July 31, 2012
July 24, 2012
First Day of Swimming Lessons
Here are some iPod pictures before the kids started their lessons.
Trying a creative hairstyle...to keep those teeny baby hairs that are still growing in from getting into her eyes
What to wear to the pool
We're super excited!
More pictures from the real camera to come later...
It's All Greek to Me!
Every once in a great while, I look at the Dashboard of my blog and look at the Stats. I happened to peek at that this week. One of the things to see on the Stats page is where most of my blog traffic is coming from. Ever since my Lego storage project was posted on IKEA Hackers, most of my readers have come from the IKEA Hackers site (which I love!) I've also gotten some visitors who came via Pinterest, which is really fun. (Jen VM, Michelle, Jennie, Jo, and Heidi, your readers have stopped by lately, too!)
But the reason I bring this up is that, this week, I'm getting a lot of traffic from this post, which seems to be on a DIY/home improvement site. The post seems to have lots of ideas for toy storage - pretty cute - you should look at it, even though it's not in English. I say "seems to" because it's not in English, or even in our alphabet. Is it in Greek? Somebody help me out. (And when I say "a lot," I really mean just a little, because I don't get a lot of traffic here in general, but it's quite a bit for this little blog.)
I guess the Blogosphere just got a little smaller!
And, how did I ever have time to make that Lego table? I sure don't think I would have time to do it these days...
But the reason I bring this up is that, this week, I'm getting a lot of traffic from this post, which seems to be on a DIY/home improvement site. The post seems to have lots of ideas for toy storage - pretty cute - you should look at it, even though it's not in English. I say "seems to" because it's not in English, or even in our alphabet. Is it in Greek? Somebody help me out. (And when I say "a lot," I really mean just a little, because I don't get a lot of traffic here in general, but it's quite a bit for this little blog.)
I guess the Blogosphere just got a little smaller!
And, how did I ever have time to make that Lego table? I sure don't think I would have time to do it these days...
July 19, 2012
*And We Have Internet...*
Thanks to a neighbor lending us their DSL modem for a few days. So, hopefully I'll post a picture or two soon!
Update
Our Internet has been spotty at best for the past few days and likely will be until Tuesday. I wanted to write an update for those who are wondering, and once everything is fixed, hopefully I can go into more detail if anyone wants it.
For those who are close to us but are finding this out on the blog, I truly apologize. Jeff has been traveling a lot and I have been managing things by myself, including swimming lessons for all three kids, so it has been difficult to find the right time to call anyone.
Benjamin had his evaluation that his pediatrician requested (the one for "global delays" in speech and motor skills and low muscle tone) yesterday. We had four evaluators up in the playroom, plus the kids and me. Fun, fun. Benjamin is doing just fine in all areas (emotionally, cognitively, sight, hearing, fine motor, etc.) except that he has a significant delay in his speech as well as low muscle tone. He knows and understands everything that is going on and is communicating, but not with enough words. I never would have noticed this myself, especially not the low muscle tone. He qualifies for the services of a speech therapist, physical therapist, and teacher, who will come into our home for six hours each month if we accept services. I have lots of mixed feelings about this but am sorting through those and may blog about them later. The intent of the therapy is that Benjamin will be performing at an age-appropriate level by the time he is three years old. Jeff and I will get a call from the gal coordinating all these services on Monday and will likely accept services, although I'm sure we'll continue to talk and pray about it through the weekend.
On a separate subject, a couple of funny things:
Last night, I told the kids, "This is the day before the last day of your swimming lessons, so your teachers will be checking to see whether you can do the things they've been teaching you."
And Grace said, "Or not."
Nice. This girl who has such a strong will of her own is the same girl who said to me out of the blue today, "Thank you for washing pink undies for me!"
Today we were on an errand and stopped to watch a tractor with a hay baler doing some baling. The kids were fascinated. The driver turned out to be a teen girl, which I thought was great. And for those who are reading this but are not local, you should know that we live in the land of rectangular, not cylindrical, bales of hay. Jonathan commented that it was funny that the hay baler "pooped out bales of hay." Which made me realize that my dad's legacy lives on. He would have explained it that way - in terms of poop - if he had been there!
For those who are close to us but are finding this out on the blog, I truly apologize. Jeff has been traveling a lot and I have been managing things by myself, including swimming lessons for all three kids, so it has been difficult to find the right time to call anyone.
Benjamin had his evaluation that his pediatrician requested (the one for "global delays" in speech and motor skills and low muscle tone) yesterday. We had four evaluators up in the playroom, plus the kids and me. Fun, fun. Benjamin is doing just fine in all areas (emotionally, cognitively, sight, hearing, fine motor, etc.) except that he has a significant delay in his speech as well as low muscle tone. He knows and understands everything that is going on and is communicating, but not with enough words. I never would have noticed this myself, especially not the low muscle tone. He qualifies for the services of a speech therapist, physical therapist, and teacher, who will come into our home for six hours each month if we accept services. I have lots of mixed feelings about this but am sorting through those and may blog about them later. The intent of the therapy is that Benjamin will be performing at an age-appropriate level by the time he is three years old. Jeff and I will get a call from the gal coordinating all these services on Monday and will likely accept services, although I'm sure we'll continue to talk and pray about it through the weekend.
On a separate subject, a couple of funny things:
Last night, I told the kids, "This is the day before the last day of your swimming lessons, so your teachers will be checking to see whether you can do the things they've been teaching you."
And Grace said, "Or not."
Nice. This girl who has such a strong will of her own is the same girl who said to me out of the blue today, "Thank you for washing pink undies for me!"
Today we were on an errand and stopped to watch a tractor with a hay baler doing some baling. The kids were fascinated. The driver turned out to be a teen girl, which I thought was great. And for those who are reading this but are not local, you should know that we live in the land of rectangular, not cylindrical, bales of hay. Jonathan commented that it was funny that the hay baler "pooped out bales of hay." Which made me realize that my dad's legacy lives on. He would have explained it that way - in terms of poop - if he had been there!
July 16, 2012
Independence Day
We had a great Independence Day. I thought I'd get an adorable picture of my kids. I was especially excited about the boys' shirts. But, my kids were a mess. Mostly the younger ones. I just kept thinking that they were asserting their Independence. Sigh...
Oh, well, here's what they looked like in that state.
Later, we went to a parade, and it was really long, so I walked Benjamin around for awhile. And then he became happy and adorable, smiling for picture after picture.
Gracie was still being independent.
Oh, well!
We enjoyed a few fireworks from the Peanut Pool. Benjamin was swinging during these pictures.
This was about it for him. We put the younger kids to bed and then did more at-home fireworks with Jonathan. Maybe next year we'll keep the kids up for a professional display in a nearby town. This year, they were just not ready for that kind of sleep deprivation, and neither were we!
July 15, 2012
July 14, 2012
Tightrope
"Mommy, I know what you mean when you say life is a balancing act, that being a mom is a balancing act. Sometimes it's really hard, sometimes it's really fun, you know, sometimes it's puzzling. Sometimes you think you might fall because you feel like you're walking on a tightrope."
I don't remember ever telling him that motherhood is a balancing act, but still, his description is pretty accurate.
I don't remember ever telling him that motherhood is a balancing act, but still, his description is pretty accurate.
July 13, 2012
Happiness Is...
Five years of playing with the same little buddies! Today was Delia's 5th birthday, and we got to visit her and play for a bit today. Can you believe that Jen got this picture of all the kids? (Jonathan is kneeling, of course!)
Click here to see this crew five years ago, which just consisted of Jonathan, Ella, and brand-new Delia! Happy birthday, Delia!
July 12, 2012
July 11, 2012
Cute?
She is pretty cute. And when her behavior is anything but cute, it's nice to have some cute pictures to look at to remind me of her cuter times. :)
Pocket Purse
My mom made a purse for Grace out of a pair of her old jeans. Just because my mom is a wonderful grandma. Grace spent a lot of time enjoying the zipper!
Road Trip
We took a short road trip on Saturday to visit our friends Charlie and Paola, and their daughters, Sophia, Antonia, and Camila. I can't say that all the traveling moments were happy, but here are some on the way that were very happy. We had a great time with our friends, and hopefully I'll blog about that soon.
July 5, 2012
From John's Phone
These are pictures from Jeff's dad's phone, taken during his April visit.
Guess who didn't want to have pictures taken. :)
July 3, 2012
The Peanut Pool
After skipping last summer, the Peanut Pool is back in business.
What you don't see in these pictures is that Benjamin is too little for the pool. I put him into it with the other kids, and although he was excited, he quickly lost his balance, fell under, and couldn't get back up. I grabbed him immediately, but it really freaked him out. I put him in a pool float (not shown) and swimmies (shown,) but neither did the trick. He wanted to sit down and play like he can in the bathtub, and it's just too deep to do that very well. So, we found other things for him to do while the big kids were in the pool. All three had a great time, and I was hopping, keeping them safe and out of trouble.
The water table provided lots of fun!
So did the Cozy Coupe!
See ya!
We love summer vacation!
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