Friday, February 27, 2015
The many faces of Benjamin
I think this will be a good series of photos to start. Benj manages to pull off many different looks and attitudes. It will be fun to capture them here as I can get them on camera. So the first one - a day with Julia and Alex! Pink nails, cool sunglasses, and a classic sweater!
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
A Shoveling We Will Go...
Outside our house there are piles of snow, piles and piles of snow! But we haven't been playing in it because it's too deep for Benjamin. He can't walk through it and gets frustrated after a few minutes. But the highlight of this winter for him has been shoveling. He loves to shovel (something I will remind him of come his teenage years)!
Last week I decided to take advantage of the one thing he wanted to do and use it to solve the problem of not being able to play in the yard. So out we went - to shovel. We shoveled to the tree in the yard, then to the light, then a little maze, and a little fort. Ben still won't really venture into the deep snow but at least he has a little track to run around! He even tried riding his bike on it... it wasn't too successful!
Last week I decided to take advantage of the one thing he wanted to do and use it to solve the problem of not being able to play in the yard. So out we went - to shovel. We shoveled to the tree in the yard, then to the light, then a little maze, and a little fort. Ben still won't really venture into the deep snow but at least he has a little track to run around! He even tried riding his bike on it... it wasn't too successful!
Monday, February 23, 2015
Happy Birthday to Julia - the photos!!
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| I'm 6!! |
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| Happy birthday to the 10 year old!! |
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| The present of the year was a set of space ships and figures from Auntie Merrill - the face says it all! |
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| She was speechless |
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| and almost cried! |
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Happy 6th Birthday to Julia!!
Wow! So as much as I cannot believe that Benjamin is 3, I really cannot believe that Julia is 6. And yes, I'm sure I say the same thing every year and will continue to say the same thing every coming year. Still, wow!
Julia has grown so much in the past year. Socially, she has blossomed. We have a regular group of friends that we see at our Friday Co-op and during our homeschool group meet-ups and Julia has really clicked with a few of them. It is so nice to show up somewhere (like her ski lesson or a meeting I'm attending) and have her just run up to some other kids and start playing. Even attending pre-K three days a week she never developed friendships like she has now.
Julia has also gained more confidence and while she's still quiet and waits until she is sure to speak (a trait I fully understand because I share it) she does give her opinion and voices her ideas while in classes or group situations. She is a very thoughtful kid, always noticing and picking up on everything going on around her.
Julia is also very creative. That has been a big change this year - she has gone from just thinking creatively to actually putting her thoughts and plans into action! Most days you will find our house strewn with tape, glue, cardboard, paper, scissors, boxes, elastics, and whatever other materials she can find and Julia will be creating a rocketship, a boat, an airplane, a birthday card, a blastboard, ice skates, or something else she has dreamed up.
When Julia develops an interest in something she tends to stick with it for awhile. This year has been the year of SPACE! And, unsurprisingly, she would like to be an astronomer when she grows up. I think she's a little torn over being an astronomer or an astronaut - she goes back and forth although when we've asked for details she usually says that she doesn't want to actually go into space she just wants to study it and be the person on the ground directing things!
She also loves cars and monster trucks as well as sports. This past year she played T-Ball and soccer, continued her swim lessons, participated in gymnastics, and took ski lessons! Julia is a wonderful big sister and is very tolerant of Benjamin being her shadow. On occasion she even consents to listen to his ideas about things or what they should be doing!
I have spent a good part of this year developing a new relationship with Julia, or expanding it really, as we began to do more formal homeschooling. She really enjoys our school and is doing great with it. She is reading at a second grade level, doing first grade math, and obviously knows everything a LOT about space. Right now we're in the middle of a unit study on Space and we're learning more about the planets, stars, asteroids, meteors, black holes, telescopes, constellations, rocket ships, astronauts and astronomers. We've also studied world cultures and stories and Spanish among other things. There are definitely challenges to homeschooling (the biggest this year is learning how to be both Mom and her teacher) but we are both enjoying it tremendously and many days "school" is the best part of our day.
So that's my take on Julia right now and here is her own update:
Julia has grown so much in the past year. Socially, she has blossomed. We have a regular group of friends that we see at our Friday Co-op and during our homeschool group meet-ups and Julia has really clicked with a few of them. It is so nice to show up somewhere (like her ski lesson or a meeting I'm attending) and have her just run up to some other kids and start playing. Even attending pre-K three days a week she never developed friendships like she has now.
Julia has also gained more confidence and while she's still quiet and waits until she is sure to speak (a trait I fully understand because I share it) she does give her opinion and voices her ideas while in classes or group situations. She is a very thoughtful kid, always noticing and picking up on everything going on around her.
Julia is also very creative. That has been a big change this year - she has gone from just thinking creatively to actually putting her thoughts and plans into action! Most days you will find our house strewn with tape, glue, cardboard, paper, scissors, boxes, elastics, and whatever other materials she can find and Julia will be creating a rocketship, a boat, an airplane, a birthday card, a blastboard, ice skates, or something else she has dreamed up.
When Julia develops an interest in something she tends to stick with it for awhile. This year has been the year of SPACE! And, unsurprisingly, she would like to be an astronomer when she grows up. I think she's a little torn over being an astronomer or an astronaut - she goes back and forth although when we've asked for details she usually says that she doesn't want to actually go into space she just wants to study it and be the person on the ground directing things!
She also loves cars and monster trucks as well as sports. This past year she played T-Ball and soccer, continued her swim lessons, participated in gymnastics, and took ski lessons! Julia is a wonderful big sister and is very tolerant of Benjamin being her shadow. On occasion she even consents to listen to his ideas about things or what they should be doing!
I have spent a good part of this year developing a new relationship with Julia, or expanding it really, as we began to do more formal homeschooling. She really enjoys our school and is doing great with it. She is reading at a second grade level, doing first grade math, and obviously knows everything a LOT about space. Right now we're in the middle of a unit study on Space and we're learning more about the planets, stars, asteroids, meteors, black holes, telescopes, constellations, rocket ships, astronauts and astronomers. We've also studied world cultures and stories and Spanish among other things. There are definitely challenges to homeschooling (the biggest this year is learning how to be both Mom and her teacher) but we are both enjoying it tremendously and many days "school" is the best part of our day.
So that's my take on Julia right now and here is her own update:
- What is your favorite color? pink
- What is your favorite toy? No-no
- What is your favorite fruit? apples
- What is your favorite tv show? Handy Manny
- What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? hotdog
- What is your favorite outfit? Elsa dress
- What is your favorite game? Mancala
- What is your favorite snack? Grandpa crackers (Cheesits)
- What is your favorite animal? flamingo
- What is your favorite song? Take Me Out to the Ball Game
- What is your favorite book? The Ballpark Mystery books
- Who is your best friend? Alex
- What is your favorite cereal? Cheerios
- What is your favorite thing to do outside? Ride bikes
- What is your favorite drink? milk
- What is your favorite holiday? Easter and Christmas
- What do you like to take to bed with you at night? No-no and pom-poms
- What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Grapefruit
- What is your favorite thing to eat for dinner? Lamb chops
- What do you want to be when you grow up? A space scientist
- What makes you happy? No-No and pom-poms
- What is your favorite animal? bunny
- What is your favorite thing to eat? Grapefruit, chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and sugar sprinkles
- What is your least favorite thing to eat? Mac and cheese
- What is your favorite thing to do? Ride my bike
- What are you really good at? Soccer and baseball and swimming
- What is your favorite movie? Frozen
- What do you and your Mom do together? Read books
- What do you and your Dad do together? Go and get Christmas trees
- What is your favorite sport? Football
- What is your favorite place to go? Florida
- What is your favorite book? Berenstein Bears Play T-Ball and a Neil Armstrong biography
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Indoor Diversions - JUMP!!
How do you completely tire out two kids who have spent a week cooped-up in the house? Two hours at a trampoline park!!
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| I think she only stopped for a couple of minutes for the entire time we were there! |
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| how high can you go? |
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| just call him The Blur! |
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Julia Gallery - The Solar System
We took a break from school over the Christmas holidays both so we could enjoy the holidays but also so that I could regroup a little and do some planning for the rest of winter and spring. One of the priorities on my list was science. All Julia wanted to do was study space. Of course.
That's a little easier said than done. We've already read most of the astronomy books at the library (including astronaut biographies, space shuttle designs, the solar system, etc.) so I was looking for something more systematic and in depth but also something that wasn't geared toward much older students. I finally found an outline for a great unit study that had all the aspects I was looking for -- planetary bodies, the sun, stars and constellations (along with their stories), asteroids, history of the space program, rockets, shuttles, and even biographies of astronomers for kids going back to Galileo! It's fantastic!!
One of Julia's first assignments was to draw the solar system and ta-da - here it is!
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| The Solar System (including Pluto which Julia has a soft spot for!) |
Friday, February 13, 2015
Frozen!!!
I believe that I've mentioned that the kids are really into obsessed with Frozen. When we heard that there was a Frozen sing-a-long coming to a theater near us you know we had to get tickets! Myself, Andrew, and Merrill had the pleasure of accompanying the three kids to the event! And it was an event - there were princesses, carrot noses, snow balls, magical ice power sticks, snow falling from the ceiling, and even Olaf (which made Benj's day)!
This was also Benjamin's first movie theater experience so he is now spoiled for all movie experiences in the future! What do you mean the characters don't come out of the screen and dance around while the entire audience sings?!?
This was also Benjamin's first movie theater experience so he is now spoiled for all movie experiences in the future! What do you mean the characters don't come out of the screen and dance around while the entire audience sings?!?
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Benjamin Milestone - Writing
As I mentioned in his birthday update Benj has started writing letters! Here's my first example - of his name, of course.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Snow Day #1 2015
A few shots from our first (and hopefully only) blizzard of 2015:
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| The first steps... |
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| and the first face plants! |
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| yup, it's deep! |
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| Angel Girl |
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| much happier in the sled! |
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| catching snowflakes |
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| Angel Boy |
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| Where did my legs go?!? |
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| loving life! |
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| Thumbs up for snow cream (mint chip flavored, of course)! |
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| Two thumbs up (but his is vanilla with chips) |
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| snuggling by the fire during our living room camp-out |
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| the day after - hard at work! |
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| that's one way to create a stationary bike! |
Monday, February 9, 2015
Animals in Winter
There was a little snowstorm on the morning of Julia's zoo school class last month. It wasn't enough to cancel the class but it was enough to coat the zoo and give it an entirely feel. Benj and I had a nice stroll checking out all the snowy animals!
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Family Goals 2015
As the kids get older, we are getting them more involved in our plans and goals for our family. I think that they will be more inclined to understand where we are coming from and be open to changes in the way we do things if we share the end-state of what we are trying to accomplish and why.
We've done this with little things pretty much their whole lives. We try to give them choices in things or, at least, explain why we are making certain decisions. But this year, for the first time, we wanted to set some goals as a family from the beginning of the year. None of these are drastic changes but more getting back to some practices and values that we have been slipping on over the past few years (we've been a little busy!). So here are our family goals for 2015:
1. Eat less processed food, particularly grain-based, and switch to organic grains wherever possible.
This is essentially related to snack food. We eat very little prepared food for meals but I had gotten very used to filling bowls of goldfish and pretzels for snacktime. Andrew and I both have recently been reading more about the farming practices of conventional wheat in this country and are not liking what we're reading. Added to that, we do not have an unlimited food budget so therefore I'm not going to spend tons of additional money on organic versions of our snacks.
Our plan: snacks will be mostly fruit, vegetables, beans, and nuts. We will start buying organic grains and flours to use when we make our own treats.
2. Change over some more of our toiletry products to more natural versions (either purchased or homemade). This is another area that we've made little changes to over the years. We've always tried to use products with the least chemicals for the kids and have been using natural cleaners for years but Andrew has been more reluctant to switch to some natural products and for the past couple of years I just haven't had the time to do more research on certain things so we've stuck with what we've had which, while okay and better than most things, still have a few ingredients that I don't like and would prefer to not use.
Our plan: I am investigating (and so far thrilled with) essential oils, I've found a natural toothpaste that I love (and that Andrew will actually use as well!) and I think the kids will too, and I'm starting to make look into making more of our soaps and lotions.
3. Travel more!
The kids have reached an age where we all are more comfortable traveling. We have less gear to tote, they are easier to amuse and (sometimes) feed, and we all enjoy having new experiences and exploring new (and familiar) places. Additionally, Andrew has been traveling a lot more for work. So much so, that he earned a companion pass on Southwest for this year (meaning that I can travel with him for free wherever he goes) and has racked up a lot of miles. So...
Our plan: use our miles!! We already have plans made to visit family and friends in Florida, Missouri, and Wisconsin. We'll also be taking our annual summer trip to Maine. AND we have a special family vacation booked for next fall -- our first Disney Cruise!! So much to look forward to!
We've done this with little things pretty much their whole lives. We try to give them choices in things or, at least, explain why we are making certain decisions. But this year, for the first time, we wanted to set some goals as a family from the beginning of the year. None of these are drastic changes but more getting back to some practices and values that we have been slipping on over the past few years (we've been a little busy!). So here are our family goals for 2015:
1. Eat less processed food, particularly grain-based, and switch to organic grains wherever possible.
This is essentially related to snack food. We eat very little prepared food for meals but I had gotten very used to filling bowls of goldfish and pretzels for snacktime. Andrew and I both have recently been reading more about the farming practices of conventional wheat in this country and are not liking what we're reading. Added to that, we do not have an unlimited food budget so therefore I'm not going to spend tons of additional money on organic versions of our snacks.
Our plan: snacks will be mostly fruit, vegetables, beans, and nuts. We will start buying organic grains and flours to use when we make our own treats.
2. Change over some more of our toiletry products to more natural versions (either purchased or homemade). This is another area that we've made little changes to over the years. We've always tried to use products with the least chemicals for the kids and have been using natural cleaners for years but Andrew has been more reluctant to switch to some natural products and for the past couple of years I just haven't had the time to do more research on certain things so we've stuck with what we've had which, while okay and better than most things, still have a few ingredients that I don't like and would prefer to not use.
Our plan: I am investigating (and so far thrilled with) essential oils, I've found a natural toothpaste that I love (and that Andrew will actually use as well!) and I think the kids will too, and I'm starting to make look into making more of our soaps and lotions.
3. Travel more!
The kids have reached an age where we all are more comfortable traveling. We have less gear to tote, they are easier to amuse and (sometimes) feed, and we all enjoy having new experiences and exploring new (and familiar) places. Additionally, Andrew has been traveling a lot more for work. So much so, that he earned a companion pass on Southwest for this year (meaning that I can travel with him for free wherever he goes) and has racked up a lot of miles. So...
Our plan: use our miles!! We already have plans made to visit family and friends in Florida, Missouri, and Wisconsin. We'll also be taking our annual summer trip to Maine. AND we have a special family vacation booked for next fall -- our first Disney Cruise!! So much to look forward to!
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Ski Lessons
Julia started a session of ski lessons at the beginning of January. I wasn't sure how it was going to go since the temperature the first day was 17 degrees and the lessons are an hour and a half long!
But it turned out that one of her friends from our homeschool group is in her class (they were both happy about that) and she had a great time. The video below is from her first lesson.
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| her second lesson -- looking very professional! |
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| She loved the helmet and goggles so much that she did her school work in them the next day! |
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| Everyone needs protection while working on phonics! |
Friday, February 6, 2015
Home Projects: Front Hall Closet
One of the things I'm finding about homeschooling is that we have a lot of stuff! Andrew and I, in general, try to be pretty good about not having too much clutter and keeping the house pretty streamlined (as much as possibly with two small kids!) but with homeschooling comes books, games, books, manipulatives, books, crafts, supplies, books, etc. And we were running out of storage options.
So last month we spent a weekend redoing our front hall closet. We took half the space and added floor to ceiling shelves. The kids got in on the painting and Andrew took care of putting up the shelves and it looks great!
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| Preparing the space |
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| peek-a-boo |
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| yay! shelves! |
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| good work!! |
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Benjamin - 3yo stats and humor
First for the stats - these came from Benjamin's 3 year old well-visit today where he was declared completely healthy.
height - 38 1/2" (95th percentile)
weight - 29lbs 4oz (25th percentile)
Second, the funny stuff (all very much indicative of a 3 year old!):
* The day after the Super Bowl I watched recording of the game with the kids and after explaining the last two big plays of the game (yes! Go Patriots!) Benjamin and I had a lengthy conversation. The subject? Why it was okay for the football player to take the ball away from the other players (interception!) but it is not okay to do that in real life! He has made a huge jump in putting things together lately and as soon as I explained an interception he immediately understood that somehow the rules were different for the player than they are for him and he wanted to know why!!
*Another example of him putting two and two together. At his doctor appointment today Benj was asked to stand on one foot. He can sort of do it sometimes but hasn't mastered this yet. The doctor told him it didn't matter because it's a 4 year old skill. We were discussing it at dinner tonight and Benjamin turned to Julia and said, "Julia, it's a four year old thing! You're going to be six so you can do it. Can you show me how?"
* When Benjamin was helping me shovel the driveway we worked for 20 minutes or so in silence and then out of the blue he made this statement, "Julia likes broccoli but I don't"... ok, then. Not sure where that came from!
* While helping to make dinner we had this discussion:
Benjamin: I don't like carrots
Me: You're eating a carrot right now!
Benjamin: oh yeah, right... Well I don't like carrots in meatloaf
Me: Got it.
* During quiet time a few days ago Benjamin wrote all over the walls around his bed with crayon. There are scribbles all over the walls. Andrew was home with the kids at the time and I'll just say that no one was happy when I got home. So we've been working on cleaning it off but there is still a LOT of writing on the wall. Then last night as Andrew was putting Benj to bed, Benj said (in a very "lets address the positive" kind of voice), "Hey Dad! You can't see the pictures in the dark!"
height - 38 1/2" (95th percentile)
weight - 29lbs 4oz (25th percentile)
Second, the funny stuff (all very much indicative of a 3 year old!):
* The day after the Super Bowl I watched recording of the game with the kids and after explaining the last two big plays of the game (yes! Go Patriots!) Benjamin and I had a lengthy conversation. The subject? Why it was okay for the football player to take the ball away from the other players (interception!) but it is not okay to do that in real life! He has made a huge jump in putting things together lately and as soon as I explained an interception he immediately understood that somehow the rules were different for the player than they are for him and he wanted to know why!!
*Another example of him putting two and two together. At his doctor appointment today Benj was asked to stand on one foot. He can sort of do it sometimes but hasn't mastered this yet. The doctor told him it didn't matter because it's a 4 year old skill. We were discussing it at dinner tonight and Benjamin turned to Julia and said, "Julia, it's a four year old thing! You're going to be six so you can do it. Can you show me how?"
* When Benjamin was helping me shovel the driveway we worked for 20 minutes or so in silence and then out of the blue he made this statement, "Julia likes broccoli but I don't"... ok, then. Not sure where that came from!
* While helping to make dinner we had this discussion:
Benjamin: I don't like carrots
Me: You're eating a carrot right now!
Benjamin: oh yeah, right... Well I don't like carrots in meatloaf
Me: Got it.
* During quiet time a few days ago Benjamin wrote all over the walls around his bed with crayon. There are scribbles all over the walls. Andrew was home with the kids at the time and I'll just say that no one was happy when I got home. So we've been working on cleaning it off but there is still a LOT of writing on the wall. Then last night as Andrew was putting Benj to bed, Benj said (in a very "lets address the positive" kind of voice), "Hey Dad! You can't see the pictures in the dark!"
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Benjamin's Birthday (in photos)
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| Allie Oops for breakfast! |
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| Exploding snowmen at science class |
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| Plasmacar races -- there are 2 now!! oh no! |
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| Birthday ice cream to end the day! |
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