peat pellets to try and grow seedlings for our attempt at a garden. Today, the broccoli has sprouts! The onions and pumpkins are starting to peek through too! I also am trying to get sweet potatoes to sprout by putting them in a glass of water. So with riding bikes, attempting to grow food, our new duck, chick, our tadpole and our many (wild!) birds at our feeders, we're having a lot of fun this spring!!

Charline loves to try on shoes, it is so funny. Whether they are her shoes, or anyone else's!

Today is different that yesterday, weather-wise. Yesterday was sunny, upper 60's or so. Today, it has rained all day, is windy and cold (45 but feels like 37)! The kids are out riding their bikes, with their winter coats/gloves on, though. Charline LOVES to be outside. She tries every chance she gets, so I put on her lined rain coat (she already has on 2 layers under that), her winter hat and gloves and she's out enjoying the cold/windy weather. Actually enjoying it.

This weather is so crazy. 70's to 40's/snow/ice to upper 60's to 40's/rain/wind. Thankfully the kids enjoy just about any weather, especially Charline.

Charline also LOVES bath time. She loves water. She loves water being splashed on her face. She'll be snorkeling before we know it!

She was truly meant to be a part of this family :)

New Vegetarian

(3-24-10)

Sunday night Jack comes in wondering what 'butcher' means. I asked him where he heard it--making sure it wasn't used inappropriately in a Star Wars/Batman show. He heard it from daddy about butchering animals to eat them. We talked about it, how we get out meat from cows (they are butchered) and chickens/turkeys, how they're killed, then plucked of all of their feathers. At this point, Taylor deems herself a vegetarian. She did this a few months ago and lasted a day, so I didn't think much of it.

Monday, we went out for Mexican. Nate and kids usually split chicken/steak fajitas. Not Taylor! She ordered rice and beans, but finished my tostada (w/beans). Tuesday, we ran through Arby's for lunch. Again I forgot, but she refused to eat the sandwich. I always order the turkey/swiss w/o turkey. She ordered the same, but w/no onions and reg. mustard not spicy mustard. Today we made a new crock-pot soup that called for chicken stock, but I used vegetable stock (she protested the chicken stock), but she's learning how to modify foods to fit a vegetarian lifestyle. She seems pretty determined this time to stick it out, so we'll see. I've ordered a couple of books, however, on raising a vegetarian child, to make sure she is getting what she needs.

Yesterday, we went to the Discovery Center. I tried to get there early (9:30am) to beat the Spring Break crowd to no avail. 2 bus loads kids werer there! We still enjoyed it. There is a room for 5 and under, so we went there first. There was a really neat spot with magnetic gears and info. about them. So neat. Of course, that is what Jack loves! So we learned about gear ratios and how it takes some kind of energy (human, electricity, wind, water, etc) to move the gears. When we got home, he got out his bike and figured out the gear ratio.

They also had a demonstration on sound which was neat because we learned about the hear/sound last year! They really enjoyed that and even participated in making some music with different lengths of pipe. We re-learned all about vibrations/sound.

Jack is also into the human body, and they had a real human skeleton and a real human brain on display. He thought that was pretty neat! We stayed over 2 hours, but had to leave at noon b/c we were already passed Charline's nap time, plus it was lunch-time. We missed two big areas, so we're excited to back sooner than later. I got 'season' passes last year, but didn't use them that much, but I think we'll use them more now. Charline did great, so I'm not worried about her either, except that we have to work around nap/meal times.

I also just ordered Season Passes to Silver Dollar City and White Water for this year, so hopefully we'll use those a lot too. I'm slightly nervous about taking all 3 by myself, but I think it will be fine. Charline loves her stroller, but also like to walk, so that is nice.

Charline is 100% walking now. I was always concerned that it would be harder to keep track of her, but actually it has made things easier. She's more independent which she likes, actually. She's not quite as clingy and is free to explore most of the house. We have a gate at the top of the stairs and she just roams and explores. The only room that's not suited for her is the classroom, so I'll have to re-do that soon. We've moved school into the kitchen for now so she can explore the kitchen (tupperware, plastic plates, oven mitts) instead of getting into the classroom stuff while we're doing school. Plus, the kids' desks are low enough for her to grab their papers and bug the kids. It's working for now to have the kids at the kitchen table.

Anyway, gotta go.

~L

LIFE

Where to begin??!!

It has been a long time since I've posted and a lot has happened.

Charline has been home 2 months today. She has grown and changed so much in that time, it is still astounding! When she came home she weighed 14lbs, was incredibly weak and could only sit up for about 30 seconds, then she would just fall over. Now, however, she is a normal 15month old, weighs 20lbs, and is full of energy and curiosity! She has been fully walking for about a week now which is beyond fun. She can sign for "more" and "please" which helps and she can say "up" (Uhh) which helps too. She likes to climb and do whatever big bro/sis do!

Taylor is still in her ballet class and taking piano lessons. For ballet, her teacher has asked her to help a younger class with their ballet performance. She is ecstatic. She goes to class 15 min. early now to learn their routine, then attends her class for 1hr 15min. to learn her routine. Her teacher said she would advance to Level 3 next year because she takes it seriously, she works hard and improves every week. We are so proud of her.
She is also excelling at piano. She is truly gifted and likes fast-paced music. So fun to listen to her play! She likes to see how fast she can play something, although I'll hear her teacher correct her often because she's supposed to play at a certain tempo :) She will have a piano recital in June, after her May ballet performance. It's a joy to watch her!!

Jack is still all boy. He loves to wrestle, climb, jump, and just be active. He still enjoys puzzles too! After playing baseball with Uncle Chris the other week, I learned, he's really good! He agreed to sign up for tee ball this spring.

Uncle Chris has been here 2 times since Charline has been home. We sure enjoy having him here. The kids love to play on his iPhone (I just have a boring Blackberry). This last time, he had to get his tire fixed and took both kids with him! They were only gone for 1 hour, but he said they talked him into buying them a candy bar and a pop (I even sent snacks with them!). So funny!

Friday (Mar 19) it was about 70 degrees, sunny and gorgeous. We played outside ALL day. Jack had zoo class from 1-3, so Taylor and Charline and I walked the zoo. It was packed, but still fun. We came home and played outside some more. It was soooo beautiful. It has been so dreary and cloudy that it was nice to enjoy the warmth and sun. Of course, that night it rained and by Sat. afternoon, it turned to sleet and by Sun. morning (today) it accumulated and is rainy/sleety/snowy and windy. Ugh. We are enjoying our time as a family though. Nate and Jack just put together 5 floor puzzles!

Yesterday, Nate took the kids to Orchelins (farm supply store) and bought the kids a duck and a chicken. I rallied for at least 1 chicken to have the potential for raising our own eggs. The kids love their new animals. We've had to set some rules, however, such as they can only get them out when we know about it. The duck is hilarious because it follows Taylor everywhere. She has to stay on the wood floor though (another rule). We don't let them run around the house, they do have a nice, comfy cage with a nice heat lamp, but occassionally, Taylor will let the duck follow her.

Nathan tilled a garden a couple of days ago, so hopefully we will have some type of garden this year. We usually don't have a garden because we are gone so much--at least 4 weeks at a time for vacation, but this year, we're not going anywhere. Wait, I need to clarify....the kids are I are not going anywhere :) Nathan will go photograph Tiger Sharks in April in the Carribean on a live-aboard for a week. Then he'll go to Alaska in July for 2-3 weeks for Salmon Sharks again. Normally, we'd go, but not now. St. Louis Doctor didn't think it was wise to take Charline to Florida in April (to Disney World after Nathan got back) beacause she has been so sick. The doc. didn't want to risk her getting sick and compromising her healing body. Alasksa--who wants to take a 1 year old on a 12 hour trip (that includes 2-3 flights, one of which is 5-6hours)???? Anyhow, we'll stay home for those, but will try and go on a 2-weeker in Sept. somewhere close (when all other kids are in school!!).

Well, my free time is up. Charline is napping, but the fam is hungry. Always busy. I'll try to keep updates more frequently, but it's hard.

I didn't mention school, it's going great. Kids are learning a lot and having fun doing it (most of the time!)

~L