For The First Time...Again

It's absolutely amazing sometimes to just sit back and soak up the experiences, and world, through a young child! All the things we "just do"...walking, eating, playing...we don't think much of it anymore, but when we get to walk alongside a baby who is entering toddlerhood and experiencing all these things for the first time, it's fun! It defines excitement. It's a permanent smile! They so intently study each and every little thing! The grass, the uneven ground, the dirt, the toys, food, shoes, clothes, people. It's all exploration!

This weekend, I was greeted with an amazing curiosity from my little boy! My soon to be one year old. In the blink of an eye, he is leaving behind babyhood and plunging into the curious world of a toddler! What fun! And how wonderful!

For the first time, we just let him have free reign of the yard...he went everywhere! Checked out everything! Every. Square. Inch! It's was an exciting adventure! I am sure he just can't wait to get out there and see some more! He pushed the wagon, watched an airplane fly overhead, picked up grass, sat on the tricycle, went down the slide, colored with chalk, dug in the dirt, climbed (yes, he can climb before he walks!), stood steady on two feet and considered stepping...all for the first time! Can you imagine what it felt like to touch grass or dirt for the first time? God's creation, right there! We walk on it everyday, yet we adults, forget! We seldom take the time to marvel at its existence, it's awesomeness! Yes, it's dirt, but that very dirt was created in the  beginning of time by The very One that created you and I! How awesome! 

Can you imagine what it felt like to stand for the first time? To stand and work up the courage to take that first step. To let go! I have experienced this entire process with two children already, but it never loses its excitement! What an amazing time! Watching a child contemplate if he is ready to let go! If he trust himself to walk! I may be over using the word amazing, but it truly is! 

As I have experienced these few curious, into everything days, I have reluctantly accepted that his babyhood is coming to a close! And as much as I will miss the teeny tiny baby that grew in my tummy, I am excited! I so look forward to seeing what he discovers! What he takes an interest in, who he becomes! I know that the next days hold so much adventure for that little boy! And so much excitement for his brother and sister, as they too marvel at the discoveries their little brother makes! 

So with my running shoes on and a permanent smile on my face (except when he plays in poo or throws food! ;) ), we are off to discover the world...for the first time...again!! :) 

Sewing Marathon!

Happy Fall!! I am so overly excited about Fall this year! It means October baseball! Yippee! and the Braves just happen to be NL East champions! ;) It means a birthday is coming up, Thanksgiving is right around the corner (I love Thanksgiving!), and the Christmas season will be quickly upon us! Oh, how exciting!!! :)

To celebrate Fall, I went on a sewing marathon! I couldn't find the dresses I hoped to, for Ada, at the local consignment sale, and after searching stores and online, I decided it would be much more practical and fun just to make what I was looking for, so I did! With three kids, and staying at home, we certainly cant pay 20-30 dollars per outfit! But, her being the only girl I get to "dress up", I like the cute, lots of ruffles, personalized handmade stuff! ;) Tonight, I started sewing...and just couldn't stop! I started by teaching Ada how to do the petal and guide the fabric through, she loved it!! And this of course this makes Mommy happy happy! :) She helped make her Fall patchwork skirt! And then after bed, I made a Halloween skirt, and two dresses! It was wonderful and just what I needed! I sew for lots of reasons, the main being that I love it!!! And because it helps me sort through things if I have a lot on the mind, which I happen to have lately! Anyway, I got almost her entire Fall wardrobe done! I have two more things to do, but will save that for another day! :)

I still have to appliqué some shirts for these! But this was all fabric scraps! So I got to use what I had and I think they are super cute! Not to mention, she helped with the Fall one! :) and I definitely have a whole new love for scraps!!

This one still needs the sleeves finished and possibly a little Fall appliqué! :)

This is corduroy! I got this fabric a couple years ago and the dress never got made! I like how it turned out! It was my first time shirring sleeves on a peasant, but I like the look a lot! I did the sleeves longer than I do the Summer peasants! :) 

So two skirts and two dresses, and only bought one yard of fabric! I already had the elastic and most of the other fabric! I am actually really glad I didn't find anything at the sale, despite the frustration at the time! Because I needed to sew and saving money is always a plus! ;) And, now I am already excited about pulling out Christmas scraps! :)

Aside from sewing, Grayson and I dove into our leaf unit today!! Fun! And he even convinced his daddy that he needed to get me flowers after his soccer practice! Best surprise ever! It was so sweet! He gave them to me and thanked me for being his teacher! I love that little boy! And what a big kid he is becoming!! 

Ada Grayce is still excited about school! She loves it! And I am so glad!! :)  and my little man, is not so "little" anymore! (I know you probably get tired of hearing that, but it's taking a while to sink in for me!) He is getting very brave when moving around and I don't think walking is far away! I so can't believe that he will be one next month!!! And he is completely full of personality! And he knows how to tell you what he wants!! ;) He is such a sweet funny boy! I could just eat him up! 

Mm- Moon Unit Recap

Unit: Moon
Letter: Mm
Number: 2
Words to remember: "I am the light of the world"

A fun 6 days on the moon are complete! The lessons went even quicker this unit because he and I are getting familiar with what is expected and we are not spending quite so much time going over directions and that kind of thing! And the timing was perfect! We got to see the harvest moon to finish off our unit! :)

We spent an unusual amount of time disecting The Pledge on our first day, because Chris and I both feel this important for them to know! :)
Once our basic introduction to the unit was done we dove into our activities! As I mentioned about the last unit, Grayson responds VERY well to tactile activities!

This week we played with Moon Dough! Boy was that a hit! I thought he was excited over the salt...this was even more! So one thing I have learned with him during the past two units...TACTILE WORKS! :) 

His new favorite thing (which he asked to do!) is "plusing" as he calls it! ;) Really! He loves it...I let him randomly pick a number through 10 and we just add it all the ways we can think of! If he's a little antsy during calendar time, this seems to be the thing to really get his attention and get him focused! 

His "Phases of the Moon" book :)

Our moon surface activity was definitely a big hit! After spreading flour on a pan, he got to drop different balls, marbles, etc! Anything messy is fun to a boy! But really, he spent a LONG time doing this! When he was all done, he reported that he really needed to have a flag to put on his moon! I was so glad that I just happened to have one in a drawer! So the flag was added and the moon was complete! ;)

After a field trip day to the zoo, we resumed our Moon Unit study this week! 

Can you tell math excites him?? ;)

On Monday, we discussed the relative size of the moon, made our unit badge, and did his favorite...math!! :)

Tuesday was complete with a moon cake, moon phase cookies and a trip to the moon!! In addition to our letter practice and calendar time, of course! ;) 

Yesterday, we made a creation mobile, completed our math worksheet and played our ABC matching game!

We finished off the unit with reading Little Bear, story retelling and space helmet making! And then it was time for some classical music! They both enjoyed that one! And after some star gazing this evening, we found the moon! The big, full harvest moon! How beautiful it was and how amazed the children were! They are typically in bed when the moon comes up so this was a real treat for them and they loved it! :) Tomorrow is a review day for Grayson and I, then on to the leaves! :) looking very much forward to it!!!! :)

Humility

Humility (adjectival form: humble) is the quality of being modest or respectful.

Humility, in various interpretations, is widely seen as a virtue in many religious and philosophical traditions, being connected with notions of egolessness.

So I thought yesterday was an "opportunity" day...then today happened! Ha! I was text chatting with one of my favorites about today's special opportunities and he suggested my challenges today might be used as a lesson in humility....that's it! He is so right! 

Nothing is much more humbling than finding yourself on your own booty! (Not intentionally, of course)...falling out of your car?? This sounds impossible and quite challenging...right?! Nope! Today, I made that look easy! ;) Thankful my kids are still at the age that this didn't totally mortify them! Ada did check on me and ask "Mommy, did you fall??"...I proceeded to discreetly dust myself off and pretend to "tie" my flip flops while I gathered myself! Ha! (Hoping first that no one saw it, and second that if they did see it, that they didn't notice I was wearing flip flops versus tie shoes! ;) )..."Of course not, sweet Ada, I was just testing out the ground before I let you walk on it!" ;) 

This "humility lesson" followed an earlier one as well! My sweet, curious, baby boy can't seem to stay out of his diaper...and you would think after cleaning the mess the first time, I would never be so rushed that I put him down for nap without pants, ever again. Well guess what?? I did...

So my "oh yay! We are all done with school so Grayson can watch a movie while I take time to shower and fix my hair" thoughts, were quickly interrupted by "Moooooom!!!! Grady is playing in his diaper agaaaain!!!!!"...so there went the nice relaxing shower! After frantically cleaning baby, bed, and airing out the room, I thought the day could only get better! Hahahaha! 

So today I learned, "some days you tame the tiger. And some days the tiger has you for lunch."

So today was supposed to be a better day...not so much...maybe tomorrow! ;) 

In the midst of the craziness, I must say, being a mommy is the absolute best! I found myself thinking that a lot today! My little one seemed to grow overnight...really! I don't know how it happened! My little lady is loving school! And my big boy has done very well in school this week and in his words "we are having lots and lots of fun!" 

Goodnight from my humbled heart! I will try once again tomorrow to tame the tiger rather than be lunch! ;)

Bedtime Yet??

Not to sound whiny, but I am tired!! Partly my fault, because I have gotten in a terrible habit of staying up too late....way. too. late! And as I mentioned in a previous post....I don't do mornings well...so staying up too late sounds like a bad idea in sooo many ways, but guess what...I do anyway! Because sometimes it just seems like the only time to do anything "grown up". After all, I do have a big first birthday coming up that needs planning (My baby boy is officially entering the last month of his first year...this makes Mommy sad!) and of course, the all important blogging to do! ;)  But today....today, I think I will be calling it an early night!!
It's been an "opportunity" day. Of course we had the usual activities of school, preschool, meals, laundry, gymnastics, etc.
School today involved a lot of extra...we made a moon cake and a cardboard spaceship for a trip to the moon. All of this very fun and Grayson's behavior was wonderful, but it just required a little more time! And after picking up Ada from preschool it was home for lunch and naps. Throw in a load of laundry...get the kids up and ready for gymnastics. Gymnastics has proven to be an hour of exercise for me! Not that I don't need it, but it feels like a marathon just to get there some days, so sometimes just sitting would be nice...ha! Grady has gotten to the age where sitting still is just not an option! So we walk...we walk inside. We walk outside...we walk back inside...and back out! And then today, something awesome happened...Daddy came!!! ;) So, he walked the boys a little while I watched a few minutes of gymnastics! After gym, the big boys went to finish up some work and the little ones and I came home, to switch the laundry and of course make more food! A little while later, way sooner than expected...Daddy came home! Only it wasn't for the reason I would have liked...Daddy is now airing out his truck and getting his tools cleaned...no day is complete without a little vomit right?? YUCK! :(  Thankfully, the big boy has been fine since!
And then there was the spilled food...this would be Grady's new favorite activity of choice! Sometimes, I have no idea where he finds it...this may be telling on myself. I don't think I am a HORRIBLE housekeeper, not the best by any means, but I do try! And I certainly try to discard and put away food! But he finds it...whatever, wherever...he will find it...and fast!!! Yesterday was an entire bag of Gold Fish. Today, it was the yogurt. While I was getting everyone ready to go outside, he helped himself. Once again...YUCK! :( But it's just yogurt right?! And his art of tugging the tablecloth just enough to see if he can retrieve the food, is amazing!
So after the vomit and the yogurt it was outside for fresh air...quick hair cut for Grayson and a little water hose play! Why not, right?! Inside for 3 baths, 3 suppers and snuggles.
So, if I may...I will leave the clothes in the dryer and fluff them tomorrow, tuck the kids in, fill our work boxes, and ask...is it bedtime yet??? This mommy is tired... ;)

Quotable Quotes

The last few weeks has been full of wonderful conversations with my babies and "oh the things children say" moments. I thought I might document some, because in my mind they are definitely quotable quotes! ;)

Grady: "STOP!" (he has learned early to make his voice heard around here! ;) )

Grayson: "Mama, I thought to myself the other day that being a teacher must be fun. I think I want to be a teacher when I grow up...(long pause)...nooooo, never mind, I think I will work on This Old House show" (for those of you who don't know, This Old House, is a group of men who go around repairing plumbing, electrical and multiple other things on houses...it was a super cute moment!)

Ada: After being told we were going to the zoo..."Ohhhhh, I can't wait to see the unicorns!!!" (closest we could get was a pony ride...but I am pretty sure she still felt just like Princess Sophia!)

Grady: "STOP!" ;) (It's actually a little cute when he says it...and we all usually giggle a little because most of the time it does get everybody back in line!)

Grayson: "when can I babysit by myself?? ....."when I am like...60??" (he's also pretty sure a tall girl on the opposing soccer team is 20 something!)

Ada: after I told her how pretty I thought her hair was..."Daddy loves my hair too"...have I mentioned before that she is a HUGE Daddy's girl?? and this does my heart soooo much good!

Grady: "DA DA DA DA DA" (he can say mama when I am not in the room with him, but no matter how hard I try to get him to do it in front of me, he looks right at me and says "dada")

Grayson: "Do you ever talk to myself?"....I answered that I do (I think we all do a little bit), but I like to think of it as talking to God, and I asked him if he does..."yes! I talk about rocket ships and blasting off to the moon! I talk about all of God's creation!" :)

Ada: riding to school, with her hair in pig tails, doing this back and forth head thing that makes her hair touch her shoulders.."ooooo...MY HAIR IS GROWING!!" (she is very into her "long" hair these days!)

Grady: STOP!

Grayson: "Why don't we go to the dentist everyday?"..."I want to go to the dentist everyday, it's fun!" (I find this very funny, because I very much dislike the dentist...VERY much!)

Ada: holding all her change..."now I can take my money and go to McDonalds" (I promise we don't make them pay for their own food yet! ;) )

Grady: Ni-Ni (night night) :)

I wish that there was a way to keep every single little conversation with each child tucked away in a special special place, and some how remember ALL of them! But since there isn't  a way to remember them all, I will write down the ones that I reflected on, smiled about, and tucked away in a special place. I love seeing who they are becoming, each one of them. What their passions are (unfortunately Ada can't be a "real" princess when she grows up, but for now...here, she can be, and I think we will just let her!), what gets them excited! I love watching their love for one another, their bond that grows each and every day! I love seeing them grow. I love that I am their mommy and that I get to hear these things and answer these questions. I love watching their Daddy love them. I get to help teach my little Grady how to verbalize what he wants or feels. I get to help teach my Ada how to be a young lady. I am the one who gets the opportunity to be my big boys teacher, to watch him learn new things. These things may seem insignificant and silly to some, but this...this is my passion. This is what gets me excited.
After spending the day, yesterday at the zoo, and today with our two favorites, Papa and Rosey, I think I will start the new week tomorrow with a smile! Looking forward to the week, but for now, in the words of my little Grady..."ni-ni"! :)

 

EWWW...a snake! ;) Obviously, princesses don't do snakes! ;)

 

 

He is the leader of the pack...by birth order and by nature! It fits him, for sure!! :)

 

 

 

Given the choice between ice cream or a small toy from the gift shop, she picked ice cream...lets just say...she is her mother's daughter! ;)