My Mathematician

X wowed his teachers at VBS tonight.  However, it wasn't by his superior biblical knowledge or profound religious thoughts.  His teacher gave a 3 minute warning for a transition.  Without missing a beat, X piped up, "That is 180 seconds!" Everyone was astonished.  I guess most pre-k students don't know that random fact.

When they got home, Jut started quizzing him.  A few made him think for a couple moments, but he made it all the way up to 10 minutes is 600 seconds  I think that is pretty impressive for a 5.5 year old that is starting grade k this fall. 

I forget how well his mathematical abilities are since I see them every day. He knows his addition facts almost as well as his sister.  I forget that many of my eighth graders couldn't have done what he exhibited this evening. He is my mathematician.

4 Month old M

M is four months! He is to that fun baby stage.  No longer a sleepy newborn but interactive and showing off his personality.

He is a smiley guy (despite all the serious pictures) that loves to drool and drool and drool. He however, doesn't like to sleep.  Naps are much better this month.  He usually sleeps between 45 minutes to 2 hours.  But, he's up 5-6 times between 8 and 8. The nights are pretty short around here.  He had his second full night of sleep on July 4th.  VBS and Aunt Stacey's house wore him right out.  I guess we don't make him tired enough on a frequent basis.

The big kids love to make him giggle.  C loves jumping at him trying to illicit that response. X and E are not quite as abrasive in their attempts but they love talking to him and entertaining him as well.

While spending the week at Rock Lake last week, M learned that he could roll from his back to his tummy. He loves to practice that trick any time that he is laid down.  He is even starting it during diaper changes.  Fun times.

He is also figuring out that he can move.  Mobility has begun.  He doesn't stay on his blanket any longer.  He scoots backwards and can rotate ninety degrees or so in addition to rolling over. I came out of the bathroom at camp and found him half under the couch and very upset about it. Made me laugh when I determined that he wasn't hurt but just mad.

The older kids love giving him toys. He can hold them and chew on them.  He's beginning to throw them on the floor and so they'll pick them up. Sofia the Giraffe is back and squeaking all the time. It is obnoxious enough that it even stops his crying sometimes. But, grasping objects is a new skill this month that makes it fun for the older kids to 'play' with him.  I got my hair cut this month because I was tired of him pulling it constantly. It is the shortest that I've had it since college, I think. Keeps him from pulling it though, even if I'm still not certain how much I like it.

 

Realization about #3

I love my third child.  He is so different from his older brother.  C is a force to be reckoned with at all times.  Today, Jut used a word to describe him that I hadn't thought of before...and yet it is so accurate. 

We were driving to church this evening and C was 'pu-pu'ing 'asterdroids' (aka asteroids).  He was so focused in his imaginary game that Jut felt like he needed to be dodging them in the minivan too.  He looked at me and said, "He is so intense."

"Intense"...that is the word that describes C. When he is playing, he is playing to 100% of his ability. He runs at full speed everywhere.  He lightsabers anything that moves when he is a Jedi.  There is no half way with that little man.  It is all or nothing.  He'll talk your ear off...or he'll be completely non-communicative with you and just growl or scowl.

If he's a cat, he licks you...and licks food off of his plate. If he loves you, he showers you with hugs and sloppy kisses. If he claims he's upset with you, he'll "not talk to you until Christmas".

He's loud all the time.  Teaching him to use his 'quiet' voice is like bashing your head into a wall.  He loves his little brother and yet 'gentle' isn't in his vocabulary when he's playing with M. When he talks, he'll use 100% of his voice.  When he's being a big brother, he does it with 100% of his strength.  The olders like to pretend fight...but C doesn't understand how to not hurt them because he plays with 100% of everything thing he has...including his strength. "Intense" is so accurate.

We were waiting for Jut to finish up checking out campers on Saturday and C and I were hanging out in the cabin. He was sitting on the couch with a couch pillow in front and behind him.  He was in a speeder bike chase.  I tried talking to him a couple of times but it was like I wasn't even in the room as he was dodging trees and Imperials. It was fun to watch his imagination...and he was so 'intense' with his game that M and I didn't even exist.

"Intense" is a great descriptor of C. It will be interesting to see how it evolves as he grows. I'm hoping we can learn to channel it a bit more.

A Night at the Park

On the way home from church on Sunday, C was adamant that we go to a park. So, we convinced him that we could go after supper.  We've been so busy lately that it sounded like a fun family activity that we could all enjoy.  While I was napping, the idea was hatched that we should have a picnic in the park.

So, I packed some ham sandwiches and other munchies and we headed to the park.

In typical kid fashion, there wasn't any interest in eating although they were scavenging anything they could find prior to leaving. They managed to eat a few bites before heading off to play.  C was the first to disappear, as he had been excited about this since church and he couldn't wait to play.

 M tolerated his first picnic very well.  He let us eat while he contentedly sat in the carseat, but that only lasted for as quickly as we could eat. It is much more fun to be in the action.

I hadn't taken many pics of the kiddos lately.  So, I had fun snapping pictures while they played.

We had fun exploring three of the different play areas at the park.  The kids ended the night climbing to the top of the sledding hill and running down.  They had so much fun.  It was a great evening had by all until M had too much excitement and it was time to go home...so we compensated leaving a bit early with ice cream and that made the 'big kids' happy.

C being his adorable self...and smiling instead of growling

E climbing the rope...and was super excited to make it to the top

M enjoying his first swinging experience...'enjoying' might be stretching the truth...'tolerating' might be a more accurate description of his thoughts on swinging.

The olders paused for a moment while running through the castle.

My three monkeys

X being his silly self...he looks excited about something.

M at 3 months

At 3 months, M is a happy, little guy.  He freely gives smiles to all.  He loves to laugh at crazy facial expressions.  We are enjoying our little man.

He has his challenging moments. He's happy for about an hour after he wakes up.  Then, we jiggle and change scenery for about a half hour and then it is time to sleep again. He does have a very predicable three hour schedule of eat, play, and sleep.

The good news is that sleeping has changed for the better this month.  He started sleeping in the bassinet for the entire night about half way through the month on most nights.  That was a huge improvement.  Sometimes, he'd only get up once or twice to eat, too.  That was great.

Napping started improving also.  He'd sleep in the bassinet for 20 minutes to 2 hours depending on the nap.  Most naps ranged about 45 minutes.  But, he was sleeping independently and that was a huge improvement.

He took his first two out of state trips this month.  We went to Cleveland, OH for a wedding over Memorial Day, and Aunt Stacey and I took him to Indiana mid-June.  He did great in OH. He went along with the flow very well.  I even got to observe the wedding and he slept great, as he slept with us each night.  

Indiana was a fun adventure too.  We learned two things.  Number one was that M REALLY loves his mommy and doesn't really like strangers...even if they are family.  Number two was that he hates to be hot. It was in the nineties that weekend and he wasn't impressed with that.  He slept the entire trip to IN.  That was a nice, peaceful drive and he did pretty well on the way home too.  Fortunately, the little man loves his car seat if it is moving.

He rolled over several times one evening in Indiana from his tummy to his back.  However, he still isn't really doing it purposefully.  Every so often it happens and still seems to surprise him.  Then, sometimes it looks like he's trying to make it happen and then he gets frustrated that he can't.  So, I assume he'll get it all figured out in the next month without problem.

Thankfully, he gave up his middle of the night screaming sessions this month.  I took beans out of my diet and that has seemed to greatly help his night sleeping. I'd give up about anything to avoid those unhappy awake times from 4-6 AM.

He's starting to like toys and he'll coo at the animals hanging from the bouncy seat or the bassinet. He's getting so much more interactive.  The older kids really enjoy getting a reaction out of him. They talk to him. They still all love to hold  him.  

He loves to chew on his hand.  Drooling is picking up even more.  I've even found a couple of drool bibs, but I need to find the stash of them because I'm changing his shirt some days because he's drooling so much.  Bubbles and drool are common place these days.  

C loves him to pieces. He's a bit too much in his face and rough. but he just wants to interact with him too.  He and X always want to hold him.  M tolerates it for while. E is a little more steady, I think, and M enjoys her holding him a bit more.  They love their love baby brother.

We are enjoying our time with M. He is a wonderful blessing and we are soaking in all the baby that we can. We know he'll be toddling around before we know it and our last baby will be no more.  I'm trying to treasure all these things in my heart so that I can remember them when my littles aren't so little anymore.

X is 5.5!

 On May 2, X was 'officially' five and a half.  He is the best five and half year old! He's generally good natured, pleasant and polite.  He is a fun guy.  He loves to play games.  He LOVES legos.

He's my tenderhearted soul.  He had the hardest time loosing Pumpkin.  He cries whenever good friends leave. He's beyond excited when good things happen.

He takes little correction because he's a people-pleaser.  He wants to make you happy. I say all the time that he is his father's son through and through.  He's a smoozer, Star*Wars obsessed and gamer...definitely just like his dad.

X loves his baby brother to pieces.  He loves talking to him, 'playing' with him and helping out with him.  He's gentle and caring. He has the cutest (borderline annoying) voice that he uses when he's talking to M.  It is sweet. If I'm occupied, X will always try to figure out why M is upset and try to fix it. He was a great big brother at age 2 with C and he's even more conscientious at age 5.5.  He's going to be a phenomenal daddy in 30 years!

 He and C get along wonderfully when they aren't fighting.  They are best buds.  Recently, X has been asking for more time to play independently, but he still loves to play Legos and Star*Wars with C.

E and X play together well also. X is truely a middle child that gets along with everyone and is a peacemaker.  I get upset that he gives in to C's demands so easily, but he doesn't like conflict and does what he can to avoid it.  He is the classic middle child in so many ways.

Jut is X's favorite person, I think.  He can't wait until it is Jut's day off and they can play games.  He loves playing X-Wing or Imperial Assault with his dad. He is constantly asking when they can play again. He craves that attention and time with his daddy.  Computer games are also a favorite of his. He helps his dad play the 'train game' on FB. He refers to himself as 'daddy's little conductor'. He's very cute...and knows it, which is always a bad combination.

X was in preschool this year.  I taught him how to read and I'm still surprised at how much he can read. He can add really, really well for his age.  He can even do some subtraction. His number sense floors me.  He even did some multiplication at the end of the school year..."3 groups of 4 is 12" and other things similar. He listens as E and I do our lessons and he retains quite a bit.  I love our homeschooling adventures in learning. He and E play 'math dice' and are quite competitive with each other.  He holds his own even though he's 2.5 years younger.

Today, he helped me plant the garden.  He was quite the slave driver getting it all done.  We still have a bit to go, but we got the majority of it done today.  He watered the seeds, planted the seeds and covered the seeds.  He was so much help.  It was fun working with him.

He's really developed an interest in farming since moving here.  He likes to keep tabs on G'pa and know what he's doing.  Today, they washed the tractor and planter after he was finished gardening with me.

He is a busy guy. He doesn't sit still.  I bought a balance ball this winter and he loves sitting on it because he can just wiggle, wiggle and wiggle some more on it. He is all boy in that regard.

C outgrew X in the last 6 months.  C is a half inch taller than X now. We knew it would happen quickly, but I do feel bad that he's going to start getting C's hand-me-downs. But, that may mean he just gets new clothes because it seems like C's clothes are headed to the ragbag when he's finished with them.

X is a joyful, little guy that is fun to be around.  I'm certain the rest of the year will be as fun as the first half.

Dance Recital

E did her third year of dance this year at APA. She took her second year of ballet. It is fun to see how much improvement occurs within a year. She did great and loved it.

They dance to Down Easter Alexa by Billy Joel.  It was an interesting choice but the girls did well.  The recital dance had E's class in purple/blue and the other ballet 1 class in green.  It was fun for the girls to combine for the recital but it did give them a challenge when they were trying to put it all together.

E is already to do it again.  As of now, her goal is to dance pointe.  The pointe class danced just before her and she loved it and thought it was really cool. So, we will see how she does next year and if that remains a passion.