September 25, 2018

Friday before last was Parents' night out. Francis and I went to Casa do Brazil (a Brazilian steakhouse) for dinner to finally celebrate our 10 year anniversary over a month before. The food and company were top notch!

Saturday before last was a very special day. Francis's sister had a gender reveal party for the family and it's a BOY! This new nephew of mine has been long awaited and prayed for more than he will ever know. My heart delights in the Lord's goodness every time I think about it. WE love you miracle boy and cannot wait for February!

Sundays are busy due to church and AWANAS, but I get my only 1 on 1 time with Andrew on Sunday evenings. We have taken to doing grocery pick-up while he naps and then cuddle time (as I do all my other chores) when he wakes up. He is starting to be more and more interactive which makes me take breaks more and mroe each day for peek-a-boo and to tell him how completely adorable he is. He is growing so fast, and I hope that our Sunday evenings together can be a special bonding time.

Last Monday (and this one for that matter), we stayed home all day to do all the big schoolwork and relax. I am beginning to like this because it gets us off on the right foot for the week. The kids like it because it means they can stay in their pajamas all day. We are becoming that homeschool family, I'm afraid, lol. Last Tuesday we had CC and then dance and skating lessons in the evening. All the kids are making progress in their chosen activities. It is so fun to see how they grow and learn in things they enjoy! Wednesday is our usual library day and Thursday is Bible Study. I am still liking both and love that our routine includes reading books and studying God's word. I've been trying to pre-read William's books both so I can ask him questions about what he has read and so that I can screen them. His reading level and speed are advanced for his age and so finding books that are at his level and age maturity appropriate can sometimes be a challenge. He is loving fantasy books. I gave him a 250 page novel I had just finished at 7:30 last night and he finished it before he fell asleep at 10pm (later than he should have been up, mind you). He asked for the next book in the trilogy, and he was disappointed to find I hadn't started it yet.

Friday morning Hannah and I went to one of her friend's birthday party. The moms and daughters dressed up and went to a crepe place and a candy store next door. It was so fun! The boys got to hang our with the attending girls' brothers as a couple of the dad's volunteered to watch them while we were out. A good time was had by all and William even lost a front top tooth while there. He was drinking Gatorade and it came out in his drink. Robert didn't want to leave but he was glad we also had a Life Group (sunday school) class social Friday evening. It meant he could play with his friends twice in one day! It was a good old potluck and everyone had a blast. I love our class and how we are getting to know each other better.

Saturday Andrew turned 3 months. How did that happen?! He's rolling from front to back, has good control of his head most of the time, "talks" constantly, sleeps at night for a 5-7 hour stretch (which I didn't know was possible, lol), and is the joy of his brothers' and sister. He's expressive and smiles and laughts when he thinks things are funny. He is relaxed most of the time until he isn't...then the banshee scream will still make an appearance. I can't imagine life without him and am thankful for him. I love you Andrew!

Today it was our week off from CC and we made two trips to the Children's Museum. One to play and one to retrieve the special baby doll Hannah left behind. It was fine, but I'm glad to be home.

Till next time!

September 14, 2018

It's been a crazy week. AWANAS started up on Sunday evening. It's Hannah's first year to be in Cubbies and her teacher is Francis. She is super excited. It's Robert's first year in Sparks and William's third. It's going to be an amazing year of learning scripture!

Robert's 5th birthday was on Monday. He opened his presents, had a breakfast of pancakes, a lunch of McDonald's, an afternoon of building the Mario K'nex he recieved and dinner at Olive Garden. The staff at Olive Garden were amazing, recognizing him as a birthday boy the entire time we were there. It was so special! We had a very cute Mario cake that evening, Overall a great day! Robert is growing so fast. He is excelling in kindergarten, reading short books almost on his own. He knows his CC memory work and loves singing in choir. He is so kind and loving and brings joy to those around him. I can't imaging life without him. I  love you, Robert!

We had CC on Tuesday and dance/skating lessons on Tuesday night. We did yearly pictures at Robin's house on Wednesday. It was bit of a struggle, but I think we got a couple of good shots of each kid. Robin is a seriously good sport! Thursday we started a new Bible study class. It has groups for birth through adult, so all the kids could go. The three little ones have just a weekly lesson, but William has a legitimate book and work each day to study and prepare for the next week. What's even cooler is that I have the adult version of the Bible Study book for my class. This means we can discuss our lessons even though they are for different levels! I am loving it and it's only been a day.

Today we have a big day. Francis had his 10 year college reunion today and tomorrow. We are joining him for a tour of the wind tunnels out at the airport. Then we are going to Bricks 4 Kidz to do Robert's birthday activity (it wasn't open on Monday). Finally we will have lunch and the three big kids with go to Junction (Parent's night out) so that Francis and I can celebrate our 10 year anniversary with a dinner for two (well, plus Andrew). It's going to be a great day!

Till next time!

September 7, 2018

With the exception of this weekend, we've mostly been home. Saturday the big boys and Francis went to church all day for a work day. Hannah, Andrew and I went to Home Depot to do their craft, went clothes shopping, went to Barnes and Noble to pickup Hannah's new "school books" she selected, had lunch at Chick-fil-a where we ran into friends, and went by Walmart to get some items we needed. With "just" two kids, it was easy, and Andrew slept or ate the whole time. Hannah loves shopping and was a trooper. I would NEVER have done this when I had just William and Robert many moons ago, so I chalk that up to personal growth! That evening we had Family Movie night at home. We watched Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The kids loved it, but were very confused by the intermission in the middle. Gotta love old movies! Sunday we had church and then went out to Cici's Pizza for dinner (kids' choice). The Tvs were playing Finding Nemo and Paw Patrol. The kids were in Heaven! 

Sunday late Hannah started not feeling well and by Tuesday she was worse. She stayed home from CC while I took the boys all to class. Turns out she had an ear infection and strep. She's been on medicine and is improving. I hate to see my kids sick! William and Robert had their check ups yesterday. Both have grown inches and pounds. Both passed their hearing and vision tests too! Thankfully no shots so everyone left happy!

Little Andrew is growing by leaps and bounds. He's got decent control of his head now, and loves looking around at whatever his siblings are doing. He smiles and laughs when the mood strikes him, but has a very expressive face of every sort of emotion under the sun. I've taken to calling him "little person" as a term of endearment because that's exactly what he looks like: a miniature adult with all the feeling and expression therein. My mother has said of my father that he was born old (ie. mature) and I can't help but think this might be what he was like as an infant. No complaints if so, he's an amazing father and human being! Andrew also managed to do something none of my kids have ecer done as babies and certainly not at 2 months: he slept 8 hours straight at night! He fell asleep around 8 last night and didn't wake until a little after 4!! If he can repeat that and the other kids will stop waking up too, I might get my first decent sleep in 8 years! I won't get my hopes up though. I've probably jinxed it by even voicing the thought...still....

That's all for now!