Montessori Mike and Puppy Love

One good thing about a 2 yr. old getting money for Christmas is that you can buy things you know no one would normally think to buy (how many grandparents do you know that get a Montessori Services catalog in their mailbox?) So, with P's money from his paternal grandparents this year, I picked this from our "wish list" of Montessori things. P. played a long time with just one cylinder block, but Mike was much more ambitious and decided to do all 4 at once. N. is supervising so no pieces get lost, they don't get dumped erratically (I'm afraid those knobs won't stand up to 4yo boyhood) or puppies (imagine the fun they'd have chewing on those!) and speaking of puppies...
Look how they've grown! We estimate they weigh about 20lbs. now. K. took these pictures while lying in the backyard with them (see the evidence of our drought? that brown scratchy stuff is supposed to be grass. the good soaking rain I thought we got the other day? turned out to only be less than .5")
Romeo says, "what did you say? did you just say what I think you just said? smile? don't you know we canines can't smile?" he cocks his head like this every time we whistle real short and he's not sure if it came out of our mouth or not.
Juliet, we decided yesterday (from O and J's Latin lesson), should've been named Regina, the Latin word for "queen." because she thinks she is one. As evidenced by this pose. In this season of life, when my only New Year's resolution is to pause, and enjoy life, motherhood, being a wife and child of the King more, puppies are a great addition and reminder to slow down and enjoy.

The BSF boys

Drew is on the left (with no hair) and Chris is on the right.
The little boys especially like when they come over. We've tried teaching them Blokus and Dutch Blitz, but they prefer things where they don't have to sit down, like Swing Ball and the trampoline.

Merry Christmas

Christmas dinner--the kids first time to try sparkling cider (which the majority did not like. at all.)
In front of the tree.
You're invited to share some sugar free cheesecake (sweetened with sage honey, even good for diabetics) and strawberries with us.

Romeo and Juliet

H. with the "twins"

This is not a posed picture--they really ended up sleeping like this (she's a little more restless than he is) and formed a heart! How can you NOT love puppies?

N. with Romeo

The 3 sisters and 1 brother before we broke up the band. At least we kept 2 together.

Chick-fil-A Christmas

Here's K and her friend Lindsay from work, at the University Center Club for their party. She won a gift certificate to a local restaurant and a favorite CD, but someone else won a whole Wii system!

We need your vote!

Number 1 (above)

#2 (the irony of this one cracks me up. H. was going for effect)

#3. who's the tallest? M. is singing

#4. Yes, it really is Dec. 5

#5. The street urchins/Von Trapps

So which is your favorite? Comment in the comments, and look for the results in your mailbox in about 2 weeks.

Baby in the bathroom

It's interesting what you see when you download pictures from your camera that has been confiscated by your oldest kids. Who even gave this child a bath w/orange paint? At least it got cleaned up well....

and here I always thought a child under 6 should have careful supervision when brushing their teeth.

K's first day...at Chick-Fil-A

Doesn't she look great in her uniform?

"How did you feel about your first day, K?"

Nice shoes!

Silly face

Who's the best sister face?

H. says, "show me your _________ face."

This is supposed to be the angry face.


Surprise face!
Sleepy face...







Happy face
Hungry face

imPOSSUMble

Mom, remember that possum I saw when I was talking to you from the back porch the other day? Well, today his inquiring ways got him into trouble. He got tangled up in the volleyball net that Robin had neatly leaned against the wall outside by the gas grill because it kept falling down. P. was the one to see it. We had been out at the pool when a storm came quickly on us. We were all standing on the back porch when P. pointed and said, "cat." We were all thinking "rat" but when we saw he was stuck, we had to do something. So, since I was already wet and in my bathing suit and saw this guy didn't have much fight left in him, I went out (yes, in the pouring rain) and cut him out. He quickly walked 1 ft. to under the grill (so he couldn't continue to get wet, presumably) and collapsed. You can see how swollen and red his left "arm" is, that's the one that had all the circulation cut off from the net.


He has since crawled about 10 feet (so pathetic to watch him, limp so slowly) under the portable fire pit outside our bedroom window. We gave him some scraps from the trash (he's so skinny) and he spent the afternoon cleaning himself like a cat, then making a nice bed for himself from the pine straw under the pit. He's breathing. We're hoping he makes his move toward home once it gets dark.

Dining Room

This picture is looking towards the front of the house.

Boy's haircuts/Room Rearranging

Vote in the comments section whether you prefer their hair long or short. The house is divided at this point....




We no longer could all fit around the kitchen table, so we moved the bookshelves out of the dining room, into the living room, the computer desk/printer into the family room (no picture) and the kitchen table into the dining room. We still have one bookshelf and a small hutch in there (that picture to follow, blogger would only allow so many pictures to be posted at once). Then we got a new small bistro-type table for the kitchen. The kids call it the "game" table, as it's the perfect size to play chess, checkers and other games.

cake close ups

Duff (from "Ace of Cakes") has nothin' on these girls! Didn't they do a great job?

Happy 9th Birthday!

You know it's been a good day when the birthday boy is getting tucked into bed at night and says, "this is the best birthday of my whole, entire life." (all 9 years)
His littlest brother loves the parrot.

The oldest sisters made the cake. Isn't it cool? I'll have to see if I can find a close up.

Friends, creations, new phases

Look who's in big boy pants! I really think if we stayed home for a week, P. would be mostly potty trained. He definitely prefers it at this point. We got a new kitchen table set that came with 2 chairs and while K. was busy assembling it, O. made this lovely creation that looks like a wedding cake. This was all right before we had our pool party for 40 people, 2 of whom were our good friends, seen here: JoJo with M at the computer (but don't DARE call them boyfriend/girlfriend) and Levi with P. They were born a day apart. I just love the expression on P's face in the bathtub because it captures his true feelings for his older brother. Complete and utter adoration. He heard R. on the phone with his brother once, calling him "bro" so now you can hear these two youngest calling out to each other, "hey bro!"