Kiddie Update

Once again, it's been several weeks.  My intentions are always good.  My follow-through is lacking.  This is ridiculously true in many aspects of my life these days...

Today I got the pleasure of participating in my first book group meeting here.  I had been in an active book group in Washington, and I loved it.  I always looked forward to the 2nd Tuesday of the month.  It broadened my reading horizons.  It was something I knew I'd miss when we moved to Alabama.  And so I put out feelers to see if there was interest here.  Well, there is!  Yay!  And today we met and picked a book for discussion next month.  I hope this turns out to be as successful a book group as the one in Washington.  I love reading.

That has no relevance whatsoever to anything.  I just am excited about it.  Mostly life is falling into a routine.  I still am trying to get stuff hung on the walls.  There is still a room full of unpacked boxes (those boxes you don't know what to do with for forever...  Mine happen to include all my old photo albums and such as that...).  We signed up to participate in a Pre-school type program where someone does home visits here and brings me curriculum and such to teach Lynnaea.  This is going to help me help her to learn more, I think.  Teach her how to focus.  We've been working on a book they gave us when we signed up...  I think we are wading into territory that is a little advanced for her at this point, though.  So I'm glad we're going to start getting the official curriculum next week.  But each morning, we sit down and work on one page of the workbook.  She does really well, all things considered, but the next one has her writing numbers.  And she isn't quite to that point yet.  But she'll get there, of that I'm sure.  She loves doing school each morning.  It lasts about 15 minutes, and then we move onto other stuff.  Lynnaea is also a big helper!  She is earning money by doing chores.  We added a new chore this week:  dusting the living room tables.  For now, her chores are small (she folds the washcloths and puts away her own clothes in addition to the dusting), but I hope to instill in her the importance of work.  It's an important principle.

And then there's Corbin.  He is curious and naughty; sweet... and naughty; mischievous... and naughty!  No... He really is the sweetest little guy.  He has the best dimpled smile, and he is very smart.  He understands so much of what we say.  He can bring his shoes to me when we are going to go somewhere and I ask him to bring them.  He can follow me to his room, carrying his folded clothes, and put them in the drawer (with help opening the drawer).  He is completely aware of the "no-no's" and he does them anyway :/...  While looking at you and laughing about it.  And he gives kisses and laughs as he leans in again and again for kisses.

My children are my greatest blessings.  Truly.  They drive me to the brink some days...  But I think that's just motherhood.  I wouldn't trade them for anything.

It doesn't sound like much, I know...  But that's what's been going on.  Here are a couple pictures :).

 We enjoyed watermelon on National Watermelon Day.

 And rootbeer floats a couple days later on Rootbeer Float Day.

 We've been doing a lot of smoothies lately.  Lynnaea likes to help me pick out the fruits to go in them.  And she likes to press the blender button.  And pretty much, the kids love them. And I do too -- because we 're all getting extra veggies (in this case, kale!)!

And Lynnaea is pretty much completely potty trained.  She has days where she will have an accident.  And some nights she still does too.  But we have more dry days than accident days (and nights), so that's a victory.  It wasn't hard, but I think that's because we waited a really long time to do it. 

 Corbin thinks putting banana in his hair is hilarious.  I don't...  Which is why he does it.

 He loves blueberry pancakes.

 Lynnaea posed with (and like) a princess at story time a couple weeks back (apparently there is a "princess arm pose" that I knew nothing about...  I have been schooled!).  Lynnaea thought this was the coolest.

She also made a hedgehog craft a few weeks back.  Let's just say, with a younger brother... It's seen better days ;).