Alex loves this book. He laughs and pats the picture of David whenever we get it out. He'll point to the picture of David on each page, and pat his face like he's an old friend. And, of course, he chews on it occasionally!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Alex's Favorite Book
Alex loves this book. He laughs and pats the picture of David whenever we get it out. He'll point to the picture of David on each page, and pat his face like he's an old friend. And, of course, he chews on it occasionally!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
First Grade
These are Ethan's books for first grade! (My teacher's manuals are included as well.) It doesn't include readers, books from the library that will be used to supplement reading and history, and things like art supplies that I'll buy shortly before school starts.
Luke is working on finishing part of the basement for a school area; after seeing everything all together, I'm glad I won't have to try to find room upstairs for all this stuff!
Another haircut picture
Ethan got his hair cut this last week, too. And in the interest of full disclosure, I'll tell you that he actually got it cut three times. He was very patient and understanding, even when the second haircut resulted in far too much face sticking out. (His term, not mine!)
Here's the story. He was getting pretty shaggy, and Luke suggested that I try my hand at cutting his hair with an old pair of clippers we have. I was hesitant - after all, we were going to Mom and Dad's on Saturday, and Mom could do it then. (She's our regular barber.) Luke encouraged me to try - if it needed fixing, then Mom could do it Saturday.
He had too much faith in my ability.
So Tuesday night, before bathtime, I started clipping. Initially, I was pretty pleased. It was harder than I thought it would be, but I thought the result was pretty good. Ethan showered and went to bed.
In the morning - after being washed, I'm assuming - it looked horrible. Actually, it looked like he got his hair cut with a weed whacker. I could not send him to church that way; I was going to have to buzz it all.
With great longsuffering, Ethan got his second haircut in as many days. He was pretty bummed by how short the top was, but cheered up marginally when I told him I'd have Grandma actually teach me how to do it before I tried again.
It looked much better, but it was still kind of patchy around the edges, so Grandma fixed that on Saturday after she did Alex's.
On the positive side, Ethan has decided that he kind of likes it being short all over. I think he looks cute - his eyes look so big!
Monday, April 21, 2008
Haircut
Alex got his first "boy" hair cut Saturday. (He'd had it trimmed before, but I just used scissors in an attempt to keep him from looking completely like a girl.) He's loosing that baby look - especially from the back. See?
Now, since Alex is finally feeling better, and has actually gone since Saturday afternoon without his fever returning, I was going to take a picture of his smiling face for you all. It's been so good to see him scooting around again, laughing, talking, and eating! My goodness, has his appetite returned! But before I could take a picture of his sweet little face, I needed to wipe his nose. That, my friends, was an offense that required much crying. So no face pictures. He's actually screaming in this one - you just can't see it.
Now, since Alex is finally feeling better, and has actually gone since Saturday afternoon without his fever returning, I was going to take a picture of his smiling face for you all. It's been so good to see him scooting around again, laughing, talking, and eating! My goodness, has his appetite returned! But before I could take a picture of his sweet little face, I needed to wipe his nose. That, my friends, was an offense that required much crying. So no face pictures. He's actually screaming in this one - you just can't see it.
I guess I can see that ....
Yesterday between Sunday school and church, Luke was talking to Ethan. Their conversation went something like this:
Luke: What was your Sunday school lesson about?
Ethan: Ummmm, I think it was ... heaven.
Luke, scanning through the take-home paper and seeing they talked about all the wonders in heaven: So, do you think you'd like to see Heaven sometime?
Ethan: Mmmm, right now I think I'd rather visit New York City.
Luke, laughing, not really seeing the connection between Heaven and NYC:
What? Why?
Ethan: Well, you have to die to go to Heaven, and then you can't come back. If I visited New York, I could still come home.
That makes sense. Especially from the perspective of a six-year-old.
Luke: What was your Sunday school lesson about?
Ethan: Ummmm, I think it was ... heaven.
Luke, scanning through the take-home paper and seeing they talked about all the wonders in heaven: So, do you think you'd like to see Heaven sometime?
Ethan: Mmmm, right now I think I'd rather visit New York City.
Luke, laughing, not really seeing the connection between Heaven and NYC:
What? Why?
Ethan: Well, you have to die to go to Heaven, and then you can't come back. If I visited New York, I could still come home.
That makes sense. Especially from the perspective of a six-year-old.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Random Updates
I don't think we've had anything exciting enough happen to warrant an entire post, so here are all the little things that have been happening the last couple of days.
Ethan is riding his "big" bike - it's big enough that he can't touch the ground with both feet at the same time. But he's figured out how to get going on his own, even with that handicap.
Alex is sick. Poor little guy is congested, feverish, coughing, and not sleeping. Since Luke wasn't home to be displaced, he spent most of the night in our bed with me, snuggled between a couple of pillows to keep him from rolling off the bed, or me from rolling over onto him.
It's warm enough to have the windows open today! Hurray! It's beginning to appear that spring may actually be here - most of the snow is gone, little green shoots are poking out of our flower beds, and Ethan's asking if he really has to wear a coat outside.
Ethan finished all of his schoolwork except for science yesterday! He was disappointed that he didn't have any more math to do, but thrilled that he's done with handwriting. (For the last month or so, I've been letting him do as much of a couple of subjects as he wanted; that's why we've finished early.)
We went to the Central Wisconsin Children's Museum in Steven's Point Saturday - it's a neat place, and well worth the $3 a person to get in if you have little people in your life who'd like to go.
Ethan is riding his "big" bike - it's big enough that he can't touch the ground with both feet at the same time. But he's figured out how to get going on his own, even with that handicap.
Alex is sick. Poor little guy is congested, feverish, coughing, and not sleeping. Since Luke wasn't home to be displaced, he spent most of the night in our bed with me, snuggled between a couple of pillows to keep him from rolling off the bed, or me from rolling over onto him.
It's warm enough to have the windows open today! Hurray! It's beginning to appear that spring may actually be here - most of the snow is gone, little green shoots are poking out of our flower beds, and Ethan's asking if he really has to wear a coat outside.
Ethan finished all of his schoolwork except for science yesterday! He was disappointed that he didn't have any more math to do, but thrilled that he's done with handwriting. (For the last month or so, I've been letting him do as much of a couple of subjects as he wanted; that's why we've finished early.)
We went to the Central Wisconsin Children's Museum in Steven's Point Saturday - it's a neat place, and well worth the $3 a person to get in if you have little people in your life who'd like to go.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
In which Yellow saves us from a Truly Dreadful Intruder
Alas, dear reader, in my eager anticipation to receive our new school supplies, I overlooked a critical danger inherent in accepting deliveries. Thankfully, our Brave Dog was here to protect us and defend us.
Picture, if you will, a menacing metal beast having the audacity to drive into our driveway! Now, some would call this a "car" as though it were a benign force. Our Daring Rescuer knew better, though, and immediately alerted us with loud and ferocious barking.
I retrieved our order from the porch where the mailman had left it, and unwittingly brought into our humble abode an object so wicked that our Valiant Friend was hardly able to bear it. It was ... The Box. He set up a ruckus the likes of which would terrify a lesser foe ... but The Box was not even fazed.
We quickly realized the danger, having been alerted by our Vigilant Protector, and attacked The Box with scissors. Quickly extracting its contents, we banished The Box to a lonely existence in the basement.
But ah, if we had not had our Brave Friend to warn us! If he had not persisted even in the face of imminent danger!
The outcome could have been far worse, indeed. In fact, the possibilities are so chilling, I didn't even mind cleaning up the piddle that he left in his terror ... er, I mean the excitement of fighting the Enemy.
Yellow. We are so blessed to have him.
Picture, if you will, a menacing metal beast having the audacity to drive into our driveway! Now, some would call this a "car" as though it were a benign force. Our Daring Rescuer knew better, though, and immediately alerted us with loud and ferocious barking.
I retrieved our order from the porch where the mailman had left it, and unwittingly brought into our humble abode an object so wicked that our Valiant Friend was hardly able to bear it. It was ... The Box. He set up a ruckus the likes of which would terrify a lesser foe ... but The Box was not even fazed.
We quickly realized the danger, having been alerted by our Vigilant Protector, and attacked The Box with scissors. Quickly extracting its contents, we banished The Box to a lonely existence in the basement.
But ah, if we had not had our Brave Friend to warn us! If he had not persisted even in the face of imminent danger!
The outcome could have been far worse, indeed. In fact, the possibilities are so chilling, I didn't even mind cleaning up the piddle that he left in his terror ... er, I mean the excitement of fighting the Enemy.
Yellow. We are so blessed to have him.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
A morning well-spent
Ethan had friends coming over today, so he (in his excited anticipation) did this morning's schoolwork after supper last night. That meant he had two hours or so after breakfast to kill before his company got here.
So what did he do? He picked up a book, kicked back on the couch, and lost himself in the story.
He didn't even look up when the camera flashed. Anyone who's read our blog for any length of time knows what a camera ham he is, so if you think about it ... that's really saying something for his interest in the book!
Alex, meanwhile, found a worthy way to occupy his time as well:
See the little fluff of hair at the bottom of the picture? He was sitting among the socks until he saw the camera, and then he scooted as fast as he could over to me. Unfortunately for the picture, he's faster than my camera.
So what did he do? He picked up a book, kicked back on the couch, and lost himself in the story.
He didn't even look up when the camera flashed. Anyone who's read our blog for any length of time knows what a camera ham he is, so if you think about it ... that's really saying something for his interest in the book!
Alex, meanwhile, found a worthy way to occupy his time as well:
See the little fluff of hair at the bottom of the picture? He was sitting among the socks until he saw the camera, and then he scooted as fast as he could over to me. Unfortunately for the picture, he's faster than my camera.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Good Times!
I got to order next year's school curriculum today! I was very excited. If you're not interested in homeschool curriculum, though, you may want to skip this post. :) Ok, so I realize that will probably be most of you, but I want this all in one place for my own record, anyway. I'll be linking to the publishers' websites, but you can buy most of this at a discount through Rainbow Resources.
So here's what we got.
For science, I found a first grade Sonlight set for less than a third of what it costs new. I've had that for a while, and it's just waiting in the closet for this fall.
Because of his enjoyment of and (seeming) aptitude for math, we're doing two math curricula next year - unless it seems like too much, then I'll drop one of them. For lots of practice and review, we're doing Rod and Staff grade 2. (They don't do K, so he's knows everything in their grade 1 book. I know this because I bought it, and now I can't use it.) For their emphasis on thinking mathematically and creative problem-solving, Miquon math is my choice for his second curriculum.
History will be Biblioplan for Families, lots of library books, and lapbooking on our own.
Phonics is a little unorthodox. I'm only continuing a formal phonics program for spelling purposes. I have this book from McRuffy Press, and we'll be going through 1st and 2nd grade both. I know that sounds really fast, but he can read nearly all of the vocabulary words through the whole book. We have lots of readers, and the library has even more, so we'll just be using those for practice. If it seems like he's not "getting" something, we'll just slow down until he does. The McRuffy book includes spelling practice, so to round out the Language Arts, we'll do Language Smarts.
We also got Mindbenders, and these two computer games from The Critical Thinking Company. Those are technically critical thinking, but they're really just for fun.
For Bible/character, we're doing Plants Grown Up from Doorposts. We won't go very deep into it, I don't think - it will actually last us a number of years. There will also be a lot of Bible in his history this year, because it's Ancient History.
Art and Music are kind of informal. This and Sculpey clay will be art, plus whatever crafts we feel like doing. Stories of Great Composers will be music - I'm looking forward to doing that. I'll probably learn more than Ethan does!
That's it for actual classes. Other than that, I got some things for summer math and handwriting practice, a book of father-son activity ideas, a book on manners, maps, and a sign language board book to try with Alex. Oh, and some geography things as well. If there is actually anyone reading at this point, and you want links for these things, just email me. :)
Now we get to start getting boxes! And that will be REALLY exciting!
Well, for me, anyway.
Just kidding. Ethan is looking forward to getting new books, too.
So here's what we got.
For science, I found a first grade Sonlight set for less than a third of what it costs new. I've had that for a while, and it's just waiting in the closet for this fall.
Because of his enjoyment of and (seeming) aptitude for math, we're doing two math curricula next year - unless it seems like too much, then I'll drop one of them. For lots of practice and review, we're doing Rod and Staff grade 2. (They don't do K, so he's knows everything in their grade 1 book. I know this because I bought it, and now I can't use it.) For their emphasis on thinking mathematically and creative problem-solving, Miquon math is my choice for his second curriculum.
History will be Biblioplan for Families, lots of library books, and lapbooking on our own.
Phonics is a little unorthodox. I'm only continuing a formal phonics program for spelling purposes. I have this book from McRuffy Press, and we'll be going through 1st and 2nd grade both. I know that sounds really fast, but he can read nearly all of the vocabulary words through the whole book. We have lots of readers, and the library has even more, so we'll just be using those for practice. If it seems like he's not "getting" something, we'll just slow down until he does. The McRuffy book includes spelling practice, so to round out the Language Arts, we'll do Language Smarts.
We also got Mindbenders, and these two computer games from The Critical Thinking Company. Those are technically critical thinking, but they're really just for fun.
For Bible/character, we're doing Plants Grown Up from Doorposts. We won't go very deep into it, I don't think - it will actually last us a number of years. There will also be a lot of Bible in his history this year, because it's Ancient History.
Art and Music are kind of informal. This and Sculpey clay will be art, plus whatever crafts we feel like doing. Stories of Great Composers will be music - I'm looking forward to doing that. I'll probably learn more than Ethan does!
That's it for actual classes. Other than that, I got some things for summer math and handwriting practice, a book of father-son activity ideas, a book on manners, maps, and a sign language board book to try with Alex. Oh, and some geography things as well. If there is actually anyone reading at this point, and you want links for these things, just email me. :)
Now we get to start getting boxes! And that will be REALLY exciting!
Well, for me, anyway.
Just kidding. Ethan is looking forward to getting new books, too.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
The Tooth is Gone!
Ethan lost his loose tooth today - I've been telling him that it's loose enough to pull out, but he's been enjoying just wiggling it. Today he went to wiggle it, and it had fallen out on its own. (Shades of his father, there.) It didn't even bleed. So now he's got to figure out how to spend the money the "tooth fairy" will bring him.
Just for the record, he doesn't really believe in the tooth fairy, but he's playing along to humor his parents.
Just for the record, he doesn't really believe in the tooth fairy, but he's playing along to humor his parents.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Life Lessons from Ethan
1. You can't juggle hop balls. At least not when you're six and it's almost as big as you are.
2. A baby can't be in the playpen all day, just so you can play with toys with little pieces on the living room floor.
3. Your mom won't hold the baby all day, just so you can play with toys with little pieces on the living room floor.
4. Handwriting goes better when you have a good attitude.
5. April Fool's Day is a great holiday.
2. A baby can't be in the playpen all day, just so you can play with toys with little pieces on the living room floor.
3. Your mom won't hold the baby all day, just so you can play with toys with little pieces on the living room floor.
4. Handwriting goes better when you have a good attitude.
5. April Fool's Day is a great holiday.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Ten Minutes of My Life
Ok. This has not been the greatest week, but I have high hopes for next week. So in an attempt to see the humor in some of the chaos, I give you the true story of ten minutes of my life last night. Or less, I'm not sure - I wasn't checking the clock. :)
It all started with Mama needing a bathroom break. Because even mothers have to go sometimes. I typically take Alex with me - between the dog and the older brother, it's just safest that way. So just before I got my pants fastened, Alex lost his balance. He managed to fall directly on his face - no hands - from a sitting position. I'm not sure how he did this, but apparently he's inherited my innate grace. When he landed on his face, he cried. Of course. I would, too. He also bled from the inside of his top lip. (Ok, there really isn't any humor at all in that. It was rather upsetting to both of us.)
So he's crying, I'm trying to calm him and simultaneously see where the blood is coming from and fasten my pants. Because it would seriously offend Ethan's sense of propriety if my jeans would end up around my ankles. So I get everything properly fastened, and Alex is nearly hysterical.
By now, Ethan is standing next to me asking what's wrong, why is he crying, is he hurt, etc. I manage to very calmly tell him to go get his pj's on, get Alex to stop crying long enough to wipe the blood out of his mouth, and start to nurse him.
About that time, Yellow starts dancing around and whining. Obviously he has to go outside. Normally, I would just ask Luke to take him out, but he was already in bed because of a blinding headache and ringing in his ears. (His not-feeling-well on Monday ended up being a sinus infection.) So I hope that Yellow will make it until I'm done feeding Alex - he doesn't take long to eat, at least.
Meanwhile Ethan has his jammies on and has gotten himself some juice out of the fridge. Almost immediately, I hear, "Ooooh, nooooo!" I ask what's wrong.
"I've spilled my juice. And it's on my pajamas. AND IT'S GOING TO STAAAIIIN!"
Because staining his clothes is the haunting specter of his six-year-old life. Like most six-year-olds, of course.
I tell him to take a napkin and dry it off the best he can, and I'll deal with it when I'm done feeding Alex. And taking Yellow outside.
I get Alex tucked snugly into bed and told Ethan to go change his pajamas while I take Yellow out. I come back in and look at his pajama top. His red pajama top, that you cannot even see the grape juice on. I try to find a wet spot, and I'm not finding anything.
About then Ethan comes out in his clean pj's, so I asked him where the wet spot was.
"On the back."
"On the back? How did you get juice on the back of your shirt?"
"Well, I was wearing it backwards."
Oh. Obviously.
Thankfully, things calmed down pretty quickly after that. So here's hoping next week is much better than this week!
It all started with Mama needing a bathroom break. Because even mothers have to go sometimes. I typically take Alex with me - between the dog and the older brother, it's just safest that way. So just before I got my pants fastened, Alex lost his balance. He managed to fall directly on his face - no hands - from a sitting position. I'm not sure how he did this, but apparently he's inherited my innate grace. When he landed on his face, he cried. Of course. I would, too. He also bled from the inside of his top lip. (Ok, there really isn't any humor at all in that. It was rather upsetting to both of us.)
So he's crying, I'm trying to calm him and simultaneously see where the blood is coming from and fasten my pants. Because it would seriously offend Ethan's sense of propriety if my jeans would end up around my ankles. So I get everything properly fastened, and Alex is nearly hysterical.
By now, Ethan is standing next to me asking what's wrong, why is he crying, is he hurt, etc. I manage to very calmly tell him to go get his pj's on, get Alex to stop crying long enough to wipe the blood out of his mouth, and start to nurse him.
About that time, Yellow starts dancing around and whining. Obviously he has to go outside. Normally, I would just ask Luke to take him out, but he was already in bed because of a blinding headache and ringing in his ears. (His not-feeling-well on Monday ended up being a sinus infection.) So I hope that Yellow will make it until I'm done feeding Alex - he doesn't take long to eat, at least.
Meanwhile Ethan has his jammies on and has gotten himself some juice out of the fridge. Almost immediately, I hear, "Ooooh, nooooo!" I ask what's wrong.
"I've spilled my juice. And it's on my pajamas. AND IT'S GOING TO STAAAIIIN!"
Because staining his clothes is the haunting specter of his six-year-old life. Like most six-year-olds, of course.
I tell him to take a napkin and dry it off the best he can, and I'll deal with it when I'm done feeding Alex. And taking Yellow outside.
I get Alex tucked snugly into bed and told Ethan to go change his pajamas while I take Yellow out. I come back in and look at his pajama top. His red pajama top, that you cannot even see the grape juice on. I try to find a wet spot, and I'm not finding anything.
About then Ethan comes out in his clean pj's, so I asked him where the wet spot was.
"On the back."
"On the back? How did you get juice on the back of your shirt?"
"Well, I was wearing it backwards."
Oh. Obviously.
Thankfully, things calmed down pretty quickly after that. So here's hoping next week is much better than this week!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Passing on Family Traditions
I still occasionally eat oranges like this (Luke thinks I'm so weird). So of course, it was only a matter of time before Ethan discovered the joys of having all orange "teeth".
Monday, March 24, 2008
One of those days
I know you've all had them; those days when you wonder if you're doing anything right. I don't want to post details because I'm trying really hard not to put up anything that would embarrass Ethan when he is, oh, about thirteen. Although, as I type that, I realize it's quite likely that EVERYTHING will embarrass him when he's thirteen ...
Anyway, here's what today was like:
I wonder if I'm completely screwing up my son.
Alex has officially spent an entire day being crabby.
Luke is sick and spent the day in bed (this was supposed to be his Good Friday day off from work).
I've discovered I apparently have no willpower when it comes to banana cake with caramel frosting.
Ethan is completely out of clean underwear.
And so I am very happy to see the end of this day. As they say in "Lily's Purple Plastic Purse", tomorrow will be a better day.
I hope.
Anyway, here's what today was like:
I wonder if I'm completely screwing up my son.
Alex has officially spent an entire day being crabby.
Luke is sick and spent the day in bed (this was supposed to be his Good Friday day off from work).
I've discovered I apparently have no willpower when it comes to banana cake with caramel frosting.
Ethan is completely out of clean underwear.
And so I am very happy to see the end of this day. As they say in "Lily's Purple Plastic Purse", tomorrow will be a better day.
I hope.
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