Baby #6 is a ...

We enjoy finding out the gender of our babies while they are in the womb.

We've found out for 5 of our 6 kids.

Matthew, our 3rd, was the only exception.  We figured that we had a girl and a boy, so we didn't mind not knowing so much since we had all the stuff for either gender.

But, after not finding out, we decided that we like knowing ahead of time so we can stop calling the baby "it".  ;) 

We like two surprises.  One half way through and one at the end. 

Anyway, that's what we like to do, so if you're opposed to people finding out...don't continue on with this post because I'm going to spoil the surprise.  ;)

Emilia's "Faces of History" presentation for Classical Conversations (video)

Emilia (10 years old - 5th Grade) recently finished her Classical Conversations Faces of History presentation for Cycle 3 - American History.

She wrote a five paragraph essay and then prepared this speech.  

The goal was to give enough information that others could guess who she was, but no one knew.  

 

We picked someone that isn't well-known.  

 

She learned a ton and had fun in the process! 

You can watch her presentation below if you're interested.

Essentials Class 2014/15 "Faces of History" Cycle 3

Cutest 1 Year Old Rendition of "Everybody Wants to be a Cat"

Our oldest two kids are practicing for a play called The AristoCats.

They regularly break out into song and dance, so much so that their little sister has learned part of their performance.  

She's just too cute.  :)

Laughing Lydia (Video)

She is so fun...

And She Laughs! (Video)

Jonny loves Lydia!  

 

She doesn't think he's so bad either.  :)

Our Week and Tommy Turns 3!

We had an enjoyable week around the time Tommy turned 3 years old.

He learned how to ride a 2 wheel bike a couple days before he turned 3.  My husband, Nate, was the instigator.  He saw that Tommy could balance really well on his Razor scooter, so he figured it was time to teach him.  

Nate has taught all of our kids how to ride their 2 wheel bikes.  It's not an easy thing to run behind the bike while bending over!  I'm glad he enjoys teaching them how to do it.  I'll stick to math and literature.  Nate can have the bike training experiences.  :)

Click on this link to see Tommy riding his bike.

We also took at trip to the zoo with my in-laws.
We are now official zoo membership people.  Figured it was time since it will only take two trips to the zoo as a family to spend more than the membership.  So, friends who also have memberships, let me know if you want to go together!

Tommy is 3!

But pretty much any time you ask him how old he is, he says, 

"I'm 7."

He makes us laugh!  Love you my little 3 year old.  :)

That same day, we took a trip to the beach.  It was SOOO hot!  The kids had a great time playing in the freezing cold water.  

I may have sat on the beach wishing for a non-existent breeze...  ;)

Thankful!

How to Teach a 2 Year Old to Fold Clothes (Video)

Tell your kids to fold clothes while you're taking a shower.

When you come out, you may find that the older sister has decided she needs all the help she can get.  :)

Boy or Girl?? Video Announcement!

Video - Checking on the Sap Buckets

Randomness

* I'll be participating in the 4th Annual Not Back to School Blog Hop through Heart of the Matter Online.

* My children will be attending (and I will be helping out with) our church's version of vacation Bible school.  We call it "Kids' Worship Arts Camp".  The kids will be learning and putting on an entire musical - set design, drama, crafts, photography, etc.  They did a great job last year.  I'm excited for what this year will bring!

* Thinking I should attend this Global Home Education Conference.  It's close - just a short trip...across the ocean to Germany.  ;)  Tried to tell my hubby I should go.  He just said, "uh huh," or something equally noncommittal.  But really, how amazing would that be?  Uniting with other homeschoolers from all over the globe... What a life changing opportunity!

* Speaking of "global" events...we've been watching some of the Olympics most evenings.  The human body is capable of unbelievable strength and endurance!  The gymnasts are incredible.

* Matthew was feeling patriotic this morning so I videoed him with his little flag saying the Pledge of Allegiance (I noticed that he had his left hand over his heart while I was videoing, but it was just too cute to correct him until after his recitation was over).  Funny thing is that when we'd say the Pledge each morning at the beginning of last year for school, he said it perfectly.  We obviously haven't said it recently (sounds like he said, "9 States of America" ;) )...but I have to say, I adore the mistakes!  I love his sweet little voice!  

Fun with Flashcards (video)

It's hard to multiply by counting on your fingers ("3x6 is...hold on...1,2,3...4,5,6...7,8,9..."), so we finally brought out the flashcards.  It's time to memorize.

She wasn't too thrilled about memorizing math facts until Jonny got involved.

Maybe she needed the competition?   I'm just glad they're learning and having fun in the process!

I have to add that we tried this again today (not the videoing part, but the jumping and memorizing part), but it did not go so well.  Sometimes she wants the competition and sometimes she gets bugged at the competition.  So, today they took turns saying the answers.

Every day is so different! 

Brother Love (Videos)

Matthew Rides a 2 Wheeler! (video)

Matthew turned 4 and can finally ride his 2 wheel bike!  He's pretty happy about this.  :)

A Rare Moment (Video)

It's rare when there is a silent daytime moment at our house. Today, it was so quiet (for a minute or two) that I could hear the wind whistling outside.   I had forgotten that one could hear the wind during the day.  :)

 (And yes, that is Jonny not wearing a shirt (or socks) in our frigid house.) 

Now this is Winter!

I declared a Snow Day for our homeschool today.  It's hard to concentrate on reading, writing, and sums when THIS appears overnight!  Quite a bit different than just seven days ago.  It's been such a mild winter so far. 

I shared this good news with the children.

"We're going to have a Snow Day today!"

They looked outside and then at me with a confused expression.  "Yeah, we know."

Pretty sure they thought their mother was losing it.  Yes mother, we can see that it is a snowy day out there. 

Once I explained what "Snow Day" meant ("We're not going to do school stuff today!"), they were super excited.  Oh these homeschooled kids...(shaking head).  ;)

Here's the CORRECT response to "It's a Snow Day!"

Emilia decided we needed to make "snow cream".

Tommy's face cracks me up.  He really was delightful this morning, but apparently not at this exact moment.  :)

It's been a laid back, relaxed kind of a day. 

I think they're going to be begging for "Snow Days" with each snowfall.  :)

Tommy Talk (video)

Must be tough having 5 people who think you're absolutely adorable.  :) 

Emilia, The Baker (Videos!)

Emilia (7) has been learning how to bake some mean chocolate chip cookies.  

Here are some cute clips from her first attempt at baking them all by herself.

Would you like a cookie?  ;)

Linking up for "Teaching Children to Cook" on May 31, 2012 to Smockity Frocks.
and on March 5, 2013 to

Tommy Update (with video!)

Tommy now insists on feeding himself.  :)

And he started walking!  (Pretty sure he's already learned how to shoot a gun...)  

He's so much fun!