Our Furry Family Members

Beemer

• Miniature Schnauzer
• 11 years old
• Our first 'baby'
• Official welcomer...a.k.a. Mr. Yapper
• Nicknamed:  Beemer Underfoot...he is ALWAYS right there whenever you take a step.  
• Growls at visitors...no matter whether it's the 1st or the 100th visit (See Official welcomer)
• Smelly - no matter how many baths, or how many teeth brushings.  He.Just.Smells.

Bella

• Newest member of the family, as of June 19th.
• 5 months old
• Sweet as can be
• Has been on the injured list since Sept 2nd due to a fall, which fractured her tibial crest
• Is healing quite nicely and ready to be a puppy again...although she hasn't been cleared to wrestle with her partner in crime, Beemer.

We love our furry little friends!  Our house wouldn't be the same without them!

Brecken

Brecken Matthew

(photo: In Full Bloom Photography)

Age: "almost" 8 years

Favorite activities:
*Building with LEGOs
*Playing football
*Swimming
*Minecraft
*Wrestling with Daddy & Leighton
*Riding his bike
*Jumping on the trampoline
*CLIMBING

Brecken LOVES his LEGO's.  He can be found in his room building for hours and does really well at following the LEGO instructions as well as coming up with his own creations.

Brecken is also known for his mad climbing skills.  This child has been a monkey from the get-go!  He has no fear when it comes to trees...poles...playground equipment...you name it.  He shimmies up poles, monkeys across & slides down the next one.  He has wonderful balance and is strong (although his skinny little arms don't look it), so I don't worry much.

He is an easy going boy and very much a people pleaser (which can be a fault too...his mommy & daddy have this same characteristic).  He soaks up information like a sponge, especially when it involves dinosaurs, snakes, birds & LEGO's.  He is a joy and very fun to have around.  

Leighton

Leighton Asher

(photo: In Full Bloom Photography)

Age:  6 years

Favorite activities:

*Running

*Jumping on the trampoline

*Playing catch

*Riding his bike

*Eating candy

*Wrestling with Brecken and daddy

Leighton is our go-getter child.  This kid asks what we are doing and where are going, as soon as he wakes up.  He always wants to be on the go!  He loves anything sporty, anything outside and loves to be around people.  

Leighton is a very logical child, which is a great gift...but also challenging when trying to reason with him :)  The other kiddos go along with most answers we give them, but Leighton is very persistent and very logical in his arguments - discussions with him are always longer!

He is a very caring little boy.  He is helpful with his sisters, most times and loves playing with our dogs.  We have started kindergarten with him this year and I am finding that he is a very kinesthetic learner.  He needs hands-on type learning and a lot of movement.  This works well for almost everything except for handwriting :-)  If he could figure out how to write and jump at the same time, that would be great!

Zoe

Zoe Lynnae

(photo: In Full Bloom Photography)

Age:  4 years

Favorite activities:

*Singing

*Playing with her babies

*Dancing and twirling

*Riding her Strider bike

Zoe LOVES to sing.  I am amazed at the number of songs this girl knows.  She sings from the moment she wakes up until the moments she falls asleep.  She sings "Maybe" from Annie, as she falls asleep.  She sings "It's a Hard Knock Life" from Annie, as she cleans.  She sings "Do-Re-Mi" and the "Cuckoo/Goodnight" song from the Sound of Music, as she's playing around the house.  She sings when she bathes, when she jumps on the trampoline, in the car...you name it!  She sings songs from church...some that we haven't heard for months!  I love listening to her little voice!

Zoe is becoming a little girl...growing out of the 2/3 toddler stage.  She is very verbal and holds her own when her brothers are bothering her.  She is very sweet, but will put up a fight if she feels strongly about something (like staying up later...or getting a toy that she wants).  She loves playing with her babies, has names for all of them, and takes them everywhere.  You can see the top of her baby's head in the pic above :)

Sophie

Sophie Maxine

(photo: In Full Bloom Photography)

Age:  2 1/2 years

Favorite sayings:  

*This is my best!  (for anything she loves)

*I love you mommy dog...or daddy dog...or anybody dog.

*Poopoo butt (earns her some soap in her mouth, which will    hopefully make it one of her least favorite sayings)

*I'm a big 'dirl'.

*Happy birthday....to anyone.

Favorite activities:

*Singing and dancing

*Playing with her babies

*Tagging along on all of her siblings adventures

This child is an absolute hoot.  She is happy, spunky, funny and into EVERYTHING that she can find.    She is creative, adventurous and has an opinion on most things.  She loves her siblings and her dogs.  She tells us she is a big girl, unless she wants to be carried...then she says, but I 'yiddle' mommy....so I carry her :)  

She is completely potty trained, day & night  - with an occasional accident if she's busy playing.  She is still very attached to her binky & blankie, especially at bedtime.  She climbs out of her crib and has been for quite some time, so the girls get to upgrade to bunk beds in the near future...which I'm sure will result in a new post (hopefully about how well they are staying in their new beds).

Homeschool Year 2

A little over a year ago, we felt a little nudge to begin homeschooling our kids.  It was a discussion that we had had while Brecken was very young, but not something we seriously looked at.  Last summer, we felt strongly that God was leading us to that decision.  After much research, prayer and many conversations, we decided to jump in with both feet.

Here we are, beginning year number 2 and officially adding Leighton to the line up!

Brecken:  Second Grade
Curriculum:  Bigger Hearts for His Glory

Leighton:  Kindergarten
Curriculum:  Little Hearts for His Glory

Zoe & Sophie:  Preschool
Curriculum:  Little Hands to Heaven





We began this week and although, it has been rough getting back into a schedule & routine, we are moving along and actually accomplishing our work :)

We joined a COOP this year and are really looking forward to networking with other homeschoolers and meeting new people.  Currently, there are 18 families in the COOP, with 59 children.  We will meet once a week for 3 classes and also take a monthly field trip.

 Day 1...

The aftermath...

Catching up...June 2012

Zoe turned 3 on June 23rd.  She wanted a princess birthday party & our favorite cupcake maker came through :)  

The siblings & cousins helped with present opening.  Zoe was excited about a new baby & a new princess outfit.

And a new helmet to wear as she learns to ride her strider bike!  

Last month...

I've been a little lax with my blogging this past month. Here's some of what we've been up to!

Helping mom with chores...or climbing...

Working on head stands.

Hanging out with dad's 3 high school buddies & wives...and their offspring.  12 kids 6 & under.

Riding on the tractor with Papa Phil

Meeting one of the new horses at Papa & Mama's.

Excited about the last day of school.

Turning 5!

Practicing some skills on his new drum set.

Creative Play

Last Friday, the older three made their mommy super happy by playing nicely together for a couple hours! They were having quite the adventure in the back yard...hunting squirrels, birds & deer...and protecting their sister from the wild animals.

Interview with Leighton

1. What is something mommy always says to you?
Be Nice.
2. What makes mommy happy?
doing good stuff
3. What makes mommy sad?
when I do bad stuff
4. How does mommy make me laugh?
tickling me
5. What was mommy like as a child?
her batons
6. How old is mommy?
Six. I asked, do you really think mommy's only 6. He said, no, you're 71. I should have stopped at the first question.
7. How tall is mommy?
6 inches
8. What is mommy's favorite thing to do?
stay home with us
9. What does mommy do when you're not around?
watch tv?
10. If mommy becomes famous what will it be for?
what does famous mean? after my explanation, he answered making cookies.
11. What is mommy really good at?
doing batons
12. What is mommy not very good at?
building, because you don't have any building tools
13. What does mommy do for her job?
cook
14. What is mommy's favorite food?
lasagna
15. What makes you proud of mommy?
going to the store...i mean going to school
16. If mommy was a cartoon character who would she be?
Aviva - she has a yellow shirt - on Wild Kratts
17. What do you & mommy do together?
go outside & play
18. How are you & mommy the same?
the same curly hair
19. How are you & mommy different?
you have freckles all over your face & I don't.
20. How do you know mommy loves you?
cuz she hugs me
21. Where is mommy's favorite place to go?
Nonny's house
22. If you could change one thing about mommy, what would it be?
your toenails...a different color.

Bad Blogger

Wow...1 post in March? That is a record...

What on earth were we doing? My picture taking in March was pretty sparse too, so I don't have a lot to show for last month!

We found some fun ideas to do on Pinterest.








Enjoyed early spring blooms...

Discovered we have a climber on our hands...who is very resourceful & knows how to reach things she shouldn't...

Played at parks, enjoyed the beautiful weather & went for walks...

1 yr stats

You had your 1 year checkup this week.

Weight: 18lbs 6oz (9%)
Length: 30.25" (82%)
Head: 44.5cm (36%)

Lent...

I failed to mention that I gave up facebook for Lent...

So, friends...if you have posted anything newsworthy or feel like I'm ignoring you...I promise you, I'm not :) You'll just have to get in touch with me the old-fashioned way...via email...or texting...or a phone call.

Happy birthday & anniversary to all of you that have & will be celebrating in the next month!

Birthday Girl!

Happy birthday to our sweet baby girl, Sophie Max!

You are such a sweet, easy-going, smiley, happy girl! Your happy little spirit is contagious & we love you to pieces!


We celebrated your birthday this weekend.



You LOVED it when we sang happy birthday to you & you had so much fun tearing your cupcake apart.






Other party-goers :)

Present time :)

Mobile

She walks (although she still prefers crawling)! And climbs stairs! Yikes!

Yea Zoe!

We are so proud of this big girl! She woke up dry on Sunday...we put her in underwear & haven't turned back! She is on day 4 of big girl underwear (day AND night) & is doing great. So excited to be down to just one in diapers again :) She wants to do it "All by myself"...and pretty much goes when she needs to, without us asking.

This is about our 3rd attempt...and about a month ago, when we last tried it, I thought Sophie just might beat her out of diapers. She finally made up her own mind to do it :)

11 months

How can this little gal be 11 months old???



Since last month...

*You gained your 2 top teeth.
*Started sleeping better - all night a couple times (woot woot) & up only once, otherwise.
*Walking along & behind anything...your favorite is grabbing mommy's pants in the kitchen & holding on for the ride.
*Babbling a lot.
*Doing actions to Itsy Bitsy spider - soooo cute!
*Signing for milk, more & all done.

You are a go getter & so much fun! Love you happy girl!

Nickname

Sophie is earning a new nickname...the destructor...

In the past week, she has been found:
•emptying her clothes out of the dresser drawer
•pulling the cereal & pans out of the cupboard
•splashing in the toilet...3 times
•sitting on the top stair, after knocking the baby gate down
•climbing onto Zoe's bed, pulling herself up & then bouncing on it

UPDATE...eating dog food...getting chips out of the cupboard...dumping a bag of fruit loops on the floor & playing in the 'dust'...this girl is a trip.

Mind you, this has all happened within a matter of seconds when Aaron or I turned our back. This girl is FAST. Next task on our list...MAJOR baby proofing.