Halloween 2016

Happy Halloween!



From left to right, we had an airplane, a Thomas the Train, a dragon, Doc Mcstuffins, and Daniel :).

Actually, we started the day trick-or-treating at Windsor with the elderly.  Betty wasn't there, unfortunately.  I'm told she's "okay" but in the hospital.  Anyways, hopefully she'll be back soon.  I didn't even try to get a picture myself.  My hands were more than full.



But this evening was a different story. When Daniel is with us, I feel no fear.  I can totally get pictures when I have a partner to help with the kids.

We made Elliot's costume over the weekend.  He and Lucy got to paint it white.  It's pretty amazing, I think.  Although it was really bulky, so Elliot didn't wear it whenever he was on his scooter this evening.  Oh well.  He loved it.

I'm pretty sure Lucy has been Doc Mcstuffins three years in a row now.

She just asked me, looking at the picture, if next year [when she's Doc Mcstuffins] she can paint her face dark brown and wear a black wig with pigtail braids.  Oh my.



Charlie absolutely refused to wear his cute little dragon head/hat.



But that's okay.  He was cute anyways.



Oliver loved his Thomas the Train outfit.



Mommy!  POTTY TREATS!!!



I hope y'all had a great Halloween!

Visiting Miss Betty

We visit Miss Betty every Wednesday at a senior center in town.  She loves the kids.  She calls them, "my babies."



I can't believe Charlie was only a few months old when we first started going.  Now he's close to walking.  She used to adore holding him on her lap the whole time.  Now she's happy when he just looks at her and smiles.

She doesn't take it personally when the kids aren't overly friendly with her, but she hangs in there and tries to engage them.



She must have been a very feisty young person, because she does not get (for real) scared when the kids want to play games that look like this:

Ten Months Old (Charlie's Monthly Photo)

Well, Charlie is just a wonderful 10 month old now.  He is pulling up and cruising a tiny bit and smiling and babbling and signing!

He signs "all done," which he might think means more.  And he waves at people when they wave at him (sometimes).  He babbles and makes lots of happy noises, and he's generally pretty content most of the time.  He likes to say, "ma-ma-ma-ma-ma."



He's pretty choosy when it comes to sleeping.  He wants to be in a quiet, dark room--preferably his clursery.  He gets fussy now, when we're out and about and he's tired.  He sleeps in the car okay but not every time.



Did I mention he's at the 5% for weight?  He's kind of petite.



Poor guy--he's cutting about three teeth right now, all on the top.  He currently has his bottom 3 teeth and also his 2 top canine teeth... so he looks a little vampire-ish.  But that's okay.



He's feeding himself really well now!  His favorite foods are rice and raisins, though he also seems to really enjoy cheese.



He's still napping twice/day, except when we're out running errands in the morning.  Then he's absolutely exhausted when we get home, or he falls asleep right before we arrive home.



He's really developed a preference for being put down with a bottle of water.  He drinks his bottle, cries for a few minutes, and then falls asleep most of the time.  When he's older, he'll have more of a "bed time routine," but for now we pretty much just turn the lights out and leave the room.  Very practical, no nonsense.



When the older kids inevitably remark that Charlie had it easiest (as the youngest), I'll remind them that he had about 1/4 the "bedtime" routine they got at this age.  It all evens out in the end, I'm sure.

More Tinkergarten and General Update

We had Tinkergarten this morning.  

The instructor brought "forest putty" (aka home made play doh), and the kids had fun hiding nature treasures in their big ball of putty and then surprising Daniel and me with them.  It was fun.  

Charlie enjoyed squishing his fingers all through the putty.

Elliot woke up totally hoarse, and his little voice sounds so cute to me.  

Lucy and Elliot had been looking forward ALL WEEK to Tinkergarten.  They wanted to shout their names during the introduction song time.  

They are usually quite reserved and quiet during that time, but somehow they got it in their heads that it would be hysterical for them to shout out their names at the proper time and surprise everyone.  They are so funny.

Oliver has been talking more and more!  Speech therapy is really helping, I think.  The therapist comes to our house once/week and plays very intentionally with Oliver, naturally incorporating lots of sounds and speech through play.  

She very seldom asks him to repeat something but rather models talking and noise-making during play.  

It's really interesting to observe how she does it.  His vocabulary has exploded, so that's great; we're focusing a little more on his articulation now.  That is still lacking, but he's improving.  

I resigned from my position with MinuteClinic, and it's lovely to look at the calendar now and know that I'll get to be a part of our weekend plans more consistently!  There may be something new for me in the coming months, but I'm not sure what.  

The timing is great, because Daniel also quit his job!  He is working full time for Sprinkl now--his side project he began a couple years ago with his friend and business partner.  

It's just a whole new chapter for us!  It feels good.  It feels really good being done with pregnancies and having babies!  Our family is complete (at least barring any big God-given surprises), and that feels amazing.  

Homeschool is going great.  It takes very little time out of the day, and the kids are getting to play outside a lot.  Since that was my main reason for wanting to homeschool, it's nice to see it happening.  Today is one of those rare days when the weather is gorgeous, the afternoon is open, and we're all home.  Thank goodness no one is in soccer yet, though I suppose that's fun in its own way.   

Nine Months Old (Charlie's Monthly Photo)

Holy moly I started this blog post a long time ago.  Charlie may be closer to 10 months than 9 months, but this is still his 9 month post :). 



This little kiddo is so cute and fun.  He's just started clapping (ish) and waving (sometimes when asked). 



He loves to laugh and giggle and smile, and he is--by everyone's account--a very easy baby.  He's waking a couple times per night now, and that's okay with me because my supply needs it. 
 

He's easy going during the day, generally happy watching the kids play until 4pm. 


That's the beginning of the Witching Hour, and he pretty much wants to be held (or take one last cat nap) between 4 and 7pm.


He has really warmed up to the idea of foods.  He actually eats quite a bit now at meal time, which is good since he's at the 5% for weight. 



He loves to knock over blocks and have us say, "kaboom!"



He likes to climb out of his high chair at meal time.  This has been driving us crazy, so we finally switched his high chair to the blue one that Elliot/Oliver used.  The seat belt seems more secure on that one, so I'm hopeful we'll avoid any cracked skull situations on the kitchen tile.



He's pulling up on all kinds of things now.  No cruising yet, but I can tell he's getting closer.  He also babbles a lot now.  Many vowels and some consonants, as well.
 


He also loves to look adorable in his pajamas (or anything he's wearing, really).



Charlie Bear, we love you and are so glad you're the baby in our family.  You are delightful and playful and just generally happy to be here.