wherever i am, i am still mom
Jackson David is here!
I’ll be back later to share the story of our labor & delivery, but to summarize: it was my l o n g e s t labor but the one I enjoyed (is that the right word?) the most.
His birth stats:
It’s getting real.
Strike that – it’s been real for awhile. Now that we are in the birth month, and perhaps the birth week we are in a whole new level of r e a l.
It’s been a mind-over-body battle the past few days. We’ve had some big commitments coming to a close and I really wanted to be present to see them through. Thankfully baby has stayed put so far and things turned out great. Now let’s see how much longer we can wait…there are a few more things in the coming week that I’d love to be able to participate in while still in my prenatal form. But, as we all know, kids are not the most convenient of creatures (especially when it comes to newborns) so it’s a wait and see game from here on out.
Hunter, our second grader, is not the biggest fan of writing. He is reading well and will be working on handwriting this year, but I wanted him to move forward with spelling even if he isn’t totally confident with writing.
Enter Scrabble tiles.
For his first spelling test this year, he used the tiles and a rack from the board game to spell each of his ten spelling words…and then surprised me by knocking out the five bonus words perfectly (which he didn’t study at all during the week).
100% on his first ever spelling test? I call that a success!
Holiday weekend
Power goes out.
Kids recovering from fever & flu.
38 weeks pregnant.
Spontaneous trip to the car repair shop.
That’s how we started our 2017 school year!
All things considered, they did awesome. Like, really awesome. I was a bit concerned about the transition from the go-with-the-flow summer days to the structured-and-directed homeschool mornings (or afternoons, as this day happened to play out), but they did great.
Hunter is starting second grade. He will have a lot more “directed” work this year than in past years, but still with a healthy dose of discovery, adventure, and exploration.
Madison is our kindergartner this year. To say she is excited is an understatement. Except for the moments when she is undeniably tormented at the fact she made a mistake or can’t do something perfect. What can I say – she’s pretty amazing.
With Baby #4’s arrival just around the corner, we are taking it slow. Hopefully we can build some sort of momentum and rhythm so the kids can keep moving forward with school while we all adjust to Baby’s arrival. No matter what happens, we are embracing this season and all that we will learn.
Thanks to this website and this one for loads of inspiration for this year’s homeschool plan and approach.
We rearranged our living room to make space for this rocking recliner, and unintentionally created a reading corner for the family. My heart swells when I see this happening during the day, and it’s occurring more and more as the kiddos realize the cozy factor of a good book and a comfy chair.
The girls asked to wear “Ergos” on our morning walk today. We used scarves that my husband brought back from Cambodia to make slings to carry their babies (doll and rabbit, respectively). The slings held up through the entire 45 minute walk and they wanted to keep wearing them once they got home. Big sister practice is well underway!
Madison’s face…it makes me giggle. Also, most likely the girls will not be babywearing their new sibling anytime soon. Safety first, after all. It is sweet to see them embrace something they’ve seen us do as parents and make it their own.
