Organized Chaos

The most recent post was September of 2012? I'm really on top of things.  :)  What's funny is I was expecting Abigail at the time and now we have her and Lucy!

I decided to give this whole blog thing another shot.  Partly because Chris is always telling me to write down stories about the kids (because they do and say the "darndest" things).  Partly because I sent Carl and Lauren a text one day this summer and Carl's response was "next time send an email".  And partly because I know that I am totally slacking off with keeping family members (and friends) updated on the kids. Hopefully this will be the solution!

Playing Mass

Bear just turned 5. He is a genius in the making.  I don't know what God will call him to do, but whatever it is I know he will apply his own special form of problem solving.  He has somehow acquired skills for negotiating that currently rival mine (let it be known that this is not an area of great skill for me when done on the fly, off the cuff, at the drop of a hat....pick your idiom).  At his dentist appointment this summer he tried convincing the dentist that he didn't need his teeth polished, he had already taken care of it at home, and was not about to back down.  When it was my turn to go back the dentist said "He's quite the negotiator.  He'll either be a politician or a con-man".  I replied "Hopefully neither!".  The dentist did a great job and was finally able to polish his teeth by telling him there was a little stain on one that he needed to get off, and he just kept going.

We've started Kindergarten this year.  He's doing great and we've had to move ahead quickly with some parts of the curriculum (phonics/learning to read) because he was getting bored and just wanted to fly through the lessons.  Other parts will take much patience and practice (writing), from both myself and him.  The down side of him figuring out how to write on his own is that we're having to work harder to learn the correct way to form each letter.  He has also become aware of different fonts and lettering similar to what is found in storybooks and will sometimes decide he wants to make a "fancy A" or G or whatever letter it might be.

Baking cookies

Anna will be four in a couple of weeks.  I think her legs grew about 4 or 5 inches since the Spring.  She's already wearing size 5!  She wants so badly to be like Mama; tries to carry around Lucy, change her sister's diapers (or put diapers on any doll or stuffed animal she finds), and often copies many of the motherly phrases I use when speaking with her siblings.  She also loves to narrate for herself as she plays and enjoys embracing the drama of a performance.  I hope that one day we can take her to some dance lessons; she loves to dance and has a natural skill for creative movement.

She is doing Kindergarten with her brother this year, mostly because she wanted to and we felt she would be able to keep up, which she has!  It's nice because she and Benjamin challenge each other in a good way.  They aren't necessarily competing but they are learning and growing together, which I think is beneficial to them both.  Anna is a positive influence on Benjamin because she is so eager to learn.  Benjamin is a positive influence on Anna because he has a zeal to acquire as much knowledge as possible in the areas he is passionate about.  I don't know if she will continue onto 1st with Benjamin next year or if she will do a more advanced Kindergarten.  We'll see where she is at the end of the school year.

Reading to Daddy and her baby doll

Abigail will be two in October.  She's very excited about it because then she will be old enough to have gummy vitamins with her older siblings.  :)  Honestly, I feel like she should be turning 3 and not 2. She's so tall, already wearing size 3, wants to do school with her brother and sister, she's ready to be a big kid.  I was trying to explain to my dad the other day that I feel like she's one of these kids with an "old soul".  Her heart and soul are just waiting for the rest of her to catch up.  Does that make sense?  She's my angelic cherub and fireball all rolled into one.  I can count on her to clean up and share, as long as no one has crossed her.  Her stubborn independence is up to par with her brother's, although a little more vocal.  She has such an expressive face and I don't think she knows it yet but she can put on the charm.  She'll tilt her head just so, give her cute cheesy grin, and smile at you with those big blue eyes.  She's picked up from her siblings what it means to be funny and loves to play, perform, and make trouble right along with them.  Her school this year is a little more Montessori/hands on learning/lots of read aloud time and good literature.  She loves sitting down with the giant art book and flipping through the pages of paintings while listening instrumental music in the background.  She really enjoys classical culture.

Happy girl

Lucy is 7 months now and her large motor skills are really taking off.  She's speed crawling with the best of them so sweeping has become a new and exciting challenge, once again.  She's just recently started pulling up on more things: the first step of the staircase, the outside of the tub, basically anything low enough for her to get a good grip. ....Well, I think she knows that I'm talking about her because she just started fussing.  That and her top two teeth are on the verge of breaking through the gums.  So I'm going to take this as my "go to bed" call.  I'll write more on Lucy next time.

I hope you all enjoyed the update!  I promise to do my best to make this a more regular thing.  Really!! :)