First hike of the spring...

All of the State Parks in our state had free admission last weekend.  We've never taken advantage of the free weekend because we figured we could just buy a season pass if we wanted to hike.  The problem was that we never really got around to going. 

We were surprised to learn that there is a nice state park just 20 miles from our house!  I feel like kicking myself for not exploring it sooner.  It is fairly small, but has several lakes, camping, a couple hiking trails, and a playground. (And a swim beach, but it was pretty small and rocky.) Not really a vacation destination, but the perfect place to hike around with the kids every so often.

Because it was the free weekend they had a short scavenger hunt for the kids.  Small photos of 10 different animals were hidden along the trail for us to spot.  The kids enjoyed that and it kept them from the mindset that we were walking to a destination. We saw quite a few birds, of several varieties.  It felt just a little silly to be looking for photographs, instead of examples of actual trees or wildlife!  The examples of real wildlife we saw, other than the birds and plants, were a goose skeleton on the shore and a huge fish that had been recently dropped by a raptor and was flopping, injured, on the road.  That would have been a different kind of scavenger hunt!

With M3's short legs it took us about an hour to hike the three-quarters of a mile trail.  We headed home for lunch, but I think it would great to bring a picnic next time or even try camping since it is close to home.

So content in the breeze.

Wishing she could keep up with the bigger kids.

Headed home!

Almost to the end of the school year...

Tomorrow was supposed to be the last day of school for M.G., but the year has been extended to next Wednesday because of the snow days and the Memorial day holiday.  The last few weeks have been full of excitement with first communion, recitals, a field trip, a birthday party, and other end of the year fun.

Waiting for the recital to start!

M.G. had her dance recital a couple weeks ago.  Her studio performed a version of The Lorax.  Similar to last year's Horton Hears a Who, they mixed a reading of the Seuss book with songs from the Disney movie and threw in a few other songs as well. 

This year M.G.'s class had three numbers.  A ballet dance in which she was a tree in the beautiful unharmed forest, a modern dance where they were singing fish, and in their tap number they were machines in the ever-growing factory.  We watched the Disney movie a few times this winter and the songs are pretty catchy, so the younger kids recognized a lot of the music.

As always, fuzzy pictures because it was dark, she was moving, and the photographer had a kiddo hanging on his arm. (And I like to zoom in to avoid posting other peoples' kids on the internet.) 

Graceful tree, waiting to dance.

Joyful fish about to jump!

M.G. had dance two nights a week this year and was always looking forward to class.  We like that the studio is more focused on teaching an appreciation for the art of dance and helping the kids learn how to express art using their bodies; not spending the whole year training them to move in unison to a choreographed routine.  I think that helps increase M.G.'s enjoyment of the time she spends there.

She had her piano recital the following weekend.  M.G. was new to piano this year and seemed to take to it like she'd just been waiting for direction.  We really didn't have an expectation of how far she'd get in a year and wanted to give her a chance to try learning something brand new at her own pace. We're proud of the commitment she showed.  At this point in her life she sometimes wants to be a music teacher.  Who knows how long that will stick, but it has been fun to see her explore this new skill and see how much she enjoys it.







Her class has been doing the alphabet count down this year.  Yesterday was wild hair day and she decided on lots of headbands!  She was making M4 laugh and I didn't want to stop them to ask them to sit still. She just looks so much older these days.  It's been a year where she's growing in independence in a lot of ways, we'll have to find ways to foster that this summer when she's at home all day.









She can be a big helper and a leader of her siblings (for good or bad.) Everyone was a little wild at one point this weekend and I was getting kind of frustrated after breaking up wild scene after wild scene.  She had the bright idea of putting in the Peter and the Wolf CD and she didn't say a word to anyone about it.  When I looked around the corner I saw this...

and it lasted for quite a long time.

I'm trying to brainstorm some ideas for our summer - it is so easy to have all of these ideas and then suddenly we're back-to-school shopping.  I need to create a reading list for M.G. to keep her in books and I want to come up with some project ideas.

But, I know that with just a blink of the eye we'll have a 3rd grader and a kindergartener.  A big deal for M2 and another big change to my days.  I'm looking forward to giving M3 a chance to be the oldest at home and I think it will be a fun year for her and M4 and me!

Boundaries

M4 was sitting on my lap while I was eating breakfast with Papa this morning.  The older kids had finished and were playing in a different room.  M3 came running in and climbed up with Papa.

I said, "Hey Papa, look, we each have a friend sitting with us."
M3 said, "That's not true."
I said, "Yes, I am holding Matthew and Papa is"
M3 interrupted to say, "Papa not my friend, he my Papa."
"Oh," I said, "we each have a kiddo on our laps?"
M3: "Right, not friends, you are parents."

************

M3 has slept in her own bed much more consistently than any of the others.  I'm sure she slept with us a bit as a baby, but she was able to help herself get to sleep more than the others and I think I put her back into her crib more often. She transitioned to M.G.'s room without much trouble and usually doesn't need any help in the night.

Lately she has taken time to tuck her baby dolls into their own sleeping areas each night.  (Usually after she is supposed to be in bed falling asleep.)  She tucks them each in with stuffed animals and climbs back into her own bed to sleep alone or with maybe one stuffed animal.

A few nights ago I suggested she sleep with her babies so that they would stay warm and she wouldn't need to get out of bed to tuck them in at night.  She started laughing and said, "Babies don't sleep in beds with people!  My babies have their own beds!"

Super awesome x4

I don't know why I waited until Matthew was nearly 7 months before getting a photo of him in the rockstar shirt from Nissa... 

M3,  ~5 months

M4, ~6.5 months

He'll handle guitar once they start a band.

Playing "Pass the baby toys around and around."

So close to crawling, but super frustrated that he can't yet do it.

Crocs for the summer! 

Sunny couch portraits

 Mother's day weekend was relaxing and fun this year.  Here we were on the way out the door to M.G.'s piano recital on Friday night.  (M2 and M3 insisted on dressing up too.)  Saturday we went down to Sioux Falls for lunch and shopping.  We made it back to town right on time for a birthday party that we were all invited too.  That ended so that we could get to church Saturday night.  Sunday the kids treated me like a super special, great person.  It really did make me feel appreciated to see how excited they were to give me drawings and flowers.  M.G. made a book at school with her favorite things to do with me and it melted my heart.  After nap time we went to the Children's museum as a family and spent some time outside after supper.  It's easy to get caught up in the day to day grind of providing food, cleaning up messes, and breaking up spats.  Really, I feel so happy to get to spend my days with such awesome little people!

Wagons ho!

Random old post - I'm working on archiving the blog and wanted this draft to be a part of the archive...  thought I had posted it years ago....

August 20, 2009

The time between the kids' bedtimes and my own bedtime goes too quickly! I haven't had a chance yet to post about our travels from New York to South Dakota.After our lovely weekend in Maine, we headed back to Albany. We were very happy to bunk at Walter and Ellie's house for the next two nights. Monkey Girl was over the top excited about the idea of a slumber party and the idea that dogs were waiting was what kept M2 from mutiny on the way back from Maine. To make our stay even more exciting, there was one last super big playdate on that Monday to send us off.

On the afternoon of Tuesday the 4th we headed off to Minnesota, arriving at Grandma and Grandpa B's around 9:30 in the morning on the 5th. We loaded their furniture gifts into a Uhaul and then tried to get some rest before taking off for South Dakota very early the next morning.

I was very pleasantly surprised at how smoothly our week of traveling went. The kids are road trip pros and it felt relaxing to just have our car and the things it could carry to worry about. After turning in our keys on the 31st, we drove 1899 miles, spent about 37 hours in the car, and passed through 11 unique states before picking up our keys here on Aug. 6th!

Not every mile was a happy one, but the majority of the trip was really peaceful. We did listen to Philadelphia Chickens and the Juno soundtrack more times than I can remember though! I'm hoping to post some travel tips soon!

In on it, whatever it might be...

M3 has a surprising level of awareness for her age, I think.

A package just arrived from Amazon.  I had ordered a few things and I know Papa had ordered something for Sunday, so I was just waiting for him to take a look at it when he gets home from work to see if it is what he ordered.

M3 just got up from her nap and said:  Oh a package came?  We will give it to you and say, "Happy Mother's Day!"  You will be so happy!

Me:  I will be!  I wonder what it is!

M3:  I can't tell you what it is, you have to wait.

Me:  Do you know what it is? 

M3 (while making a sneaky face and a dramatic voice): It is a surprise! 

What makes it funny is that she doesn't know what is in the box any more than I do.  Papa ordered it while she was sleeping.  Although she was convincing enough that now I wonder if he told her... 

M4 - 7 months!

7 months for our little guy.  He definitely has moved to a new stage of development - less of an immobile infant and fully a person who wants to participate with his surroundings.

It's tough to get a photo of him smiling because if he is smiling he is also moving.  He's been a little cranky lately and I think it is in part because he wants to be able to move on his own.  When we set him down he usually attempts to crawl, but then gets stuck and can't get going.

He's so close to crawling and also to being able to pull up to standing.  He's a strong little guy!  I think he's gotten even longer for his weight this month.







He's been "talking" a lot more lately.  He tends to watch what we're doing around the house and then occasionally will let out a very loud and long bellow of a noise.  He'll also make little interjections if he is having a lot of fun with some of his toys.

His little arm is around M2's neck.

 He pays attention to the people around him.  He tries to kiss us and lunges from me to Papa and back.  If he can reach, he'll grab on to the shirt or hair of one of the other kids.  When I sit by him on the floor he always tries to crawl up on to me.  He comes along to book club and other activities and will wobble forward and back toward whomever is sitting near me to try to get their attention. He has a sensitivity to M3's tantrums.  He lets out a piercing, horrified scream if M3 throws a tantrum.






He's tried a few more foods - squash, banana, green beans, pear, and carrots.  We often let him play with some of the food and spoon feed him a few bites if he's interested.  He has started to enjoy the banana and pear and actually tries to gets some of that into his mouth.  The sweet potato and carrots are his next favorite. 

Our laid back approach is working fairly well.  Instead of having little containers for his food for the day, I mush up a little of what we're eating if he can have it.  So he'll often have some fruit at breakfast or lunch time and vegetable at supper.  I do have some back-up foods in the fridge if we are having something we can't share.  It's difficult to compare the volume he is eating to what the others at at this age, but I do feel like it is easier to give him a variety because I'm not trying to have the right food cubes thawed and ready to go.  When he starts eating a little more volume I'll take more time to make sure he's eating a balanced diet.

At this age Matthew seems to be watching us to try to figure out where he can jump in.  He'll often have a fairly serious expression on his face - until someone makes eye contact with him - then he'll break into a smile, start reaching, and babbling.  At supper last night all 3 older kids were talking over each other.  I peaked behind Catie to see him sitting in his high chair by Papa and he was soaking it all up.  Then he saw me looking and broke into a big smile before chomping down on his baby spoon and looking back to the others.