A Little Glimpse of Today

Today was the start of week 3 for school.  So far we are doing well and everyone is really enjoying it.  I still am struggling to find that "great balance" of keeping house work caught up, keeping in touch with friends, getting to appointments, errands run etc. and trying to work on projects for sewing and crafts as well as trying to stick my feet ever so slightly deeper into the world of photographer.  But - we are learning and growing and I'm thrilled with the progress I'm seeing already.  Noah's coloring and hand writing are showing improvements already, listening skills are growing in all 3 kids. 
Mostly, I love that we are learning together.  I love knowing and talking about all the things that Noah is learning.  It's an incredible gift getting to learn things with him, to watch the "ah-ha" moments happening, to see him grow in so many areas.  I wouldn't trade it for the world right now (though I understand that homeschooling or schooling in a public or private school is a decision that must be made for each child, each year so their needs are met).  Today we read on the trampoline in the afternoon sun, Josh jumping and bouncing around as he was listening, Noah rolling around some as he listened and then acted out part of the story.  Noah also started with his Spanish lessons today.  Who would have thought?  Thankfully I can sit with him and do the lessons since I don't know any!  In history we are learning about the continents - Noah can name all 7, but we're still working on identifying them.  History lessons are moving on to Australia and learning more about it this week, but the beauty of it is that I know Noah needs a bit more practice with naming and locating the continents so we're going to keep working on reviewing those even as we are exploring Australia.  I love that one-on-one.  This afternoon we played a few games we'd made last year and never fully used.  We're going to create a lapbook on the continents that will include the game and a few other things.   Hopefully it will be a fun way for Noah to continue reviewing since he's creating the book.  We also painted our suitcases so we're ready for our world trip and all we're going to learn as we travel.  Everyone enjoyed painting (I think this is the first time we've included Addy in painting and she LOVED it!).  Tomorrow we're going to take our passport photos and make sure they're ready to go when we leave for Australia.
Noah really enjoys his online class sessions - he has a sense of belonging to his teacher's classroom and his schoolmates.  I'm looking forward to going on field trips with his class.  It's going to be a fun filled year I think.  Science was definitely a highlight of the day today for the boys I think - we explored our taste buds with lots of tasting of sweet and sour foods and candy.

First Night of AWANA 2011-2012 Year

The boys had a fabulous evening tonight at church.  I did too, though AWANA is for the kids - seriously I think I get just as much out of it. 
Noah is a Spark this year (which is K-2nd graders) and Josh had his very first night in AWANA as a Cubby.  Josh has been super excited to get to go to Cubbies - just like Noah.  Earlier today he told me as we were talking about going tonight and what he may have to do during the time, Josh told me he was going to get to play with the big boys.  He's just so excited to get to do things that Noah has gotten to. 
Mike & I are helping in Sparks this year, together.  It's awesome because I got to see Noah and Josh both during opening ceremonies and just see the excitement on their faces as the songs got sung.  Josh looked so intense during the pledges and while the colors were presented.  Then during game time we played outside since it was the first night on the big playground.  Again, I got to catch some glimpses of Noah playing and interacting with new friends and I'm sure some old friends from last year.  The church has this "big" slide, it really is big and fast.  It starts on the second floor and goes down to the playground just past the first floor (there's kind of dip for the playground if that makes sense).  Well you ride on towels down the slide and it's really fast.  I heard Noah going down and then saw him come back by the stairs to go try again.  He was so excited about it!  I'm looking forward to another great year with AWANA and the boys both wanted to take their Bibles to bed tonight and read and wanted to know if we could work on their verses in the morning during breakfast.  I love that they are both so excited about learning God's word and know that I need to learn it too, my memorization skills are lacking and I am really looking forward to learning all the verses with them this year.




Addy didn't want to be left out of pictures

Proud Mommy (& Daddy too)

Noah had his first game for the soccer season tonight.  Mike couldn't make it, which of course is always a little sad but thankfully he doesn't want for pictures post game ;-) since someone in this house likes to shoot!
Well the boys wanted to ride their bikes to the game.  Sounds great - except I don't have a bike, so I lowered the seat on Mike's so I could at least touch the ground. I'm sure I was comical riding it, it's just too tall.  I haven't ridden a bike since I was probably 12 either.  I asked for a bike for my birthday though, we have a seat for Addy - she's asked every day since Mike took her out the first time.  We go to get in the van, and she goes to the bike and pats it saying "bike" (well it doesn't quite sound that clear but we know what she means.  It was a bit difficult riding with her right behind me and the backpack on.  We stopped at a friend's to drop something off and Addy stayed to play with her little girl.  It was a win-win it seemed, Addy helped occupy her little one while they played and she got a few things done - I got to focus on pictures and the game.
Well I was half expecting riding bikes to be a nightmare.  Especially on the way home.  I was proven wrong.  I envisioned after playing hard during a game in a heat-filled evening to hear lots of whining on the way home.  I heard none.  The boys did great.  I'm proud of them both for that, because it's hard not to whine when you're 3 & 5 human. 
Noah also played hard throughout the game.  He didn't give up, he had a smile on his face and just kept getting up each time he fell or got knocked down.  I heard him say a couple times, "I never give up."  Another thing I noticed during the game, he seemed to be bantering with a kid on the other team.  At one point, the other kid seemed to kind of nudge Noah on the shoulder as he was saying something.  I couldn't hear what was being said.  I reminded Noah once to speak kindly and use nice words.  I imagined he was "talking smack."  He's a competitive kid, I don't mind that one bit.  But Mike & I want to make sure that he understand it's very important to be a good sport, loving God and being a good example doesn't take a break just because you're on the field/court.  Not that I think it will get serious at age 5 - but still good sportsmanship is important to start early.  So after the game, Noah was enjoying his snack and getting his shoes back on.  I asked him if was talking smack to the kid, he just said no.  He didn't elaborate, didn't say much more.  Okay - hmm, still not sure if he was or not.  Quickly though, his coach said no it was the other team and that Noah was saying you need to speak nice word and act nice our parents are watching.  It was a proud mommy moment for sure - to see him having fun and not whining or even getting upset about it but still standing up for his beliefs/values.  I feel like it is the first time that I've gotten to witness his character shining through in such an out-spoken, obvious way that wasn't with family, or at church.  Good job Noah, Mommy & Daddy are very proud of you - and I'm confident that God was smiling as you gently reminded an opponent to speak kind words.

First Soccer Practice

Noah had his first soccer practice this evening.  So nice that our drive is much, much shorter!   And Josh and Noah have the same coaches for their teams, though they are on different leagues.  Their coaches were both super nice and seemed to have that love for coaching little players.  I think it's going to be a great season and am glad we were able to make the first practice. 
Noah's coach had them do a few different drills after stretching, then at the end they did a bit more running.  He said if they didn't sleep well tonight to let him know and they'd run more next practice, lol.  Noah was passed out very quickly after getting to bed.  Of course, we were also told to come ready to play and participate next practice.  Should be fun.  Josh got to practice some with them too, very nice and he enjoyed it. 
Right before we left the house, Josh ran full speed into the table - I mean seriously full speed!  Poor kid got knocked backwards and fell  flat on his back.  Thank goodness it was the side of the table and not the corner, his eye is the perfect height for the table.  So in one of the pictures - you can see the start of what I'm gonna guess will be a nice shiner.  He cried for less than 5 minutes, told us that tables are not nice to eyes and then was ready to play.  Tough boy!

Look Ma Two Wheels!

Tonight we spent time outside playing with the neighbors.  A walk to the soccer field and playground and then home for more water and bikes outside.  The 2 oldest boys, Noah and the oldest neighbor, were brave enough to try their bikes without training wheels.  Noah was very encouraging for his friend, you can do it, be brave, etc.  When we asked if he wanted to try them without training wheels - no that's okay.  We pushed him just a bit, Mike promised they'd try and he'd help Noah and later the training wheels could go back on.  He did AWESOME!  He rode 10 - 15 minutes on his bicycle without training wheels.  He was even getting the turns at the end.   When we came inside for the night, he kept asking Mike and I if we were proud of him, yeah buddy we're super proud of you!  I was proud the minute he was willing to try - cause that is what life is really about, giving it your best shot!  I was thrilled for him that he was getting the hang of it.  Way to go Noah!  I'm not sure if the training wheels are staying off or going back on, we'll see tomorrow night I think.  Enjoy the pictures - sorry they aren't the best lighting...it was getting dark and my external flash helps, but it's not ideal for pictures of a fast moving boy at dusk!

Swim Lessons!

This past week Noah took his first swim lessons.  He was so very excited!  He did a great job and listened well to his teachers and I am pretty sure he had a blast.  The first day when he was asked to do a bob he wasn't sure, he said he was scared.  He's jumping in the water now and going under water when he does, but this was different and that can be scary.  A few minutes later though he was willing to try with his teacher helping him and there hasn't been any stopping him since.  Day 2 and 3 he was bobbing away while he waited his turn for things.  Floating is funny, he's never ever been relaxed laying on his back in the water.  By the end of day 3 he was getting a bit more relaxed though.  He has 3 days next week of lessons too. 

Happy 5th Birthday Noah!

I can't believe it is already here...how is Noah 5?  He is such a wonderful, adventure seeking boy who has been a blessing to our lives.  We have been taught so much by this bright, thoughtful boy.  It is certainly a privilege raising him and getting to see God develop him into a strong boy.  Mike and I are both so glad that God chose us for him!

Celebrating Noah's 5th Birthday

On Saturday we had Noah's 5th birthday party!  How is he 5 already (well not until Wed. actually)?  We are so blessed to be able to be the parents of this sweet, inquisitive boy.  Noah has added so many adventures and laughs to our lives; he's a wonderful big brother to his brother and sister and a good friend. 
The party was a Super Hero party (yes, again!) with Superman, Batman, and Spiderman.  He was very specific that he wanted a party with all 3 superheroes.  We also picked out a few cakes online that he liked and combined them together.  I must be crazy, it was a 3 tier cake and of course like most things, I couldn't just do a small version but probably certainly more than was needed.  The cake was 5 cake mixes put together, 3 bags of marshmallows, 2 (2lb) bags of powdered sugar, and 2 batches of butter cream frosting.  It turned out pretty well though and Noah loved it!
We also planned a couple of games and activities for Noah's party.  I wasn't sure how they would go over, we haven't done much in the way of organized activities at parties yet, the kids are always just happy playing and doing their own thing.  They did that on Saturday, but did enjoy the activities it seemed.  There was pin the emblem on Super Noah (each kid had their initial on an emblem), a Spiderman pinata, and bad guys who needed to be stomped (balloons with pictures of the various foes on them).  I'm so glad that Noah has such great friends here to help him celebrate!  We had a great morning and afternoon celebrating with them!

My Conversation with Noah

On the way to Cubbies and church this evening I thought for sure that everyone would fall asleep.  No one napped today; no one!  Josh did fall asleep but Noah was chatty.   He was talking about all kinds of things, then suddenly was talking about having ear plugs in so he couldn't hear.  I was asking him what he meant; he's never had ear plugs.  So then he goes on about how ear plugs go in your ears so you can't hear and you take them out so you can hear.  Yep.  Then the conversation went on to Addy's ears not needing ear  plugs because they didn't work right.  Maybe Addy's ears don't want to hear Noah said.  I assured him that Addy did want to hear, her ears just didn't work quite like everyone else.  Then our conversation went something like this.
Noah: "Why did Addy need pictures of her brain?" (the boys asked what we were doing this morning, I told them picking up film of pictures.; they wanted to know what was on them and seemed fine with the simple answer of pictures of Addy's brain though this morning it sent me into a bit of an emotional state).
Me: "So the doctors can see what is going on and hopefully understand."
Noah: "Understand what? Why her ears don't work?"
Me: "Yes and also her brain"
Noah: "What's going on with her brain?"
Me: "It's not growing like normal and the doctors want to see why."
Noah: "What's normal?"
Me: "It's not growing as quickly as it should" (I really don't even know if that is accurate - I know it's not growing like other kids but I'm not even sure it's still growing)
Noah: "So the doctors will see her pictures and fix it.  We have the pictures at home.  When I get home I'll look at them and fix it."
Me: "It doesn't work like that.  Mommy doesn't know what the pictures should look like so we won't know what is going on."
Noah: "Kincaid is a baby.  Kincaid doesn't have a hearing problem."
Me: "You're right Kincaid doesn't have a hearing problem."
Noah: "Kincaid's brain is growing right."
Me: "Yep it is."
Noah: "Kincaid is a boy.  Is Addy's brain not growing quickly because she's a girl?"
Me: "No.  Addy's brain isn't growing quickly because of something else, her ears work different because that's how God made her.  You and Josh have different color eyes, you're different that way, Addy's ears make her different."
Noah: "Okay..." and then he went on talking about sharks and clouds I think.

It was interesting; it was something Mike & I have wondered when would come up.  At some point needing to explain things a bit more to the boys.  We haven't kept things from them, but we haven't shared all the details; we don't really have a ton of details.  I wasn't sure how to take his comment about Addy being a girl...but I suppose he doesn't know a lot of babies and it would be logical.

And just in case you were curious there are lots and lots of  pictures of Addy's brain.  Hopefully we'll be able to schedule our trip to San Diego for doctors visits. 

And He Dips...

Noah doesn't eat ketchup - he doesn't really any sauce or dip at all.  He hasn't, like ever.  It took a while before he ate sauce on his pizza and spaghetti is still occasionally questionable with sauce (though we have gotten to being okay with it more often than not lately).  It's just something about him, it's fine we don't push it.  We ended up having lunch at Apple Bee's today though and one of the great things about eating there is the chips and dip before our food comes.  It always helps the waiting to have a little snack.  Well today Noah wanted to dip his chips in the salsa - and he kept doing it and eating it!  Yeah for trying new things - good job Noah!

Fighting Bad Guys with Mema

We were so excited to see Mema & Pepa (Mike's parents for those that don't speak Lucas children language) on Tuesday afternoon!  We have the rest of the week with them too!  Yeah!  Tuesday we had lunch at playground McDonald's (the choice of children everywhere right?) and then came home for a relaxed evening.  The boys of course were excited that Mema and Pepa were finally here and didn't leave them alone much.  Josh and Noah enjoyed their Nerf guns and fighting bad guys with Mema for a lot of the early evening.  For awhile there were pretend bad guys, then it turned out that Josh was the bad guy (surprise there right?).  What a good time though!

Josh had been shot and was playing dead

Noah's Pet

So there was a fly in the house on Tuesday morning.  Mike was trying to kill the fly and Noah told him "no don't kill the fly he's nice"  Of course this was too late for the fly it had been killed.  Noah picked up the fly and said it was his pet, Killer is what he  named him.  He carried the fly around for quite a bit Tuesday morning until we found it a home in a glass jar.  He even showed Mema & Pepa Tuesday afternoon when they got here.  Oh the poor child - forced to have a dead fly for a pet!

Adenoids Out for #2 & #3

We started our day today at the surgery center with Addison & Josh.  They both needed their adenoids removed, neither was able to get and stay well for the past 2+ months.  Thank goodness Mike is home and was able to go with me.  The kids did so well, we had to be there at 6:30 and were also so grateful that some friends from our small group offered to keep Noah for us this morning.  Noah even got to go on a field trip (his first home school field trip, love it!  It was to a pizza place to make pizza, so he loved it too).  The doctor was running a little late, so our waiting time was a bit extended.  Thank goodness for distractions.  They did Addison first, then Josh.  Once Addy was in recovery I was able to go and sit with her, I heard Josh crying going back - so sad but I knew he'd be fine.  Addison recovered great, calm and just restful.  Josh had a much harder time, he's older and I expected it would be harder just because he's more aware.  He also needed a little extra oxygen because he was coughing and struggling just a bit, then the poor guy got sick.  I'm glad Mike was there, I couldn't have held them both and even as much as I wanted to hold and comfort Josh, with him being upset and the 18 holes in my tummy still healing it just wouldn't have been good.  Josh was just fine being held by Daddy though.  On the way home, there was a little more sickness and once home you could tell Josh was still uncomfortable.  He had 3 popsicles eventually and started feeling much better.  Addy got home and wanted down to play and read stories.  Mike went and picked up Noah and then had to go to work.  Kristin and her boys stopped to check on us and say hello, and brought Josh a sprite which he was thrilled with!  Then a friend from MOPS brought us dinner, and a whole bunch of other food goodies, so generous!  The weather is suppose to be cold and windy this weekend and she wanted to make sure we didn't have to go out if we weren't up to it.  By the time Kristin and her boys stopped by a bit after 3 Josh was wanting to run around and jump and play, definitely doing better!  Amazing how quickly kids bounce back.  Our excitement wasn't over for the day though, the boys were trying to play tag - of course I didn't want them to, but before the action ended Noah ran smack into the corner of the wall!  A HUGE knot came up and he had a little dent in it from the corner.  Thankfully it did not split open and he seemed fine, no confusion or sickness.  Boys!  A nice surprise though was that Mike came home early, so nice!  Wind helped us out there for sure.

Josh and Addy being silly while they wait

Playing a little Leapster

Addy was enjoying it too...she was coloring

After Leapster it was a little IPhone play time - technology makes things like this so much easier!

Checking out what her brother is doing, she looks like a little girl here, not a baby to me (it's kind of sad to me)

At home with blankets and juice and popsicles

Josh finally eating some of the popsicle he'd been holding for quite a bit

Addy & I cuddling on the couch

Noah added some excitement to our evening...what a knot!

Poor boy - this is why you don't run in the kitchen! 

In the words of Noah

So as I am resting and trying to recoup Mike took the kids to church.  They went to the 9 oclock service.  About 1030 I get a text from Mike.  Totally cracked me up, very much a Noah phrase and way too cute not to share!  So here's the text from Mike (the "me" is Mike")


Noah: peace is quiet
Me: can you give me some then?
Noah: No, only God can give you peace

Gotta love the wisdom from your 4 year old!!

Speech Updates

Yesterday was Noah's last day for speech!  We are so proud of him because he's worked really hard and made great progress.  He still needs to practice his "words" as he says but he can make the sounds that he should be able to make at this stage of life.  His speech teacher and I discussed it, she wanted to make sure we were comfortable with him finishing but felt she wasn't able to offer a skilled service right now, he just needs occassional reminders - Mike & I both felt that was best.  He got a certificate and was so excited for his "congratulations card" from speech!  Addison is done for now - she will most likely be having more sessions but for now she's using more words (we're up to about 15 vocalizations for specific words) and is using much more inflection when she talks.  There will be a lot going in her life the next couple weeks, too so it is a good time for a break.  We're really just going to see how she progresses on her own since she is catching on so well.  If we feel it's time to go back all we'll have to do is call and make her appointment.

The kids and I also did a mini photo shoot of sorts yesterday morning.  I wanted to see how the light would be by the big living room window.  I'm not super thrilled with all the pictures but I don't get in pictures too often and figured I should keep some with me in them.  The light is okay, I should have moved our little table a bit away and had the camera in front of the window more and us facing the window more.  I think that would have helped, we'll have to try it that way later.  I also should have had the F-stop up a bit, it was at 3.5 and there are too many of us not all lined up for everything to be in focus as much as I would have liked.  But - we're all in some of them and it was fun so I'll take it.  I'm really beginning to enjoy the experimentation a lot and not using the automatic settings much at all...Mike says it will be interesting to see where this goes in 10 years, guess we'll see.

Legos...Wii Legos

Just wanted to share a bit of a Noah's humor with you - yesterday while we were at the neurologist, Noah and Josh stayed with a friend and her boys, so thankful for that.  After the appointment, it was lunch for us all and then to the base for lab work and medicine and then another lab to get the "specialized" labs drawn.  The boys went with us, they are very good sports and troopers at appointments (maybe this is a sign they are too used to it?).  I explained before the first lab draw that Addy was going to cry, she wouldn't like having her blood taken but that her doctor needed the tests done to make sure she was growing okay.  The boys did okay with it - Addy is a strong little girl and fought hard!  So the second lab the nurse is taking Addy's blood.  At the end she is done and has I think 4 tubes of it on the counter.  Noah asked her "why do you need my sister's blood?"  She looks a bit surprised and says for the doctor, then he questions further.  What is being done...why more blood.  I told him that the doctor wanted to look at Addison's chromosomes.  He of course wants to know what chromosomes are.  The nurse says, "that's what makes you  you"  Noah replied with something about God making you you =) which I love.  He still seems confused...I tried to explain that they are like building blocks and everyone has specific ones to them...huh?  He still is a bit lost...so I tell him it's like the legos that make you you.  He then seems to get it to his satisfaction but says that he wants to see his legos, too.  Then he says he hopes he has Wii legos, no Wii Batman legos.