Andrew's High Yellow Belt

Andrew doesn't get excited about much besides games on the IPad or the XBox these days, but taekwando is something he looks forward to and really seems to enjoy. I haven't seen him as excited about it as I did this past Saturday when he tested for his next belt color. He woke up early and was eager to get going, although he didn't test till 1pm.

The "test" was actually a 45-minute run-through of what they normally do in class. They warmed up, they demonstrated the pattern they've learned (see video), did some kicks with some of the black belts, and then broke a board. I know Andrew felt confident and he did a really good job. Many of the kids seemed nervous but he just was excited. Next is green belt, and I think he's actually sticking with this!

Abi, the Fashion Diva

My little Abigail, who was once so shy she barely put sentences together to talk to anyone, has grown in leaps and bounds this year. Part of it is going to public preschool, part may be the tubes in her ears clearing up her hearing, but part of it is just coming in to her own personality, and a BIG personality it is. Abi is sweet and funny, but one of her favorite things to do is annoy her brothers and sister. She really just likes their attention, and wants to keep up with them, but it ends up coming out as aggravating. She is still learning how to deal with emotions and how to interact with other kids. She does GREAT at preschool, and her teacher is saying she's even opening up and starting to talk much more. She is learning her letters and numbers and loves reading books.

Abigail's favorite thing, however, is dressing up. She loves changing her clothes, and she especially loves fancy dresses. It doesn't matter if we're just hanging around the house, any day can be "Fancy Day," in her own words. There are no seasons in her mind, either-- spring dresses can be worn year round. She even wants me to put her hair up now, which she never would like before. When Abi goes in to her room, you never know what she'll come out wearing!!

Jacob @ 18 months

And just like that, our littlest boy is halfway to two. Jacob is one of the funniest, sweetest, and smartest kids I know. He always makes us laugh, and always amazes me with the words he comes up with or the funny things he does. No one would ever be able to tell that there is anything different about this kid, except for that pesky brain surgery we face in less than a month.

Jacob loves bath time! He has learned how to "wash" his body by rubbing his hands together after I put soap on them, and then rubbing them all over his body. You can also see all his teeth in this picture. He has  4 on top and 3 on bottom plus all his back molars.

The boy loves his snacks. He's getting pickier with meals and really doesn't eat as much at all, but he loves his crackers and juice. He used to bring me this box of crackers, which he would get himself out of the snack cabinet, about 15 times a day. He can pretty clearly say the words "eat" and "drink". He also now says "cookie," which covers pretty much any snack he can hold in his hand, including pretzels, crackers, or actual cookies.

This is a cinnamon roll he pulled OUT OF THE TRASH CAN, where I had put it because it got burned. The trash is his new obsession and he likes to put things in or take them out. I didn't really think he'd eat this because it was burnt, yet he managed to finish off the WHOLE THING.

He has excellent hand-eye coordination and has really started to enjoy some of the small math toys I got for Leah & Andrew a long time ago. He does well at stacking Duplo or other larger blocks and can concentrate pretty well on a detailed task when he tries.

He is generally happy much of the time, and most other people who see him or spend time with him will think he's happy ALL the time. But he does get grumpy, and he does have some mega tantrums some times when he doesn't get his way. Usually his tantrums involve food. He has a way of throwing his entire body onto the floor dramatically and he will squirm and wail until he is distracted otherwise.

He walks, runs & climbs like he's been doing it his whole life. He has recently discovered how to get on big chairs and that these big chairs can help him climb onto tables. Nothing is safe! He has no sense of danger and if he's running free, he can't hear you call him. He has also learned to bring me his shoes & say "bye bye" when he wants to go somewhere, or senses we are going to leave soon.

He absolutely loves music and will stop what he's doing to dance if he hears some. It can usually calm him down when he's fussy. He can sing parts of "Twinkle, Twinkle" and "E,I, E,I,O". 

He keeps me moving during school time, but is pretty good about playing on his own for a little while. It usually just involves dumping things out all over the floor. 

That grin! I mean, come on... He can make faces on command: "Show me your happy face!" He also has a silly face, and my personal favorite, the "drama face", wherein he pretends to choke-cry. 

I'm not sure what he'd do for entertainment were it not for his big brother and sisters. He LOVES his "A-eee" and when she comes home from preschool, he'll follow her around, calling her name for quite awhile. He always makes sure to take her her cup if he finds it on the ground, or if he's getting juice too. They all adore their baby and make sure to take care of him.

Ice Skating & a Spring Day

Exactly two years to the day after the kids first went ice skating, they got to go for a 2nd time. Abigail's preschool class got to go three times this year, and I volunteered to go with them one time. Andrew and Leah tagged along. Leah had a blast. She was brave and didn't really want to use the crate much at all. She really got the hang of it. Abi was brave, but mostly hung on to the crate and didn't venture out. Andrew did NOT do well at all. He was so stuck on using the crate, which was actually holding him back. He kept getting tripped up on it and couldn't go. And he was terrified of falling down. So he and I didn't have quite as much fun, and I really couldn't be much help as Abi's chaperone. We need to get back and try again, because I know that would give them all more confidence & skill on the ice!

A few days later, we enjoyed some warmer weather and the kids were able to get outside mid-February. The snow was starting to melt, although the grass was still pretty muddy. Jacob loved the freedom of being outside. He definitely got dirty but as soon as I set him outside, he was OFF and running, with no limits. Too bad it was just a teaser day and spring really wasn't here just yet!

January

January has been just an ordinary month in our lives, no spectacular memories or moments, just the little things that life is made of.


The rung in the New Year with a "Noon Year" party at the library. They had snacks, crafts, stories, and a countdown. We also had our annual game night at church, but we didn't stay up till midnight this year, since church was the next morning. We all made it till about 11 or so.

We got Jenga for Christmas so we're working on mastering this game. 

School at home is progressing really well, although many days I feel like we get nothing done, or the kids aren't learning all their supposed to. Abigail loves going to preschool in town two days a week, and when she's at home, we try to do a few activities, but she has very little interest in sitting down to color pictures unless it's her own idea. She has somehow managed to learn to recognize all the numbers up to 10 without me even teaching it, and now she's saying she wants to do her letters, so we're going to try to find something to help her do that.

(Here they're learning about solids & liquids with a cornstarch mixture that hardens to the touch.)

Jacob keeps us busy every day, running and climbing and getting into everything. He is the funniest kid ever, and always makes me laugh. He has such a fun personality. He loves to tackle his brother and sisters on the ground, and he loves to perch himself on the windowsill in the living room. He gets crackers out of the snack cabinet by himself. Don't dare tell him it's time to take a bath unless you're absolutely ready, or he's off to try to get in the bathroom by himself. He can flash his cheese grin on command. He says "no" and "mine" and "paci" and "Mommy" and "Daddy."

We had another doctor appointment for Jacob at a larger hospital about 1 1/2 hours south of here. His surgeon referred us to an epilepsy specialist who has seen many kids with tumors like the ones Jake has. We met the doctor, and have scheduled brain surgery for April 26th. The doctor gave us complete confidence in his abilities and in the tools the hospital has. For him, it's just another day at the office. He doesn't even have to know how right now exactly how much of the brain he needs to take out because he can do EEG and MRI during the surgery to see if there is still seizure activity. And even if he does have to take some of the brain out, at Jacob's age, the brain can re-organize itself to develop perfectly normal. (This is why they want to do the surgery now while he's still young.) Most days I don't even think about Jacob as being any different, because he really isn't. But when I think about brain surgery it can be terrifying. Yet the doctor made us feel completely comfortable and we know that he is in God's hands.

Brett had a minor car accident this month, also, which actually totaled our old Mitsubishi. (It took less than $2,000 worth of damage to total it, as the car wasn't worth much.) Thankfully, it was paid off, and my car is also almost paid off, so we were able to get another new [to us] vehicle that will be much more reliable for him to drive around.

 And if that fails, Leah can always drive us around in her chariot....

2016 in Review

It's that time again-- almost a new year! Time to look back on the year, what we've done & what we've learned and look forward to a new year together. I also thought it would be fun this year to add in a little commentary of what each kid is up to now, their likes & interests.


JANUARY

January is usually a slow month, and it brought our one and only snow that winter. We tried out a new sledding hill at our house. Jacob turned four months old-- he became much more interactive. He played in his Exersaucer for the first time, and slept in his own crib for the first time. Its hard to even remember him being that small (although he is really the same weight now, just a little taller and older!).

FEBRUARY

In February we took a family trip just a few hours north to Montreal, Canada. It was the kids' first time out of the country, and all they needed was a birth certificate! They enjoyed seeing the Cathedral of Notre Dame.

MARCH

In March Abigail had our family's first surgery-- tubes in her ears & adenoids removed. Since then we have seen a huge increase in her vocabulary, and she no longer says "What you say?" all the time. She still doesn't speak as clearly as some four-year-olds, but we definitely see a big difference. She now is starting to tell stories, use her imagination in play, recount things that happened to her at school, and just express the things she's feeling.

Abi is starting to recognize letters & numbers and becoming more interested in school things-- all things she wouldn't even try at the beginning of this year. She is also able to tell me who her friends are, and the types of things she likes. She's still stubborn sometimes, and gets upset easily when she can't quite express herself, or when someone tells her what to do. She can be persistent when there's something she wants. She loves to make up funny dances, although she was much too shy to join a dance class with a teacher & kids she didn't know! She loves potty humor and just being silly in general. She sleeps more than any of the other kids put together & still takes naps many days. But when she's awake she barely sits still. She doesn't care much for eating unless its candy. And she still loves to cuddle & be held.

Jacob also started solid foods in March, and he hasn't stopped eating since. This kid loves his food!! It was also the month Jacob first met with a pediatric pulmonary specialist about the noisy breathing we'd noticed since he was born. That was when we officially heard the diagnosis of laryngomalecia, and he started on reflux meds.

We also celebrated Easter in March, by dying eggs much like usual, and hunting for eggs at the church egg hunt. We also had a fun little family photo shoot.

                                                 

APRIL

In April, things tend to get warmer and things with school tend to get busier as we try to finish out the year. Andrew started taking Taekwando. We wanted something for him to find a passion for, an outlet to get out his frustrations and also learn self-confidence and dedication. I can't say I've noticed a huge change in him since he's started taking classes, but I have seen a lot of growth in him academically. He does enjoy doing Taekwando, but hasn't started taking it so seriously yet. He works hard, but right now his biggest passion is playing the IPad. He loves games on the computer or tablet. He will focus and focus until he beats the next level, or whatever the game requires. 

Andrew loves animals and talks about them all the time. He is especially fascinated with cheetahs and lions, and now dinosaurs-- anything fast or fierce. In school, he is good at most things he tries, if he is willing to sit down and try-- of course he'd rather just play, and in Classical Conversations group, he's usually the class clown, getting everyone to laugh at him or just cutting up in class to get attention from his friends. He likes to tell jokes and make us laugh at home, too-- the comic relief of the family. He has really taken off in learning to read this year and can read short chapter books on his own. His handwriting is great when he applies himself to it, and he's always been a natural at math & numbers. 

Andrew loves going to the little Children's Museum we discovered this year-- they have a toy train, play kitchen, and lots of things to build & create. He asks to go all the time. He isn't really into Legos yet but he does enjoy building with blocks, and he is always making up stories involving his cars & his dinosaurs. They almost always have to make a lot of noise.

MAY

May was all about field trips and being outside with friends. We went to both Billings Farm & the Shelburne Museum on field trips with friends. In both we learned about life in Vermont at the turn of the century. 

The kids also played non-competitive soccer with our local homeschool group. They made new friends, learned some new skills and had fun outside.

We also had our end-of-the-year ceremony for AWANA at church. The kids have absolutely loved this program and are all very motivated to learn Scripture, thanks to the reward system AWANA has put in place. Leah finished a book and a half in Sparks in order to get her Sparky award for finishing all three books. Andrew also finished his first book in Sparks and Abigail finished her first year in Cubbies, just narrowly finishing her whole book as well. They love seeing their friends every week and playing games, and I love seeing them learn God's word.

JUNE

In June, Leah finished her 4th year of dance with a recital. She did tap & jazz combo this year and really excelled. She loves to dance. This year she seems to have really started to take dance more seriously. She dances all over the house practicing her steps. Her new class this year has just 3 students & her teacher really challenges them, but also says Leah is doing well keeping up. Leah also loves to sing and act. She says she wants to be a movie star when she grows up. Leah is very smart and able to pick things up pretty easily, but when she can't, she gets frustrated quickly. This year school is a little harder for her as she is having to work a little more. Her class at CC is also all older kids, so she's mentioned how sometimes she feels like others may laugh at her-- I can tell she's getting into the phase where she just wants to be accepted and be a part of the group.

Leah is self-motivated when it comes to most things and always takes charge when it comes to doing things with her brothers and sister. She organizes their cleaning efforts and usually tells them what to do. She always wants things to be fair, and will let you know if she feels left out. She deals with a lot of anxiety when it comes to getting enough sleep at night & often has a hard time falling asleep if she's not in her own bed. She also seems to make friends easily and get along well with everyone, but I also can tell she deals with anxiety in many social situations-- it often reveals itself in the form of stomach aches. She loves things of the Lord, going to church activities (or just going places in general), and she loves imagining and creating things. She loves drawing and doing scrapbooking and stickers. She also loves girly things like nail polish and makeup. She is growing up way too fast!

Brett & I also got to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary this year with a mini weekend getaway to Lake George, only an hour away from home, but far enough to not have to worry about any kids and just celebrate our marriage. We are so blessed to have a church family that allows us to take time off and even helps watch the kids while we do!

Jacob also turned 9 months old in June and officially started crawling and sitting up on his own, although he'd been rolling pretty much anywhere for awhile. He truly started to get into everything at that point!

JULY

July 4th is always our trip to see the 4th of July parade & have Fried Bread Dough in Bristol. 

The kids also enjoyed VBS, and we had our first family camping trip. This was the same trip where I first took Jacob to the ER for what was then diagnosed as tracheal spasms, but later we discovered were actually seizures.

Andrew turned 6 in July and celebrated with a superhero cake. He also earned his yellow belt in Taekwando, just a few months after starting!

AUGUST

August was super busy! Leah went to sleepaway camp at Word of Life for the first time (and probably not the last)-- she did so well and loved it!

Grandma & Grandpa came to visit, along with Aunt Jenipher & Elena, who I got to meet for the first time! We did all sorts of fun things, including a trip to Six Flags! 

We ended off our summer with Fair & Field Days, the Library Summer Program, and two weddings, besides our usual outdoor fun at the playground. Then, we started back to school-- our 5th year homeschooling! I, for one, love the freedom of homeschooling. I love knowing what the kids are learning and being able to teach them a Biblical worldview, rather than the view they would get at public school. I love that we get to spend time as a family and have the freedom to go on trips whenever we want. I love that Leah and Andrew, for the most part, are best friends and love doing things together. It's not always easy and I often feel like we're not doing enough, but these kids are learning and growing and we're going to keep right on doing what we're doing.

And to wrap up August, Leah turned 8. There wasn't a huge celebration but we had a girly cake and some presents as a family!

SEPTEMBER

On Labor Day Weekend we had an amazing cookout at the Lake with our church family and Leah was baptized into new life in Christ. We are so proud of her new faith.

September was also the beginning of our 4th year of Classical Conversations, my first year as a tutor. It's been a lot of fun teaching Andrew's class of 6 5 & 6 year-olds, and the kids are still learning a ton each week they go!

Our sweet last-born turned one on the 21st and we can't imagine life without this goofy little cheese-face. Jacob has grown so much over this past year. He has learned to crawl, to sit on his own, to pull up to standing, to cruise and even takes a few steps here & there. He went from rolling around on his belly to getting into EVERYTHING. He is constantly on the move, and hates to be bored. He always has to have something to tinker with or build with or a car to push around, otherwise he wants me to hold him (but never still-- I have to carry him around places). He LOVES to eat, all the time-- anything & everything-- there is no food he doesn't like. He loves bath time & water and will now throw a tantrum when he has to get out. 

Jacob loves being around other people, and he especially seems to love his sister Abi. Some of my favorite things he does now: He gives kisses by puckering up his lips like a fish face & making a smacking noise (except when Daddy asks for a kiss, then he just blows a raspberry). He copies you if you click your tongue or roll your r's. He can show you his head-- just don't ask while he's eating something messy. He crawls in Abi's bed when we go to wake her up from a nap, saying something that sounds just like her name over & over, then he will sit on her & hit her to wake her up. He says "uh, oh" and "wow!" He refuses to drink anything other than juice in his cup & will throw it at you if you try. He is able to charm his way into people's hearts with just a grin. 

September also brought our wild adventure at the University of Vermont Medical Center, where we discovered Jacob's benign brain tumor that was causing partial seizures. We are thankful that, as of now his seizures are under control with medication and Jacob is developing and growing like a perfectly normal one-year-old.

OCTOBER

In October we had an amazing family vacation; highlights including Philadelphia, Great Wolf Lodge, Outer Banks to visit Mom & Dad, picking & carving pumpkins, time on the beach, the Aquarium, a visit to the Seminary & Raleigh, and the Statue of Liberty & Central Park in NYC.

Abi celebrated her 4th birthday while we were on vacation with a fun Dora cake with my whole side of the family.

NOVEMBER

In November we resumed normal school life after vacation, and had some fun jumping in leaves.

Andrew competed in his first Taekwando tournament.

And we kicked off the holiday season with our annual Christmas tree decorating.

DECEMBER

In December we celebrated all the fun of the holidays. We saw Santa, we made a gingerbread house, saw a version of the Nutcracker play, went to several Christmas parties, and Jacob even got his first haircut in there somewhere. We saw Christmas movies, drove to see some lights, made cookies for Santa, and played in the snow. It was a full month but a lot of fun!

We have no idea what 2017 has in store for us, but I'm sure these 4 will not stop growing and learning and doing new things. Time marches on and we are excited to see what our little life in Vermont will bring.