Cinderella and Prince Charming

I wasn't sure if I'd have the energy to squeak out halloween costumes this year, but after finding out what Logan wanted to be, and the sticker shock of the costumes in store, I decided to go for it!  My kids are still little, so I'm thankful that we still get to be "themey" with our costumes.  Logan is picky about what she wants, but Brody will go with just about any costume that makes him some kind of hero.  

So, this year, we went with Cinderella and Prince Charming.

Logan especially loved the jewels we added to her fingerless gloves.  It just seemed to turn on the princess in her.

She's growing up too fast, I tell ya!

I wasn't even sure how I was going to sew the skirt and the top together because there was so much satin costume fabric, but it made for a great spinning skirt when it all came together!

 Brody was thrilled that he got to carry a sword.  He's been calling himself "Prince Charmin" now for days.  (ruler of the land of toilet paper?)

I've never really done any boy tops so I was a little nervous about how this would come together and really had no back up plan since you can't find Prince Charming costumes in store.  Thankfully, other than measuring a little off and having to add some fabric to the jacket, it turned out ok!

Don't mess with this boy's sister.  He wields a mean sword and can destroy you.

Or all of the dragons, since that's what he fights on a regular basis.

Both kids played their characters very well at the Fall Festival we went to.  

I'm trying to soak every moment of these little years in.  I know they'll be gone before I can blink.

I'm wondering what next year will bring with another little one to costume....

Logan is still bound and determined that they'll all be in Disney attire.  I guess we'll find out!!

Bump #3 Update: 33, 34, 35 weeks

We're getting closer and closer to the finish line with this one!  I still have a hard time doing any "counting down" because even today, with exactly 1 month until his due date, that makes it seem so far away.  The last few weeks have been eventful!

Right before 33 weeks I started having very, very painful contractions.  I know everyone says you know the difference between labor and false labor contractions, but these contractions were as painful, if not more, than the ones I experienced when I first started laboring with Brody.  I knew it was bad when I had an inability to talk through them or walk through them.  They were coming about every 13-16 minutes one night for several hours.  Thankfully, I had an appointment the next morning or I think we would have ended up in the hospital.  The Dr. did a preterm labor test on me very quickly the next day when he saw me work through one of the contractions in office.  The test, when negative, gives you a 99% chance that you won't go into labor for at least two weeks.  It gives a lot of false positives, in which case they can't be sure, and I would probably have needed to go in for monitoring.  BUT, it came back negative, which set my mind at ease!

33 weeks.

Mike had been taking an intensive course at the seminary during week 33/34 and that's when the contractions were the most intense and I think we chalked it up to him being gone 14 hours a day.  The kids also had bad colds and were sleeping poorly, so I wasn't getting a lot of sleep.  Oh...and my nesting started and I literally could not be awake and not working on something.

34 weeks finished off ok.  The contractions went back to being painless but uncomfortable.  I had my 35 week appointment this last Tuesday and while I did end up with an additional diagnosis of pregnancy induced carpal tunnel (seriously?), the Dr. also excitedly let me know that the baby has grown to their satisfaction and if I go into labor now, they won't stop it.  I was so thankful to hear this! They certainly would prefer the baby to stay put until I'm at least 37 weeks, but at this point we probably wouldn't even be looking at any NICU time.

 34 weeks

How many weeks: 35.5

Weight gain?  19 lbs.  

Morning Sickness?  Some, but it has reduced GREATLY.  Praise the Lord!  It went strong for about 34 weeks but I finally have been able to stop taking Zofran completely.  The heartburn, on the other hand.....

Cravings: No cravings.  I don't even have the sweet over savory (or the other way around) like I did with the other two.  I do, however, prefer to eat when I don't have to cook, so my favorite night of the week tends to be Wednesday when we have small group since I only cook for them every 5 weeks.

Sleeping well?  Sleeping well.  I do have frequent wake up calls to go to the bathroom but when I sleep, I sleep hard.  The baby is most active from about 8pm-10:30pm and then he rarely moves again until the morning. 

Labor signs?  I've had a lot of pressure over the last week.  That combined with the contractions had the Dr. instructing me to come into the hospital if the contractions got any closer together than 10 minutes.

Things I miss: Being able to turn my body all the way to the left so I can see oncoming traffic when trying to turn right on red.  I get so many honks, now, but honestly?  I can't go unless I'm SURE we're not going to get hit and because I can't move my body that way people will just have to be frustrated for the next few weeks.  

Fun things we've done since the last post:  We got our carseat and the baby's "my-my" was delivered.  I also found my box of fall maternity clothing that went missing before this pregnancy began.  I was getting a little worried as the weather began to drop from the 70's to the 30's that my shorts, 1 pair of jeans and short sleeved shirts weren't going to cut it!  In one of my crazy nesting moments I went out to the shed and emptied it and found the clothes in a random box at the bottom of the pile.

Things I'm looking forward to:  The fall festival we're going to, tomorrow!  The kids and I finished up their costumes this week and we've been itching to get them out in them.  Also looking forward to my next check up to see if we've made any progression in the labor preparations!

Fall So Far

Happy Fall!  

We're enjoying the cooler temperatures and pretty colors here!  When the temps began to drop we took Brody out and got him his first baseball glove.

He has wanted to play catch daily since then!

We've been meeting up weekly with some friends from church for playdates at different parks around town.  The kids love being able to play with someone their own age/gender at the same time!

We've been doing a lot of Starbucks visits since Mike is so much closer to home, now.  Logan and Brody regularly wake up and ask to go see daddy, now.

MOPS started back up and the kids were excited to meet their new teachers and see their old friends.

We've been working on family responsibilities and the kids have been working on helping with a lot of our cleaning duties.  Brody had to wear a helmet to clean the coffee table....you know, in case one of those sponges happened to attack.

We've been going windows down a lot of evenings and on this particular night during storytime, Brody got chilly and tucked right on in to Mike's shirt.

We went to a super hero training session at church at the beginning of Oct. that kicked off their October series on being strong and courageous (learning about little people who did BIG and BRAVE things for God).  Brody has LOVED wearing his super hero mask ever since.

Brody can always be found with some kind of sports ball (or two, or three....) wherever we go.

Mike took a week long intensive course at Southeastern.  He usually had to work before and after class so we didn't see much of him.  So, we met up with him for breakfast in Wake Forest one morning!  The kids enjoyed the fresh donuts!

Of course, we've been watching a lot of football on the weekends.  As soon as GameDay starts Brody asks to get in his "you-me-corn" (uniform) so he can imitate the things he sees.

Sweet Brody has been doing a lot of flower (weed) picking for me!

And Logan's been helping me out a lot in the kitchen.

She's also done quite a bit in school.  We're nearly done with the first part of our kinder curriculum, which I thought would at least take us another 2 months to complete!  We'll head to the homeschool store in a couple weeks to get the rest.

She's doing more and more of these completely on her own.

Papa came for a quick visit and we took the opportunity to visit a new local park.  It was a LOT of fun!

The kids have enjoyed having pumpkins outside of our door this year since we're not bound by seminary rules for decorating, anymore.

And we can tell winter is on it's way because Brody found a box of his winter stuff and ended up asleep in his hat and mittens last night.  :)

Brody-isms

Sunglasses = Bugsasses

eolios (long e, long o) = Ravioli

It kee's me.  (it scares me)

I see an eggavater!  (I see an excavator!)

Fire station = fire engine

Get Gas Station = Gas station



We were at Starbucks and the barista gave Brody a hot cup with cold apple juice in it.  He took one drink, stopped and smiled and said, "I think I like coffee!  Oh my!  I like coffee, I like daddy now!"



Brody, after hearing thunder: what's that??

Logan: It's thunder.

Brody: No, Wogan, it's elephants.

Brody has a bad habit of getting out of bed 50,000 times some nights.  Usually he says things like he needs a hug or he has to go potty, the list goes on, and on, and on.  Tonight, he came in and in clear Logan fashion said, "mommy, I no sleep.  I have a bad sheem (dream)."



Logan: If you bring me into bed, I'll snuggle you.

Brody:  But I'll nuggle you better.



Brody's answer to any kind of animal noise is "oink oink."  Except for pig.

Example:

What does a cow say?  Oink oink.

Dog?  Oink Oink.

Horse? Oink Oink.

Pig?  RAWR!!!!



While eating at a Mexican restaurant, Brody got ahold of a pepper and tasted it.  His response:

"oh.  I think my mouth has fire!  MY MOUTH HAS FIRE!  Call the fire station, my mouth has FIRE! Hot!!"

When talking to the kids about what they want to be when they grow up, Logan instantly answered that she wanted to be a prima ballerina.  Brody thought about it and then said, "I want to play my pitar (guitar) and sing songs about Jesus."

When sitting on the potty (small one), I could hear something continuously hitting the floor.  I went in to check and Brody was throwing whatever he could find into the toilet seat shrinker, which he had thrown on the floor.  I asked what he was doing and he said, "Playing potty ball."

When passing a bulldozer on the road, "Hey Mama, what's that?"  "It's a bulldozer."  "You're right!  You're right!  Good job!"

Bump 3: Week 30

We're down to 10 weeks left!  ....or 11 1/2 if he's like his brother....

Here's what's up with this pregnancy right now:

How many weeks: 30.4

Weight gain?  16 lbs.  

Morning Sickness?  Yes.  So thankful that I asked for a prescription for the nausea this time because I've been taking it at least once a week the entire pregnancy and sometimes it's the only way I'm able to get life done.

Cravings: Nope!  Still enjoying pizza and Mexican whenever I get them, though!

Sleeping well?  I sleep well.  I get up several times a night to go to the bathroom but this baby seems to sleep all night long.  I get up and go back to bed and have no problems with him waking and moving like I did with Logan's pregnancy.

Labor signs?  More BH contractions.  Lots of lower back pain.  I can tell my body is starting to prepare itself.  

Things I miss:  Sleeping on my back.

Fun things we've done since the last post:  We started to get the nursery prepped!  We've got the beds almost done, a rug put in, some fun decor and I've started the endless rounds of baby laundry.

Things I'm looking forward to:  More fall weather!  Pregnancy is so much nicer in 65 degree weather.  :)  

We've Started School!

I spent most of the summer researching different schooling programs for Logan.  Last year we did a pretty relaxed preschool program where we learned to read, did a lot of basic math and had a lot of fun learning through thematic units.  This year, I wanted to go more structured, because Logan thrives on structure and because it's important to me that we get into a good learning ethic now so that in a few years when we have to register our schooling with the state we are in a good position.  

After much humming and hawing over preschool programs, I spoke with a friend who assured me that I wasn't robbing Logan of her childhood by starting Kindergarten with her.  She's more than ready, in fact, going into this year she knew more than several of the first graders I taught when I was working.  She was reading, doing some writing, could simple addition/subtraction, could count forwards and backwards to 20 (and can count to 100 with little help).  It just didn't make sense to invest in another preschool program that was going to go through the same things (did I mention that she gets bored easily if you're repetitive?).  I did a lot of research and while it would have been nice to shell out the cash for a full program that came all laid out for me, I wanted to make sure that Logan has the best opportunities to learn in the styles that she learns best.....I  mean, what good is homeschooling if you can't tailor your curriculum to the specific kid that you're schooling?  

Anyway, I researched and then found a little gem of a store in town called The Homeschool Gathering Place.  It's a teacher's dream!  I took the kids there, sent them to the playroom and was able to talk to several other homeschooling parents about curriculums, Logan's strengths and weaknesses and what programs seem to have the best results.  We went in not really expecting to buy anything and came out with almost a full load for our Kindergarten year!

This year, we'll be working on reading/phonics with Alpha Phonics and Explode the Code.  I've already seen her blossom using these two programs!  She's ready to read short books on her own and we've only been at this for about 4 weeks.  

We're using A Reason For Handwriting for our handwriting curriculum.  It's a Biblical based handwriting program that eventually will have her writing out Bible verses to practice her handwriting. Right now the emphasis is on creation and living things, so she writes letters out and then colors in animals and/or things having to do with the Lord's creation that correspond with the letters.

History is The Story of The World: History for the Classical Child.  It's a book that I read aloud to her that details the history of the world.  We're enjoying it, though it's taking us a while to get through because there's a lot that has to be broken down for her.  We're also reading through the Imagination Station series with her.  Each book takes a pair of cousins through different stories in history and gives a good Biblical lesson.  We really are enjoying them as a family!

For science we are using the Exploring Creation series.  Our book for this year is Astronomy.  Instead of taking bits and pieces of science and throwing them together into one big book per year, this series allows you to study ONE aspect the entire year.  It's fantastic!  Especially for Logan who really likes to dive head first into topics and learn all she can about them.  

Our math program hasn't arrived yet, but we will be doing the Math U See program.  It's a hands on approach to math and has had a ton of success.  We're excited about getting started sometime soon!

For our Bible curriculum we're reading daily Bible stories as well as working through their lessons from church on Sundays.  Every month they're given a theme, stories that go along with the theme, a Bible verse to memorize and a main idea to take away.  Both kids get the same one since they're in the preschool program at church so we all do it together.  This month we're working on the theme "God has a plan for me."

What does Brody do during all of this time?  He works right along side us!  I bought him a few "preschool" books that he uses to color in and then he and I work together on letters and numbers when Logan works independently.  

We love that we can get up, keep our PJ's on and get to work every morning!  

Brody and I also work on shapes and colors while Logan works.  We use blocks, which he likes to share with his "baby brother."

Logan is THRIVING in Kindergarten.  She works so hard and rarely complains (unless we're doing reading drills....but who enjoys that?).  I do find that she HATES when something doesn't come naturally to her.  So much of the things that we learn do that when we run into something that needs a bit more explanation it drives her a little batty.  

Sometimes the kids work together on an old iphone using the letter formation app.

Along with schooling, Logan also started ballet and tap this fall!  I was sad to find out that the studio we had been at for the last two years was only offering classes that started at 5:30 this year, and it just wasn't going to work out with our family dynamic.  So, I reluctantly moved studios but have been very impressed with the new facility.  She's able to take a class that's double the amount of time, it's a tap/ballet combo for the same price we were paying.  

(Ballet years 1, 2 and 3)

The other great thing about the studio is they don't require me to stay in the building like the other did.  And it's conveniently located about 3 minutes from Chick-Fil-A!  So, Brody and I have started having weekly dates there.  We go and get some ice cream and just sit and enjoy each other's company.

 Brody's taken quite an interest in golf this fall!  Mike hasn't ventured out into taking him on the actual course yet, but has taken him to the putting green several times.  We went out and bought Brody a kid's putter only to take him out and find that he does all of his sporting activities left handed!  Here he is holding a golf bag when we made our purchase:

Daddy also started school this fall!  We're thrilled that it's his LAST SEMESTER of seminary!!  This journey has blessed us in so many ways, but it's so nice to see an end in sight.  Here he is with the kids on his first day of classes:

Logan and Brody like to do "creative activities" during our recess time.  Their favorite, right now, is folding paper in half and pretending to be on computers together.

We finished off our homeschool corner (it's just a bookshelf in the corner of our dining room) with a framed chalkboard I made.  We put our Bible verse up in it every month to work on.  It's nice to sit and eat breakfast and be reminded of God's goodness every morning.

I'll leave you with a piece of Logan's work.  Usually I sit with her while she does these exercises in case she needs help, but yesterday I went to help Brody with something and came back to find it complete.  She has to identify the picture/word, say it, spell it and write it out.  I was very surprised when I walked back in the room and found it all done!  

Sorry for the novel.  I want to get this all documented so that I can look back and see what worked/what didn't when we start the other kids' out and needed to get it nice and detailed.  :)  I look forward to sharing more of our homeschooling adventures through the year!!