Let's Compare. . .

Each of my boys at about the same age . . .

Are we sure they're related?

6 months

Ben turned 6 months last week. It was time for more pictures. . .

What he's doing at 6 months:

• sleeps through the night most of the time (knock on wood)
• laughs, smiles, loves everyone. It was hard to get him to smile at the camera because everytime I went to take a picture, my face left his view.
• is getting up on all "fours" - he's even taken a "step." Sometimes he even gets up on his toes and hands.
• rolls around and skoots all over the floor
• refuses a bottle
• is eating lots of different baby food, but likes the greens the best.
• still makes my heart go pitter patter
  

First Week

This was the first week of school and I remembered to take pictures. It's been going really well, minus a couple of distractions (namingly Ben anc dh).

Before we start our school day, I make sure we do all the things we would if we were going to school: brush teeth, get dressed, make beds, etc. I had Ca put his pillows and animals on his bed for me. This is how he did it. He's a bit anal.

On our first day, we drew pictures of our daddy. Z added the whole family to his picture.

I'm not sure that Ca's understanding all of the lessons, but he is being included and he's having fun. He is understanding at least half. He knows that God made the world, now, anyway. The first time I asked him, he claimed, HE did.

For our first day, the boys got a present from their daddy. Batman masks.

Zane LOVES his.

Today, we had our first homeschooler-preschooler-co-op (we can't come up with a name). Look at how intensely the kids are listening. Meems did a great job!

Tomorrow is going to be our first day of "school." I've got my lesson plan ready and all my crafts and illustrations. I'm really excited about it. Some of the material might be a little over Ca's head, but I think he'll get a majority of it. I'm not too worried about it because I figure next year, we can just do it again or find a different preschool curriculum. I'm mainly looking forward to having some structure in our day. I think the kids will be happier, too. Less fighting. And maybe . . . just maybe . . . they"ll both be so tired, they'll nap. I think the hardest part will be keeping B entertained while we work. He's a good baby, but still likes to be entertained.

School Fever

All this back to school stuff has been inspiring. My sis gave me a homeschool curriculum for prek/k and I think it'll work perfectly for my boys. I thought about waiting a while, but the lessons seem simple enough that I think I could do it now. It's set up to do 3 days a week. So we'll be doing that, MOPS every other Friday, storytime at the library every other Tuesday, and then on Thursday, I have a standing date with a couple of other preschool moms. This is what I'm most excited about. I'm trying hide my enthusiasm as to not scare the other moms away, so I'll just play it cool. I'll say, "yeah, we're doing this thing. I think it'll be fun," when secretly, I've already been brain-storming my lessons and other ideas. We're meeting every Thurs afternoon and have a schedule of things we'll be doing. Once a month, we'll go to art Thurs (which is now free - big plus). Twice a month, one of us moms will teach a lesson. And once a month, we'll playdate. I think the thing I'm most excited about is these moms. They are some of my favorite people. For our own preschool, I've got that curriculum that sis gave me, hooked on phonics, hooked on handwriting, a math book from Sams, and I think I'm going to get hooked on Spanish. I'm not a hooked on salesman or anything, I've just recently found some good deals on them. I'll let you know what I think of them.

Bathroom Suggestions?

About a month ago, our new neighbors came over for dinner and I was allowed a tour of their house. I commented on how much I loved their shower curtain and if she got a new one, I wanted it. Well, she called last night and said she had gotten a new shower curtain and I could have her old one. I'm thrilled. Love it! Now, I need new towels. Ok, so we needed new towels anyway. Our towels are about 13 years old. But, I'm having a birthday coming up . . . hint, hint, mom. My question is, what color would I paint the walls? I think I'd want brown towels, but I'm open to suggestions on that, too. What do you think? PS if anyone wants our old one, you're welcome to it. It's white with sage leaves and yellow flowers. Very feminine.