From Baby to Little Man

December 24, 2012

So... we started to get lots of comments about our little girl. Sure, sweet little man's hair was long but it was a little silly that people thought he was a GIRL. I mean, there's nothing wrong with being a girl. I'm a girl. I like it, actually. Plus, boys have long hair all the time. Look at my other kid. Nobody ever thinks he's a girl, but he usually has a big ole mop of red mess on top of his head. Anyhow, we started to think that it *might* be time for a haircut. I have to say, I'm so slow with this guy. It was one thing to rush through stuff with mister W even if I felt like he might be the last kid in this family, but this little guy feels so much more like the last baby this family might have. I know now how fast babyhood turns into childhood and I want so badly to SAVOR it. Basically, I'm not rushing into things like first haircuts this time around. It did start to seem like it was really time though.

Christmas Eve we were all home and getting ready to go to church in the evening and it was snowing and seemed like as good a time as any to cut this baby's hair. Daddy got all his hair cutting stuff ready and went for it.

Sweet little man was unsure what it was all about but he sat still enough.

Mommy got a little sad as the first curls started falling.

...but as Daddy kept going I felt better.

Especially since this little boy is so cute!

Baptism Day

December 16, 2012

When miss L was born we made plans for her baptism quickly after we got our feet under us. She was four months old or so at the time and it seemed perfect. With mister W it was so much more complicated. When I was pregnant with the twins I envisioned waiting until Ben was home and it being a huge milestone for us, so when Ben died and we knew we'd never achieve that milestone it was difficult to think of scheduling mister W's baptism. When I was 9 months pregnant with sweet little man we knew it was really and truly time to get it done if we were going to baptize him as an "infant" or wait until his confirmation as a teenager. We ended up getting it done with me as big as a house and it was emotional for us but lovely.

Sweet little man was much easier in many ways. We waited a bit, sure, but goodness we have lots of people in this house and it's hard to remember to schedule some of these things. He did a lovely job though. He smiled and wiggled his feet. I was so nervous that he'd cry, but he didn't. He was truly adorable. It was a sweet entrance into the family of God.

This boy...

December 5, 2012

I never expected this little guy in my life. He just sort of showed up. He's got my eyes and my stubborn streak and he's got me wrapped around his finger. When he hands me the camera and says, "cheese!" you can bet I do my part. I just love this little guy.

Breakfast

(December 4, 2012)

Breakfast is never boring here. I'm not sure where miss L was, but her brothers were apparently having some yogurt. :o)

Animal Actions

November 29, 2012

These boys are so funny. Sweet little man is at that age where you can get him to parrot just about anything. He wants to keep up with the big kids! On this particular evening his brother was making animal faces and noises and he just had to join in.

Sweet little man's monkey impression:

 

Mister W's lion:

 

Okay, so it was just one animal face for sweet little man and then he was all about the "CHEESE": 

  

Mister W's Dinosaur (very similar to the lion, no?):

 

More cheese:

 

...and a tiger (do you see a theme here?):

 

I don't actually remember what this one was, but that is one cute face!:

 

...and I'll let you decide about this one:

A boy and a red furry monster

November 28, 2012

When you are a third child you don't get to make a lot of the decisions about what goes on the television. This third child is a lucky boy because his sister knows that he has a serious love for Elmo and she loves to make him happy. This day she volunteered to watch Sesame Street for her tv time and you can see that sweet little man is so happy. I don't know what it is about that red monster but he's very popular around here!

The Polar Express

November 23, 2012

Okay, it wasn't the Polar Express. We've been a little obsessed with that movie over the past couple of years and so that's what we called this train. :o)

As part of our reading curriculum this year we are doing "Five in a Row," a curriculum that uses classic and modern children's books and has you read them every day for five days in a row. There are lots of possible activities for each book that cover social studies, science, math, art, etc. Early this fall we read, "Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel" by Virginia Lee Burton. As part of that book we did some study on what a steam engine is and why we don't really see or use them anymore. With that in mind I was really really excited to be able to take everyone to ride on a real train with a real steam engine. It seemed fun AND educational. What could be BETTER?!

We arrived and walked up to the REAL train station. It was really exciting!

 

I hate to say that we read the sign AFTERWARDS that said, "Do not touch the car. Santa is watching." Ooops!

 

We boarded the train and started moving. The weather was really fantastic. It was a little chilly, but not cold and we were able to open the windows in the train.

 

Santa came around too. This was about as good as it got for pictures of everyone together.

 

When we got to the end of the line the engine drives to the other side of the train. The kids loved watching the engine pass by.

 

I forget how much water they put in the tank of the trains, but it's a LOT. I guess it takes quite a bit of water to make enough steam to move a locomotive. :o)

 

There were all kinds of other activities too. These little carts worked with hand cranks. This is serious awesome work for a kid with SPD. I wonder how much these would be to put in my backyard?!

 

We watched the trains for awhile. The people were amazing there. There were carolers and brass players all wearing period clothing. I love this photo my dad caught of the conductor.

 

...and while Daddy and Pawpaw took the big kids to do even more train stuff, Mawmaw and sweet little man and I explored the shops and waited for them to finish.

 

After that we went to an Amish restaurant nearby. Holy crow I am still thinking about those rolls. And the shoefly pie. Oh my goodness... What a FABULOUS day!!

Ice Skating

November 22, 2012 After Thanksgiving dinner we decided to do something a little different and way fun. We went ice skating! Miss L was beyond excited and I think mister W was really ready to give it a try too. Brad rented skates for him and the two big kids and I planned to watch. It didn't take too long to realize that I both wanted and needed to be out on the ice.

Miss L started right on the wall. She wasn't quite brave enough to let go yet.

 

Mister W didn't quite have his ice legs with him. He would make it around the rink about once and then want a rest. I couldn't blame him! It's hard to keep yourself upright out there!

 

Miss L graduated to skating with her daddy holding hands (and you can see me on the side over there. I thought I'd be a big help. As it turns out I'm not super great at skating...).

 

We made a couple of go arounds with mister W between us.

 

...and miss L (as we knew she would) graduated to skating all by herself. She's so graceful and willing to work at something until she gets it. Good for her!

 

It wasn't very long until mister W declared himself done. He wanted his skates off. He wanted to leave. He was done. Sadly, in a family this size, he didn't get to leave. Luckily, since his grandparents were here, he got to hang out with them!

 

We had a blast. Miss L's been begging to go back ever since. Mister W is not quite so excited, but I'll give him a year or two. :o)