Posted by Cindy on December 17, 2007
The first year with my other two didn’t go this fast. Everybody always says, “Where did the time go?” But I really mean it. How is it possible that my wee one has been with us a year already??
What a precious little boy he is. He loves to snuggle and he thinks he needs to be a part of every piece of action that comes around. There’s a lot of action in this house! He’s my constant helper as I try to fold clothes and cook with one hand. He’s also my shower companion – peeking in every few seconds to be sure I haven’t been pulled into the drain, I suppose. He never has been a very good sleeper unless in my arms. I feel very sad that it’s time to work on that again. There’s just something about holding a sleeping baby.
He’s just on the verge of walking and actually took two steps to me the other day without having any idea what he had just done. 
He tells us all the time about dada on the tata (tractor) and wants to tu (touch) the baoo (ballon) whenever he sees one. He loves his iee (sissy), bubub (brother) and papa, but I know he loves his nana (me) best of all. Soon, his preferences may change, but for now I’m his favorite and I wouldn’t have it any other way! I’ll admit that his sister runs a close second.
Lately, one of his favorite things to do is to hang out with the boys (Daddy and Caleb) every evening as they crash toy cars. I can hear him laugh all the way downstairs as his brother (dramatically, I’m sure) sends cars flying all over the bedroom. And wrestling – what is it with boys and wrestling? Eli loves when Caleb gently wrestles with him. After he’s been with Caleb for a few minutes, Mahayla and I have to block ourselves so Eli can’t use his new moves on us.
He has a sweet tooth. I’ve known that for awhile. He can pick out a candy bar a mile away! There’s no hiding chocolate from him. When he sees it, his eyes brighten and he starts bouncing with his little hands reaching into the air. He’s chanting something along the lines of “uh hu, uh hu, uh hu”, which I’m assuming means, “Yes, please, I’d like some.” Never mind that no one offered to share. So, at his party yesterday, there were no problems diving into the cupcake. He went at it like he’s eaten cupcakes his whole little life. In fact, he enjoyed it so much that he thought he’d like another. His daddy and siblings were very upset that I didn’t think a one-year-old need TWO cupcakes, but they agreed after I mentioned that they were welcome to stay up with him all night if they liked.
Trying to treasure this time while keeping up with my older two has proven to be very tough for me. I remember the sweet early days with my oldest when time stood still. I could cuddle and play as long as needed – a few chores and fixing dinner were about the extent of my “other” responsibilities. This time around has been much harder. Bigger kids bring bigger responsibilities. On top of cuddling, there’s school work, plenty of big kid laundry, big kid activities, lots of grocery shopping and such. Just trying to give everyone the attention they need and deserve has been hard.
One of my good friends once said, “I don’t feel human again until my children turn eighteen months. It’s like I live in some sort of foggy funk. Then they turn eighteen months and, poof, I am normal again.” I think I know what she means. I’m beginning to see out of the fog, but it hasn’t all lifted yet. I wouldn’t trade baby days for the world, and I’m certainly not wishing my children to grow faster than they already are, but it will be nice to feel normal again. I hear some of you laughing and saying, “Girl, nothing is ever normal again with three kids!”
But for now, I’m just going from day to day trying to soak in every bit of a cuddly and busy one-year-old, an active and ever-so-funny seven-year-old and a sweet, sensitive and ever-so-helpful almost eleven-year-old. The laundry can wait.
Posted by Cindy on December 15, 2007
I’ve been procrastinating. Homeschool Estore is hosting a 12 Blogs of Christmas Giveaway. You visit up to two of the 12 blogs, follow their directions for posting an entry and have a chance to win $50.00 to spend at Homeschool Estore. So no more procrastinating. Here are my two entries.
Ruth at Heart of God has asked for the best homeschooling project we’ve done. That’s a hard one because we have done many fun homeschool projects in the past. But, I thought I’d post links to two of my children’s favorites so far this year. The ancient history final projects and the astronomy final projects. Having my children prepare a presentation on anything they want at the end of our unit studies this year has been a real hit. They’ve taken complete control of their learning for a couple of days and have presented super projects!
Lynn at Eclectic Education has asked for my best Christmas memory. Well, I simply have to say last Christmas was my best memory as I sat at home getting to know my two-day-old! He had so graciously let me finish my Christmas shopping before he decided to enter the world in the wee hours of the 23rd. Needless to say, it was a very tiring Christmas, but full of precious memories at the same time. A new baby with two older ones who expected Christmas to roll on as usual – whew!! Gifts were wrapped and ready in the closet, but all the yummy eating plans were taking place at other people’s houses. Ham sandwiches on Christmas??
Both of my families – parents and in-laws – have such giving hearts and they each brought Christmas to us! Christmas Eve, my in-laws came through the door with all the turkey and trimmings left-overs from the family celebration we had missed the day before. We feasted (you know a new mommy is h-u-n-g-r-y), then they filled our fridge with all the left-overs! My family, not wanting us to miss out on Christmas Day festivities, rolled in the next morning. They showed up with everything from the ham to the rolls to the presents. They turned my house into their house and went along with Christmas as usual. What a blessing that was. What a burden that must have been. I know my older children appreciated it more than anybody else. That sweet, new brother was cute, but he was interrupting their Christmas plans – could he really be cute enough to be forgiven? Thanks to my wonderful family, their was no need for forgiveness. And once again, our refrigerator was packed to the brim with leftovers.
So, there you have it. My entries. I would love to read your entries, but then that would mean you might win MY $50.00! Merry Christmas!!
Posted by Cindy on December 14, 2007
We finished our astronomy unit this week! The kids spent a couple of days preparing final projects and presented them in front of the video camera on Thursday. They were able to choose whatever astronomy topic most interested them. It’s no surprise that Caleb chose astronauts as his topic. Mahayla focused on stars.
Caleb’s presentation included a talk about astronaut suits (see his helmet and jet pack?), space shuttles, rockets, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, dehydrated food and thrust.
Mahayla’s presentation included information about the sun, other notable stars, constellations, how to use an astronometer to tell the brightness of stars and some information about light years.
Using Exploring Creation with Astronomy as our main text, we did many of the free notebooking pages the author offers on her website. We also added in a few lapbooking activities and lots of hands on projects. I put what we had into modified lapbooks. The lapbooking activities were glued on the first flap, while the notebooking pages were simply stapled together at the top of the other side.
Our trip to the Answers In Geneis Creation Museum’s Planetarium earlier this year was a great addition to this unit!
Here are a few of the fun website games the kids enjoyed during the unit.
Solar System Trading Cards
Problems in Space
Make Your Own Solar System
Posted by Cindy on December 13, 2007
Christmas science doesn’t get much more fun than solving this mystery! You can find the directions and worksheets here and here.
Basically, a sneaky little elf switched some of Mrs. Claus’ cookie baking ingredients. My children had to test three mysterious white mixtures to determine which one was the cookie mix. Gathering materials takes a little effort (and we didn’t even have the iodine), but it was worth the time.
Posted by Cindy on December 12, 2007
Just recently, our local 4-H agent, Lois, started a Homeschool 4-H Club. Can I just tell you how awesome it is???
We decided early on that we wanted it to be hands-on, meaningful and service oriented. Forget the meeting minutes and officers and such! Well, we met for our first meeting this week and it exceeded every expectation I had!
The children were asked to bring ingredients to make their favorite Christmas cookie. They each got to be “Emeril” as they demonstrated their recipe to the rest of the group. After a cookie tasting party, they loaded up the leftovers and we delivered them to our local fire stations as a Christmas gift. What fun!!
Next month – making lap quilts.
