I'm Out

Still haven't fully come to grips with this, but after 5 years, I am officially no longer a vegetarian. There is a lot that went into the decision all those years ago, and there was quite a bit of agony this time around, as well. It wasn't the easy way out by any means. In fact, I think this may make certain things a bit more difficult for me. Now I am no longer able to use the vegetarian excuse and will just have to force myself to be an annoyingly picky eater. Lots of thoughts on this, but alas, I suffer from blog-block.

Little Girl Climbing Stairs

She decided today that the first and second steps were no longer enough of a thrill for her.

Finally

I finally figured out why I'm such a horrible blogger. While I have lots of thoughts and ideas that would be, dare I say, interesting, I enjoy keeping things about me a mystery! I have this fear that whatever I write will be seen by everyone I have or will ever know. And for some odd reason I like to keep people guessing.

Step #1: Be real.

New Stuff

A lot has been going on during the past month or so! For the first time ever, I felt like I was able to enjoy the weeks before Christmas and really felt ready for the insanity that is inherently a part of Christmas with 2 small children. We made it to many parties this year which was a stark contrast to last year. Last year we were in Iowa and I left the house to go to the store, chiropractor, and church. Christmas was quiet and mellow, albeit somewhat full of longing. This year, closer to family, we made many trips to Ohio to attend parties for both my mom and dad's extended family. We even attended a party a few blocks from our home with some seminary friends. Christmas day afternoon we had a party with my family (my parents, brothers, sisters, kids) and the day after traveled to Nick's parent's for yet another present opening frenzy. We were able to spend an entire week living out of our suitcases and things went quite well. The kids received more presents this year than 20 kids could use.


The kids playing together with their Duplos

We are very grateful for family and friends who blessed them with these things. My heart aches, however, as before Christmas, Cade would proudly announce that we were celebrating Jesus' birthday, and after, Christmas became 'the day when we get to open lots of presents'.





Ava has been growing in leaps and bounds! She FINALLY got her first tooth. She'd been working on that tooth for about 7 months now! I was convinced she'd get teeth early, but it turned into me hoping she'd have them for her first birthday! She constantly has something in her mouth or she's on the hunt for something. And, she has also learned to crawl! In one day she went from making a little forward progress instead of pushing herself backward to crawling across the room! She hasn't looked back since, only forward, full speed ahead! She knows what she wants and I have to be quick if I think I'm going to prevent her from getting it! She's even taking toys right out of her big brother's hand. He tries running away from her and putting things up on the couch or ottoman, but she quickly learned to pull herself up and reach them anyhow! I'm curious (?!?) to see how this will progress! I've already caught the two of them pushing and grabbing at each other. She's going to turn my tender-hearted little boy into a fighter after all!



Cade is also growing much more rapidly than I realized. I tried to put his church shoes on him that he wears once or twice a week only to have him start crying because they were too small and hurting his foot! Only 2 months ago we were in church and he suddenly started pulling off his shoes because they were too small. That's 2 shoe sizes in 2 months! And most of his pants have recently shrunk in the laundry. Or at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I've found a new and obsessive hobby! For so long I have wanted to learn to knit or crochet. I finally asked a friend to give me a couple lessons. At first, I just wanted to follow patterns for my projects. Well, I quickly found that I'm not so hot at following the patterns exactly, so my pieces don'tend up looking like the picture.


The pattern for this.... ...quickly turned into this!


But, I've tried several patterns and though the end result is different, I've quickly learned how to adapt to get things to be what I want! Oh the monster that has been created! I lay awake at night trying to figure out what I want to make next or how I can achieve a certain look with yarn. It's quite distracting! But so so fun and I've found many amazing Etsy shops, websites, and blogs all focusing on crochet. Who knew it would be so awesome?! Now I just need a small fortune so I can purchase lots of yarn. My favorite found blog (check it out, you've just GOT TO!) has given me a goal for our next home. Can you guess it? Here's a few of my projects I've completely, only about a million more stored away in my head. Sure is cluttered in there!



Pile of different sized hats



Case for my hooks, scissors, needles, and tape measure



Slippers for the kids. I made some fuzzy green ones for Nick too.


My newest fascination.. amigurumi food!

Merry Christmas!

Fall

Cheesy smiles!!

This shows their personalities perfectly! Ava is always fascinated with Cade and can't stop watching him. Cade is such a sweetheart with Ava, always wanting to hold her hand or get her a toy.



A beautiful warm fall day playing in the leaves with our friend Isaiah Z. Look closely and you'll see Cade demonstrating his supernatural powers :)




Ava enjoying the outdoors. I'm not sure how much grass she ended up eating!!




Cade super pumped for his first organic lollipop!! (He dressed himself)



Daddy and his babies.



Grandma H, Great Grandpa H, Cade, and me (with the leave blower!! SO MUCH FUN!)



Great Grandpa burying Cade in the leaves.



Some kids never grow up :)



Yeah, he's really up there.




I really like this one.



This one just makes me laugh! She's actually trying to knock down a dead branch, but it sure looks like she's threatening Nick! "Get up there and don't come down until I tell you to!"



:) Just soaking it all in.



Too cute! My mother-in-law made Ava and I matching socks! (They were for my birthday and she brought the gift 12 days early. I couldn't wait to open the present, so I didn't!!!)



Matchy matchy!
This little girl won't sit still anymore! She's ready to move!

Cade's Binder

Some days - some days I get really pumped up and motivated and think, hey, I should start something really awesome today or organize that closet or make a great craft with Cade today! It's wonderful when I have those days, rare though they are. And they are usually proceeded by large amounts of chocolate or sleep..hence why they have been pretty rare lately. (I am not eating dairy for Ava's sake and most of my favorite milk chocolate contains, well, milk!) However, yesterday, BEFORE I made the most delicious brownies (dairy free!) I had lots of motivation to get started on 'Cade's Binder'. The name for it will likely change, but that's the most obvious name for it at this point! It is in preparation for keeping records once we 'officially' start homeschooling him. The time is fast approaching when some fancy important person may want me to prove that I actually help my child learn. I've been reading a great homeschooling book with so many ideas and solutions for beginning to homeschool that my head starts to spin! She's really gotten me focused on starting to learn how to keep records now so I can use this as a trial and error period, since no one 'important' really cares if a 3 year old is being taught anything.

Another important reason that I wanted to start a folder, binder, book, whatever I decide to call it, is because I feel like I've forgotten so much that he has done! I had a calendar for him for about the first year and a half that I would record special events and milestones, what words he was saying that month, when he learned to count or say the alphabet. I was really good at printing out a calendar each month and even having a picture of him from that month on it. I also recorded things like when he would have a cold or how much he weighed. It is so nice now to be able to look back and see what he was doing and when. For some strange reason, I just stopped doing his calendar! I'm so upset that I didn't keep track of his developments. It was such a simple method to just jot things down on each month's page. I could probably blame my second pregnancy for my lack of brain, but I've always been rather forgetful. So, rather than going back to my calendar method, I've decided to utilize some of the ideas in Terri Lynn Bittner's book as well as some of my own ideas to keep track of what my little guy is learning and doing! I'm hoping that this will make for an easier transition into record keeping in a couple of years. Boy am I terrified of that part of homeschooling. (And figuring out a curriculum. And knowing what to teach. And knowing how to teach. And planning ahead. And... Whatever, it will be great!)

So, here is how it will work. As with the 'no rules journal' that I personally keep, there really aren't any strict rules, just guidelines and suggestions as to what to include! I started out by writing down examples of what he is doing at this point. How far he can count, what he has memorized, where he is at with reading and writing, physically what sorts of skills he can do. So even though I missed out on recording exactly when he started doing those things, I can at least look back and know he was doing them when he was 3. I plan to keep a loose journal of things going on. Every once in a while I will just jot down our normal routine or if we had any major events or big learning moments. I'm also going to include in his binder, book, whatever, Cade's own journal pages. We started yesterday and it was tough for him to get the concept of journaling, but hopefully he will get it and be able to tell me his thoughts or what he did during the day. For now I will be writing down what he tells me to write and he can include his own pictures or words. Eventually, once he learns to write, he will be able to continue the journal himself. I also plan to keep things that he makes in the binder. I'm going to punch holes in papers that he's practicing writing letters or coloring on and then put them in the book. Art projects that are smaller or odd shapes will go into a large ziplock bag or pouch that will hopefully fit into the binder as well (I'm going to get one of those huge ones!! They had a bunch at the co-op last time I was there.). If it's not something that is flat enough or small enough to keep in the book, I want to take pictures of it and even of the creating process so I can include that in his binder. I've just been kicking myself for the past year and a half that I haven't been protecting his drawings and creations! They usually get mixed in with his toys and torn or lost in the shuffle.

So, it's just a start, but at least I will have a landing place for papers, updates, pictures, and other things that I've never quite known where to put. I know it sounds pretty simple, but the simple ideas are usually the ones I can actually stick with!

Here are some pictures of the other project we did on my super motivated day. The laundry did not get done, the house was not cleaned, but we sure had fun!

Working on a fun leaf craft!




Cade was very particular about the colors for each body. He made one for each member of our family and one for each of his grandparents according to their favorite color.



The happy couple - Nick and I :)