Catching Up: July

When I lived in Rockville with my dad and brother, I earned the distinction for using each of the three bedrooms in the house that weren't the master. I just liked switching things up! I hope my poor children aren't disturbed by bedroom inconsistency, because I seem to be continuing the practice. This room will be the office! No, now it will be Alexander's room. Now it will be Jack's room. And now we will move. Now Alexander will be here and Jack will be here. Hmmm. No, now Alexander will be in this room instead and Jack will be here. Now they will be together! And Kai will be here! No, there! And on... and on... and on. It hasn't stopped in this house, either. We started out with Alexander and Jack in one room, Kai in the second, and Noah in the master with me. Then we moved Kai in with the big boys and Noah into the second room. Later, we moved Kai back into the second room with Noah. This July we decided to move all four boys into the master. The room is big enough that we can fit two bunk beds (right now it's one bunk bed, one twin, and one toddler mattress on the floor), and four dressers. They seem to enjoy being together and they've actually gained some nice floor space to put together train tracks. They have a nice big closet where they can shove all of their dress-up clothes, and they have two sinks that they can nasty up with their toothpaste without bothering us adults. We'll see how well they like living dorm style as they get older, but it's working well for now.

Also in July, I took the boys down to Maryland for a visit with friends. It was our longest visit yet, and I love that they are getting big enough that I can manage something like this a little easier. Not easy, but easier. We visited some of our old favorite playgrounds, our favorite lake (which happens to be one of my "happy places"), saw some good friends, had a great pool fun day with my aunt, and the big boys even got to go to a minor league baseball game. We'll see you again soon, Maryland!

Sewing!

Last week we invited a homeschool friend over for a sewing play date. The kids were excited to sew their own pillows, but the other mom and I both thought they'd last maybe ten minutes and be bored to tears. To our surprise, our 9, 7, and 6 year old children sat quietly concentrating long enough to complete their entire pillows themselves! I also made one for Kai. They were all incredibly pleased with themselves and their pillows, and I was definitely impressed with their focus!

Christmas 2013

I have no complaints about our 2013 Christmas! It was another good one! Noah woke up first, but was fairly easily contained in the playroom until his brothers (and mom) woke up. The kids happily tore through their presents. Alexander's favorite was his Nerf style bow and arrow. Jack's favorite was his new Beyblade dome. Kai's favorite gift was an Angry Bird activity pack of stickers, coloring pages, tattoos, and more. I would have to  guess that Noah's favorite gift was his little tricycle. he scoots around the house on it every day. We had present frenzy number two a few hours later when PopPop arrived. We were also happy to have some good friends visit in the afternoon. We are taking a nice long winter break from schooling, so the kids have had plenty of time to enjoy their new gifts and, of course, far too much screen time. We'll be back to the grind in a day or two. Happy New Year!

 

 

Happy Birthday, Alexander!

On February 4th, Alexander turned EIGHT years old. EIGHT! I told him that I was a little sad that I only have 10 years left until he is an adult. I've seen how fast the time goes and I know how quickly that day will come. A decade, you're saying, is a very long time. But if you're a parent, you know how very short it can be. It's the main reason we homeschool and it's always on my mind at birthday times. You know what they say. "Babies don't keep." And neither do toddlers or preschoolers or 7-year-olds. And so, we now have an eight-year-old.

Alexander chose to travel to Maryland for his birthday so that he could celebrate at Build-A-Bear and invite his cousins and our good friends/ old neighbors. I was a little concerned that the older kids wouldn't be amused with this bear building idea, but I think they all ended up genuinely enjoying themselves and being pleased with their new stuffed buddies. Alexander was overjoyed with the whole process and exclaimed at the end, "This was the best birthday party ever! Better than the beach!" Thanks so much to our guests for being willing to tackle the long drive (with snow), the slightly manic party, and the crowded food court. Alexander was in heaven.

Waiting for our guests to arrive.

They've chosen their unstuffed animals.

They are warming up their buddies' hearts before putting them in their bodies.

Something is exciting...

Jack pushes the pedal to shoot stuffing into his bear.

Mostly stuffed!

Next, the animals get a bath. Then, the kids choose clothes for their new buddies.

All the kids with their finished friends.

Alexander continues to be handsome, smart, sneaky, hilarious, clever, quirky, sensitive and sweet. He's always been "a character" like no other, which makes him both challenging and amazing. He loves his video games and TV shows of course, loves trying out new classes at the YMCA, and loves chicken noodle soup which he eats almost daily. He loves jumping on trampolines, riding his scooter, dressing in funky layers and wearing fancy suit jackets. He's an awful speller, but an incredible student. Math is a breeze for him. His big birthday present was a new bike and Mohawk helmet, and he is eager to learn how to ride without training wheels. He still misses his Maryland friends, but has adjusted well to our new home. Our boys fight, but we know they love each other dearly. As I type, Alexander is cuddled up with Jack, head leaned on his shoulder, for a movie night with Daddy. Alexander asked me specifically if I could figure out a way so that he and Jack could do more schoolwork together (I did), and he is always asking to hold, "babysit," feed, and cuddle Noah. He constantly asks for more chores, although he doesn't always follow through with his responsibilities. All three of the older boys share one bedroom, which they agreed to excitedly. Alexander is an amazing young man. I tell him all the time how glad I am to be his mom, and this year I will do my best to treasure the moments and remember that 8-year-olds don't keep, either.

Posing with the cake.

I'm pretty sure he was singing to himself.

Happy Birthday, Alexander!

Five Years of Santa

The first time we took the kids to see Santa, Alexander was three and Jack was one. Alexander was shy at first, but ultimately thrilled. Jack... not so much. We started a tradition that day, though, of attending Frederick County's Visit with Santa each year. None of the kids ever got quite as upset as Jack did that first time, but we've never gotten the perfect picture, either. We've always slipped the youngest one in for a quick photo op and then removed him while the older one(s) chat longer. Santa always brings Mrs. Claus with him on these visits, and both Mr. and Mrs. Claus always recognize our kids from year to year, commenting each time a new one arrives. This year Santa actually mentioned the gift that Alexander and Jack had asked for last year! They spend a nice amount of time with each family, often producing bell ornaments from amazing places. (Seriously, this time one appeared in Kai's pocket and even I wasn't sure how it got there.) And we've always planned to be early, often first or second in line. It's been wonderful, and we weren't sure any of Santa's visits to our new area could match up. So we went back to Maryland! It was a quick, whirlwind visit, but we were able to see a couple of friends, Santa, my aunt, and Justin's whole family. For this post I'll just include five years of Santa visits. 

2008- Alexander (3), Jack(1)

2009- Alexander (4), Jack (2)

2010- Alexander (5), Jack (3), Kai (8 months)

2011- Alexander (6), Jack (4), Kai (1)

2012- Alexander (7), Jack (5), Kai (2), Noah (8 months)

Spring Break Fun: Movie Night

I wanted to make a real effort to make Spring Break extra fun for my kids, because I know that soon we will be somewhat restricted with our activities due to having a newborn. One activity that the kids were the most excited about was to have a movie night with friends. So we invited three families of our friends (who also happen to be neighbors) over for pizza and a movie (and popcorn in the lunch bags). The kids were totally thrilled and completely adorable. We had these eight big kids who actually sat and watched the movie, plus three toddlers who roamed and played. The moms were able to relax and chat a bit, too. It was a great success and something we absolutely must repeat!

Spring Break Fun: Egg Hunt

Every year since we've moved to Frederick, we've had an Easter Egg Hunt with our Tot Lot friends. This year we had gorgeous weather and the kids had fun as usual. Kai was especially excited to be searching for CANDY! He had to be reminded to just stick the eggs in his bag and go for more, or he probably would have stopped after each egg in order to eat the candy!

Kai's Fake Birthday!

With the Baby due right around Kai's second birthday, we decided to celebrate Kai's birthday a few weeks early. It felt a little strange to be celebrating him turning two when I want to cherish every last minute of him being one, but it was a terrific party nonetheless.

He loves balls, so we went with an "All-Star" Sports theme for his party. It was very simple with just a bunch of inflatable balls as decoration and a not-too-large group of friends and family to celebrate with. The kids each painted the first letter of their name, and I was impressed at how even the little ones really concentrated on this task! They seemed to enjoy it. Kai had fun playing with his little playgroup friends, while Alexander and Jack played with the older siblings and had fun getting to know their big cousin Joey. Kai received some great gifts which all the kids love, and we appreciate everyone that came out on the rainy day to celebrate with us. Happy Fake Birthday, Kai!

Jack's Party

Jack had a super hero birthday party this year. Justin and I designed monograms for each of the kids, printed the design out on iron-on transfers, and made them brightly-colored tee shirts. They also got matching wrist bands to complete their outfits. We set up a little "super hero skills test" in the basement (after a week of rain, it was a mud pit outside) and the kids had to go through a tunnel filled with balls, go around or jump over cones and a "tall building," grab the "sword of power," and rescue a baby from a cage, then take the baby back through the course to safety. They seemed to enjoy this and were presented afterwards with Certificates of Awesome for successful completion of the course. Jack had a wonderful time with his friends and family and spent most of today enjoying his new toys. Thanks to everyone who came!

Happy Birthday, Kai! (The Party)

We threw Kai a Sesame Street themed birthday party this weekend. We were joined by his grandparents, cousins, and his BFF Zachary. He was sufficiently spoiled, loved, cuddled, adored, admired, praised, and entertained. He certainly konked out easily for me when the fun was over!
Cake-face pictures first! He really dug in!

And the decor (made by yours truly, while licensed characters are, of course, the property of Sesame Street!):

Thanks to everyone for coming and for all the wonderful gifts. Kai will be well-dressed while he ponders what to purchase with his newfound riches. Happy Birthday, Kai!