Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Fifteen Months (Charlie's Monthly Photo)

Charlie is a full blown toddler now.  For sure.



He walks around the house shouting, "Mommyyyyyyy!!!!!" until he finds me.  Then he stands right in front of me with arms straight above his head until I pick him up.



He feels fully entitled to anything the other kids are having--especially candy.



He is loving sitting forward facing.  He giggled and clapped his hands with a huge grin the first trip we took that way.



He imitates the other kids so well (and us, too).  You can ask him to say almost anything, and he'll at least attempt it.  Especially following on the heels of Oliver, he seems very verbal and Daniel and me. I love how he says shoes -- ush! ush! And then I say, "you want your shoes on?"  And he nods his head earnestly.



He's still napping once to twice/day and is still mostly sleeping in the clursery beside our bed.  He'll move to the green room at some point, but I'm not eager to have him in there, because I'm enjoying being able to put the other kids' clothes away without interrupting anyone's sleep.



He loves to be tickled (though not as much as Lucy or Oliver at this age) and is just so sweet and cute.  He waves at people and is usually pretty persistent about it until they acknowledge him and wave back.  It's so cute. He also signs more, please, all done, eat, and cereal.  He even tried signing play the other day.



He loves to sit in front of his food for like 10 minutes and then sign all done and come sit in my lap and try to eat my food.  It's kind of annoying, I'm not gonna lie.



He's mastered climbing up the little plastic slide in our house, and he's completely tickled with himself when he slides back down it all by himself.



He's recently discovered books.  He loves opening and closing them but also pointing to various pictures inside.



He's adorable.  Charlie, we love you so much!!!  We are exhausted but are loving this stage of your toddlerhood.  You are so, so sweet!

Friday, February 24, 2017

Spring is coming!

The winter is almost behind us, and I'm so excited that the kids have been able to play outside more!


I am so, so thankful for a very play-able backyard.



The kids can spend hours out there playing with the sand and water.  And we just added a little garden!  Pictures soon.

Saturday, February 18, 2017

Fourteen Months (Charlie's Monthly Photo)

Fourteen months, and Charlie is doing great!



He's got a few words -- Umma (mama) and Hiiyee (hi) and Uh (yeah) and he shakes his head for no.  We're still waiting to hear Dada or any other word.



He loves walking all around the house, and he's even climbed up the slide once or twice.  It's getting more challenging, having him on my back during Oliver's gymnastics class.  He always wants to get down and jump on the trampoline like he sees the "big kids" doing.



He's a pretty easy eater.  He like salty vegetables, meat, and cheese.  Loves cereal in the morning, too.


Sorry so short, Charlie.  Mommy is exhausted and totally maxed out.  But you are adorable and sweet and so fun, and we love you.

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Spring Creek Forest Preserve

I love Spring Creek Forest Preserve.



It's about 4 minutes from our house and small enough that there are never more than a few cars there.  No paved walkways.  Just a perfect path through the forest with several scenic views of the creek. You have to see past all the litter, but it's really very beautiful.







I like it when homeschool and family time overlap.  This was basically our nature study for the week. 





Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Digging for Gems in Sandstone

Mimi and Papa treated the kids to some Smithsonian Earth-Science kits for Christmas.



We did the first one this weekend.



Daniel divided the large sandstone brick into three parts--one for each kid to work on.




Unfortunately all the gems were hidden within Lucy's portion.



Luckily I managed to slip one gem into Elliot's sand pile for him to discover, and Oliver was a very good sport--not minding that he didn't find any at all.



We divided them up at the end, and they each got 4 gem stones.  They're pretty much all choking hazards for Charlie, so we'll see how long they last in the house.



But they were fun to find anyways.

Saturday, January 28, 2017

Picture Catch Up


I can't believe I never posted pictures from Christmas!  Here's a little picture-catch-up from the past month.




We enjoyed seeing both Heidi and Dave... and then Carrie!  Heidi and Dave are expecting a baby this summer, which is SUPER exciting!!!  We can't wait to find out if it's a boy or girl.



Carrie showed the kids how to make super simple 24 hour bread using just a dutch oven.  It was delicious.



Mom showed the kids how to make candy cane cookies, a tradition started by my Dad's mother a looooong time ago.



At some point we had my sweet niece for the day.  Here she is cooking with "the crew."



And did I mention we made gingerbread houses with friends??



 I only gave myself one tiny second degree burn with the molten sugar-glue I used to adhere the graham crackers together.



On Christmas Eve we went to church with Mimi and Papa and back to their house for presents.





On Christmas morning the kids were sooo patient.  We waited until almost 10 to open presents.





Lucy was predictably most excited about her Doc Mcstuffins Mobile Cart.



Elliot was so-so about his new carseat but loved his garbage truck.  And poor Oliver... we couldn't find his fire truck!



I thought I remembered it coming in a box several weeks before, but it was nowhere.  He was a good sport, not knowing that he was missing any gifts.  Finally Carrie saved the day and spotted the plain brown box in our bedroom by the dresser.





Oliver was delighted with his new truck. And his new backpack.





And he loved his new baby book and wanted it read to him multiple times.



Another big hit was a preschool microscope!  Elliot's had a great time finding stuff to look at in it.  I'd like to bring it with us to a nature preserve when the weather is nicer.  No light means no plug or cord, so it's super easily transported.



Papa came over a couple days after Christmas to practice a magic trick.  It was pretty fun.



The kids were tickled.



I love this picture.  It reminds me of so, so many pictures I have of various grandparents reading to the kids.  I am so lucky to have people in my life who are eager to read to my kids and to talk with them and play with them.



Lucy and Charlie are pals.  She loves to get him out of his crib after nap time (actually, Elliot does too).



I love how he looks up to her.  So cute.





We've been enjoying Marble Run.  What a fun game.  


We have to play it when Charlie's napping or else he tries to cram all the marbles in his mouth and die.  


Here is Oliver doing his two-at-a-time dance.  I love the way he dances.


I wonder if they still make Mouse Trap.  That game was awesome.  I should look into that.


I purged a bunch of toys the other day.  Nearly gave me a panic attack to have to say goodbye to some of the toys Lucy loved as a toddler, knowing that stage is over for her and Elliot.  


But the wooden trains, of course, survived that round of elimination.  


When the kids aren't trying to kill each other, they really enjoy playing with these trains.

That about catches us up.  Sorry for the overload of pictures.  Who am I kidding--I love blog posts with tons of pictures.