Baby Boy Turns 11 Months

5/31/2018


This little boy is growing quickly. He's 11 months old now! He has some curl in his hair. He is the only one of our children so far that has the curl that is characteristic of my husband's side of the family.


To celebrate, he climbed up 3 stairs all by himself! Aaahh!


He has gotten his 8th tooth now. He chews on everything. And he wears an amber necklace that is supposed to help with the pain associated with teething.


He loves to wave at people. And he loves his daddy!

Happy 11 months, Little Mister! 

Trip to Wisconsin

5/30/2018

We recently took a trip to Wisconsin. Here are a few snaphots from the time with family.


Our whole crew squished into our van... along with our pet bird Skittles who journeyed with us!


Littlest man in a laundry basket. So sweet.





We paid a visit to Grandma June, who is now in a nursing home. We had a lovely visit with her. She, of course, enjoyed seeing the children.



It was very hot during our stay. The little kids spent time playing outside in Grandma's pool.


And some took a walk to the nearby park.


We visited my dad on the farm. 
Little guy found a guitar that was right at his level.

 

We took a ride in the four-wheeled Can Am, letting our 14-year-old daughter drive us!


Two of the kids playing around.


Just two camouflage lovebirds.


Back at my mom's place, my 4-year-old was helping quite a bit in the kitchen.


And eating leftover sprinkles.


And working alongside Grandma and big sister.


Here's my brother Brett, his wife Natasha, daughter Trinity and my two daughters together on the couch. 


And my littlest guy with Uncle Brian. 


My oldest daughter always enjoys Grandma time, whether baking together or doing nails or just tickling toes!


Grandma is a great storyteller and book-reader. 

Another fun visit with family in Wisconsin!

Field Trip: Air Zoo

5/11/2018


Recently our entire family traveled to Kalamazoo, Michigan to the Air Zoo. This was part of a field trip coordinated by our homeschool co-op, so we enjoyed the day's attractions with many other friends.


After the front desk to pay, you walk "through the clouds" into the museum.



My oldest daughter loved the painted mural that surrounds the main room. 


Beautiful and so detailed!


And imaginative!


My little girl loved the rides. 
These were like carnival/fair rides, but inside. 


This was an individual ride. Still fun. 


My oldest daughter rode too. Silly!


My son liked the military planes and paraphernalia.


There was an exhibit on NASA and space exploration too.


Daddy showing the little boys the big planes.


There were models of hundreds of planes and real-sized replicas of a few dozen. You could spend hours looking at each one and studying the details.


One of the big planes painted so fancy. 


I was glad that the museum was kid-friendly. They had an activity area for the little ones to get some energy out. More beautiful sky-themed murals throughout that area also.


My baby boy sat with me at the gate of the rides, watching the older kids enjoying it all.


And everyone was exhausted at the end of the day.

Thumbs up for the Air Zoo!

PS: Our family visited the Air Zoo 7 years ago. It's fun to look back at the pictures of the kids. Here is my blog post about that visit.

My Boy Turns 10 Months

5/2/2018

This little boy is already 10 months old!


He sits. He crawls. He has 7 teeth.


He gets into our kitchen cabinets and explores.


And Grandma's cabinets too!

And he likes to explore boxes too.


He regularly sleeps 12 hours at night and takes 1 daytime nap. He eats like a champ, taking lots of table food and baby food purees. 


He has lots of fun now with his brothers. Wherever they go, he's gonna go!


Never a dull moment with 4 older siblings to constantly watch or follow!

He's a happy guy now that he's spending more time outside too. Loves that spring has sprung!

Happy 10 months, Mr. Man!

Farm Adventure Field Trip

5/1/2018



Recently we went on a Farm Adventure field trip. 




The children had a blast walking among the chickens and feeding them bread and corn.


My older daughter enjoyed having a little chick in her hand... very similar to her life at home with our tamed parakeet in her hand/on her shoulder.

We had a campfire with a lunch of hot dogs and smores. 
We also scrambled up fresh eggs to eat. 
There was a playground and sandbox that the little ones enjoyed immensely in the warm summer sun. 

Having grown up on a farm, I now forget that my children don't have all of the animal experiences that were so common for me. 
Yeehaw for a farm field trip!