2013 in Review

It always takes me a little bit to register a new year. I don't think there is anything magical about a day on a calendar, but once the holiday hub-bub has cleared, it's nice to remember and reflect on good and bad things from the previous year.

• We all enjoyed the milestones from 4 1/2 months to 16 1/2 months with our sweet Eve. Rolling, sitting, crawling, walking, teeth -- it all happens SO fast. I savor the moments of her babyhood (now toddlerhood).
• 10 years! Since high school, that is. I had a blast reminiscing with classmates.
• We went to the beach as a family of 4 (plus my parents). We had so. much. fun. and the girls did great. We'll be headed back in 2014 for more fun in the sun.
• Eleanor played the piano. Lessons began in May, and it's been fun to watch the process of learning music.
• First trip to White Water. It was a hit. 
• We moved! ... across town. It was a whirlwind of boxes and late nights. We love our new house.
• Eleanor started school! She continues to wow us with her accomplishments. Math and geography are by far her favorites. We really like the Classical Conversations program.
• We officially became a homeschooling family. We talked about it for years (5, exactly). A better decision has never been made.
• Sisters! What a special relationship they have. I love watching them play and giggle and even their fussiness is funny (sometimes).
• The year of make believe! Eleanor loved to make believe - dragons, princesses, super heroes, waitresses, fairy tales - you name it, and it goes on around here. I don't see this ending any time soon.
• I made a few new friends and a few moved away. I'm happy to have the new ones, and so sad about the relocation of the old ones. Maybe we will have some fun places to visit in 2014!
• We end the year with a 5 1/2 year old (WHAT?!) and a 16 month old, 2 dogs, 1 cat and a partridge in a pear tree.

In 2013 we were most thankful for family and good health. I pray that 2014 will be a good year.

This moment ...

11.17.2013

We are gearing up for our first holiday season in our new home. Jon and I have been taking a critical look at our "traditions" to make sure they are in line with our family values and the memories we want to create for the girls. We are loving the fall weather. We spend the warmer and sunnier days outside in the back yard, but I secretly (or not?) look forward to the cold, rainy days when we can hunker down and wait for Jon to get home and start a fire. I. Love. Fires.  And these girls ...

Eleanor

• Eleanor has an obsession with this set of Dick and Jane books my mom gave her. Mom had originally bought them for her sister, Theresa, so the books are special to me, too. (Theresa passed away in November 2008.)  Imagine a 5-year-old reading "Run, run, run, Jane. Run Dick. Oh. Oh. Oh." In a very loud, very monotone voice. It melts my heart.
• She recently memorized The Crocodile by Lewis Carrol for a presentation. She randomly (and excitedly) spouts off with "How doth the little crocodile ...", and I love it. I see more poetry in her future. 
• We check out from the library and buy drawing books because she LOVES them. She spends hours trying to recreate a panda bear drawn with circles or a monkey, but in classic Eleanor form, it frustrates her to tears some days. She wants to draw as well as her daddy draws, and just doesn't understand why she can't.
• Audio books! Who knew? We've been subbing audio books for TV some, and she really enjoys it.
• The Dollar Tree is her new favorite place to be.

Eve

• 4 TEETH! Finally.
• Prefers to go without clothes most days. I'm not sure what we will do about that when it gets really cold.
• LOVES to wear her sister's shoes ... on her hands.
• Strikes a pose! Eve will snap into downward facing dog and peak at you between her legs. She giggles if you flip upside down, too.
• Screams to take a shower. I've not had a solo shower in weeks unless it's at nap time.
• Still insists on having a filled water cup within an arms reach at all times. 

I am loving this season of motherhood!

November notables

I'm sure y'all have been waiting with baited breath for an update from me, but we've been busy sucking every last drop of fall goodness out of November. NOVEMBER!

I had to sift back through my SD card and Instagram account to jog my memory of our recent family happenings. I may try to back track over the next few weeks and dedicate posts to certain events. Then again, I may not get back to it.

Some things we've been up to (and may appear as stand alone posts before long):

• A baby shower
• Enjoying fires in our fire place -- one of the upgrades at our new home!
• The theater, darling! The Little Mermaid Jr., the musical with friends
• A fire station tour with school friends
• A trip a local farm all decked out for Halloween/fall
• HALLOWEEN! Pumpkin carving, Halloween parties, and trick-or-treating with two little tigers
• A date with my man
• Very unprofessional photos (taken by us) of the girls
• And a few girls' days out for me

Homeschooling update:

I can't believe it's been over a month since the last update. Things are going well. VERY well. I'm so impressed with the Classical Conversations program and I'm impressed with Eleanor. My tenure as a babysitter to the sweetest little Avery Grace ended mid-October. We miss her, but we've also been able to add some fun things in like little projects and outings. I'm finding my stride as a homeschooling parent.

Notable things:

• Eleanor LOVES math. She always wants to start our days with math, and I'm always surprised by it. 
• Eleanor is decoding words like a pro. She is forever trying to pick out words she knows and guessing on the words she doesn't -- even on my books. I may have to limit what I have out during the day. ;)
• We had to choose a poem to recite for our CC presentation. I enjoyed working with her to pick out and memorize a poem. We may add that into our repertoire somewhere. 

We are looking forward to a memorable Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas season. I especially enjoy looking through all of the photos from the year and reminiscing on all of the great memories! Happy fall, friends!

Homeschool update

OH me, OH my! Have I found myself with a few minutes of free time when I'm not too tired to do more than stare at the TV? I think I have! I even have a cup of tea beside me for this post.

I've been meaning to catch up on the home schooling front with the intention of updating the blog monthly on this topic. We'll see how it goes.

We have more than a month of home schooling under our belts. We decided to join the Classical Conversation (CC) group in our area. It covers history, grammar, Latin, geography, science, fine arts, Bible memory work, and some math.  We use the Math-U-See Primer for main our 'rithmetic curriculum, and we're still using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (read Lessons, not Days, because I'm not that on top of it). I also supplement with BOB books, and I'm trying to incorporate some sight word work. Eleanor also takes piano lessons, and I consider that part of her musical education (for now).

Our home school days look something like this:

• Monday - We spend the morning at CC, read alouds in the afternoon, piano
• Tuesday - Review CC memory work, 1 math lesson, 1 reading lesson, handwriting practice, piano
• Wednesday - Review CC memory work, prep for CC presentation, reinforce Tuesday math, read aloud
• Thursday - Review CC memory work, practice presentation, 1 math lesson, 1 reading lesson, handwriting practice
• Friday - Friday FUN day. We try to wrap up anything we didn't get done during the week and we try to take some sort of field trip or do a family activity when Jon gets home. 
• Weekend - Piano and Presentation

Tuesday thru Thursday, if everything goes well, school takes us 2-3 hours. Right now we have another obligation that changes our school week quite a bit. In the next month, I'm hoping things will be more consistent.  If something doesn't get finished during the day, Jon or I will work with Eleanor after dinner. On more than one occasion, we've had to completely re-arrange the schedule when something comes up or babies decide to scream all day. It happens. We adjust.

How do I like it? I LOVE it. I feel like I'm doing a good job keeping her on task, and I feel like she's learning a lot. I'm blow away by CC and Eleanor's new-found knowledge. Admittedly, I'm not at a place where I can do a lot of cutsie/Pinteresty things with her, but she doesn't seem to mind. I did check out a slew of books about apples and Johnny Appleseed for September, and we visited an apple orchard with some friends. That's something!

For my Catholic friends reading, Happy Michaelmas (yesterday)! I hope you got in some 'angel'ic celebrations!

There is so much more I want to do with my smart girls, and there is really NEAT curriculum to peruse. Even if you don't home school, there are GREAT resources available to supplement with. Grandparents, if you're reading this, I have the Christmas lists all made out! Just ask :)

Happy Birthday, Eve!

No, I haven't forgotten about my blog. With so many balls in the air, I've had to let a few drop. I never learned to juggle. I did miss a few family milestones in the last 6 weeks with the most notable being Eve's birthday. I'm hoping to catch up and carry on with regular posts, because I think our fall will be worth documenting. Let's get to it.

Eve Theresa turned one on August 20. Her first year flew by. Despite a stretch where she preferred to nap in 15-minute increments, another where she wanted to be held every waking moment, and her current favorite "word" of "AHHHH" to express that she wants something or something isn't going her way, Eve has been a wonderful baby. I'm excited for her to grow up and experience her little life, but I'm so sad that my baby is not going to be a baby for much longer. No. Don't tell me she's a toddler. I do not want to hear it.

Eve is curious and determined, but a little less ... particular than her sister. She has a sweet disposition, love love LOVES to eat and drink water, hates hair bows, and prefers to do most things on her own. She crawled on May 23rd, got her first two teeth on August 11th (almost a whole year of toothless grins!), and took her first steps on August 23rd. At her 1-year check-up she weighed 16 pounds and is in the 25th percentile for height and weight.

We learned with Eleanor that babies grow fast. Too fast. I try hard every day to enjoy the girls where they are and to not wish away their childhoods. Some days I'm better at this than others. Today, I'm thankful for Eve (affectionately known as Evie Bear or just Bear) and the joy she brings our family. I'm a few days late on the blog, but Happy Birthday to my baby.

Eve's birthday fell on a Tuesday. We celebrated with Jon's side of the family the weekend before, and had dinner and cake with my parents on her birthday.When I look back at the pictures of her first few days and months, I always wonder what happened to her beautiful, dark hair. Of course, we love her beautiful, blonde hair, too.

I love this girl!

This Moment...

07.14.2013

We are waiting on the final details on closing for our new home. I have terrible sciatic nerve pain that is holding me up on everything from exercise to housework. I even tried acupuncture to get some relief (it was a great experience). I'm far behind on my current book To Say Nothing of the Dog. I'm IN LOVE with the tv show New Girl. Those last two are directly related. Work is pouring in, and I desperately need to go to the grocery store, but uuuuuuugh. The grocery store? 

We are enjoying summer for all that it's worth. Sunshine and swimming and coffee on the patio is what it's worth.

Eleanor...

• is buzzing with excitement about VBS this week.
• MUST be a part of every conversation.
• is becoming an accomplished eaves dropper. She astounds us when she repeats entire conversations.
• loves loves LOVES make believe and pretend, especially make believe fighting, and of course, the damsel in distress.
• wants an iPhone for her 6th birthday.

Eve...

• crawls and walks around supported by furniture or whatever she can find. She's even stood on her own for a few seconds before plopping down on her fluffy, diapered bum.
• loves to eat. And, don't you dare put something in your mouth around her without also having something tasty to share. Forget those baby rice puffs.
•  is happiest being carried around on someone's hip, but is also content to rummage through low-sitting boxes, bins, and tubs, or to stalk her big sister.
• is serious about what consumption, and is currently the most hydrated member of the household. 
• 6 days until she's 11-months-old, and still no teeth. I'm not complaining.
• Long naps? Elusive.
• has only been waking once at night. Let's keep it up, baby girl!

Happy 4th!

July 4 is easily one of my favorite holidays. Someone I follow on Twitter aptly tweeted: Best holiday of the year, no obligations, no presents, only beer and explosions #america

Amen to that! Jon enjoyed a day off work to power wash the fence instead of kick back with a few cold ones, but we did make our way up to the Celebration of Freedom to run into a few friends (it's always fun to see who we run into, and to enjoy the fireworks display. It was phenomenal this year.

Eve surprised us by not screaming through the fireworks show. She actually liked all the booming and bright lights. Eleanor danced while the band played. No surprise there. 

I'm thankful the Bolivar Rotary Club organizes such a great event, and I'm always proud of my dad for being involved in such things. He's a real stand-up guy! :) And, can we stop a minute and talk about how AMAZING the weather was? Wow. I vividly recall last year being hot, humid, and miserable. Maybe it is burned in my memory because I was 8 months pregnant and rocking super sexy sweat stains. :)

Good bless America and Happy 4th to y'all!