Moment in Time: D, age 6

This kid rocks.  He is hysterical, helpful, and fun!  I just adore him.

He is a very thoughtful kid and sensitive to those around him.  He was very concerned when I recently had a gum grafting procedure and brought me a get well card on the sofa and prayed for me that night….all of his own thought.  We weren’t all that concerned about me, but he picked up on the fact that my mouth hurt and was worried for me. 

My brother gave our family a Wii for Christmas and this new “toy” has totally captured D’s attention.  He loves the world of Mario, including Mario Party, Mario Kart, and Mario Bros.  His favorite game is Mario Bros and he can tell you just about every secret coin, tunnel or cannon!

We have had to experiment with this new electronic in the house and have finally settled on an allotted time of one hour a day, taken in two separate 30 minute chunks.  One chunk is before lunch and the other is after 3 PM.  This seems to work best for everyone.

One afternoon I saw C (age 3) and D (age 6) sitting in laundry baskets on the sofa while playing in the afternoon.  This cracked me up! 

One major accomplishment for D this year is learning to read.  He is doing great!

Of course, Mario rears his head again because D’s favorite book is his Super Mario Bros Wii 192 page guide.  He knows this book in its entirety.  I am 100% certain I could have tossed out my, “Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading,” and just handed him this book because this book gave him motivation, which my phonics book does not.

Either way, he loves to read and it is fun to listen to him! 

This kid is a talker and he talks quite a bit.  He tells stories about his day and he is ALWAYS thinking.  ALWAYS.  I love when he shares his random thoughts on his mind.  Typically it is how to pass a tough spot in a Mario Bros world…

“You know, Mom, where that cannon is in world 5-6?  I think that if I ….”

Getting a glimpse into his mind and his world makes me smile.

If you get him while he is tired, he doesn’t stop talking.  Literally.  Does.  Not.  Stop.  In fact, about once a month we are quite entertained by a very tired D at the dinner table who can not stop giggling and talking no matter what we do or say.  We usually give up and just laugh.

This guy has wonderful facial expression.  They speak volumes without a word and  make his story telling that much more engaging!  I think he might have a future as a storyteller!

This guy likes a variety of sports right now.  He is playing softball with our homeschool group and is quite good.  He enjoys tossing the Frisbee with his dad.  He also is interested in trying basketball next year.  I definitely see a packed sports calendar in our future.

Another big boy accomplishment is the mastery of his bike without training wheels!  He is 6 years old and the nice thing about waiting a little bit for him was that it only took about an hour for him to get it!

Our house is all things Avengers and Spiderman right now.  We have had a Spiderman phase, Captain America, and Ironman come through the house.  Ironman is the current favorite and as I type this he is sitting in the car in his Ironman PJ’s in the middle of the day.  He loves to wear them everywhere!

Finally, he is very “into” his Legos now and uses them for more than “trash” for the diggers to pick up.  He loves to build things and the Star Wars Legos kits are his favorites!  His mind is always at work in his big pile of Legos.

D is a great kid.  I love spending time with him.  He is content, imaginative, and thoughtful.  Love that boy!

Moment in Time: T, age 8

T is 8 and continues to have an unspeakable joy and enthusiasm that I can not even try to capture in words on this screen. 

She gave cheerleading a shot this year, which wasn’t the fit we thought it might be, but she did enjoy her experience!

It is quite a “girl” thing to do and we have found both girls have enjoyed applying their “cheer knowledge” to break out in cheers and stunts on various occasions.

T decided to pursue her horticulture interests through 4H this year.  She worked with her Daddy and planned several garden areas, built the areas, and planted the seeds.  It is such fun to watch her water her flowers and watch them grow.  And it is a special thing to do with her Daddy.

T is also quite a help around the house.  She also does her own laundry, empties the dishwasher, cleans toilets, and does other various chores. 

She is a great big sister and enjoys helping her little brothers.  She is very sweet and sensitive when interacting with them.

She began piano lessons this year and is doing a great job learning to play.  I enjoy hearing her practicing her songs in the other room while I am working in the kitchen.

Expressing herself through art has always been one of the T’s interests.  This year I find pages of comic strips in her bed.  She draws and writes them every night (after reading the 1-3 chapters I impose on her).  She loves creating comics!

T is always the “buddy” when I have an errand to run.  She loves to spend time with anyone who is heading out for something.  She is my shopping buddy all over town and I enjoy her company.  In fact, we are at the beach right now and she was my buddy this morning when I walked down the street for an iced tea and a muffin!

This little gal is a joy to have in our family.  I love her sweet nature and enthusiasm.  She’s a great kid and I love her!

Moment in time: K, age 10

In an effort to capture THIS moment in time, I want to take a few posts to record what my kids are doing these days. 

We’ll begin with K, age 10.

We are definitely in what would be defined as the “tween” years.  Baby dolls, Barbies and pretend still exist in this world that now includes earrings, email, and a camera full of self-portraits and silly photos.

It has been an absolute joy to hit this stage and watch K’s abilities, giftedness, and interests unfold in our household.

This year my baby began helping moms with THEIR babies.  She is now a mother’s helper twice a week in the neighborhood and helps me teach a three year old class at church once a week.  She definitely has some of her mother in her in this area.  She is a natural teacher, enjoys little kids, and enjoys organizing the activities and needs in a classroom.

She has pursued an interest in jewelry and has found some talent in the area of making earrings.  This has given both of us a new hobby together as I have learned alongside her in an effort to support and encourage her….and because I have found that I like it too.  Yet it is also something she will disappear down the basement to do on her own for periods of time.

Her birthday gift of a camera was perfect and has allowed her to have hours of fun taking photos and videos.  I am not sure there is enough hard drive space in the world to hold the photos for the next decade! 

Eric taught her some basic video editing and we have hours of movies that she has made as well.  She loves to put pictures to music and make movies with her friends.  Watching her videos is a bit nostalgic as I recall the days of video making in my own childhood.

K now packs her lunch, does her laundry, helps with the little guy (C age 3), empties trashcans, vacuums, cleans sinks, and a million other responsibilities that make our homelife easier!

I have seen friendships and socialization time with peers become more important this year.  We have made some changes to our homeschool schedule in the fall to accommodate this new “need” of hers, as I know the other 3 kiddos are coming right up the line with the same needs eventually.

Without a doubt, I love this little girl and all of her unique ways!  She is amazing.

Need ideas!

Hello to anyone who reads this little corner of the blogosphere...

I am going to try to spend some time writing and could use some ideas.  So here is your chance (as if you have been waiting for it)....toss me some questions/ideas to answer and I'll answer/blog about them!

Kayris has already asked, "Do you ever get "tired" of each other? And if so, how do you make sure everyone gets the space they need?"

GREAT question and I am already finding my "writing" brain again.

So shoot - anything else?  

National Kite Festival 2013–Washington DC

It was time again for the National Kite Festival.  this is an annual tradition in our house, though the last time I blogged about it was quite some time ago.

 

This photo has become an annual tradition…that began last year!  That’s Eric and I with our 4 kiddos and our niece and nephew.

This is a new annual tradition….a stroller filled with coolers instead of kids!

We drove in to the city and parked in the heart of the National Mall area.  We had a few blocks to walk to the Washington Monument.  The inseparable trio led the way…

Once we got there, we settled in for some kite flying fun.  Unfortunately the wind didn’t want to co-operate at first.

So we did some watching at folks who were making an attempt.

Others of us found places to hide from the sun.

Course, while we waited for some wind, we couldn’t help but enjoy the view!  I mean seriously, how cool is it to spend the day flying kites with this view???

But when the wind started up, we grabbed our kids and they took to the air!

We noticed a pattern…when we were having trouble flying the kites, so were the rest of the folks.  But when we got ours up in the sky, so did the rest of the folks.

And the sky would fill with kites!

And during the down times, there were things to do as we waited for wind.

The girls were continually practicing their cheers all. weekend. long.

The big and little boys had time for football fun.

And during particularly sunny moments, my goofy three year old found ways to hide.

Even trying to hide during portrait time!

But we got him to show his face…

And now for WAY too many pictures of my boys because I was enjoying them from behind my lens…

D (age 6) communicates with his kite.  “Up, Up, go UP!”  And then he watches with anticipation!

C (age 3) on the other hand, focuses hard on his flying kite, obvious by the tongue…

I watched the boys fly their kites together for awhile…brothers, doing their thing!

All in all, a FABULOUS day.  I hope we return in the next week or two in order to get a glimpse of the Cherry Blossoms in bloom!

Brothers