Busy Bees

Who said homeschoolers miss out on socialization!? Mine most certainly do not! Fall is just about here so all our activities have started up again. Sean is continuing with soccer. Moving up to U7 he's playing on a bigger field, bigger goals, games are longer, and they have referees. I love watching him play. He enjoys it so much!

Sean has started a second activity. This one he's been counting down to since he could pretty much talk. Last week he begun Cub Scouts as a Tiger Cub. Isn't he cute in his uniform!? He's following two of his role models with scouts: eagle scout, Uncle Justin, and scout master, Granddad. Sean and Granddad were both so excited that Sean was finally old enough to join that Granddad helped Sean go to his first meeting will almost all the requirements for the bobcat badge signed off on. All Sean needs now is to learn the cub scout law. Don't let the sourpuss look fool you; he was just annoyed with me for taking another picture because the one before was blurry.

 Maddy is continuing with dance again this year. It's her third year and she's moved up to first year barre. She also has a different teacher this year...the same teacher I had most of my time in dance. She has also tried out hip hop but isn't sure if she's going to continue with it.

And lastly, we recently joined the YMCA. While on vacation a few weeks ago we did a lot of swimming in the hotel's pool. Maddy took to the water like a fish. With frequent opportunities and a little nudge, I believe she will be swimming in no time. Sean, however, was the opposite. He clung to the stairs and didn't even want to be carried out into the water. The YMCA that we joined has an outdoor pool that starts as a splash park and gradually gets deeper. We've gone 3 times now and it has done a wonder on both children. Maddy's jumping in, going under water, and begging for time without her puddle jumper on. Sean will not only leave the stairs but will swim the length of the pool with his puddle jumper on. He will also slide from sitting on the side into the water at the 3ft level. Major improvements!! This is now how we end the week. Friday evenings we go swimming as a family. With scouts, dance, and soccer taking up 3 of the 5 weekday evenings, it's nice to have 1 weekday evening where we get to relax and enjoy an activity together.

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Kiddo Update: Summer 2014

I'll just come out and say it, I'm a major slacker when it comes to blogging. Life seems to have a way of getting in the way. A kiddo update is overdue so here you go:

I'll go in birth order. Sean. He has finished his first year of homeschooling. His testing supplies should be here soon so that he can do his test next week. I don't know exactly what to expect but I have no worries that he'll do just fine. We're still schooling throughout the summer but just a lighter load. Right now he's working on a Summer Bridge workbook that's for bridging 1st-2nd grade. It's not easy enough for him to breeze through it but it gives him a little bit of a challenge. Last week he got his summer haircut. He at first wanted his head shaved but ended up just getting it buzzed. And lastly, this weekend we made a purchase that I didn't think we'd be making already. We bought Sean a booster seat. He still has plenty of growing room in his 5 point harness. However, Maddy is nearing outgrowing her's b/c of her height. Sean is a bit sensitive to the fact that his younger sister is so much taller than he is so we thought that it might be a good idea to switch Sean to a booster before Maddy. He meets the size requirement, the belt fits correctly, and he's mature enough to sit properly so I'm ok with it. He's super excited!

Above: freshly cut hair and our neighborhood spy

Below: the big boy in his new booster

Ms Maddy...She's also doing a bit of summer school as she prepares for her first official year of homeschooling next year as a kindergartener. The big milestone that she's hit is she has given up naps....for the most part. Bedtime was getting to be a huge hassle. Giving up naps has helped a ton. Though there are still some afternoons that at the end of naptime for the younger kids she crawls onto the couch and is out like a light. This summer Maddy is working on a preschool workbook to review the past year. I have a daycare child that has also given up naps so her and Maddy have the same workbook and they work together, Maddy teaching her some. Maddy's growing like a weed! She's already outgrown some of the clothes she got for her birthday in April!! It's insane! She's 5 and about the average height of a 6 year old. This past year she took dance again. Earlier this month she had her second dance recital. Oh my, does she love being on the stage!! She danced beautifully on stage once again. Too bad she only gets to do that part once a year. I really do enjoy watching her dance at her recitals. It's not just that she's following my footsteps but just watching the enjoyment she gets out of it. And the way she just glows when you tell her that you were watching. She loves having an audience.

Above: on stage at dress rehearsal

Below: before the big show! Can you see the excitement!?

Emily: the baby. Well, she's not much of a baby any more. I've been slowly night and nap weaning her and she kinda took the lead and started cutting back during the day as well. We've been at once a day (first thing in the morning) for a little while now and today, Monday, I realized that she has not nursed since Saturday morning. She hasn't even asked! We've also started potty training today. Last week one of my daycare kids started telling Em when he needed to go potty and asking if she needed to go. She would then tell me that she needed to go and they'd both get a try. I decided to run with that idea. Today she was dressed in a dress (then a shirt after she tucked the dress under her while on the potty) and a pull up. I set toilet paper next to her little potty in the bathroom. This made it so that she could do the entire process by herself. I got Sean and Maddy in on it too. Whenever any of us went to the bathroom we'd tell her and ask if she wanted to try. She went potty a lot today! There were a few times that she actually asked on her own to go and the only accidents were a pee accident during pick up time/dinner prep time and a poopy pull up. Not bad for her first official day! My baby's growing up...

Above: baby's first "ony"tail

Below: Cinderella needed a nursing break

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Kiddo Update

The last time I did update posts for the kids was in May of last year. The kids have done a lot of growing since then!

I'll start with Sean. Sean's still in soccer. He loves it! He has out grown soccer shots and will be starting in soccer club this spring. He's technically a kindergartner this year per the city but he's started on first grade level work. He's our reader. He's always amazing me on what he can read and reads anything he can get his hands on. He's also the caring one of the bunch. He's always looking out for others before himself.

Maddy... She's still in dance and absolutely loving it! She tried soccer last summer and winter but has chose to stick with  dance for now. Maddy isn't an official homeschooler yet but is doing preschool work. She loves her art as much as before but she's also really getting into math. Numbers just click with her. Many times on the way to dance she will make up addition problems and figure them out. She's still always at extremes when it comes to emotions but she's getting better about controlling her anger.

Emily... Our littlest munchkin is now 2 years old. At her last check up she was21 lbs 10.5 oz, 32.5in, and right about the 3rd percentile. She may be tiny but her personality is huge! She has a huge vocabulary and talks with such emotion! She's a little sponge too. She has learned about all of the colors and has started on letters now. Her favorite phrase right now is "what is this?" so there's no wonder why she's soaking it all in.

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Maddy's 4 Year Update

A month over due, but better late than never right? Maddy turned 4 on April 1st. Maddy is still just as artistic. She loves art and fashion (as in she has her own fashion). She is energetic but she's also a snuggler. She loves to have someone to talk to too. We just recently changed her nightly routine to include some talk time. She can't seem to unwind at night unless she lays in bed and talks to someone a lot longer than Sean needs to. Since we started that there haven't been any bedtime fights! Maddy's growing like a weed. At her 4 year check up she was 36lbs (~50th percentile) and 3ft 5in (~75th percentile).

Last month we celebrated Maddy's birthday with a mermaid party. I made her a mermaid tail. Everyone got sea shell necklaces. The kids played under the sea themed bean bag toss. The boys turned their wands into swords. And everyone had a great time!

A preview of Maddy's next update; her dance recital's coming up!!

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