A Little Bit of Randomness

...or maybe a lot. There really is no theme to this post other than sharing a few tidbits here and there.

A couple of comical things Joshua has done or said lately to begin. He is really interested in spelling things now. I'm not sure if he actually figured it out on his own or if it became a sight word, but he can read 'baby'. He started to sound out the 'b' and 'a' when he saw it on a card, and then he blurted out the word. So, one day I was pumping and he read the brand name on my pump:
"M-E-D-E-L-A...Micah's milk!!!"

Joshua is also making up songs lately. He will change the words to a song he knows or sometimes will create his own songs, original melody and all. Keep in mind that some of the words he sang I am dictating how it sounded because I have no clue what he was actually trying to sing.

(To the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell")
The Vitamin Song, The Vitamin Song
Ho-way-in-joo
The Vitamin Song

One day last week Darrin took the kids for a ride on his lawn mower. Don't worry, the blades were turned off!



Doesn't everyone have a pic of dad and baby like this? Sometimes dad is sleeping too.


Micah is staying awake for longer periods of time and is much more alert. Isn't he adorable?!?! I just love my baby boy!


I totally see Rebekah here too. He favors her when she was a baby. See what I mean?


Darrin's sister Donise and her husband Mark came through on Sunday for a brief visit. It had been a while since we had seen them. Although Joshua wasn't too sure about them at first he warmed up quickly, as did Rebekah, and they were showing off for them. Of course, Micah got a lot of attention as well.



I just so happened to get a cross-eyed baby in this shot. It cracks me up!


This week is my first week going solo with the kids. Darrin went back to work on Monday. I had to get the kids dressed, fed, and out the door for preschool my first day. It was hard not to stay in bed, but I did get up earlier than normal. We managed to get out the door and to preschool right after the doors locked, which was better than I was expecting. Joshua proudly helped me to push the stroller down the hallway, especially after picking him up to go home.

Today was a bit more of a challenge because I had the kids all day at home. I had high hopes of doing some homeschooling with Rebekah today, but it didn't happen. How do homeschooling moms do it with a new baby? Micah loves to be held a lot, but I put him down as much as I can so that I can tend to other things around the house. I'm going to try wearing him some so that I can do other things as well.

Speaking of homeschooling, we have decided to let Rebekah go to school for kindergarten next year. We applied and interviewed for the Christian school where she and Joshua attend preschool, and she was accepted. We are thrilled she will be able to attend there in the fall. It was our first choice for schooling other than at home. Part of me really wants to homeschool, but Rebekah desires to go with her friends. For now (through the spring and summer), I will still do some things occasionally with her at home since we have the materials, and I enjoy teaching her. When Rebekah was a baby I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would desire to homeschool. My heart changed a lot over the past five years. We will take it a year at a time. I may still have the opportunity to homeschool in the future, but for now we will send Rebekah to school. I have to say, though, that I am extremely impressed with the academy. They place an extremely high emphasis on praying over the students that will attend there, and they discipline using Scripture - what does the Bible say about this? Every subject they learn has something biblical that ties in with the lesson. I am confident it is a great school, and I'll be eager to see how Rebekah does there.

So, back to the present, Rebekah is starting to show some more interest in her baby brother. She doesn't ask to hold Micah like Joshua does, but she will gladly hold him when I ask her if she wants to. Joshua, on the other hand, will jump and seek to help with his paci or watch me change his diaper with great interest. He will also check out Micah while I'm holding him and say, "Awwwww, he's so cute!" It is just precious! Now tell me, does this not look like the proudest big brother?



Alright, so here's some brotherly and sisterly love. :-)



And finally, the moment you've all been waiting for...a SMILE! Actually, he smiled bigger than this, but I didn't have the camera handy.


So, that's been life in a nutshell. Of course, I didn't share all the loudness in our home, the fighting between the two older children, the daily singing of "Fruit Salad" by the Wiggles - Rebekah- and Joshua-style (yeah, they changed the words to 'yucky, yucky' which has been banned at the expense of being dismissed from the table for time-out), all the fun we've spent outside the last several days, etc. It's been a bit crazy at times. There is no break for mama unless by some miracle Micah is napping at the same time as Joshua, and I can give Rebekah quiet time in her room, but we're still working on that. However, after having had a whole day at home, (and yes, I'm impressed the T.V. stayed off ALL DAY today), I'm looking forward to a day out tomorrow. More to come about that in another post. For now, I'm signing off and heading to bed to get about 3-4 hours of sleep before feeding time.