October 9, 2013

I realized that it's closer(ish) to the end of the year, which means that I have documented nearly a year so far on a fairly regular basis (with a few dormant periods in there).  And even for it's mundane-ness, it's SO FUN to look back on it all and remember the most random things that would otherwise fade into non-memory.  Even on my old blog I love reading old posts and remembering the best AND worst times.  I would encourage you, even if you are going through a time that you'd rather never remember: write it down.  Every feeling, every question.  It's almost always worth it to go back and see how things have changed, how faithful God has been, how much you learned in that trying time.

Anyway...so we went to the zoo today with Mary and Josiah.  Last time we wanted to do the zoo it ended up raining. Today's weather was p-e-r-f-e-c-t.  We originally wanted to go to the farm for the letter F, but the zoo was easier this time around.  

Last time Matt and I took Levi to the zoo he was about 18mos old and far more interested in the trash cans and manhole covers.  Two things I learned: he's still not much into animals, and Josiah is well on his way to becoming an Olympic track star.  That kid can RUN.  Mary and I were made acutely aware of our out-of-shape state by trying to keep up with him.  We did have a really good time, saw some great animals, and the boys loved playing on the climb-able thingies they had there.

This lion looked so old I'm not certain I saw any teeth in his mouth.  Just kidding, I did see his teeth when he yawned, but man, he was hobbling.  Poor guy.

Note the ever-present Fire Chief jacket.

Highlight: a Bobcat!! But not the kind we paid to see.  This is going to be the tiger exhibit next year.

Newly-built 'natural' playground.  This was a rope trampoline of sorts that the boys loved. Josiah always rocks the action shot.

Heaven for Levi: a tractor to play on.

And a toy train to play on.

Luke stayed home with Nana, because taking a one-year-old who would rather walk than be in a stroller, who has missed his morning nap is not fun to take to the zoo while chasing a flighty 2yr old.  Nana said that after we left he walked around the house hooting (his signature "hoot" is a high-pitched distress signal that he's had ever since birth that alerts us to the fact that he's not getting enough attention) and saying Mama.  He definitely noticed that he was not included. :(  Poor buddy.  He took a very cheap afternoon nap, and it was clear that he was just trying to make up for lost time with me.  All he wanted to do was play.  I was happy to oblige.

He loves puzzles.

Happy teething squishy.

Yesterday when we were in the yard I realized that no one was crying for my attention.  No one was stuck in the grass unable to crawl or walk.  No one was frustrated that I was somewhere that they couldn't get to.  We were all doing our own thing and it was...peaceful.  And fun.

Even the Neediest Dog Alive had her own agenda to take care of.

You can't really see Luke back in the Berry Connection, but he's there.  Levi was hauling garden dirt.  I was turning compost.  Sometimes I fold laundry in the grass.  Trying to eat up every second of sunshine before the snow flies.

Luke hijacked the garden pinwheel.

Here's Levi's 'F is for Fox'

He wasn't too into yesterday's morning challenge. He did those first two rows and then jumped ship. Oh well.  Had it been trucks.....

He LOVES Starfall.  I'm hitting numbers and shapes more this week.

His story about Josiah. LOL

October 7, 2013

I worked this past weekend.  Matt is rocking the Mr. Mom gig more and more every time. :)

It's letter F week - Levi's verse is Proverbs 17:17, A friend loves at all times.  We went to the library this morning (the earlier you go, the less pandemonium because there aren't nearly as many people) - also found that if I have Levi help me drop the books in the return slot, it keeps him busy and quiet(er).  And if I explain to him that if he's wearing his Fire Chief jacket (which he does every waking second), he needs to be brave like a fire chief - and do brave things like step over the crack in the floor to get into the elevator - then it's a bit more peaceful too.  So we checked out several books about friendship and also about farms, and of course fork lifts (I'm tired of reading fire truck books, so I quietly skipped past those).  It was still loud and slightly chaotic - especially now that Luke is not only walking but trying his hand at RUNNING already, so isn't the least bit interested in staying in his stroller for very long.

If anyone reading this blog is homeschooling, sort of homeschooling, thinking about it, or whatever - or just wants something productive and peaceful to distract their kids at any part of the day, I have found this: I think I explained not too long ago that I set up a morning challenge for Levi each day.  Honestly, I think it's the most productive part of the day for him as far as learning something.  Each night I set out a puzzle or something.  He breezes through the kitchen in the morning and just asks, "Can I play with that?" and of course I tell him yes.  If he asks for help I give it, but otherwise I try to just let him figure it out.  It might be word puzzles, shapes, numbers, whatever. Sometimes I set out several puzzles and mix all of the pieces together in a box, and he has to fish them all out and figure out if it's a number, color, or letter, and put it on the correct puzzle.  Anyway, it keeps him busy and engaged, and I can make breakfast and help him if he needs it, and maintain some peace in our mornings - which were previously fraught with whining and fighting over toys.  It's fun to come up with new challenges too, but thankfully there's Pinterest for that.

This morning we had a little geometry challenge. :)  I drew a train and cut out corresponding shapes from construction paper.  I did assemble it with all the shapes in their correct spot initially so he could see what it was all about. Then I took them off and told him to build the train himself.  He wanted to glue it together, so I gave him a glue stick.  He matched some shapes, and others he didn't - but as one very wise and experienced teacher friend pointed out: it's all about the process, not the product.  He was very proud of his train at the end. :) 

Luke's in a very happy mood today; I think being able to walk has made his life so much more fun.

October 6, 2013

Warning: photo bomb ahead

This past week we took a four-day mini vacation and headed up to Crystal Mountain in northern Michigan.  We normally use our timeshare for vacations, but this time we rented a condo (got a steal by renting directly from the owner vs. through the resort, paid less than half of the price), and holy moly - if we only vacationed here for the rest of our days, we'd be some very happy cats.  We stayed on Mountain Top and literally were the only people there for most of the time.  It's the 'off' season right now, which is laughable since it was so incredibly beautiful, how can it possibly be "off"?  Anyway, we hung out and relaxed.  That's about it.  We enjoy simple pleasures, such as babies sleeping in their own rooms and watching movies on a big screen TV. And looking out over miles and miles of trees and not hearing any traffic, sirens, or trains.  I grew up skiing at Crystal, so walking on the slopes that I skiied on every week through grade school and high school was so much fun.  Great memories.

Pretty nice digs.  It was more like a three-level townhome - two bedrooms on the lower level, living area on main level, master on the top level.

We had just arrived.  Excuse all the junk.

The view from our balcony. The boys LOVE when we have a balcony to play on!

I could wash dishes looking out this window for the rest of my life.

Baby playing on porch. :)

I took the boys out for a walk at the top of the slopes (if you are familiar with Crystal, we were situated at the top of Giggles between Cheers and what used to be Main Street and is now a snowboard run).  We walked to the top of the chair lift and explored the wooded slopes.

From the top of the Main St. lift looking back to the condos at Mountain Top.

An after-dinner walk down one of the wooded slopes.

Another bonus was that we were only about 20 minutes from my family's cottage ("the farm"), so we headed over there to hang out and have a picnic one morning. 

Walking to the pond

Our beloved pond :)

Luke + the raft = a dangerous enterprise.  He WILL launch face-first into the water without a second thought.

This pic is for you, Aunt Ginger. LOL

Walking back to the creek.  Last time we were at the farm, Levi 'found' a watermelon in the creek.  He couldn't figure out why there weren't any more watermelons there.

Grandma and Grandpa Stamy's memorial

Our last evening: sunset walk overlooking the Betsy Valley.  Pure Michigan.

Probably the highlight of Luke's vacation: taking a bath in the huge tub in the master bedroom.

Yet another bonus: a vacation that is close to Grandma and Grandpa's house!  Levi playing in their yard before we finished driving home.