Our Family

We have the opportunity to have family pictures taken at camp.  Last year we didn't know what we were getting into, but this year we did, so we decided to bring clean, non-clashing clothes just in case it worked out to get our pictures taken.  It worked out, so here's what we ended up with.  Jonathan's hiding in the background a little bit, but other than that, i am really thankful to have a good picture of all of us, and super thankful for our family and the great week we had together.  As soon as we got back home, Jeff jumped back into a busy week of business travel, so we were glad that we were at least drawing from time together to fuel us up for the long time apart.

Camp Pictures...of Jonathan

Ropes Course

Climbing Wall

Jack teaching Jonathan to play the jaw harp.  J started out in tears when he couldn't figure out how to play it, but with some instruction and attention from Jack, his tears turned to big grins.  Jonathan is now pretty amazing on the jaw harp.  (When Jack invited the kids to his "small instrument workshop," he told them he would teach them how to drive their parents "stark raving mad" on the drive home.  Thankfully, Jeff and I are not stark raving mad yet.  The jaw harp is actually pretty cool.)

Jaw hapology

Archery

Slingshots

Beach Day Pics from Jeff's Phone

It was cold!

But Benjamin was cute.

A Few More Camp Pics

from Jeff's phone again...

Jonathan at the little falls

J and G shared a little room.  This is how we found them one morning:  J happily reading and G happily snuggling.

Our deck

And a couple more pics of Grace

Outdoorsy Stuff

Jeff wading in the creek (remember, random order ahead...

Jonathan and the carabiners (which is one of the few words that I can never remember how to spell!  Grr!)

A small fall

Ropes course

In the stump

Camp Pics from Jeff's Phone

I am, once again, armed with a working iPod, which means I have access to the photos hiding in Jeff's phone.  Yay!  So, I'm blogging from my iPod.  The two downsides to that are that the photos show up in random order, and that they are huge (I'll figure out how to fix that some other day.)  For now, enjoy these pictures of our first evening at camp, with more camp posts to follow.  With pictures in random order, of course.

We spend the first afternoon/evening enjoying a carnival and picnic of sorts, with an introductory program for parents and kids.  It's tricky, with our kids at this age, but still fun.  And there is ice cream at the end, so what could be better than that?

Yes, ice cream.

Lots of ice cream.

I shared my Klondike bar with Benjamin, and he kissed it over and over.  Hey, if I was a year old and somebody gave me a Klondike bar, I might kiss it, too.

The kisses were awfully cute, and he was broken hearted when the kissing session was over.

Schneeky Schnake

Jonathan suddenly finds crafty things fascinating.  He has been interested in weaving and sewing stuffed things.  Since it's summer (oh, how I love summer break!) I agreed to help him sew a stuffed something after we got back from camp.  He's been so anxious to get started!  We decided to make a Schneeky Schnake.  I copied the idea for the most part, so I won't rewrite everything here, but I did make one significant change:  I used a Sharpie to put dots where Jonathan should push the needle through.  I thought that might help a very particular boy with his first-time sewing project.  Here's the schnake, all ready to get started.

 And here he is, all finished.  We tried to use yarn instead of thread, but that was too thick...and difficult...so we switched to embroidery floss.  I had to help with some untangling and did about 1/3 of the stitching and half of the stuffing.  I didn't think that was too bad!  Jonathan was so excited about this project the entire way through.  He wanted me to take these pictures of the snake and share them with everyone.

Coloring Eggs...in April

Yes, here's one more thing I neglected to blog about but don't want to forget.  When I catch up on scrapbooking, I'll be glad I wrote it down.  In April, we went to Jetta's house, and Jetta's kids, Jen's kids, and my kids colored eggs.  We had originally planned to do it outdoors, I think, but it was a little chilly, so we did it inside, on Jetta's huge dining table.  All the things I was afraid would happen didn't happen.  The kids did really well.

Jetta's daughter, Kirsi, really took Grace under her wing without anyone asking her to do it.  I thought that was so sweet.

Jonathan's spot was in front of the blue coloring, so what did we end up with?  An entire dozen of beautiful blue eggs.  That's my boy.  I don't know why I was surprised.  (That's Elietta in the background.  I think she's not in our group photo, somehow.)

Yep, we colored several dozen eggs.  With 11 kids coloring, three moms helping, and two babies...well, doing what babies do...it was crazy.

More help for Grace from Kirsi.

Jetta helping Ella and holding her youngest baby, John.

We went outside later to eat some eggs and a yummy snack that Jen had brought.  Look who's helping Grace again.

What's better than playing in the dirt?

I love this picture of Ella and Jonathan, and love that they met when he was two and she was almost two.

Let's see...Left to right, we have Peter, the back of Jonathan's head, Ella, Jetta holding John, Annelies, Thea, me, Grace, Kirsi, Cora, Helia, Delia, and Benjamin.

And I have blogged this picture of me with my boys before, but I decided it was worth repeating.
Big thanks to Jetta and Jen for including us in the fun!!!

Being Big

Our couches are a little taller than average, which has turned out to be a good thing.  Our kids have a harder time getting up onto them and getting into mischief at the toddler stage, which is a great thing.  But yesterday, Benjamin found something to help him climb up onto the couch, and he brought a book with him.  He was pretty proud to be just like his big brother.  His big brother did not want to be distracted.

Baby Mantis

We found this tiny praying mantis inside our sliding glass door, and each of us had to take a turn holding him before we put him outside.

 Jonathan

 Grace

Me

They really are fascinating little creatures.  Why don't they give me the creeps like spiders do?

Benjamin's 18-Month Checkup...and Delays

Today was Benjamin's well-baby checkup.  He has gained about 4 lbs. in the past six months, so he's 29 lbs. 6 oz., 33 1/4" tall, and a huge head, as always.  The doc is happy with his growth.  I knew I was lifting a heavy boy!

Benjamin's checkup did not go as I had hoped.  To make a long story short, his doctor told me that I need to have him evaluated to check on his gross-motor delays, speech delays, and low muscle tone.  She asked lots of questions and was happy with most of my answers (no, he doesn't have bowel issues, no, there is no history of missing teeth in the family that would explain his weird tooth order, there is no  family history of muscle issues or disease in the boys, etc.)  But, she was not happy with his lack of words or his performance in the office.  He wouldn't stand or walk for her - he would cruise a bit and mostly cry.  He was not happy to be there.  And he didn't babble.  He still only has three words.  Although I realize that he is doing things later than a lot of his peers, his in-office performance today was also not very impressive.  I'm sure it was not reassuring to the doctor.  (I really miss our former pediatrician, who expected this type of behavior from Grace at this age.)

But of course, we got into the car, and he was babbling, and when we got home, he was walking around, climbing on and off of the little wooden rocking horse, copying the antics of his brother and sister, making sure I watched how funny he was being, communicating a lot despite his lack of words, responding to things I said, etc.  And then the doctor's office called and said we need to have labs done, too, to make sure there is "nothing else going on."

So, when the evaluation person returns my voicemail, we'll have him evaluated.  On the one hand, if there's any "issue" that I need to know about, I'd like to know now rather than later.  On the other hand, if there's a glaring problem that I've been overlooking, I'll feel terrible about that.  And no matter what results the evaluation brings, we'll adore Benjamin, just like we always have.

This reminds me, in a way, of Jonathan's two-year checkup, when his doctor suddenly decided that he had an asymmetrical skull that needed a CT scan, that he had a lazy eye that needed to be seen by an ophthalmologist, and that he had pigeon toes that needed to be examined by a specialist.  What an ordeal all that was, but I'm thankful to say he is perfectly fine (although he wears glasses.)

Anyway, for those who have read this far and still can't get enough, at Jonathan's 18-month checkup, he weighed 30 lbs. and was 34 3/4" tall.  At Grace's 18-month checkup, she weighed 27 lbs., 5 oz., and was 32 1/2" tall.

The Haircut I Haven't Blogged About (from April)

Back in April, Jonathan's mop of thick hair was desperate for a cut.  We had let it get really shaggy.  (And no, I'm not ungrateful...a thick head of hair is a great problem to have.)  One evening, he and Jeff decided that it was time for a buzz cut.  So, they had to get to work right away.  In the backyard.  With a windbreaker as a cape.  And Jeff's clippers.

Jeff's clippers were no match for Jonathan's hair.  This was as far as the haircut got before the clippers totally pooped out.  They knew there would be no contest.

So, the next day, we took him in for a real haircut, and this was the result.  Our boy aged a year or two during his haircut, and he's wanted to keep the buzz cut ever since.  I really miss his little boy hair, but I figure he is old enough to choose the way he wants his hair to be...within reason.  And Jeff ordered real clippers from Amazon so that they can do future cuts at home in the backyard.  When you see that someone got a little enthusiastic with the clippers, you can talk to Jeff!

Family Camp

After our first family camp experience last summer, we enjoyed it so much that we decided to continue the tradition this year.  We have been looking forward to it all year, and we have been anticipating what will likely be our favorite week of the summer.  Our kids are a little older and at very different stages now, so I think they each enjoyed it even more than last year.  And even though Benjamin is at a very busy, mobile stage, and he wasn't mobile last summer, I think that having a willful toddler at camp is easier in some ways than having a nursing baby who needs a morning nap.  We all had a wonderful week and were so thankful for our week in the forest to enjoy a beautiful setting, great teaching, time together, and friends, new and old.

I only took photos at random times this past week.  Really, we were staying so busy (even if we were busy relaxing!) that I didn't document everything we did.  But here are some moments that I thought were worth sharing.

 Enjoying ice cream at the conclusion of the first day

 Brothers!

 Jonathan's first experience with air hockey (on a table that was turned on, anyway)

Benjamin and me on the train to the beach 

Sometimes, this is just the way it goes.  And, to be honest, one reason I don't have more pictures of the week is that a good deal of my time was spent with two younger children who were crying. 

Benjamin with Jeff on the beach train

 

Finally here!  Time to get off  the train for some freezing cold time in the sand.

 Jonathan

 Grace

The cold didn't spoil their fun! 

Did I mention that it was cold?  I really was not eager to touch that water, but I did anyway...with my toes. 

 On the train back to camp.  The kids were powerless against the rhythmic swaying of the train.

 Yes...

Powerless. 

 Until the train stopped.

 Jonathan on the ropes course with Jeff.  It makes him more nervous now than it did his first time, but they still tackled part of it.

 Even though he's growing up, he's still pretty adorable.

 Time for an ice cream date.

Grace and Jeff on the last evening. 

 Our little buddy! 

 Jonathan on the giant slip and slide!

 Boating on the creek.

 Here Jeff is pretending to serenade me, which is cracking me up.

My favorite picture of the week, thanks to Jen...our crew at campfire.  I think this is the only decent picture we have of all of us together!

It's hard to even list all the things that made our week at family camp great.  Of course I loved taking the week off from cooking, cleaning, dishes, etc.  And I loved having time to read (A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers and The Parting by Beverly Lewis were the books I started and finished this week.)  Both the morning and evening speakers were excellent, and I loved being able to listen to them without trying to keep my kiddos in line, and knowing that they were learning great Truth at the same time that I was.  Family camp is a great time for Jeff and I to step back from everyday life and think about what is really important to our family.  We loved spending time with friends from last year and meeting new friends, too.  We were able to spend some grownup time while the kids had their own fun.  My list of great things about the week isn't well-organized or even very coherent, but it really was a refreshing week in the woods, and I'm so thankful we were able to go.  

Jonathan and Grace were both broken hearted about leaving.  After the closing program on Friday night, he was in tears because he was so sad to leave.  And on Saturday morning, she was telling me that she wanted to stay.  (Interestingly, Jonathan wanted to stay at family camp with Benjamin only, and said he could take care of Ben.  Grace wanted to stay all by herself.  Hmmmm...)  I figure that if both of our kids who know how to talk are asking not to leave, and then asking to come back as soon as possible, it was a great week.  

I've washed six loads of laundry upon our return home, and I have one to go.  I think that will be all...except for folding it and putting it away...

Oh, and I should mention that there was one casualty this week.  I broke my iPod screen.  I really shouldn't have brought it to camp...I didn't need to...but I did anyway.  Sigh... It was a nice Christmas present.  This is why I don't own expensive technology-type items.  Usually.