Wordless Wednesday - Our Young Man!

As if Jefferson isn't already looking like such a young man (age 9 1/2), he had to get glasses in January (2011) which just make him look so much older!  Sigh.... no more little boy here...

 But at least his growing means some great benefits for Mommy & Daddy: snowshoveling (still willingly) for instance!  :-)

Sweet Dreams

(December 3, 2010)

I love the sweet & caring personality of my firstborn son. It's moments like these, where he doesn't fuss or fidget or complain of irritation, but rather just enjoys the moment and realizes that it's precious which make me so proud of him! Lincoln has not been sleeping well at night for many months now and it takes it's toll on him (as well as us). So after lunch during the kids' movie time, he just fell right asleep on Jefferson's shoulder and stayed there.

Adam Turns Five!

(Again, better late than never for this birthday post!)
Adam has the fortunate birthdate of the 2nd of December, but he was due the day after Thanksgiving. So each year, we have started inviting the famliy over for Thanksgiving and celebrating his birthday on the same day. It works out nicely for him - he gets a birthday feast that wouldn't be possible if we waited another week to have his party! And not only does he get a cake but also gets a variety of pies - yum! Of course his favorite part is having his 'friends' (cousins & family)over too - so much excitement all.day.long for him!

 He loves "heliPocters"!

 The tasty slow-cooked bird was again a success!

 In his new Iron Man mask

And after 3 years of speech therapy, he was finally able to blow out his own candles this year (a difficult task when one couldn't make the 'sh' shape with the lips!) on his airplane cake! This is only one of the steps he's been able to take in this past year. He is finally learning his letters and numbers, can color in the lines and draw his own people, can ride his bike with training wheels and his scooter also, and narrate a pictue story from start to finish (a processing task that has always been hard for him). He is communicating so very much better this year, with full and thought out sentences, improved grammar, and very few speech impetiments left. He is also able to participate physically in play with his peers more so than before as his balance and gross motor skills have caught up.

Such a big year for him! He is such a joy to have around!

Typical School 'Table' Lesson

Around here, about 50% of what we learn is done at the kitchen table. With two school age kiddos and two preschoolers, I try to get as much done in one lump as I can. Jefferson and Reagan can focus better this year but Lincoln is very hard to occupy, as he wants everyones attention. So generally, Reagan works on her phonics workbook, I sit next to her to explain or help as I am also teaching Jefferson spelling (or math or science). In this photo, he is doing the hands-on portion of his spelling lesson, while Lincoln plays with tiles and Reagan finishes her MCP phonics. Adam, thankfully, is at preschool in the a.m.

And in an atypical home school *science* lesson this particular week in November, Jefferson's body decided to react to one of our fermented beverages that I may have kept in the fridge just a tad too long. He has always enjoyed kombucha and never had an allergic reaction to it before so imagine my surprise when his face started to look like I had slapped him silly! Sheesh - the stinking food allergies in this family are gonna kill me...