New Beginnings

Where do I begin? Well, Tuesday was orientation for Joshua's preschool. Before we went I was really unsure if we would continue to send him or not. He was asking to stay home with me. He was afraid, afraid of the unknown - having a new teacher, meeting new kids - and being away from me. One of the main reasons we send him to preschool is for him to gain some independence. He is very clingy with me, and I want him to learn to be in someone else's care other than his parents or grandparents. At church it is like pulling teeth to pull him off of me sometimes unless he is very familiar with the workers. So, for this reason I think it is good for him to go to preschool. Another reason is purely social and to make new friends. I had no expectations for educational goals since I had heard they do the same curriculum for pre-K4 as pre-K3.

Well, it was a bit of a challenge leaving Joshua in the classroom while I went to the parent orientation, but he finally let me go, and the teacher later told me that he was fine within a couple of minutes. And for the record, when I returned to pick him up afterwards, he was beaming and showing me his "magic playdough". He had a great time!

As I flipped through Joshua's folder I saw that they are using Handwriting Without Tears this year, so they are going to prepare the kids to begin writing. I am so excited about this! It is new to the school, so that is one major new thing they will be doing this year. I had thought about purchasing the curriculum to use with Joshua this year, but then I decided to wait and just work with writing in the air, in dry rice, in sand, etc. instead and hold off on any formal lessons. Handwriting Without Tears focuses first on forming the shapes of the letters with wooden pieces and works progressively toward writing. It is a fun way to teach handwriting and penmanship in a non-threatening way. I think it will be a good fit for Joshua.

On Thursday Joshua had his first day of preschool. When we first arrived he just stood outside the classroom for a few seconds, but as soon as I helped him get his folder and backpack put away he was on the floor playing with the cars. No clinging, no begging to go with me. I was amazed! So, as long as it works to pick him up at noon I will continue to keep him in preschool. This will give him some educational time too while I give Rebekah undivided attention to homeschooling.

Speaking of which, we have had a crazy week! Two days this week we didn't get to start our schooling until after lunch which makes for a late day, so I'm still trying to figure out a schedule or basic routine. I have switched things up a bit this week to get the main subjects in, and we've put off some things due to time restraints. I'm learning to be flexible.

Thursday we had a field trip with our homeschool group. Wow! The group is huge! We went to the Pumpkin Patch playground which was perfect since it is large enough to accommodate us all. I meant to take my camera and left it at home - actually, placed it on the garage floor as I put Micah in the van and forgot to turn around and pick it up - so I have no pictures except for a couple I took on my phone. It was great to talk to other moms, a few of whom are in the same boat as me as first time homeschooling moms with young children.

So, what have we done this week? Well, in history we have started Rebekah's lapbook for Sumer/ancient Mesopotamia. She has learned about the layout of the land, what they farmed, how their houses were built, how they dressed, and she knows about the ziggurat. I am not teaching all about gods and goddesses other than that the people worshipped them instead of the one true God. Today we started a salt dough map of Egypt. I told Rebekah to put the mountains on as shown on the relief map, and she literally made mountains. I love that she put her own creativity in it. By Monday it will be plenty dry to paint details such as the bodies of water and the grassy areas.

In math we have been working hard on telling time. Rebekah is doing quite well at it, but when it comes to reading a real clock she doesn't want to take the time to figure it out. It is definitely a challenge for her, but she is able to do it when she thinks about it. Today we started subtraction, and since she has been doing problems already like ?+3=8 she caught on to subtraction very quickly. She is always ahead of the game too, thinking things like ?+?=28, and she wants the two numbers to be the same, so essentially, she is trying to divide in half.

Wednesday morning we had our first week of Bible study. We are going to be doing a Precept study on the book of Daniel. Rebekah's homeschool class will be doing the same for kids. There is a children's book on Daniel but is geared toward older children who are reading and writing well. Rebekah's class will be geared toward younger children, and they will get to draw what is read to them. I'm excited about this study and to discuss it with Rebekah throughout the week.

I gotta say that since last week's reading of The Trumpet of the Swan that it is getting better. The story is more interesting now, and I got a great tip from a former homeschooling mom. Today I let Rebekah play with her math blocks while I read to her. I had her narrate the chapter, and she remembered a lot of the story. I'm not sure how well this would work with a boy, but allowing my daughter to play with something quietly while I read did wonders!

So, that in a nutshell is what our week has been. I still deal with Rebekah dragging her feet some, but today once we got started she didn't want to stop! We spent way more time on history than I had intended, and she chose to complete a whole lesson (6 pages) in math instead of spreading it over a couple of days. She is eager to finish the book and move on to the next.

Oh, and we have two tadpoles that are developing into frogs. Their little hind legs have formed and now their front legs. It is neat to see them changing!

Long Time No Post!

Yeah, it's been a while. Life got busy with a newborn, and then I had things and ideas I wanted to post, but I got behind, and then it just felt overwhelming to post it all. So, the perfectionism in me determined that if I couldn't do it right I just wouldn't do it at all. I hate that. I enjoy blogging, and it's the only way I journal, so I really need to get back to posting again.

Thanksgiving is upon us, and Christmas will be here before we know it. I am not sure how well I'll post trying to start back up again with the busy holidays happening, but I'll do what I can. Here is a little update on life since May.

Rebekah graduated from preschool and spent much of the summer making up stories and typing them on the computer. I translated her misspelled words and put them on Facebook, and there I have a hard copy as well as Rebekah's originals. In addition to her stories she made a doll out of paper who she named Taylor and called her sister. This was her way of coping with the fact that Micah is another little brother. For the first few months of Micah's life Rebekah showed a bit of interest in him, but she mostly did her own thing. However, in July we went to the Smokies and met up with some friends during our vacation. The two girls Rebekah's age doted on Micah and thought he was so cute. They wanted to hold him and play with him. From that moment on Rebekah realized that her baby brother was very special, and she took much more interest in him.

Before long it was time to start school. My little girl started kindergarten! She was so thrilled to attend the academy where she went to preschool. She knew three children in her class, and the only child I was confident she knew attended phase-in with Rebekah. They were so excited to see each other that first day. Rebekah transitioned great into kindergarten. She has enjoyed school very much. Getting up early in the morning is starting to get old now, and she has mentioned homeschooling the past week or so. I am still very much open to that if she would like.

Rebekah has been doing really well academically. She is bringing home a first grade reader since she is one of two students who is reading in her class. Just the other day she decided to read one of her books to us as a family. She held up the book so we could see the pictures. She looked like a little teacher reading to her class.

Joshua is growing by leaps and bounds as well. He started pre-K 3 this year and really likes it. We were concerned that Joshua would not be able to attend a three-year-old class (requirement is potty-trained and not having regular accidents) because he was having poop accidents and not going on the potty. Well, he would hold it more than have accidents. He had a couple of really bad days at the beginning of the year, but he is doing much better, however, even though he doesn't have accidents he doesn't poop on the potty either. At home he asks for a pull-up, and many times I find that he is constipated. I may be making a phone call to the ped's office on how to deal with this because I think he is holding it and backing up himself.

On a good note, Joshua is already starting to read. He can read 2-letter and some 3-letter words. Most words are sight words, but the other day he sounded out 'hot'. I'm sure he is picking up a lot from Rebekah. I've thought about taking the kindergarten readers Rebekah brings home that her class is doing, and let Joshua look at them. I had thought about formally teaching him to read, but then I decided against it. He needs to move at his own pace and according to his own interest. As of now he really likes to figure out what letter certain words start with. For example, he will say "sun" starts with "ssssss" "S!" And he'll ask me to spell words as well. Rebekah did the same thing at about his age. While I'm reading he also likes to point out words he knows, or if he hears a word he likes he'll ask me to point it out to him.

Micah is 8 months now, my little peanut at 14 lbs., and a pretty easy baby overall. He was a great sleeper until at 4 months he started teething, and he went from being a great sleeper to waking in the night wanting to nurse. Over time we ended up spoiling him unintentionally, but because he shares a room with Joshua we didn't want to let him cry it out for long. Just a few days ago I decided to make sure he is on his tummy (he loves to sleep on his tummy) and pat his bottom and rub his back and head. He settled down and slept the rest of the night. We are down to waking once in the night or less now.

Micah has also been a slow gainer. For a while the pediatrician was concerned about his weight. I tried adding bottles, but he had no interest in them. I looked for ways to increase nursings and food feedings, and he did well. He is still slow gaining, and I'm keeping tabs on his weight at home. He is a very happy baby and doesn't complain unless he is really hungry, and we are on the road home. I couldn't ask for a more laid back child!

One exciting thing is that Micah is almost crawling! He has scooted his knees forward a couple of times, but he isn't actually making much progress moving forward yet, although he is so close! We keep watching in anticipation for him to take those first crawling "steps".

Since it has been several months since my last post here are some fairly recent pics of the kids.

See Rock City

Rebekah had her last field trip to Rock City at the end of April. Originally, I had thought I would probably end up taking all 3 kids with me along with my parents, but instead, my mom offered to keep Micah at their house while Joshua attended preschool. This worked so much better. I was able to enjoy my time with Rebekah and not have to worry about extra little ones with me. It would have been way too hard to watch Joshua too as well as to fit through the "Needle's Eye" and "Fat Man Squeeze", two very narrow alleys between two humongous rocks, while wearing Micah. Rebekah was frightened that she would get stuck even though she is so tiny. I ended up carrying her through both of these. The first one she was absolutely terrified, and I had to have her look up so she could focus on the sky above so as to not feel claustrophobic.

When it came time to choose between crossing the swinging bridge or the stone bridge she chose the latter. However, after we had crossed and she watched some of her friends take the swinging bridge she wanted to try it. It was too late, though, so maybe next time.


After crossing the bridge you can overlook Chattanooga and see up to 7 states through the telescopes.



All the girls hung out together except one who had moved on with two of the boys from the class.






These pictures don't do it justice. These set-ups of fairytales are lit with black light.




All in all, a fun day. I had been wanting to take our family for a while. It had been a few years since I had been to Rock City. But we just felt like Joshua was still rather young to go. I couldn't get over all the places that would make nice photo backdrops, but we just didn't have an opportunity to stop since we were with a group, plus a large school group was behind us. It was a beautiful day to enjoy Rock City!

A Week of Firsts

Many new and exciting things have taken place in the past week. And when you have small children there is a first for everything, especially for a newborn. Micah's umbilical cord came off last week, and he got his first bath in the baby tub on Saturday. It wasn't his favorite thing, but he's becoming more used to them. He had to because he got quite a few due to blow-out diapers and spitting up on himself over the next couple of days.




Sunday was also Micah's first Easter. We were told before leaving the hospital that viruses were still pretty bad going around and to keep him home for the first four weeks. I really wanted to take Micah to church on Easter, and while on the phone with a nurse regarding Joshua's health (by the way, he had a double ear infection this past week) I asked her about taking Micah to church. She told me no, so I heeded that advice. Darrin also did not feel comfortable about taking Micah to church either. My parents graciously offered for us to meet my mom at church between the two services so she could take him to their house and we could attend church as a family. It worked out great! After church we went to my parents' house for Easter lunch and egg hunting.




We had the most beautiful Easter weather we have had in years! It was absolutely gorgeous!

Among other firsts are Micah's first smile and laugh. He smiled at Darrin yesterday and later at me. He has not done it since, so I've not gotten it on camera yet, but rest assured that as soon as I can capture it I will post it! This evening Darrin was holding Micah and as he slept in his Daddy's arms he giggled in his sleep. It was too cute!

Now Micah was not the only child who experienced a first. Joshua did as well, but it wasn't a good first. He lied for the first time. Well, if you don't count the times that he tells you that he does not have a dirty diaper when he does. Joshua was holding something that he had taken out of the dishwasher. When Darrin, who knew Joshua was holding it, asked him if he had it Joshua said "no" and immediately dropped it on the floor. Oh, it is hard to see your children be deliberately deceptive!

But I can't end on a bad note. Joshua got to dye Easter eggs for the first time. Well, he ended up breaking more eggs than coloring them. He didn't want to use the dipper, and if we put an egg in the dye for him he would reach in with his hand and pull it out. Rebekah, on the other hand, was a pro at dying the eggs since this was her third year at it. After the eggs dried Rebekah put stickers on the eggs while Joshua rolled some around on the table pretending they were cars, complete with "brrrrrrrrrrmmmmm" sounds, or he would knock them on the table only to crack the shell. Oh, well. At least we made some memories.




Speaking of Easter fun, the kids had their Resurrection parties at preschool last Wednesday. Darrin kept Micah so that I could attend the parties, and since they were at the same time I went back and forth between the two classrooms.

Rebekah's class did a craft making a Fruit Loops butterfly (that was eaten by the end of the day) followed by lunch.





Joshua's class had lunch first and then made a craft. I totally missed him making his craft, though, because I wasn't expecting the class to make anything.





Boy, has it been a busy week! And things are definitely not slowing down any! For now, the rest will be left for another post.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Joshua!

Today my sweet boy turned three years old. I still call him my baby even though he won't be much longer. It's kind of surreal. He has been my baby for 3 years, and I've probably treated him like that too. He is such a "Mama's Boy", loves to cuddle and be held, and is soooooo sweet! It's hard to believe he is another year older. As I watched him from behind this morning I saw how grown up he looked. It's just hard to believe that he's not a little toddler anymore, but he's turning into a "big boy".

To kick off the birthday celebrations I took cupcakes to preschool. Due to Joshua's dairy allergy I made his cupcakes and even made picks for them to go with the theme of his party - Disney/Pixar's "Cars".



I picked up Rebekah from her class a few minutes early so she could celebrate with Joshua's class. When I walked in her classroom to pick her up the kids went bonkers thinking the cupcakes were for them. Whoooops!






Unlike Rebekah, Joshua does not have any really close friends. Rebekah always had playgroup friends whom she played with on a regular basis, but since our playgroup no longer meets regularly Joshua has not had friends that he has connected with yet. He does have preschool and church friends, but I guess since he is a boy he just hasn't had that social desire for close friends like Rebekah did at that age.

As a result, we decided to have a low-key birthday party and invite just family. My parents came over to celebrate with us, and Joshua seemed to have the BEST day! We had pizza for lunch and then enjoyed cake and ice cream before he opened presents. Rebekah was very much into all the celebrations as much as Joshua was, asking if we were ready for cake as soon as she had finished her lunch, and eager to help Joshua open his gifts.

The birthday boy!



The table - Joshua was ready to climb up there for the balloons!


Becky Bell at BBCakes made this Lightning McQueen cake for Joshua. We made the mistake of letting him see it the night before. He had a major meltdown because he wanted the cake NOW! Then this morning Rebekah reminded him of his cake, and he went looking for it where he had seen it last night. We had moved it, so he got upset again when he saw it wasn't where he thought it was. Thankfully, we were able to distract him, so he forgot about it, but he sure was excited about it when we finally pulled it out!



It took three of us to blow out the candles!


Here are a few of my favorites of Joshua thoroughly enjoying his cake and ice cream.





Joshua opened his gifts, and he loved everything! Well, he didn't care much about the shirts we bought him, but all the toys and such were a big hit! From Darrin and me he got two Thomas and Friends engines for his train table, Bedtime Care Bear, a blue doll stroller, three shirts, and the Leapfrog Tag Jr. Rebekah got him a "Cars" game for the ClickStart computer. From my parents he got a Cars backpack, Thomas the Tank umbrella, and Mack (from "Cars) car carrier. My sister and her family gave Joshua a Tag Jr. carrying case with a Cars book on shapes. Darrin's sister and her family sent a pack of Tonka books as well as "If You Gave a Mouse a Cookie" along with the matching plush mouse. Joshua also has another gift coming in the mail and also got a check from Grandy that we will put aside in savings for him. We didn't get any photos of Joshua opening gifts, but Darrin took video of it all.

After playing with some of his his new things for a while Granddaddy gave Joshua a horsey ride around the living room.




An attempt at getting a photo of the kids with my parents




When we went outside to say good-bye to my parents we noticed how GORGEOUS the weather was! The kids were so excited to be outdoors, so we let them play in the yard for a good while. In the meantime, Darrin washed the minivan while I watched the kids play. It was so good to be outside after having cold weather for so long and being cooped up inside to play all the time.

Swingset fun







Next we enjoyed blowing bubbles and the kids liked to catch them. Then they decided to ride their bike and trike. Joshua is still not pedaling his trike, but he enjoys scooting around on it. One of these days he'll catch on. Rebekah is getting braver with her bike, but she is still very hesitant. I'm really proud of every time she will ride because she is improving and she is riding for longer periods of time before she moves on to something else. Last year she would not ride for more than a few seconds, and now she will ride for a few minutes at a time.

This next set of photos was taken with a new lens I got for Christmas. I couldn't get over how much more the color popped! It has more zoom than my other lens that I use most of the time, and it will be perfect for shots from farther away.





It also appears that Darrin is going to have a couple of car washing helpers in the future.



By this time my body was getting tired and starting to hurt so I returned to the house. Wow! It felt so hot inside after being outdoors for over an hour. However, we could not have asked for a better, more beautiful day for Joshua's birthday. It was so much fun just enjoying family and spending time together.