She's 9 months old!

I can not believe she is 9 months old!  Times goes so fast.  

She has the most adorable smile.  She can light up a room.  

She finally has 2 teeth on the bottom.  She still wants to "slurp" her food and is not interested in chewing on anything.  Very strange.  She is very talkative and pretty loud.  She can get on all fours, but has not crawled yet.  She still manages to roll, squirm, and wiggle all over the floor.

She loves her brothers especially J.  They have a special bond.  She tries to take his bunny, which he will temporarily share with her.  She wants to be held by daddy.  She gets her feelings hurt if he walks by her and doesn't pick the sweet girl up.  

She weighs 17.9lbs and is 28 inches tall.  She's in the 60th percentile.  In true family fashion, her head is in the 90th percentile.

People always ask me if it's different having a girl.  I usually answer "no".  Up until now, she has just been similar to my other babies.  Although I am beginning to think we have a fairly particular child.

She is a bit like Goldlilocks.  The temperature in her room at night has to be just right, not too cold and not too hot.  She will wake up if it is not to her liking.  I think we have finally got it figured out.  (Husband says I am like that too.)

Remember, how she has chosen not to eat vegetables.  I discovered these fruit and veggie mix packets of baby food.  They have bizarre combinations like spinach, mango, and pear, but she eats them.  It's the only way I can get her to eat veggies.  They are organic and specially packaged so they cost 3x as much as regular baby food.  For now,  she apparently has a high dollar diet.

She doesn't like having her diaper changed on those Koala Care changing tables in restaurants and gas stations.  I don't know if it's because it's cold or hard.  Her changing table at home has a cushion with is covered with a minky fabric.  Apparently, I have spoiled her because she always has this shocked look on her face when you put her on one and eventually she begins to cry.  None of the other kids ever had problems with those.

You could call her picky or as I prefer to say, "she knows what she likes and how she likes it."   She's a little like her mama in that respect.  Let's hope all the boys in the family can handle us.  

Our gift

The new resident five year old, S, loves horses.  We have books about horses, we have play horses, we dress up like the Lone Ranger, and we have countless horse stuffed animals.  However, he had never been on a horse.  The husband and I arranged for him to go horse back riding on his birthday.  I never know how he will react in new situations.

Mrs. Lee is a friend of ours from church.  She is introducing the boys to Willie.  They all brushed him and decided that he was really dirty.

She educated them about their horse shoes.

Her job was to sit there and look cute.  Check.

Here is everyone getting outfitted to ride.

We offered to let S go first, but he decided to let biggest brother lead the way.  S was a little timid.  He told me later that he thought that horse was going to run away with him on it.  That would explain the fear.  Willie is a great horse for kiddos.  He was gentle and the owner described him as lazy so no fear of him running away anywhere.

J did great.  She led him around a few times and then taught him to steer.  He got the hang of it.  Turns out that the same noises we use to make Baby K laugh, are the same ways to use to control a horse.  Go figure. Later J felt confident enough to ride out of the pen.  

S decided he was ready after watching big brother.  He held on to that saddle horn like his life depended on it.  He never would hold the reins.

Seeing that smile was worth it all.  He really enjoyed riding.  (and apparently got over the fear of the horse running off with him)

He thought it was so funny when the horse walked backward.

W finally got his turn.  He loved it as well.  He did a really good job steering the horse.

W was also busy giving everyone names like J, the black rider.  S on the golden stallion.  This kid has an imagination.  

They all had a great time.  It was a fabulous way to end his birthday. Thanks Mrs. Lee was sharing Willie and your time with us.

We have a 5 year old in the house!

Happy Birthday to our little Wingman!  It's hard to believe that he is 5 years old!

My parents came to town for a quick visit to help us celebrate his birthday.

He wanted a lego party.  We had the party at a place in town where they had lego kits, lincoln logs, and cars for the kids to play with.  They all seemed to have a fun time!

I made some mini lego cakes for the party.  

Here's the big 5 year old blowing out his candle.

Who needs a fork, when you can just lick off the frosting.  He has such a sweet tooth.

He had a great time with his friends.  He enjoyed opening all of his gifts.  He thinks he is soooo rich with all his birthday money.  We are blessed with such a sweet boy.  He can be an annoying little brother at times, but the three amigos would not be complete without him.  Happy Birthday!

Healthy food and...

Our sweet boy W, has a lot to say these days.  It's hard to imagine that he didn't talk for 3.5 years of his life. Now he seemingly can't stop talking at times.  

On the way home from our holiday travelling, he announced in the car that from now on he was going to eat healthy food.  (I have no idea where this came from.)  I try to eat relatively healthy, but I am sure we have a way to go.  

Anyhow, he has been asking constantly, "Is this healthy?"  "Is that healthy?"  We've been talking about choice and moderation.  It was going well.  He has even turned down a cookie (on his own) saying that he wanted to eat healthy.

Then about a week later he announced an addendum to his proclamation.  "I am going to eat healthy and Mexican!"  I guess he decided Mexican is not that healthy, but he still needs it.  Funny kid.

The snow (I use that term very loosely) pictures are from our backyard after Christmas.  We had a day where it actually snowed.  It was not much, but the kids were thrilled.  You can tell they have been raised in South Texas.  

A day in the life of our homeschool

I am linking up to a friend's Homeschool series.  I know I have had people ask or wonder what our homeschooling days look like.  The days vary depending on the day, but we try to keep a reseasonable schedule.  That being said- the schedule can be blown to bits by 9am depending on the reason.

I have to learn to be flexible, un-scheduled, and patient.  If you have known me longer than 10 minutes, you know that I am not ANY of those things.  I pray a lot, mess up by yelling or getting frustrated, pray again, take a deep breath, and tell myself to get over it.  Somehow or another we seem to get it all done or at least the importanr stuff.

So here's what today looked like.

6am  Mommy rise and shine and off to the living room to exercise.  (I really should get up earlier to get a              full work out in, but I just can't since the baby.  Someday...)  I truly do love to exercise, just wish I didn't have to do it so early.

6:45am Get in the shower.  (Baby K wakes up while I am in the shower so I start to move faster.) Grab baby and try to blow dry my hair and convince her that she doesn't need to nurse right now.  

7:30am Nurse baby.  

7:45am Get boys out of bed and instruct them to get dressed.  (Clothes were laid out the night before, which helps tremendously)  I finish getting make up on as I need to look presentable this afternoon and evening.

8:00am I prepare breaksfast while the boys sort laundry.  Husband feeds baby girl cereal as she was getting kind of loud.  What a sweet guy!  We are the kings of multi-tasking around here.

8:10am Eat breakfast, clean up, and brush teeth.

8:30am I start J on his math lesson, W reviews math facts on the computer, S gets ready for MDO, I start laundry

8:45am Take S to Mother's Day Out while toting Baby girl, drop off dry cleaning on the way

9:10am I get back and check J's math while toting Baby girl.  Then we start spelling while W reads independently.  Spelling is a riot, because J and I pass the baby back and forth depending on the activity.  She is quite grabby these days and wants the papers.  And she is getting quite loud.  She is not fussy, but rather loud cooing and squawking.

9:45am Math with W (which he complains about) while Baby girl plays with math manipulatives on the floor.  J is off doing his independent work which today includes daily Bible reading, reading from chapter book, handwriting, Spanish using Rosetta Stone on computer, and math facts computer game.

10:00am  Baby girl is finally ready for a nap.  Did I say that she is loud?  It's hard to talk over her.  Move laundry to dryer and start another load.

10:15am Phonics with W.

10:45am Language Lessons with J.  W works independently on his math and phonics worksheets plus some handwriting work.

11:04am Oh, man!  Baby woke up very early.  She didn't get the memo to sleep until noon.  J and I pass baby back and forth while doing writing lesson.  Learning to write a persuasive essay this week.

11:15am History with J.  This baby really likes World War I or at least is babbling very loudly about something.  Discover a new website on trench war fare.  The boys are excited to try it out. 

11:40am Read aloud with W and J with a baby squirming in my lap.  I have to read with the book in the air so she won't grab the book.  I have to remind the boys to stay focused on the book and not their adorable baby sister.  I wonder how much W retains of the book.

12:05 pm Science with W and J.  We are currently studying weather and the boys love the topic.  We discussed how snow is made.  Baby girl plays on the floor under my chair with a ruler.  I had originally set her up with some age appropriate toys on a blanket, but she rolled off.  Go figure.  

12:25pm Baby girl is starting to really squawk now.  I nurse her, while J and W make themselves lunch.  I love it that they can make their own meals.  I have a menu on the refrigerator and then prepare according to the list.

12:40pm Feed baby girl baby food and review AWANA verses with boys.

12:55pm Baby girl and I go pick up S at MDO.  The school informed me that one of his classmates vomited twice.  Sweet!  Pray that no one else gets the germs.  

1:15pm S goes down for a nap.  W reads for 20 minutes, which he complains about.  J writes his introduction paragraph for his persuasive essay and finishes up morning work.  I finally get to eat lunch.  No wonder I was getting a little cranky.

2:00pm Baby girl is down for a nap.  W and J get to free play quietly while others nap.

3:00pm J, W, & S have their coveted Wii time.  They live for Wii time.  Baby is still napping so I frantically get some laundry folded and begin making cupcakes for upcoming birthday party and anything else I can do while a baby sleeps.

3:50pm Baby girl is up so I nurse her while boys play with Legos.  Boys off Wii.  There is much sadness in the house.

4:30pm Get diaper bag ready and boys ready for AWANA tonight.  Feed baby girl baby food.

5:10pm Put cupcakes in freezer and off to church for dinner and AWANA.  I love that I don't have to cook on Wednesdays.  

8:20pm Back home.  Baby is crying hysterically because she likes to go to bed at 8pm.  I nurse her, while the husband gets the 3 boys in pajamas with teeth brushed.  

8:45pm Baby to bed and husband is now having book time with the boys.  

9:00pm  Mommy is off to get my pajamas on and read from my Kindle.  I got a Kindle for Christmas and love it.  I have my daily Bible readings on there as well as some of my favorite historical fiction.  I am currently reading Lincoln.  I will probably be done by 2014.  

9:30pm Mommy is asleep.  I am such a wild and crazy party animal.  

It's a crazy day, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.  I am learning so much.  I can now diagram a sentence.  Ha!  I love teaching history to my kids.  It's one of my passions.  And we get to talk about history in light of the Bible, which is precious.  

Plenty of things don't get done like dusting.  In the grand scheme of life, I pray that I am spending my time with what is most important to our family.  Dusting and other stuff will still be there in 20 years.  

Christmas here and Christmas there

Husband keeps joking that he can't get used to the 5 or so Christmases we have most years, but that's just the way it goes with family all over the country.

One tradition we do every year is the Christmas cookie.  I bake cut out sugar cookies and the leave them unfrosted.  They get to decorate their own cookies.  Their are getting very good at covering every last inch with some sort of sugary treat.

Here are the darlings eagerly anticipating Christmas #1 at our house.  We open presents a few days before we leave for the holidays so the kids have a day to play with their new stuff.

There were some legos involved.

Baby girl had fun opening presents.  

Husband and I rarely agree on gifts for the kids.  I will concede that the pteradon wings for S were quite the hit.  He loves them.

We had Christmas #2 in Lubbock, but I can't find pictures of that at the moment.  (Truthfully, there might not be any pictures.  I got to see a bunch of my cousins so I think I was too busy visiting to take pictures.)  Then it was off to ABQ for Christmas #3.  Here's S and Baby K on Christmas morning.  Love those smiles.

All the kids opening presents at my mom's house.  

We had a good trip.  There was very little snow so all our sledding gear stayed packed in it's bag.  The kids were bummed.  You never know about the weather.  

Then we came home for Christmas #4 with gifts from out of state relatives.  The kids love it.  Yes, it's nontraditional, but that's our life.  

The Christmas stylings of Miss K

She was quite the adorable baby in her many holiday looks.  Have I mentioned have fun it is to dress her?  We had to have different holiday looks for all her various social occasions.

We are heading out to do some Christmas caroling on this evening.

Here's her fancy dress for church.  I bought this dress on clearance last year, before she was even born.  It had a fancy coat to match.  

Here's the whole family before church at my mom and dad's house.  

Here's her velvet outfit for a casual Christmas Eve.

She did really well during all the holidays which included travelling, late nights, and weird dinner hours.  She has decided she likes to rip paper so opening presents was right up her alley.  

She still doesn't have any teeth.  She can get all on four's but is not crawling yet.  That doesn't stop her from moving around.  She is an expert roller and squirmer.  She can get from one side of a room to another somehow.  She still hates all green vegetables, in fact she is starting to boycott carrots.  I have to mix them in with applesauce.  She loves fruits.  She is not interested in any solids.  Laughing at her brothers is one of her favorite hobbies.  She is sleeping 11-12 hrs a night.  Her naps are not that consistent.  She is one happy baby!