Chinatown

Our first month of home school is almost over. III and Rosy have just ended their 3rd week with me. Of course, they still have to finish the second part of the week with their Bio Mom, but, for me, this first month is over. As you may have noticed by now, we are trying to interject some more interesting extras into our school year. Last year was a no-frills year because I was on bedrest or reduced activity for most of it. This year we are hoping to enjoy our learning a little more.

Here are some pics of the kids working on their mini-Chinese Dragons. Note that Twinkle can not stand to be left out of anything and has to have her own chair for art time. She attends every day of Shelby's class.

The Actors Studio!

As part of our home school curriculum, III and Rosy learn a poem each month. This month we are working on a poem called "I Call First" that shows why you may not want to be first at everything. The poems that we usually learn are very boring, so we are spicing it up a little this year. Their Bio Mom and I have decided that we don't have to be bound to the strict curriculum. We think it's more important that the kids learn to enjoy learning. We will always make sure that we cover the fundamentals of what they need to know for each grade, but we want to encourage them through our extra projects.

School has been a lot more fun this year. In addition to our regular classes, we are also studying a country each month. In August, our focus was China. We learned how to say, "hello" and "thank-you" in Mandarin. We cooked two different Chinese meals and one Chinese dessert. We looked at pictures taken from space of the Great Wall of China. Of course, we watched the Olympics. We watched Mulan, and compared the Disney Mulan to the original Mulan from the Chinese fable. We used a website to determine what our Chinese names would be. We figured out our Chinese birth year and we made Chinese New Year dragons. This is what I always thought home school would be like!

Lights, Camera, Action

I'm better than The Farmer's Almanac! If you want to know when it will rain in the Pensacola area, you just check to see when my portraits are ready to be picked up. The last 4 sets of portraits that I have had made have all arrived back at the studio on a day that it was raining. Even though TS Fay is headed our way, it only sprinkled for about 6 minutes today - the 6 minutes that I was leaving the portrait studio and headed to my Jeep. I managed to keep the pics dry though.

I was scheduled to go to St. Stephens tomorrow, but I really don't want to be out and about during the rain and wind. I feel bad that my family won't get to see the pictures, so I scanned some of them.

Maybe I'm biased, but I think these are really good looking portraits. I had them done at our local Wal-mart. I never thought I would have my kids portraits done at Wal-mart, but then I priced the "real" photographers. Whoa! You can make a car payment for less than a sitting with one of them. So, I've hunted around and found a lady that I really like. Our kids respond really well to her and she usually gets the shot on the first try. The color values on these pictures look better in person; the images here have been run through my scanner. These are Superman's 3 month pics and were taken on mine and Hubby's 4th anniversary. We can compare how much III and Rosy have grown since 2004.

Froggy Boy

I think that Superman is really at his cutest right after his bath, so you guys get lots of bath photos. We are really blessed that he has two cool bathrobes and several hooded towels. He doesn't really enjoy the evening post-bath fashion show, but Hubby tells him it is the price he pays for having a prissy mommy. Family portraits, Easter ensembles, and theme dinners are other things that the men in our family think are nuts but we persist in doing anyway.

The baby's congestion is improving, but we have a new problem now. His sinus drainage is creating some intestinal discomfort (gas). Monday was terrible because I didn't know what the problem was. He only took 3 little 15 minute naps ALL DAY! Tuesday was much better. He is somewhat back on a regular schedule. Sleep - Breast Feed - Diaper Change - Bottle - Poop - Mylecon - Diaper Change - Play - Nose Spray - Bottle - Diaper Change - Mylecon - Nose Spray - Breast Feed This goes on non-stop. And, I guess it will for another year or two.

This video is cool to me because he actually appears to obey when I tell him to blow a kiss to Gram Sam. I have started recording little snippets for my mom every day so that she can see him growing. I also want him to hear her name and know that we are excited about her. I think he will respond with extra enthusiasm if he knows that we all say her name with excitement. (Sometimes I worry that maybe I do too many little "educational" experiments on him. Am I going to have to have another kid that I don't do any of these things with to use as a control?) Anyway, if he is blowing a kiss, it's the first time he has done it.

Lions, Tigers, and Bears

Every night after we bathe Superman, we wrap him in a hooded towel. The other night we used the one the transforms him into a lion. While Hubby was drying off the baby, he was growling at him and teaching him to growl back. I was startled that Superman could do it, but it was really cute to see him in his little fluffy towel growling back at Daddy.

This morning I decided to get in on the act. (We are still at home because of his congestion or we would be at church by now.) After his morning bottle, I was trying to see if I could get him to growl with me. Well, I'm not a good growler. Maybe it's my sinus congestion or maybe it's just a noise I can't make. Kind of like how I honestly can't do that nasty throat clearing thing and how some people (including me) have to say "wa-pow" because we can't make a whip noise. (Chandler understands me on this one.) BUT, I can trill "r"s. At first Superman thought this was great and he was mimicing me. I figured that if Daddy could teach him to be a lion, I could teach him to be a tiger. Then, I made the mistake of running to get the camera. As usual, once that little red "Record" light came on, he lost interest in what we had been doing. He did, however, think that Mommy was very funny.

Even though he's not growling like a lion or a tiger on this video, I thought those big smiles were cute enough to post.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, No, It's a Hand!

Superman found his hand last night. We were preparing him for his bath when Hubby noticed that Superman had found his hand. I disturbed his concentration a little by running for the camera and talking to him, but he was clearly fascinated by what he saw. By the time I got the camera there he had lost a little bit of his interest, but he was really checking it out a minute before.

He didn't go to bed until 2 AM this morning because of all the sniffling and snuffling, so we are all worn out. Maybe he will be back on schedule before Monday when school resumes.

Sick Baby

Superman has the crud! I woke up stuffy and sneezy Wed. morning. By Wed. evening, Superman was starting to sniffle. Now, he has the full blown crud! We took him to the doctor this morning, and she has ordered him to be homebound for the rest of the weekend.

Happy Birthday to Julia

Happy Birthday, Julia!

Note that Superman is wearing his "birthday suit"!!!

Jumperoo for Joy!

We finally got Superman's Jumperoo. This video was taken within the first minute that he was in it. He really enjoyed himself and his play got more and more rambunctous as he became more accustomed to it. He thinks it is very cool. He sometimes just sits and grins and then he will bounce madly for a minute or two. I think it is going to be well worth the money spent and the aggravation incurred to get it here.

Not that you can see his outfit in this video, but it is a cute little romper (One-piece? I don't know the correct term.) that has tug boats and says, "Tugging at Mommy's Heart". My mom got it for us. My dad worked on a tug boat for most of my childhood. Very cute!

We've noticed that he strongly favors his left leg. It is always kicking and pushing. I'm, of course, convinced that it means he will be a kicker for UA eventually.

I'm posting his bath photos to show how long he has gotten. The first time I put him in that tub, I was sure that we were going to break him. Hubby, Gram Sam, and I were all so nervous. Now, my little piglet fills up his tub and uses the end of it to push against. We've started putting less water in it because he delights in splashing me during his bath. After watching the Olympics this week, Hubby has hinted that maybe Superman will grow up to be another Michael Phelps. I hated to point out to him that most of the people in both of our families are not very aerodynamic. It's a hoot to bathe him now! He really seems to enjoy it - as long as I keep that warm washcloth over all the parts that are sensitive to the cold.

Open House at Roses Preparatory Academy

Rosy's Work Station
III's Work Station
"Around the World" Station - China
Healthy Habits Bulletin Board in the Restroom
Nutrition Bulletin Board in the Cafeteria

Saturday was Open House at Roses Prep!

The kids got to see their new work stations and new bulletin boards. Hubby and I decided that since we don't live in the big fancy house anymore, we can put bulletin boards up in places where the children would normally see them at school. So, there is one in the cafeteria, the bathroom, and the hallway. I remember as a child that I was always interested in seeing what was on the bulletin boards around the school. It's an experience that I didn't want them to miss.

School starts on Monday, so pray for us.

Superman says "Hello"

I know he's not really saying, "Hello", but it kind of sounds like it around the 10 second mark. And, I'm just enjoying being able to film him and post it. So, this is Superman chilling in his crib propped up on his Boppy. I realized right after I filmed this that he was starving.

School starts Monday, so the rest of this weekend will be a flurry of preparations. There are bulletin boards to prepare, desks to set up, and reports to prepare. Wish us luck!

Hi to GramSam

I know the video is sideways, but I couldn't figure out how to turn it over. It was just too cute not to post. Next time, I'll pay more attention to how I hold the camera.

Superman has found his arms. He can't completely control them yet, but he is almost there. When he is in his swing, I dance for him and he will mimic what I do. Unfortunately this is not going to teach him rhythm, but maybe he can just learn basic movement. He will "wave" if I wave at him.

And, yes, I know that baby talk sounds silly. But, my baby likes it!

Couch Potato

Superman is forbidden to watch ANY television. Everything that I've read about infant exposure to television says that he shouldn't see any TV until he is at least two years old. However, we've already noticed that he loves TV. We have to be really careful when we are feeding him and when we lay him down in his swing or bouncer. If we don't keep an eye on him, he will turn his little neck and stare like a zombie at the TV. This is particularly distressing because I HATE it when someone zones out in front of the TV and ignores everyone in the room and can't hold a conversation because their head is "stuck in the TV". Hubby, III, and Rosy all get fussed at because of their TV addictions.

The pictures on today's post were taken last night. Before we went to Prayer Meeting, I was feeding Superman while I watched an episode of Scrubs . I had to sit him down for a second and run to the kitchen. (By the way, I can see the couch from the kitchen, so I had my eye on him.) I didn't realize that I had propped him facing the TV until Hubby came into the living room and asked Superman if he was enjoying Scrubs. Hubby couldn't see me and I guess it looked to him like Superman was just kicked back enjoying his show. I took the pics because with his little short t-shirt, bloated milk belly, wet diaper, and glazed over eyes he reminds me of a beer-bellied redneck kicked back on the couch staring at the TV. These are not flattering pics but maybe I can use them later to show him what he doesn't want to grow up to be.

Yesterday was our 4 year wedding anniversary, and it was probably one of my favorite days of our marriage. Things were so relaxed. Because it was Wednesday and Hubby is a pastor, he sort of has to work unless we are going to be out of town. He and I stayed up the night before until midnight so that we could have the first minutes of our anniversary. Superman let me sleep until 8AM. Then, it was time to get rolling because we had a portrait appt. We got some great shots of all three of the kids. Hubby came home and we all had lunch together. I got to take a short nap after lunch. Then, III and Rosy went to the their mom's house for her visitation. I came back and worked on prepping for school and cooking for our Family Dinner at church. Hubby came home a few minutes early from work so that we could be together at 4PM which was the time of our wedding. We went to church and then came home and played with the baby. We had intended to watch a movie, but Superman was more fun! We ended the evening having giant bowls of ice cream! It was all so simple, but it fit us perfectly!

Relax!

Sunday was a great day for our family! Uncle Joe and Aunt Darlene showed up for the 11AM church service and spent the afternoon with us. Aunt Darlene made Superman a cute Peter Rabbit quilt with his name embroidered on it. It's the kind of thing that he will have forever. Everybody needs an aunt or grandma who will make them their own "blankie".

I also had a second great treat. Mrs. Alma called me and I got to share baby stories with her and catch up on how everybody is doing. She gave me some wisdom on how to get a baby to sleep, so we're trying a little rearranging to our schedule tonight. Superman got his bath at 9:30, his bottle at 9:50, and was laid down at 10:00. Wish us luck!

Stupid Is As Stupid Does

Last night after church, Hubby and I loaded up Superman and we headed to the Wal-Mart across town. We have decided that Superman is ready for an ExerSaucer / Jumperoo and I had shopped around and decided on the Fisher Price Rainforest Jumperoo. He has the Rainforest Swing and the Rainforest Mobile and he is very attached to the characters that are repeated on each item. When we were in the store Tuesday looking at the jumpers, he got very excited when he saw the little toad and toucan on the Rainforest Jumperoo.

After we came home, I did a price comparison online, and found out that Wal-Mart sells it for $70 and Target sells it for $76. I then used Walmart.com to see which Wal-Mart store had it in stock. Thus, we head across town last night to get our Jumperoo. When we get there, the price is $87! We use Hubby's phone which has internet access to confirm the online price and to confirm that we can get free shipping to the store of our choice. Then we approach the Customer Service Manager to see if they can match their price in the store to the online with free shipping price. They can't! I ask him if he understands that it is going to cost Wal-Mart a lot more to ship one of these across the country to me for free rather than to just let me pick one up off the shelves. He says that he understands it clearly and wishes that someone who makes those policies understood it. We then call Target and their in-store price is $89. So, even though I wish I was strong enough to boycott Wal-Mart, I came home and immediately ordered a Jumperoo online.

The Lion Sleeps Tonight! Psyche!

When I sat down to type this blog entry, it was a great night at our house. Superman had his bath around 10 and followed that up with a bottle. By 11PM he was passed out and in his Pack N Play ready for a good night's rest. Hubby and I were each sitting at our computers working on our projects and had decided to be in bed by 12:30. And, then, for no reason that we can determine, Superman woke up and begin screaming. Now it is 12:05 and Hubby is feeding Superman yet another bottle and we are going to try to get him back to sleep. So much for an early night for us.

Superman has really gotten more active lately. He can sit up when you prop him on pillows. He has found his tongue and is really excited to stick it out at people. It's like a little lizardy "hello".

Anyway, we think he is particularly cute in hooded towels after his bath, so we are sharing his lion photos tonight. I was telling him to wave at Gram Sam when we were taking the pictures. He lifted his hands, but I'm pretty sure it's because he thought he was falling. But, I'm just going to pretend he was waving at Gram Sam.

Wall-E

III has really surprised me this summer!

For years he has bumfuzzled me with his style of play. We would buy him a building toy. He would build the toy that was shown on the box and he would done with it. This applied to Legos, Lincoln Logs, Gearz, Magnetix, Tinker Toys, and anything else we could get. This summer he has been creating really cool things with his Tinker Toys. His latest creation was Wall-E. When he showed it to us, Rosy asked him to make her a little sister for Wall-E. So, the pic is of Wall-E and Moll-E.

I think this new creativity was sparked by two things. After we moved to our smaller house this spring, we purchased a twin bed for III. He always had a queen bed at the other house and it took up most of his room. (His dad wanted it so that people who came to speak at the church could stay with us and not cost the church a hotel room.) Now, even though his room is smaller, his play area is much larger. We have also reduced our TV this summer. Now, TV is an earned privelage rather than an automatic passtime that might be taken away for poor behavior. Our new system has reduced their dependance on TV and has really increased the traditional play that I see the two of them involved in.

Snuggle Time

Because Hubby and I were both teens in the late '80s and still somewhat aware of pop culture in the early '90s, the song Hammer Time by MC Hammer is ingrained in our conscience. Almost anytime I hear someone say that it's time for something by saying, "It's ____ time," I automatically sing it to the tune of Hammer Time in my head. This works for "shower time", "supper time", and pretty much any two syllable word that needs to fit in there. My favorite of these is "snuggle time."

Rosy is the snuggliest kid ever. She would probably explode if she had to go an entire day without hugs. She gets twitchy if you don't sit down and hold her by lunchtime each day. Lately her favorite snuggle buddy is Superman. Thankfully, he loves it also.

The photos are of him helping us tuck her in one night this week. He was actually wiggling and trying to get closer to her as the lay there.

Ice, Ice Baby

I think that Superman is teething! He refuses to sleep, drools everywhere, whimpers if no one is holding him, and has started "urping" stuff up on us. We got the bright idea yesterday to give him a teething ring. He loved it, but he doesn't have the hand coordination yet to bring it to his mouth. This means that you have to stand there and hold it for him.

To solve this problem, I froze all of his pacifiers! He loves it! Each frozen pacifier gets me about 20 minutes of peace before it loses its coldness and he starts crying again.

I weighed him this week and he is over 15 lbs now! He is 23.75" long. I am really glad that he did this extreme growing AFTER he was born. I am beginning to think that he is going to be built like my brother. Right now, he looks like you took my husband's face and pasted it onto my brother's head. His eyes and mouth are duplicates of Hubby, but the shape of his head and the hairline are straight from my brother. He's quite the combo. I just hope that eventually a little bit of me shows up.

I took this photo this morning to show how tall he's getting. When we first tried to put him in the swing, he was so little that you couldn't get the straps small enough to fit him. Now, with his legs extended, his feet hang off the edge!

Welcome to the Jungle!

Superman took his first nap in his crib yesterday!!! Hubby is out of town so Gram Sam came to stay with me and help with the kids. She had noticed that he didn't have a mobile, so one of our projects for yesterday was to go select one for him. He really likes the Fisher Price Jungle Swing which has a little mobile on it, so she got him the big crib mobile that matches it. He loves it! He stayed in his crib for about 45 minutes playing with it and talking to it!! Then, for the first time ever, he fell asleep in his crib! This is a big help for me because our video monitor is hooked up now and I can go to other parts of the house and see him when he's in his crib.

III's big weekend trip to St. Stephens is coming up. He and Gram Sam are leaving tomorrow. Hopefully everything will go well, but we are prepared to go and get him if he gets homesick. Homesick is a pretty awful feeling. Of course, we suspect that he will be so relieved to be away from Rosy that he won't miss us at all.

Rosy has really turned into an amazing baby sitter. She has learned to give bottles and to comfortably hold Superman. I was finally able to finish my thank you notes this week because she could sit on the love seat and hold Superman while I sat on the sofa and wrote. That baby loves his big sister sooo much. I usually take him with me to their rooms in the mornings to wake them up and she is always ready to scoot over and make room for him to snuggle for a minute. (Of course, I watch them and don't let her squish him!)