tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18250265734497331172024-02-19T07:06:57.105-06:00The Swinigan Daily DramaHeather S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03206422816795019117noreply@blogger.comBlogger556125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825026573449733117.post-57933042988047259962013-06-30T20:15:00.000-05:002013-06-30T20:36:43.441-05:00New BlogI have been sort of irritated with blogger recently. It is probably because I have not been on here enough to mess around with some of the changes blogger made (awhile ago). I have thought about switching to Wordpress for awhile. . . and thought maybe switching things up a bit would be enough to get me blogging again. We'll see! I transferred all of my posts from this blog to the new one - that way everything is still all in one place!<br />
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<a href="http://theswinigans.wordpress.com/">Here</a> is the link to our new blog! See you there!<br />
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And just for fun. . . . a preview of a post to come on the new blog.<br />
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Heather S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03206422816795019117noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825026573449733117.post-13262912637206628492013-05-01T16:09:00.002-05:002013-05-01T16:09:57.504-05:00Happy 7th Birthday, Lucy Mae!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lucy turns 7 today! Wow! Thinking back to this time 7 years ago, I am so very thankful for her sweet little life. She had to fight a little harder than most full term babies, but thankfully, God breathed life into her when no one else knew what was going on. Here is a </span><a href="http://theswinigans.blogspot.com/2008/05/happy-birthday-lucy.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">post</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I wrote about her birth.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do you know the book </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-5-Love-Languages-Children/dp/0802403476/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_y"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman?</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Lucy is the only one of the three that has 2 distinct love languages. For Norah we can sort of pick one out (and I can tell you a couple that she is definitely not) and we haven't been able to identify one for Daphne for sure yet. Without a doubt, her love languages are acts of service and physical touch. She is constantly hugging (or hanging) on whomever is nearest to her. She wants to sit RIGHT next to her sisters on the couch or link arms/hold hands when they are walking. Physical touch is not mine or Norah's - so this is really hard for us to take sometimes. She is also the first of the three girls to offer to do something helpful or to just do it as a surprise. Several times in the last couple of weeks, Lucy has picked up the basement all by herself while the rest of us were busy doing something else. She also is the first to offer to help one of her sisters with their chores so the job goes more quickly. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lucy is pretty easy to describe - she has a pretty enthusiastic, intense, passionate personality. Every characteristic that describes Lucy. . . REALLY describes her intensely. She is a happy, go-lucky kid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
loves intensely. She plays passionately. She hugs intensely. She even fights passionately.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lucy is taking a dance class and a drama class right now - which are obviously great classes for a child with a passionate personality! ha! She pretends, dances, and sings all day long! Getting school work done with Lucy each can be. . . . entertaining. She tends to read or answer questions with an accent of some sort. It is often an English accent, or sometimes Australian. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">It is crazy to think how quickly the last 7 years have gone. We are excited to see what God has planned for her life as she continues to grow!</span><br />
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Heather S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03206422816795019117noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825026573449733117.post-35889006954309019282013-04-28T17:00:00.000-05:002013-05-01T15:18:56.926-05:00Silver Dollar City World FestWe are almost done with <a href="http://www.mfwbooks.com/products/M50/40/10/0/1">My Father's World Exploring Countries and Cultures </a>(technically we could be done by now, but we are going to do one big ocean unit to finish our our world geography study). The girls really enjoyed learning about the continents, a number of countries on those continents, and the various people groups living in those countries. What better way to end our study than with a visit to Silver Dollar City during their World Fest Celebration? <br />
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My parents came with us . . . which always helps with keeping track of the kids! Friday was a nasty dreary day - it literally rained the ENTIRE day. We were hoping to get to SDC as soon as we arrived in Branson, but as hard as it was raining, we had to wait. The girls were dying to go by Saturday morning. It was lightly raining but we decided to head out anyway. It basically rained off and on all morning - and it was pretty chilly, but we made the best of it. We did whatever we could inside - and did a couple of rides once it stopped raining. <br />
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The Argentina Show</div>
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A favorite of the girls - the elephants!</div>
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Island of Fire</div>
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Kevin and my dad braved the old barn swing. They tried to get Norah to go, but she wasn't interested.</div>
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<span id="goog_703506721"></span><span id="goog_703506722"></span>This was definitely a great way to end our great study of world countries and cultures! I would highly recommend it! Silver Dollar City is such a clean, family-friendly amusement park! </div>
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My parents left on Sunday morning - they have a much longer drive than we do. We headed back to Silver Dollar City for a few more hours of fun! </div>
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We can't wait to come back! Yay for season tickets!</div>
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Heather S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03206422816795019117noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825026573449733117.post-56840120290938489422013-04-25T21:08:00.000-05:002013-04-25T21:08:11.770-05:00Happy 9th Birthday, Norah Rae!(seriously, I get later and later on these birthday posts. urgh)<br />
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(picture by Kelsey Aberle)</div>
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Norah turned 9 on March 23. It seems like yesterday that God gave us this teeny little thing with spiky brown hair. You can go <a href="http://theswinigans.blogspot.com/2008/03/happy-4th-birthday-norah.html">here </a>to see pictures of her as a baby. She was such a little peanut!<br />
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Norah is definitely growing up. . . it is so crazy! We are full swing in the tween years - she is not a little kid anymore, but obviously (thankfully) not a teenager yet. Some days she enjoys playing with dolls or pretending with her sisters, other days, she thinks she is too grown up for that stuff. Plus, we are already seeing some of the emotions/drama that go along with having teenage girls. Ha!<br />
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Norah LOVES to read - we literally cannot keep enough books around for her. She gets so lost in every book that she reads and is always so disappointed when the story is over. I love it! She also loves to create anything - from jewelry, to sewing projects, to paintings, to clay projects. You name it - she can create with it! <br />
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Norah started taking piano lessons a year ago January and she is doing fantastic! I know I am biased, but even her piano teacher says she is doing amazingly well. She loves it for one thing, but also her tendency to be a perfectionist has really helped her to grow and learn very quickly. Now, sometimes I do have to insist that she steps away from the piano and do something else for awhile. She wants every song to be perfect every week. She also spends a lot of time making up her own little songs! <br />
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Norah is really enjoying her<a href="http://www.lifelightyouththeatre.com/"> Lifelight Youth Theater</a> drama class. She was SO shy/quiet for so long! Even 2 years ago, we would never have guessed that she would want to be in a drama class that puts on a play at the end of the year. It has been so good for her and she loves it!<br />
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We have hit a point with school with Norah where things are relatively easy. The work itself isn't always easy, but Norah is a very hardworker so she concentrates and really focuses well until things are complete. It makes teaching her much easier than it was even a year or so ago. She does a lot of independent work while I work with Lucy and Daphne - she loves the independent work. I make her a list everyday and she seems to find pleasure in crossing each item off her list - she must get that from my mom and sister!<br />
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At Norah's well child visit, she was 49 inches tall. I realize that she is not tall - she is still only in the 5th%, but she is only 1 foot shorter than me - that is crazy! <br />
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We studied world cultures this year. Norah loved learning about different people groups and really has a heart to help those who are less fortunate. We pray that she always feels this way and that God will use her to do good for those in need. <br />
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We are so thankful God gave us Norah and we are excited to see what He has planned for her as she continues to grow and mature! <br />
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(headbands by <a href="http://etsy.com/shop/heresthediehl">Here's the Diehl</a>)</div>
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Heather S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03206422816795019117noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825026573449733117.post-70802484134669314812013-02-05T21:16:00.000-06:002013-02-05T21:16:09.841-06:00Happy 4th Birthday, Daphne Jane!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Happy Birthday!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Wow. 4. My baby is not a baby anymore. . . and she likes to remind us that she is NOT a baby. She is a big girl. I am thankful to report that Daphne is a happy, funny, entertaining little girl. Three months ago, I probably would not have described her this way (honestly, I would have said that she was a semi-grumpy, always tired, and easily frustrated child). Daphne spent about 15 months of her little life (from 2.5 - 3.75 years old) not napping and not sleeping at night. We were going crazy with exhaustion and no one seemed to know what was going on with her. She was sick a lot - ear infections, coughs, sinus infections, etc, but nothing seemed like that big of a deal. Crazy long story short, Daphne ended up having her tonsils and adenoids removed in October. It was a rough surgery and recovery, but we are finally almost 3 months post surgery and Daphne is a totally different little girl. She cracks us up. Her goal every day is to make us laugh. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Milestones from this year:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1. The biggest one is that Daphne actually sleeps through the night most nights. I really never thought this would be a 4 year old milestone!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2. Daphne is taking ballet and gymnastics and loves them both. She is always walking around in her tiptoes and twirling. She is more outgoing than Norah or Lucy were at this age. . . she actually talks to her teachers! ha! She is also doing forward rolls all over the house.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">3. Daphne has suddenly become a good eater. I am sure this is related to the tonsils coming out, but hey, I will take it! She loves fruit. . . LOVES it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">4. Daphne can spell her name out loud and can basically write it. Watching her concentrate as she goes through one letter at a time is so cute!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">5. She is not our tv kid. She would much rather play and pretend than watch tv.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">6. She is always pretending and talking to imaginary people. . . I always think she is talking to someone, but usually no one real.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">7. Daphne is FINALLY back on the growth chart - barely, but she is there! She weighs 28 pounds and is 39 inches tall. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Funny things Daphne has said or done:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1. <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Daphne has an issue with worrying about what her sisters are doing. If Lucy makes a mess, she insists on telling Lucy what to do and telling me. We are constantly reminding Daphne to worry about Daphne - and not anyone else. So, today as she is tattling on Lucy, I asked her, "Who are you suppose to worry about?" She said, "Lucy and Norah."</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">2. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Daphne (showing me a card with a picture of the Nativity on it): Mom, look! We got a Christmas card from Mary and Joseph! I bet Jesus sent it to us!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">3. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Driving home from Morton -</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">Daphne: Mom, look! Bears! Lots of bears.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">Me: Umm, Daphne, those are cows.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">Daphne: I'm sure they are bears.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">4. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">While I was attempting to clean up glitter from a project the girls did earlier today, Daphne literally stuck her face in my pile. She had glitter all over. . .on her eyebrows, lips, even up her nose. She was in the bathroom rinsing it off before I could get out the camera.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">5. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Mom, do I look like Captain Minnie? Cause I'm her. Really, I am!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">6. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Dear God, Please help me to like mommy and daddy. Help me to stay in bed all night and not wake mommy and daddy until sun comes up. Help me not wake Norah, Lucy and myself. Help me not go downstairs and look around when mom and dad are still sleeping. Help me like mom and dad. Amen.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">7. Daphne is SO loud - seriously, I had the doctor check her ears because I thought maybe she can't hear. The doctor said her ears are fine - meaning, it is probably a behavior thing. Tonight, Norah told Daphne that she didn't have to be so loud all the time. Daphne shouts at the top of her lungs, "But I LOVE to be loud!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">8. Daphne never really told anyone that she was three. She spent most of the last year telling people she was some random age - age 18 and 85 seemed to be her favorite. Funny thing - she now says that she is four and gets mad when the girls say she is anything other than that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Daphne is definitely a happy little girl who adores her sisters and loves life. She has been tell me recently that she "loves everything and everyone in the whole world!" We pray that her love for others never fades and that she will always show others the Jesus has for them, too!</span></div>
Heather S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03206422816795019117noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825026573449733117.post-59739110855489361812012-09-13T22:08:00.001-05:002012-09-13T22:08:11.818-05:00Dry SpellIt has been so long since my last post . . . and apparently Blogger has made some changes. It took me about 5 minutes to figure out how to actually begin a new post. Ooops. While I realize I may not have any readers left out there. . .well, other than my parents. Who knows? Maybe they gave up on me too! <br />
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Just a few quick points because I can't possibly recap the last 5 months!<br />
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1. We had a great summer. It went by very quickly, but we a lot more hang out time this year than the last couple of summers. We took a mini-vacation with my family to the Lake of the Ozarks. The weather was beautiful and my 31 year old brother is the only one who ended up with a sun burn. We took turns planning meals, and I must say, we are great cooks!
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Umm, yes, my brother did bring his juice extractor and his kitchen aid mixer. I mean, who doesn't?</div>
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Had to throw in this picture. Just looking for sympathy - this is what Daphne has been like for about the last year. This is what happens when you give up naps at 2 years old. </div>
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2. We got a dog. This was a big step for me. . . the girls had been begging. Kevin was totally okay with it. I was the last one on board. I have to say, we couldn't have ended up with a better dog. Hugo is such a sweet, calm dog. He is 5 so he was totally house trained and the only thing he chewed up was a plastic pear. I think maybe he thought it was real! Ha! The funniest thing is that he follows me everywhere. No, I mean, EVERYWHERE. If you know me, you know that I NEVER sit down for more than 5 minutes until about 8 p.m. I go up and down the stairs about 100 times a day and Hugo follows me. Every once in a while we will be in the basement and I realized I forgot to print something off for school. I will run up 2 flights of stairs to grab something out of the printer and run back down. And, yes, Hugo follows me even then. The girls and Kevin are totally jealous. Kevin often tells Hugo that I was the last one on board! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP3d3kP4fXv4_SgN3Yv8cSWCeE-NNxZ_dp6E03nsCU6V95f8QUweU6CKi3CTDoXugkAnqGUNKG94mBVwGMXdrawbju5xd0pQ49OBhyphenhyphen9tvrlBjt71fGpHQsgV5uaH_Ysm1iSWiU_twbPuU/s1600/IMG_6867-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP3d3kP4fXv4_SgN3Yv8cSWCeE-NNxZ_dp6E03nsCU6V95f8QUweU6CKi3CTDoXugkAnqGUNKG94mBVwGMXdrawbju5xd0pQ49OBhyphenhyphen9tvrlBjt71fGpHQsgV5uaH_Ysm1iSWiU_twbPuU/s320/IMG_6867-001.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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3. School got off to a great start. I hope to blog about what we are doing this year at a later date. . . but don't get your hopes up! Norah is doing great. She is goal oriented so she works very hard to get everything accomplished carefully, but at a decent pace. Lucy is entertaining. She is doing well, but her goal seems to be to just make it through the day. She is not quite a careful - but she doesn't stress out about her school work. She loves her math - a girl after my own heart! Daphne is enjoying the fact that I actually have something prepared for her about 3 days a week. The 2 days that I don't, she begs for school! She, however, is a perfectionist. Last week, she cried because the horse she drew didn't actually look like a real horse. I am not even kidding. She SOBBED. I kept telling her that hers looked great. Finally, I told her that 3 year old can't draw real horses. </div>
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4. We went apple picking last weekend. We went to a quaint, little orchard about 30 minutes from our house. It was perfect. The weather was great! It wasn't busy and there weren't a million other things to see and do. </div>
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As I said, I hope to be back at the blogging thing, but I can't promise anything. Life is just busy. Not in a bad way, just busy. </div>
<br />Heather S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03206422816795019117noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825026573449733117.post-85156099260481450012012-06-03T14:55:00.001-05:002012-06-03T14:55:17.478-05:00Happy 6th Birthday, Lucy Mae!Better late than never. . . .<br />
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Lucy turned 6 on May 1 and she finished kindergarten on May 10. This was a big and . . . interesting year for Lucy. Kevin and I have concluded that age 5 at our house tends to be a rough age. So far, we are 2 for 2 when it comes to the full passion and opinions of a 5 year old taking control of emotions at the Swinigan household (I am PRAYING that 5 is different for DJ). Anyway, Lucy has grown a lot, but despite some rough patches, she is a very happy, go-lucky kid. She LOVES and LIVES passionately. Everything that Lucy does is BIG. When she is crafting, there is stuff everywhere. . . literally falling off the table because every square inch of the table is full. When she plays - whether dressing up, playing Barbies, etc - things are everywhere. . . .and she uses everything that she gets out. When she eats, she eats big - food and crumbs are everywhere. When she paints - there is paint everywhere on her, the floor, the table. . . everywhere!<br />
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Lucy has a huge heart when it comes to those she loves. She is the first to give up a toy to make her sisters happy. She always wants to make (or buy) things for other people. She enjoys helping out - especially when it comes to jobs/chores that seem too big for her. She just wants to try. <br />
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School was a big change for Lucy this year. While homeschooling is all Lucy has ever seen, doing the work that I expected was sometimes a challenge. She has no problems doing schoolwork if it is all fun and games, but as soon as something is hard - she panics. Lucy has done fantastic this year - she has picked up math incredibly fast and is doing a great job with her reading. My goal this summer is to have her read something everyday just to build her confidence - she can do it, she just doesn't think she can.<br />
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Lucy played soccer and while she is not overly aggressive, she did really well. She picks up the skills quickly and she had a blast!!<br />
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How did Lucy go from this (spring 2007). . . </div>
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We are so thankful for Lucy's life - for her passion and personality! I pray that God uses her passion to touch the hearts of those around her. I look forward to another year of excitement with Lucy!!Heather S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03206422816795019117noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825026573449733117.post-79691863082655762522012-06-03T14:23:00.001-05:002012-06-03T14:23:42.833-05:00A Day in Forest ParkAfter a week of crazy hot temperatures, we had several days of beautiful 65-75 degree weather. Not typical for June in St. Louis, but we will take it! With perfect temperatures, we wanted to get the girls to the zoo. Our spring was so busy, I think this is just our third trip this year!!! Gasp! <br />
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We went to church last night so we could head to the zoo first thing this morning. We left the house around 7:30, grabbed breakfast at Panera Bread, and headed to Forest Park. The zoo was not busy this morning at all - it was so nice! We spent about 4 hours at the zoo when we could tell the girls had hit a wall. They were hungry and tired so we headed to the car.<br />
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We packed lunches to eat while we were still in Forest Park - this was met with some resistance until the girls saw where we were eating. We spread out blankets and parked it on Art Hill. The girls ate quickly and then ran up and down the hill - completely wearing themselves out (although no on napped on the way home). <br />
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The lion looked as if he was posing for us!! </div>
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DJ had to have her sunglasses on - she panicked if she couldn't find them!</div>
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I think the peacock was the highlight of the day - AMAZING! He would turn one direction for people to get pictures and then he would slowly turn the other way - as if he was modeling or something. </div>
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You may notice that there are no pictures of Lucy on the carousel. She, ummm, freaks out on the carousel - always has. We make her ride, but I sat with her on a bench. </div>
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Typical train ride.</div>
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Picnic on Art Hill </div>
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While I am still in denial that Daphne gave up her naps so early, it is nice that we don't have to rush home so we don't mess up her nap time. The girls are anxious to go back and spend more time in Forest Park!!Heather S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03206422816795019117noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825026573449733117.post-74582072527776742282012-04-27T21:39:00.001-05:002012-04-27T21:40:18.205-05:00Rainbow Birthday Party!!While the girls don't have friend birthday parties every year - we always have birthday parties with our families. As the first born, Norah has had several but (other than first birthdays) she is the only one. Lucy has been asking to have a party for several months now, so we decided to have a birthday party for her this year. I threw out some theme ideas - tea party, Pinkalicious, camping, etc. She didn't like any of those ideas - I should have known she already had her own idea. Lucy wanted a rainbow party. At first I wasn't sure how I would make that work - but after some encouragement from facebook friends and some ideas on Pinterest, I knew a rainbow party could be really fun. The only problem - I couldn't do all the cute ideas - which ones do I try to recreate. I started by asking my friend, Sara, to do the <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/97621823/rainbow-birthday-party-invitation-with">birthday invitation.</a> She did a great job!! (Seriously, people, if you need birthday invites, Christmas cards, birth announcements, etc, check out her great designs!!!)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHFx-ASipg-VsEpYeLD7a4IXS49_4a-cODimFFwMYX2qwpgYuwvn-9qk2uukiRs9EpV-D0wtZwM68V4_BmeG_IBxfdRwd-f36UE_sJjc3cjAuVL9NNGZCKGECnSlP5tF0MHHHEHOF0OjE/s1600/IMG_6078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHFx-ASipg-VsEpYeLD7a4IXS49_4a-cODimFFwMYX2qwpgYuwvn-9qk2uukiRs9EpV-D0wtZwM68V4_BmeG_IBxfdRwd-f36UE_sJjc3cjAuVL9NNGZCKGECnSlP5tF0MHHHEHOF0OjE/s320/IMG_6078.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Balloon Garland came from<a href="http://www.designmom.com/2011/05/balloon-banner-diy/"> here.</a></div>
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I saw this ribbon decoration <a href="http://diy.weddingbee.com/topic/ribbon-pomander-centerpieces">here. </a> I loved it and knew Lucy would too!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi16gaglli0A4xQN9mdLdsFM4An4fFize2xzUTXifI9PXXiPfyqd4W0MfZjVh67uFIujVyBRGBR6W3aVFXNobdTNmiOcOCJPphg7yHEgSKt-1Do2WVoJYDIEXMz7fbgIx1UVD0ed8_ytjY/s1600/IMG_6087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi16gaglli0A4xQN9mdLdsFM4An4fFize2xzUTXifI9PXXiPfyqd4W0MfZjVh67uFIujVyBRGBR6W3aVFXNobdTNmiOcOCJPphg7yHEgSKt-1Do2WVoJYDIEXMz7fbgIx1UVD0ed8_ytjY/s320/IMG_6087.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc2zCScqYYJX5zSIk1NmcmkLV0ztnVkCGO688es6IVfuB4kbtjVbmgQt7OWtWnHyl8zJigSAA8AB01G6FEYYTN7PGBtxa_5HHs_Z1HQI8Mua8PVAnhYF-xyVOuYay36JjSJ3BQo0dzIqM/s1600/IMG_6128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc2zCScqYYJX5zSIk1NmcmkLV0ztnVkCGO688es6IVfuB4kbtjVbmgQt7OWtWnHyl8zJigSAA8AB01G6FEYYTN7PGBtxa_5HHs_Z1HQI8Mua8PVAnhYF-xyVOuYay36JjSJ3BQo0dzIqM/s320/IMG_6128.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The rainbow cupcakes came from <a href="http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/05/colorburst-cupcakes/">here.</a> I was just experimenting when I made the frosting. I prefer the cupcakes with more white icing and just a little bit of color, but as I got to the end of my bag of frosting, the color came out thicker. </div>
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I debated over drinks for the girls. I saw several ideas about getting different colored drinks, but with only 12 girls, I didn't want all the sugary drink leftover. I ended up buying sugar free packets of kool-aid. I mixed up each color and poured them in ice cube trays. I made lemonade, too. I thought is was really fun to see the girls faces light up when they saw the colored ice cubes - and as their lemonade changed colors.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMzoEt2EP3l-ZgdV41A9YnN8gdKnc0Cvod58MgijdFGaPhyphenhyphenBKDRpYDH23b37jlDfix2SyE7MHeVJc_kZhNI59rltTMtXPAJIVTS6OQSAZ2AQnWMmlnW0Z_qY1hHLbKwurtzrqxG3zCpv0/s1600/IMG_6126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMzoEt2EP3l-ZgdV41A9YnN8gdKnc0Cvod58MgijdFGaPhyphenhyphenBKDRpYDH23b37jlDfix2SyE7MHeVJc_kZhNI59rltTMtXPAJIVTS6OQSAZ2AQnWMmlnW0Z_qY1hHLbKwurtzrqxG3zCpv0/s320/IMG_6126.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
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Here's the birthday girl!! I can't believe she is going to be 6 this week!!!! AHHH! </div>
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While this week was CRAZY with soccer and Boot Camp Challenge and this weekend is CRAZY with more soccer and more Boot Camp Challenge, I knew today was the best day to fit in her party. The girls seemed to enjoy themselves and Lucy was THRILLED to finally have a friend party!! Her actual birthday is Tuesday - I will post more about Lucy then!!Heather S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03206422816795019117noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825026573449733117.post-7429076224970861102012-04-14T20:52:00.003-05:002012-04-14T21:15:26.949-05:00The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree<div style="text-align: center;"><span ><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Below you will find 2 pictures. . . 2 very different pictures. One shelf belongs to Lucy and one belongs to Norah. Based on the types of books, you would know that the first picture is Lucy's and the second is Norah's.</div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWKntQXpMFNZKUbORegJIUbVlI-rbO4gKO3q4_6mfCwkuHP5poSOnUEDPAP8_pke1jBuySJZPzPxQAyT4kOH-8lmou9BU5vnakBXZb822F5Oc7Y9BSpVTYoaswnRkCCG9ARLN03Y1zq34/s320/IMG_6077.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731439874053982754" /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKIl8fOWBCOTOMUmvxTuJYBuVs29L62jAvyHlBqvh57Hhx91x_3ULidtoJeTShlrF8IsYWDXohO9qAnPIAldheoMStA-YdgUUQN2_TZiu44CB6L1DriMruVRJ5WZGhROQlg1pCLSSBPWg/s320/IMG_6076.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731439861539765842" /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">This gives you a little clue about their personalities. I don't know if it is a first born thing or not, but Norah prefers to keep things straightened up and organized. Lucy, as evidenced in the picture, is the EXACT opposite. You will find her shoes and socks all over the house - she leaves them wherever she drops them. If she is writing/drawing with markers - she will leave everything out in the exact same spot until she is told to put it away. When she does her school work, she leaves everything out all over the place.</span></span><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKFWvnS8pzmDXVjxxWCS7NNoW5TpaXHBa6Bmn1SHgBLhiD53hrhKAnomhOncTdJ60iGubLUhBS-vpVCbc9i7tKXkNy8ewDegqnKybwZ3P3Fuq8Hj338NalnVxCm7hl52hSl-WY2i9eR0E/s320/IMG_6059-001.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731445198810915266" /><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Looking at the shelf makes me chuckle - well, drives me a little bit crazy, but also makes me chuckle. Why? She is so much like me. Most of you who have regular contact with me and see my house may not believe it. I try very hard to to keeps things organized and clean. . . but the inner slob of my childhood is often fighting to come out. My parents and certain friends from high school will remember what my bedroom looked like. . . my friend, Janelle, often came over and helped me clean my room so I could actually go out for the evening.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">I still leave my shoes all over the house. If I am at the table and I kick my shoes off, I will leave them right there until I need them again. If I am in the basement doing school with the kids and I take them off, I leave them right there. All this to say, while Lucy has always favored Kevin in looks and actions - this one thing, I can claim because Kevin is more like Norah. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">I will help Lucy fix the shelf, but it won't stay straightened and I will continue to get a kick out of it every time I walk by it. </div>Heather S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03206422816795019117noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825026573449733117.post-86443733041705622422012-04-14T20:39:00.003-05:002012-04-14T20:52:37.222-05:00Happy Easter 2012<div>I don't have a lot of pictures from Easter this year. The girls were not super cooperative at the same time - or at all. I am so glad that Easter is not about dresses, shoes, or pictures. I am thankful for the day set aside to celebrate the resurrection of my Savior. </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0lDmIhJwTcQLlJ7NLdhB3xY9L9Aafo7GD_BuHkhmjkD5K3b_7dQ0zQ6pWpmDlMoWsJh4TgbziViBq8ZTGl0v3uivJJ3V0e7U6sez2Chyphenhyphen6BP6Fo3Nij00zx2xqiKFqEp9eEIquzc8NrtU/s1600/IMG_6037.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0lDmIhJwTcQLlJ7NLdhB3xY9L9Aafo7GD_BuHkhmjkD5K3b_7dQ0zQ6pWpmDlMoWsJh4TgbziViBq8ZTGl0v3uivJJ3V0e7U6sez2Chyphenhyphen6BP6Fo3Nij00zx2xqiKFqEp9eEIquzc8NrtU/s320/IMG_6037.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731438403595558834" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ZOTJTmN6jF749VUc4EpX0dlpAWSz0PRgPU8Q1VBjYE4E2mj-T3GUVfIQ46qEi_9Ccx5liWBhqxJgh7vffQsHas9RsVoYK2Z-5U9q81wl1bcsVICzZVI8r7UY4Jf6knbEubng3Sk9a_w/s1600/IMG_6054.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ZOTJTmN6jF749VUc4EpX0dlpAWSz0PRgPU8Q1VBjYE4E2mj-T3GUVfIQ46qEi_9Ccx5liWBhqxJgh7vffQsHas9RsVoYK2Z-5U9q81wl1bcsVICzZVI8r7UY4Jf6knbEubng3Sk9a_w/s320/IMG_6054.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731438394006270498" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn2gwDZ5lGKshaWORvBTJiApE4MzxFU84gHlCpATXOXp34eIjvLbiob5m6cj9TkbmIoIY92YoY4LvX_30CgQCyrptrbDx27e4s_DVDWc-uH_iVywHXZdxHcWrDIcDdlw3f1QNhKVkwqxY/s1600/IMG_6061-001.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 198px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn2gwDZ5lGKshaWORvBTJiApE4MzxFU84gHlCpATXOXp34eIjvLbiob5m6cj9TkbmIoIY92YoY4LvX_30CgQCyrptrbDx27e4s_DVDWc-uH_iVywHXZdxHcWrDIcDdlw3f1QNhKVkwqxY/s320/IMG_6061-001.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731438384729529090" /></a><br /><div><br /></div>Heather S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03206422816795019117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825026573449733117.post-20668795448001523072012-04-05T18:16:00.004-05:002012-04-05T18:26:49.386-05:00Museum Of Transportation<div>Several months ago, we bought a groupon to the St. Louis Museum of Transportation. It was about to expire (March 26th, I think) so we decided to use it on Norah's birthday. Kevin took the afternoon off and we met him there after a quick lunch at home. </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAr0XrQ0z6cX3zoL9BBKAPIoR86dp8enOsQs3d15w5j7XPJjn5YQSFlTD5kiY88vHgOKs-qzW8aZwd3LIDfpHf5_qFzZSHjotS2g2k4gYqnha1qvoHH9b2kMrfVbao5KWm4ADFq9KTH6c/s1600/IMG_5925.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAr0XrQ0z6cX3zoL9BBKAPIoR86dp8enOsQs3d15w5j7XPJjn5YQSFlTD5kiY88vHgOKs-qzW8aZwd3LIDfpHf5_qFzZSHjotS2g2k4gYqnha1qvoHH9b2kMrfVbao5KWm4ADFq9KTH6c/s320/IMG_5925.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728061283890329234" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYGZ5CBgua17Fue2N1-DM2QFkhyPW7AyxG4gHZKi0D0J-yVFlWYQ1CVp5ljDKjxHDejzy-kIW8zYJbRm1nKtelPvqrTvEwJIfC1XrlN-3oUDhhZ-bp4fMHAhV7ZWAwrZRH0DZUnUv_JhE/s1600/IMG_5922.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYGZ5CBgua17Fue2N1-DM2QFkhyPW7AyxG4gHZKi0D0J-yVFlWYQ1CVp5ljDKjxHDejzy-kIW8zYJbRm1nKtelPvqrTvEwJIfC1XrlN-3oUDhhZ-bp4fMHAhV7ZWAwrZRH0DZUnUv_JhE/s320/IMG_5922.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728061069839679538" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghaEHdckOJ2drchHFSJkJ2zH1NqIQszYtgMgpQxOx48AhEmAN_LzDjJRszSlerGTkWkJWLQIs8ZiQQILKMYNT3d_EadI2YV3PnjkwCiQN38GESvdVGvPnJon8Lgxf0GJzHC5BgYsyZoRM/s1600/IMG_5909.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghaEHdckOJ2drchHFSJkJ2zH1NqIQszYtgMgpQxOx48AhEmAN_LzDjJRszSlerGTkWkJWLQIs8ZiQQILKMYNT3d_EadI2YV3PnjkwCiQN38GESvdVGvPnJon8Lgxf0GJzHC5BgYsyZoRM/s320/IMG_5909.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728061062166881122" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1rXTit6shWDpayGgp_kkVbMyS4ULcjkj8zAb4PHiq8zJ8NAfzhed_VhNaWi5OZcOV6Z24_E1MteYjdl9yvZrAK85CxAYsmeYpykCanjgiPkkmJ67tuL8jx2tck3tzKLl5LjQBjAcx-2w/s1600/IMG_5907.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1rXTit6shWDpayGgp_kkVbMyS4ULcjkj8zAb4PHiq8zJ8NAfzhed_VhNaWi5OZcOV6Z24_E1MteYjdl9yvZrAK85CxAYsmeYpykCanjgiPkkmJ67tuL8jx2tck3tzKLl5LjQBjAcx-2w/s320/IMG_5907.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728061051891941890" /></a>The weather wasn't great, but it only actually rained for a couple of minutes while we were there. The rain/hail basically held off until we were on our way home. Then is just down poured. I have never seen so much hail in my life. It was like driving through snow - and the roads were slick!! Daphne slept through the whole thing - which I can't believe because it was so loud!!<br /><div><br /></div>Heather S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03206422816795019117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825026573449733117.post-66798861375875130252012-04-05T17:38:00.006-05:002012-04-05T18:10:03.725-05:00Some Things Are Better With Grandma!<div><span><span style="font-size: 16px; " >My family came to our house last weekend for a little celebration for Norah's birthday. My mom ended up staying for a couple of extra days - which is always a huge blessing. I end up getting a few extra things done around the house, a few errands run by myself, and she always does my laundry!!</span></span><div style="font-size: 16px; "><span ><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: 16px; "><span >Let me back up a little before I get to the meat of this post. Lucy had this idea to buy Norah a sewing machine for her birthday. She came up with the idea all on her own and was SURE Norah would love it. We discussed the fact that sewing machines are a little out of the price range we usually have the girls stick to when picking out a gift for each other. She didn't care. She decided that even though she is saving for an American Girl doll, she would take all the money she had so far in the spend and save sections of her <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Money-Savvy-Generation-Large-Green/dp/B002T5XVDC/ref=sr_1_cc_3?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1333665800&sr=1-3-catcorr">bank</a> to use for Norah's present. Then she would start fresh saving for the American Girl doll. I am going to stop here and point out that we know with little doubts that Lucy's love language is gift giving - and if you know me, you know that this would be the LAST one on my list.</span></div><div style="font-size: 16px; "><span ><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: 16px; "><span >So, we ended up pitching in some money and letting Lucy buy the sewing machine without using ALL of her money. Norah did love it (with Norah, you just never know. Her response to things can be unpredictable so I was praying that she would be grateful since Lucy was sure this was exactly what Norah would want) and spent a week begging to sew. Knowing my mom was coming, I held Norah off. Norah was more than anxious to get busy sewing. Mom helped her make a skirt, bag and a skirt for her doll. Mom said she did fantastic - I tried to stay out of the way - and I know mom was a much better teacher. Grandmas just have more patience - at least that is the case in our family.</span></div></div><span ><span style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgenJloKJWdPKeNw3Fqgm9ExKh7NyW7i42s6vjII7urM28Q6dEY1K15HZvirogTD5MK17Q4VVnqqXzaNoHCPpO9fz0IsnEbaPwKicEo8sLIq-Obs3pRc7idvRsEvzkWU0feosKGZa_HFvk/s320/IMG_5989.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728055149502330402" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkAXaszo99B8hl8g6YAplzqBu_knSIj7XRYRPiLgfCq65bo8YU29yPZ0vNB-H_4RAQ76r-huw6nIJUl00_faZqlOlRWZwPgv4ifz-OfMZ6EkvAKHbIrF7fFKJ0X8qlu9NLlm0OON6AEpA/s320/IMG_5993.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728054856652778114" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjRU1yNd-cVNQeoFt98a9WTH4HNKqOmolRP8ZL2V9YAlFRDsMSENZO0E3iriBauYNXIbFy0vDJC1WxyAX_MAhdI5nZonDlQGj-jFMc9AkkBWqoXreUSf0O9K5Ex8ANDwLYuexXKs75ltk/s320/IMG_5998.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728054868352263762" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /></span></span><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLgPQ_QLWQbRFKO2VFRw9w8eoBlhn0ePLnyUK_Z45Shtb6UtfiOwpjjtS5DQshRB3exMGqB65r-NYv9rPlv7Mousv9yXaE19dMMlDhH7XjNqGBk_aoj-tRcBpK_VpxQkcZbrHY5Oe9fcI/s1600/IMG_6006.JPG"></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; ">Lucy, of course, wanted to sew too, so on Tuesday Mom spent the morning sewing with her. They sewed everything by hand - actually Mom did most of the sewing and Lucy was happy to sit next to her and cut up scraps of fabric and sew every once in a while. Mom said Lucy was so excited, she talked a mile a minute!! Mom and Lucy made a hat, purse, an</span><span style="text-align: left; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; ">d a wallet.</span></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBRDZaKbRAPeFgXaZh0BZkan4GCS8-I3GyqtoBK91xcQ80su-I-DBxRXl12IK9ybmF2dCdCfjb3KQi3m7I7fjacapkKPGyLjzeDADlP_LeY-tbXRevqHwJGf1Pzao23-L3GQnUkkatAaI/s320/IMG_6005.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728055927798109266" /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTzvpZizkgl5gSjmLgFkxQVGO7n-iyf_0q_z_KAWNHBuz0yvBYctotXMHhiBiBDH-t0TxgGjMn7KwSOla0svmrSVE1WYmeubLmnd0cv2hxjh6VBypBajtA6zQJaNoVYnwezT2nG0LTf6M/s320/IMG_6001.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728055918734797202" /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLgPQ_QLWQbRFKO2VFRw9w8eoBlhn0ePLnyUK_Z45Shtb6UtfiOwpjjtS5DQshRB3exMGqB65r-NYv9rPlv7Mousv9yXaE19dMMlDhH7XjNqGBk_aoj-tRcBpK_VpxQkcZbrHY5Oe9fcI/s320/IMG_6006.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728055937172890546" /><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div></div>Heather S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03206422816795019117noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825026573449733117.post-48826137625574666612012-03-23T15:19:00.002-05:002012-03-23T15:29:41.984-05:00Happy 8th Birthday, Norah!<div>From this:</div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzrsFWMiFRV38ND5l0scdlsF3m7is2EV_rDPJL-e7-1JL5Y0crY2CtGOOMQBWYM3Xd3NNGnNr_elS8Q84VC0SZE0gim_w7jnS6kEpv66vGefTwQEprr5OUhwPNiSTJon6WP0BZTVyauDs/s320/baby+norah.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5723190233312107138" /><div><div style="text-align: left;">to this:</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigoP3i3OsBRzywMbgkz8vO6C30FKkjleDP1Gl4IThWSETzEYv3R3odc-0g97cJvLxES0o4Jc20N3zwGJGNjZ1yNFfAuQRwPus4HFG9CCP1Lglo8LclZcIG5XMuvBkukXzu8BE3AQbV-T0/s1600/Norah.jpg" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigoP3i3OsBRzywMbgkz8vO6C30FKkjleDP1Gl4IThWSETzEYv3R3odc-0g97cJvLxES0o4Jc20N3zwGJGNjZ1yNFfAuQRwPus4HFG9CCP1Lglo8LclZcIG5XMuvBkukXzu8BE3AQbV-T0/s320/Norah.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5723190235889405762" /></a></div><div><div style="text-align: center;font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span >(photo courtesy of <a href="http://www.dorindapeytonphotography.com">Dorinda Peyton Photography</a>)</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Eight really seems grown up. . .too grown up sometimes. Six years old to seven was a rough year at our house. Thankfully, seven to eight was significantly better! I is enjoyable to watch Norah make the right decisions based on something else she was already taught. While she certainly gets a kick out of loving on her sisters until they scream, she is also incredible helpful. She is usually very willing to help Daphne with something or teach Lucy something new. </div></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Norah's favorite thing to do right now is read. She ALWAYS has a book in hand. . . and she can't hear or see anything going on around her when her nose is in a book. Certain school things are so much easier now that she can read directions to herself!!</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">We are so thankful for Norah and are excited to see what God has in store for her over the next year!!</div>Heather S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03206422816795019117noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825026573449733117.post-78702740044379198422012-02-26T21:02:00.011-06:002012-02-26T21:37:46.828-06:00Valentine's Fun!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtUjO2ew3KiVWpetmejpZf60oWNV8o9vAM0ZCEjzYan7VsL5DGHxFi66loILYElfBHzN6_Htux_hSkfiQbTry_4FpIgu09QFvqLAyZ8FbO8QFQB-6xmCOw6WOmf7GuBqrEII_tGVkM7bA/s1600/IMG_5537.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtUjO2ew3KiVWpetmejpZf60oWNV8o9vAM0ZCEjzYan7VsL5DGHxFi66loILYElfBHzN6_Htux_hSkfiQbTry_4FpIgu09QFvqLAyZ8FbO8QFQB-6xmCOw6WOmf7GuBqrEII_tGVkM7bA/s320/IMG_5537.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713647698024138882" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/TotSchool.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Tot School" src="http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv250/carisafrank/Blog%20Buttons/totschool150.jpg" /></a></div><span><span style="font-size: 100%;">The week leading up to Valentine's Day - Daphne's <a href="http://1plus1plus1equals1.blogspot.com/search/label/Tot%20School">Tot School</a> theme was love and hearts. We read </span></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Guess-How-Much-Love-You/dp/0763653780/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330312316&sr=8-1" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Guess How Much I Love You,</a><span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Youre-Lovable-Me-Kat-Yeh/dp/B005MZDIQ6/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330312471&sr=1-1" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">You're Lovable to Me</a><span><span style="font-size: 100%;">, and </span></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Roses-Really-Stink-Gilbert-Friends/dp/1430107006/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330312510&sr=1-1" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Roses are Pink Your Feet Really Stink</a><span><span style="font-size: 100%;">. Much of our activities came from <a href="http://www.overthebigmoon.com/valentines-day-pre-k-pack/">Over the Big Moon</a>. </span></span><br /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_4BSxlkNXxl9Hh6JAqZcESYxZeakRIBMPBVYskkxH6xWdYKFNLp-bXLhJ60ynlCXqk59fxGee4lBnTIeAlHkuIsviVJm7iFilnXBKeCmGR6V_Irs-X803P1i8_dYt-eZtLrawbBt09C4/s320/IMG_5447.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713646079531085250" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /><div style="text-align: center;font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">Working on one-to-one correspondance - putting one heart eraser into each heart cube.</div><div style="text-align: center;font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><br /></div><div><span style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto;"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1nCY2Gn9qkASBY-mmouzBFhUxwErZlKCxLZzr9HWByyA3kR7DsYiOLbkmN6p0cZMSWFwEfnicpPXVba1xTE42MHzJGqZ_bRr26MFlams6k-JkQev1Cs3wbTgYozfhAG2WqN_7ZyUD-Lk/s320/IMG_5502.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713647410376502306" /></span><div style="text-align: center;">Spooning the hearts into the ice cube tray</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTMgnL2v5mVDIShyphenhyphenLjguEygufg-6vz0awsMEAcYRa17E6_mKtX5e5_M42ENl3LShrrZVMPef5N1pZqgCFayukNxkSw6KCxAOOolAkw71zvBplbwkdGBKIp39S20-m1UrK-4KU00XFS4e4/s1600/IMG_5494.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTMgnL2v5mVDIShyphenhyphenLjguEygufg-6vz0awsMEAcYRa17E6_mKtX5e5_M42ENl3LShrrZVMPef5N1pZqgCFayukNxkSw6KCxAOOolAkw71zvBplbwkdGBKIp39S20-m1UrK-4KU00XFS4e4/s320/IMG_5494.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713647147318665186" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Working on Valentine's number puzzle</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmSbpNgxjCrBRs_A921hLqZBF3fEdd06VekWe7rkBRpZCC-4rwn1jEuM04P6pYuSD-jtpjOioJXweJh4aVaPL5dCCXy1xD9raSL7vD5KMHLeE1Z5H2Jv2sVb5EQNumAjGEY7YEdazX12I/s1600/IMG_5493.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmSbpNgxjCrBRs_A921hLqZBF3fEdd06VekWe7rkBRpZCC-4rwn1jEuM04P6pYuSD-jtpjOioJXweJh4aVaPL5dCCXy1xD9raSL7vD5KMHLeE1Z5H2Jv2sVb5EQNumAjGEY7YEdazX12I/s320/IMG_5493.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713646873018116498" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Daphne loves to do "which is different?" pages - I think she actually likes using the dry erase marker.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH1c6lRWwnPP7afOcSydenUGWXJZGpbyww5D1xEqDpbhHw-psBuOlVkMeD5f0MmX3HGc7RB8n7T2iiFNCWlJvYD4PuTePWpvsARPzhr_mqPH5hvL8ZWRP7tJQnBlmoa8n6gvEWD40nR7Y/s1600/IMG_5466.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH1c6lRWwnPP7afOcSydenUGWXJZGpbyww5D1xEqDpbhHw-psBuOlVkMeD5f0MmX3HGc7RB8n7T2iiFNCWlJvYD4PuTePWpvsARPzhr_mqPH5hvL8ZWRP7tJQnBlmoa8n6gvEWD40nR7Y/s320/IMG_5466.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713646529475911362" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Valentine's Day sensory box - rice was the base and then we filled it with Valentine's goodies as well as some things for scooping.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgag9hQnTy_r07M841PebIDs_sKWsi82PnwIFq1-lTbQiKgMed7TBHzF-luqasWHeIygKBPPHdRuQKVUTrySbN82twscfVZETUi2z4UkeArLXTxFL5WrhHHhRcElj12xwsqyauVwxeat7U/s1600/IMG_5461.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgag9hQnTy_r07M841PebIDs_sKWsi82PnwIFq1-lTbQiKgMed7TBHzF-luqasWHeIygKBPPHdRuQKVUTrySbN82twscfVZETUi2z4UkeArLXTxFL5WrhHHhRcElj12xwsqyauVwxeat7U/s320/IMG_5461.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713646324875138994" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Matching shapes puzzles</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We ended our Valentine's theme with a little Valentine's party. The girls were excited to have some friends over for food, games, and goodies!! </div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div></div>Heather S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03206422816795019117noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825026573449733117.post-65828160943249745812012-02-26T19:19:00.015-06:002012-02-26T20:56:10.435-06:00Daphne - 3 years old<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-bZXudwt9UVTOQSotC3tY0fhwoN26D7DuuuTAsdJuYIrdJFam6e-feWinrUzrSNB9i3Fb2kDXIXC4AEWe80DSTyMvLWXG-8bEvKNJoPCA2aPs5ujsjJT-pM2W41KjpbvRN_FX8mVMSj8/s1600/IMAG0290.jpg" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; line-height: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 192px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-bZXudwt9UVTOQSotC3tY0fhwoN26D7DuuuTAsdJuYIrdJFam6e-feWinrUzrSNB9i3Fb2kDXIXC4AEWe80DSTyMvLWXG-8bEvKNJoPCA2aPs5ujsjJT-pM2W41KjpbvRN_FX8mVMSj8/s320/IMAG0290.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713638738835355938" /></a><div><span style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><span>I just realized, while I blogged about Daphne's birthday party, I never actually did a birthday post. So I realize I am well over a month over due - but better late than never, right?</span></span><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><span><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><span>Statistics -</span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><span>Daphne is 36 inches tall (50%) and 23 pounds (under 3%). She grew 3 inches since her 2 year old check and she gained 2 pounds. She is still tiny - but the good news is that she did actually gain some weight because between 18 months and 2 years, Daphne actually lost weight.</span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><span><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><span>Daphne talks all the time. I mean all. the. time. She always has questions and/or comments about something. About 50% of the time she is saying something funny and crazy. She is really the clown of the family and she loves having people watch her.</span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><span><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><span>Here are some of the funny things she has said/done recently:</span></div><div><div><span ><span style="line-height: 18px;">Daphne, how old are you? "thixthteen"</span></span></div><div><span ><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span ><span style="line-height: 18px;">Me: Thanks for the sticker.</span></span></div><div><span ><span style="line-height: 18px;">Daphne: Don't say thanks.</span></span></div><div><span ><span style="line-height: 18px;">Me: Umm, why?</span></span></div><div><span ><span style="line-height: 18px;">Daphne: Cause it's rude.</span></span></div><div><span ><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span ><span style="line-height: 18px;">On a warm day in January, the girls and I went to the zoo. As we were walking through River's Edge, I overheard Daphne say, "we go see aging ellie-fats" otherwise known as asian elephants.</span></span></div><div><span ><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span ><span style="line-height: 18px;">Daphne was cutting with scissors. Me: D- You are cutting upside down. Your thumb goes up.</span></span></div><div><span ><span style="line-height: 18px;">Daphne: I NOT care.</span></span></div><div><span ><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span ><span style="line-height: 18px;">Daphne wasn't very happy about sharing her birthday month with me. The day before my birthday, Lucy said, "Daphne, tomorrow is mommy's birthday!" Daphne's response, "Noooooo. It MY birthday, Luthy!" Then on my birthday, she kept saying, "It my birthday next. You make cake for MY birthday. You make it today?" At bedtime she said, "NOW it my birthday."</span></span></div></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><span style="line-height: 18px; "><span>Daphne alternates between claiming to be a big girl and the baby. Depends on the situation - if she is trying to get out of trouble, she tries to snuggle up and reminds me that she is my baby. If she wants to do something that I already told her she was too little to do, she tells me that she is a big girl.</span></span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><span style="line-height: 18px; "><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><span style="line-height: 18px; "><span>Daphne is definitely the most outwardly loving of the three girls. She is constantly hugging everyone. She is always hugging and hanging on me. I often have to peel her off of Kevin before work because she needs, "just 1 more hug."</span></span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><span style="line-height: 18px; "><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><span style="line-height: 18px; "><span>I think Daphne was born a ballerina. She pretty much lives in a leotard, walks on her tiptoes, and spins. She also does this little break dancing thing on the ground. She just cracks us up!!</span></span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><span style="line-height: 18px; "><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><span style="line-height: 18px; "><span>Daphne is obsessed with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She begs everyday to watch. She sings along with the theme song - and never misses a word!</span></span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><span style="line-height: 18px; "><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><span><span style="line-height: 18px; ">Daphne is definitely a joy and a blessing to our family. She makes us laugh every single day and we can't wait to see what God has planned for her!!</span></span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><span><span style="line-height: 18px; "><br /></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span><span style="line-height: 18px; ">Here are some pictures of Daphne from the last year - there are a bunch of pictures. I couldn't narrow them down (the quality of the pictures isn't that great - they are all from my phone. They were just too funny to pass up!!)</span></span></div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAewPb0UMCDBegvWqLgrfpkhsKL6mxjSe1AYcUI_xrChixBu78my8AZen_80dxK3ScskBUB9yXQmmYrx37gCAMW8nRsHgsUlXBom4tDgDeQtQlkex3bp8YPv8BFDcM8RIwpmt0z0Zu_4Q/s1600/IMAG0305.jpg" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; line-height: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 192px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAewPb0UMCDBegvWqLgrfpkhsKL6mxjSe1AYcUI_xrChixBu78my8AZen_80dxK3ScskBUB9yXQmmYrx37gCAMW8nRsHgsUlXBom4tDgDeQtQlkex3bp8YPv8BFDcM8RIwpmt0z0Zu_4Q/s320/IMAG0305.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713638326512352226" /></a><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center; ">Daphne often picks out her own clothes - especially if we aren't going anywhere. You will notice that a theme throughout these pictures is that she doesn't care whether or not she matches.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiia6UnkFO4Nr2V5U3RMolkE0emqlinH4cnKPj3rqZEEK7_bIeiV6EPfRLzUA7x5-BAj243eec71ugr_J-jZbDFql11hAFTluTC1XSSoZMr5Up1Mx6hHk_8E2uQJEXVjycygBOgCgyR210/s1600/IMAG0283.jpg" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; line-height: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 192px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiia6UnkFO4Nr2V5U3RMolkE0emqlinH4cnKPj3rqZEEK7_bIeiV6EPfRLzUA7x5-BAj243eec71ugr_J-jZbDFql11hAFTluTC1XSSoZMr5Up1Mx6hHk_8E2uQJEXVjycygBOgCgyR210/s320/IMAG0283.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713638322112370114" /></a><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center; ">She referred to herself as "Princess Daphne."</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhisB3QjHL4WUbG3QfHODAQEvbNTbL0dXlk4Lw-ljkm8DhVCS63cuXO2lNFSyotxrBdJ0_5KOzZJ5bCqXEiLrMVDGYW6JaPgTs55ugG6Auh0Cj_VIGuSt2DEySMrny0jdWq5y24VE2H9LU/s1600/IMAG0278.jpg" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; line-height: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 192px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhisB3QjHL4WUbG3QfHODAQEvbNTbL0dXlk4Lw-ljkm8DhVCS63cuXO2lNFSyotxrBdJ0_5KOzZJ5bCqXEiLrMVDGYW6JaPgTs55ugG6Auh0Cj_VIGuSt2DEySMrny0jdWq5y24VE2H9LU/s320/IMAG0278.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713638320649375858" /></a><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center; ">The middle of winter and Daphne is seen in a swim suit. </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2uGuFbziT4VNtIekPD7iMMFmOpfZTCvcMiK95Sc_bMchMxPEGp1Ab1QaEzPHQIKEy19fHlFzPBWtfDO9M0BwH1Je96dVRoC2va8_Mn7NIbbbHM939pjtew8Oww60WxgD1GfRDxAIiMDQ/s1600/IMAG0258.jpg" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; line-height: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 192px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2uGuFbziT4VNtIekPD7iMMFmOpfZTCvcMiK95Sc_bMchMxPEGp1Ab1QaEzPHQIKEy19fHlFzPBWtfDO9M0BwH1Je96dVRoC2va8_Mn7NIbbbHM939pjtew8Oww60WxgD1GfRDxAIiMDQ/s320/IMAG0258.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713637986963503746" /></a><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center; ">Daphne doesn't nap often, however, when she does nap, it is never in a normal position. Here she is with her hooded bath towel on her head. Don't worry - I took the towel after right after I took the picture.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGJ8Ej6wpWXzEhJrKnecD6Vw3T6ywAteT2WayKLND4ab6bsWdo9J0fpuuXJz7FlKw5eqOcPtqzE119zk2M7ivoc338czK_k4i9uSxgl980Ov2IGMWfFYMxKY3AR92otUwliRnJHTO4UqI/s1600/IMAG0249.jpg" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; line-height: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 192px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGJ8Ej6wpWXzEhJrKnecD6Vw3T6ywAteT2WayKLND4ab6bsWdo9J0fpuuXJz7FlKw5eqOcPtqzE119zk2M7ivoc338czK_k4i9uSxgl980Ov2IGMWfFYMxKY3AR92otUwliRnJHTO4UqI/s320/IMAG0249.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713637983418413202" /></a><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center; ">Daphne wanted to help clean so I gave her a new sponge. She climbed in the tub and decided to "clean."</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtuPcoJwu-Nprkt97o5ehwLlk0qVykG6rFDVrnCbTZLW06mypyVgacpZR-JMrGf_g_Qm8Si4uNv-_LyX1IEpmpvBQXVpLY7V-SYVPlrKyg3lBr65vf-wi8e0QXyQgkUufJ8hkvdKCV4cI/s1600/IMAG0184.jpg" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; line-height: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 192px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtuPcoJwu-Nprkt97o5ehwLlk0qVykG6rFDVrnCbTZLW06mypyVgacpZR-JMrGf_g_Qm8Si4uNv-_LyX1IEpmpvBQXVpLY7V-SYVPlrKyg3lBr65vf-wi8e0QXyQgkUufJ8hkvdKCV4cI/s320/IMAG0184.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713637979134174802" /></a><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center; ">And here she is . . .in her clothes hamper. This is a weekly event. </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy00is2z7bgId3GgqkI3MQm5AHsQ3J2FT6Kdtx7-01tX2mF-peP4-UpamtInLj_pYRMzD8P-YOmUY5nTsmk9I3l5wle4aOjjkt2hY6w-AA9mx7uHLnVtmQr8vR6Ol4KeciOnslMwHDmJM/s1600/IMAG0243.jpg" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; line-height: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 192px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy00is2z7bgId3GgqkI3MQm5AHsQ3J2FT6Kdtx7-01tX2mF-peP4-UpamtInLj_pYRMzD8P-YOmUY5nTsmk9I3l5wle4aOjjkt2hY6w-AA9mx7uHLnVtmQr8vR6Ol4KeciOnslMwHDmJM/s320/IMAG0243.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713637573644972994" /></a><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center; ">I am only guessing that the sun must have been in her face.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvMc-zEehgnqouT5UquKSQjnFi77gBSVWhvk37T-o8Yd8sFl_zYo8wVPncQbNv2W3hdSapihqC9d7AcWBkJuujoaPmeTJ_Wiwc1zY8rqO1YTKkhvsInmWpIZIH7sCSb8OGJn7CTGVH-e4/s1600/IMAG0216.jpg" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; line-height: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 192px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvMc-zEehgnqouT5UquKSQjnFi77gBSVWhvk37T-o8Yd8sFl_zYo8wVPncQbNv2W3hdSapihqC9d7AcWBkJuujoaPmeTJ_Wiwc1zY8rqO1YTKkhvsInmWpIZIH7sCSb8OGJn7CTGVH-e4/s320/IMAG0216.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713637567811110194" /></a><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center; ">Don't we all play with play-dough in a gold hat?</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxmC3sJY9f9-p-2IufqoeMrmQjIY1lcomxcxx2dOyXokgpkGcT-lrjQA0bq8xnrh6K8eMIWYGr81CBnrBhosiflXlcaRXnWVcJAtZc341nMDo4-USVxFSuB5QCp7mmOh-5W_bSvcJ_iTo/s1600/IMAG0180.jpg" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; line-height: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 192px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxmC3sJY9f9-p-2IufqoeMrmQjIY1lcomxcxx2dOyXokgpkGcT-lrjQA0bq8xnrh6K8eMIWYGr81CBnrBhosiflXlcaRXnWVcJAtZc341nMDo4-USVxFSuB5QCp7mmOh-5W_bSvcJ_iTo/s320/IMAG0180.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713637246858805730" /></a><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center; ">This is one of my favorites!!</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBcp2x6mXiZYBUnLHT7x0PQ2sczH2ytMwOoj5PvLUX6o2O9jZAUAMjyGHiwVn6gZMdepZUQ-w5Zka_AvAJUQwBDIeAaIMQ1a6ZBWIjghY530kdEFb_6d6UN8wZ7fupbTpDU5QwpLyRIbg/s1600/IMAG0168.jpg" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; line-height: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 192px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBcp2x6mXiZYBUnLHT7x0PQ2sczH2ytMwOoj5PvLUX6o2O9jZAUAMjyGHiwVn6gZMdepZUQ-w5Zka_AvAJUQwBDIeAaIMQ1a6ZBWIjghY530kdEFb_6d6UN8wZ7fupbTpDU5QwpLyRIbg/s320/IMAG0168.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713637243198226130" /></a><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center; ">Even if the leotard is 2 sizes too big - it still works for her!</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwtE9boGdZtwV6nNMuDRAUW82q-bIZPwngJ6FSgJQDKyDexXhNJ37-b_E1tFFcReKSC3TfSGe-s1NfFRtz25EGFupwuNkWjqnI3fJE6BtYGXULAndnEA8jvlQpgDZ6btIvMAJFNjg1yQ4/s1600/IMAG0150.jpg" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; line-height: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 192px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwtE9boGdZtwV6nNMuDRAUW82q-bIZPwngJ6FSgJQDKyDexXhNJ37-b_E1tFFcReKSC3TfSGe-s1NfFRtz25EGFupwuNkWjqnI3fJE6BtYGXULAndnEA8jvlQpgDZ6btIvMAJFNjg1yQ4/s320/IMAG0150.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713637239645056178" /></a><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center; ">Bed head - that was fun brushing through</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyQzBBCIqjYpLeNjqNBrA1rmCktMbK2U8gfy1-OLBtkGGQws4d5T36465tVt-uhCve-WLzspsR7dwb51F7bqVlTVLDyzMWuthgcpQULDvrL7WCCPEJT7HWjbYQUqfWebAAZI8w8Np9cZo/s1600/IMAG0145.jpg" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; line-height: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 192px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyQzBBCIqjYpLeNjqNBrA1rmCktMbK2U8gfy1-OLBtkGGQws4d5T36465tVt-uhCve-WLzspsR7dwb51F7bqVlTVLDyzMWuthgcpQULDvrL7WCCPEJT7HWjbYQUqfWebAAZI8w8Np9cZo/s320/IMAG0145.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713636894992661266" /></a><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center; ">She is a girl who gets what she needs. </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikn7Vrozf06opvcADoQ3mu0XpN0XC99ptDSBsHEC0H0ZIedY16vvhmEaX8BLvFTTiB65LtAFokH-Hcc4e7wi7nMP-cmi3ADg33OZdv0dvmGA0xd7_2w_jT81gawUf6WOyg0HFnqBFGNOc/s1600/IMAG0079.jpg" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; line-height: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 192px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikn7Vrozf06opvcADoQ3mu0XpN0XC99ptDSBsHEC0H0ZIedY16vvhmEaX8BLvFTTiB65LtAFokH-Hcc4e7wi7nMP-cmi3ADg33OZdv0dvmGA0xd7_2w_jT81gawUf6WOyg0HFnqBFGNOc/s320/IMAG0079.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713636889307370658" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvN5Lxm8lhwrGxV6NP4w2xLLWVJ0f5ec3P9HZdbBiBrCIj42RcWdrl9kXbYT5Rdz2iLJbviX2eM6sUABT2zogQb6FA1D8cTSSg7fbdfszNzVoidf-5RgwcuxVJpLFFGGvvNMRma7WvgIM/s1600/IMAG0044.jpg" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; line-height: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 192px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvN5Lxm8lhwrGxV6NP4w2xLLWVJ0f5ec3P9HZdbBiBrCIj42RcWdrl9kXbYT5Rdz2iLJbviX2eM6sUABT2zogQb6FA1D8cTSSg7fbdfszNzVoidf-5RgwcuxVJpLFFGGvvNMRma7WvgIM/s320/IMAG0044.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713636606939313298" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn0eIgXSLCe6dfmmdbyZYhMdLJW7ZQD3HcxlsczILhR0rZEYL7Q6q3AQJIDdzmEu2sfARfBZtOyc54XYD9eFysUx0drnslZk_eK50VDyUbGSKc65AaorFEvyaQ20Piva1UbDcnGS6yw_c/s1600/IMAG0039-1.jpg" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; line-height: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 188px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn0eIgXSLCe6dfmmdbyZYhMdLJW7ZQD3HcxlsczILhR0rZEYL7Q6q3AQJIDdzmEu2sfARfBZtOyc54XYD9eFysUx0drnslZk_eK50VDyUbGSKc65AaorFEvyaQ20Piva1UbDcnGS6yw_c/s320/IMAG0039-1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713636606657126322" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjJy2dPe9IJC4SyeYSMm5vVUgWZ981kohmBpM0BDnlGbqfjbQqFVrqe5sVnsADpj7HU7BjUV0oKIfIOZupVBQC8w7GZrxeVCia0YrSGJ8NUS4Loa3f8OQPPz38-L48iz5c_y7qvlssRzA/s1600/IMAG0022.jpg" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; line-height: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 192px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjJy2dPe9IJC4SyeYSMm5vVUgWZ981kohmBpM0BDnlGbqfjbQqFVrqe5sVnsADpj7HU7BjUV0oKIfIOZupVBQC8w7GZrxeVCia0YrSGJ8NUS4Loa3f8OQPPz38-L48iz5c_y7qvlssRzA/s320/IMAG0022.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713636475261786370" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><div style="text-align: center;">Apparently she needed to be really close to the tv!</div></span>Heather S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03206422816795019117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825026573449733117.post-87174402040866688752012-02-12T21:18:00.004-06:002012-02-12T21:35:06.955-06:00<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center; "><a href="http://homeschoolcreations.blogspot.com/search/label/Moments%20to%20Remember" target="_blank"><img src="http://i678.photobucket.com/albums/vv146/homeschoolcreations/MomentstoRemember125x125.jpg" title="Moments to Remember" /></a><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">I decided to participate in <a href="http://homeschoolcreations.blogspot.com/2011/11/what-do-you-want-to-remember-about.html">Moments to Remember</a> this week - and hope to more frequently. As a homeschool mom, it is easy to get too caught up in the to-do list (and all the things that are not working) and not take time to enjoy having the girls at home with me. Sometimes it feels like there is more fighting and whining and arguing - because we are together all the time. There are tons of great moments, too, though. The girls get to where dress-up clothes during school hours, they get to learn together, the get to help each other and encourage each other, and we get to each breakfast, lunch and dinner together almost every day! Since I have them with me more than most moms and kids - I want to remember to good things about our homeschooling years!!</div><div style="text-align: left;font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIH-K2RHkOxKK7UPvXDruh9fSUb9AvzcmY5OPKwxxanSaoXjxA7sMEBWzfBnorkafn9NCmdFIc3CWwKx3KNZ2KWrhaIBvlJioVF3RjNiW6_iMfM1cA1xwbs2K9iXpK72AR0DWM3TPrAWs/s320/IMG_5534.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708455544057821874" /><div style="text-align: left;font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">The girls each have a couple of games on the I-pad that they get to play during the day if they get all of their other work done. The funny thing to me is that they like to wait for each other to finish school so they can sit together and watch each other play! I love it! Usually Daphne is there, too, but she is a little more. . . fidgety. She is usually climbing on the girls to get a better look and she wants to "help." Norah's favorite is <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rocket-math/id393989284?mt=8">Rocket Math</a>, Lucy like <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/teachme-kindergarten/id336689375?mt=8">Teach Me Kindergarten</a>, and Daphne like <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/teachme-toddler/id316755410?mt=8">Teach Me Toddler.</a> There are a bunch of other apps they love - but these are the favorite educational ones. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center; "><br /></div></div>Heather S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03206422816795019117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825026573449733117.post-88553095060904223852012-02-12T20:47:00.006-06:002012-02-12T21:16:40.114-06:00Ducks, Dora, and More<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdVyztWPVlOMwO3RqJXGvwmpxxurDCCMVEEB0a5p9NF1ZenyZHWwUQw5ZjsB1FpBZXi5xbfEtxicSZvqBb0yceXJr5B3KCQf5s6osnSfAFQeMt9BDCWOfDSDLhTwOmUDYgCuGtOhgSCH0/s1600/IMG_5390.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdVyztWPVlOMwO3RqJXGvwmpxxurDCCMVEEB0a5p9NF1ZenyZHWwUQw5ZjsB1FpBZXi5xbfEtxicSZvqBb0yceXJr5B3KCQf5s6osnSfAFQeMt9BDCWOfDSDLhTwOmUDYgCuGtOhgSCH0/s320/IMG_5390.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708452809292468098" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"> 36 months<br /><a href="http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/TotSchool.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Tot School" src="http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv250/carisafrank/TotSchool150.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left; "><span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Our focus last week was the /d/ sound. While I am not actually teaching Daphne letter names, I am introducing sounds. I know they basically go hand in hand, but I don't think that it is necessary to teach her the letters as a young 3. Gotta save something for later, right? When we talked about snowmen, we talked about the /s/ sound. I teach the sound while she traces a</span></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Textured-Touch-Trace-Multisensory-Recognition/dp/1933052600/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1329101430&sr=8-2" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; "> textured letter</a><span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> - I just rarely mention the name of the letter. Ever since - whenever Daphne sees an 's' she says, "Mom, look! Sssssss like snowman!"</span></span></div></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">I want her to learn the first letter of her name so we spent last week on D!! I didn't take very many pictures this week but here are a couple.</div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1W8jmJrBVAFSLEPJ96NL4BH2PztPF0ccWqVo92TqzJHk2sC9f9Jc9C1mGhsxd_oYrZSJgmj9TKNv2KcRUBqGlPN91NdoQf4scSfZJx4flMbsXNa3hwqaR-RyhOG8XVnwZ9mJShR2Tfo0/s320/IMG_5380.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708448489073146274" /><div><div style="text-align: center;">Playing with her water tub and ducks! She loves this activity!!</div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNaZcZ94KKemTDcAiqaLYs_L6JDpzluLVEOFA2MOtNQRTQG2NXFWWd60AWRJxEduxsxViFnagYYlvHxehaTR5sey4tR9VzbN8INOjB0dr1EFOoaQMYiT8XDYA51EzUc44O5bGCErsnW2o/s320/IMG_5368.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708448137061370322" /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Painting with some feathers. I wasn't sure if she would be very interested in this activity, but she stuck with it for a long time!! She spent most of her time swirling the colors together. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We also read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Make-Way-Ducklings-Robert-McCloskey/dp/0670050172/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1329102003&sr=1-3">Make Way for Ducklings</a> and<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Duck-Bike-Rdg-Prgm-08/dp/0153565683/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329101970&sr=8-1"> Duck on a Bike</a> (the girls LOVED this book - they thought it was hilarious!!) We sang "5 Little Ducks" and "6 Little Ducks That I Once Knew." Daphne counted little duck beads and practiced 1-to-1 correspondence by putting one duck in each cube of an ice cube tray. She has been doing some pre-writing practice mainly because she wants to. If Lucy is writing - Daphne wants to write. I am using <a href="http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/seo/ca%7CsearchResults~~p%7C2534374302176568~~.jsp">these books</a> (she just uses book 1) plus a few printables from <a href="http://1plus1plus1equals1.blogspot.com/2011/05/dora-tot-book-free-printables.html">here</a> (which is why we did some Dora stuff).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We will probably spend another week on the /d/ sound after Valentine's Day. I am planning on spend 2 weeks on each sound but using 2 different themes to teach it. That is about it for Daphne this week. I am sure I am missing something, though, because we were super busy all week! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Go here for more <a href="http://1plus1plus1equals1.blogspot.com/">Tot School</a> ideas!</div>Heather S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03206422816795019117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825026573449733117.post-14284077560173000892012-02-01T21:32:00.006-06:002012-02-01T22:07:15.908-06:00Snow Stuff<div>Norah's writing curriculum is similar to <a href="http://www.teachersfirst.com/lessons/writers/index.php">Writer's Workshop</a>. Here she is "<a href="http://panickedteacher.typepad.com/blog/2010/12/writing-stages-reminder.html">publishing</a>" one of her stories. </div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU4i_UAnhoW7MatGOPcswrg2zs9x_RbA3nZWj2xWaCkzhutwEaVXt2MmB-YXRowiXu9iD39jULQC9Itg4_BQeAPY9RUynlfOdHB9Un1s3nFUxJ2fZDwdnvIP9loSdx4RD7XoAHVAd0Oq8/s320/IMG_5343.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5704379487903455906" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitbO65_6UKsX0pDJs7WdWO_cjGYLQSVRpWX47rTgNuhwy2iAP0lJHznhOWLIRsae-dX9KrVPQEhTqJJ3SuwoIQfEeiT08_5bAsWbi4PzBEDWz6HAwIvUzUTOi4ZuJVfm-8z0Foojr5UoM/s1600/IMG_5350.JPG"></a><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">When we finished our gingerbread man theme, we jumped right into a snow theme. I thought this would be perfect planning - January in Missouri - surely we will have snow. Umm, no. Actually, it has been 60 degrees instead. Ha!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The girls had fun anyway! We read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Snowy-Day-50th-Anniversary/dp/067001270X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328154918&sr=8-1">The Snowy Day</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jacket-I-Wear-Snow/dp/0688045871/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328154946&sr=1-1">The Jacket I Wear in the Snow</a>, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mitten-Alvin-Tresselt/dp/0688092381/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328154971&sr=1-3">The Mitten.</a></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1KBq0ZN00qdWPLDzYDAoJ3Smm9mhlnWG1o2XumMB0W_zcDX-EkeG7CRLqPUqJ3y-JVFKkLwmCSrsHSaRv-l92-VdwweR18JW20dble53Bs0JLVXZtAkooPPrwbnSI7nKoYulZ-ObmXyw/s320/IMG_5349.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5704379998932743922" /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjookylPSMdAtt-5KcmMqgHK-0IzMxpNpNgaoVE6i41hktODsacSERz1s5YIQ20dOU908-6F20ns-69W-DTYxJahzXA3i0kLIuhQRA3ATxrv56k62bTl4ii0JQd5YOCbkVddtF0_4Eaufs/s320/IMG_5347.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5704380008403848946" /><div><div style="text-align: center;">The girls played with play dough. <a href="http://www.kristanlynn.com/2011/09/best-play-dough-recipe.html">This</a> is the recipe I use. I love it! It doesn't dry out - it lasts forever! This time I didn't add any color - but I added sprinkles. Daphne thought it was fun!</div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0iT-akhDbrBgxAhvUo7bFoel0nmxC7kmXUyn-DLedlNcRAKkAybYaZ_n5qvIEAodUdP3k9CGdr6sXAMb6HhG6vWwNUFAbhnWIBAOoniOYbJ5KVVPk6_5n39_B0GEvQLyTX2aGG3KxNfQ/s320/IMG_5334.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5704379078716544194" /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">Lucy was helping Daphne with "The Jacket I Wear in the Snow" activity. Ahh - it makes me crazy that both the girls sit in the "w" position. I correct it EVERYDAY but they still do it!</div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilVA9SwIRfsso05rdNf16nM41G3IHcvPeSwc4Dl1cx22CS4UQP7iGaGhIoJGBSJWwlb2zUnvswhH3fLuCSqYDC8SV8E95I50YHbPciEJCcr0zVAhz2Xk-zap-5zOS8Nf_Qbgqj-WV_x4M/s320/IMG_5341.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5704379469016350226" /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">Daphne is so serious when she "writes" - I love it! Look at that perfect grip - even as a leftie! I really hope she doesn't lose it because I am now trying to fix Lucy's crazy grip. Ahh! </div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM0G6hUHlGT6njUCygtHScDWrwVQlr0rBKaN8QHsh2gp0fLYpMe6lGznYFydtrLjiA5DMZ3zF72jWXPdx5dDojFR0U-etkza1kA9BhZq5LwLOUdEhqTO2HBWAP9mdUUxOXMzwSrZYe22U/s320/IMG_5329.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5704379070624117186" /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">Daphne loves her Montessori activities that are available everyday (I change them every week). She is putting "scrunchies" on a thick dowel rod. She eventually sorted them by color, too.</div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnBtLPyK6fiMwbjA_HRCKLMddC9Rf8yd5Nu29u5fMOR5dzcdf0xPoX_l4sweIXuM3mGCi7u3XK092XJ_vr570mM7Gp_pcm1Fwb2Q_e38q1ghQKLK7eHQ5HqfcPmHBAmFKRp5Yy4bNhgvs/s320/IMG_5326.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5704379066627204162" /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">Daphne also loves stringing beads right now. I love the chunky beads because she can easily grip them and the shoe strings work well too.</div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitbO65_6UKsX0pDJs7WdWO_cjGYLQSVRpWX47rTgNuhwy2iAP0lJHznhOWLIRsae-dX9KrVPQEhTqJJ3SuwoIQfEeiT08_5bAsWbi4PzBEDWz6HAwIvUzUTOi4ZuJVfm-8z0Foojr5UoM/s320/IMG_5350.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5704379999990655282" /><div style="text-align: center;">Lucy - working on sight word puzzles from <a href="http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/SightWordsJoin.html">here.</a></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzyoKFdF8_m8y2lI9g1QlWi578MDKpr67QBO_xxn72PjyOif6MLZVXpkcfgpc71-u-aTlJUG8bBEXBh7L5oK4AVe2s3WLRULomW-1PEXwGQfAooDTgBM-HU7QhtbsdAGon7jjodbeCC7A/s320/IMG_5342.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5704379478304459714" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /><div style="text-align: center;">And here she is working very hard to maintain a proper grip. She is holding a quarter under her ring and pinkie fingers. If she doesn't let the quarter drop - she gets to keep it. She is doing really well - I also have her use some pencil grippers, too. </div></div>Heather S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03206422816795019117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825026573449733117.post-64817437149790804962012-01-26T17:10:00.008-06:002012-02-01T21:32:45.710-06:00Some Curriculum Changes<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">I am learning. . . now that we are 3 years in to this homeschool thing, that some curriculum choices that we make at the beginning of the year may not end up being the best decision for our family. I tend to be the type of person that insists on finishing what we started, but when we all dread something or one subject makes a child cry - then we need a new plan.</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Basically, this year we really like almost everything. There were, however, 2 things that needed to be changed. First, was Lucy's reading curriculum. I struggled in the beginning with what to do with her. She was beyond a regular kindergarten reading curriculum, but didn't know if she was confident enough in her reading to jump into a first grade program (for reading only). I ended up choosing a 1st grade reading curriculum that was on the easy side in comparison to most 1st grade programs. I thought this one was sort of a happy medium between kindergarten and a true 1st grade (like I used with Norah in 1st grade). However, while Lucy started reading last year, she was really struggling this year to pick up all the phonics rules at such a quick pace. She was basically learning a new rule every day. She did great the day of the rule, but by the next day when she was learning another, she had already forgotten the one from the day before. She was crying everyday about doing her reading. She didn't mind actually reading to me, but she hated any workbook pages related directly to the rules. I seriously about made myself CRAZY trying to decide what to do with her. Finally, I decided to take more of a Charlotte Mason approach to her reading. She is reading to me every day and as we come across a word she can't figure out - we go over that rule. She is also using<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Explode-Code-3-Nancy-Hall/dp/083881462X/ref=pd_vtp_b_5"> Explode the Code </a>- but we are in a book that is a little on the easy side for her. She has it in her mind that because Norah is such a good reader that she isn't going to be a good reader. (She actually told me today that is going to have her nose in math all the time - just like Norah has her nose in books all the time.) I really think she needs to build up some confidence before I push her too much. So far, this is working and she doesn't cry about reading (she does whine about it - but it is much easier to deal with than the falling on the ground and sobbing that was happening before.)</div><div><br /></div><div>The second change is with our science. We really enjoyed our science last year - but the curriculum that I bought this year for Norah came with its own science so I decided to go with it. Now, I need to say that we LOVE the history and Bible portion of Norah's curriculum. It is great for us and the girls love both of those subjects. Lucy does them with us because she doesn't want to be left out. The science is on the weak side. We just pushed through the first half of the year but after Christmas, I told Kevin that I couldn't take it anymore. I dreaded doing science with them and unless I took tons of extra time adding to the lessons, I didn't feel like the girls were getting much out of it. The books that we used are good, but there was no rhyme or reason to the structure. To me, it didn't flow well and it was mostly reading. The reading was such a brief overview that I didn't think the girls were getting/remembering anything that they were learning.</div><div><br /></div><div>We just started using <a href="http://www.hometrainingtools.com/real-science-4-kids/c/178/">Real Science-4-Kids</a>. I am excited about this because it comes with a book to read together, a workbook for experiments/observations/thoughts and a teacher's guide with detailed instructions. So far, the book is great - the pictures are fun and the writing is done is a way that I think they will remember what they are learning. I love the workbook because I don't have to come up with a science notebook for the girls - it is all right here and follows the book exactly. There are 3 sets of books for the pre-level 1 (written for grade 1-3, but I think Lucy will enjoy it as much as Norah) - chemistry, biology, and physics. I love that the books are divided into areas of science - perfect for my OCD personality!! The experiments look great too! This week the girls played with legos as we talked about atoms as building blocks and tomorrow the girls are going to build molecules with marshmallows and toothpicks.</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div><div>The other change is my time with Daphne. Her totschool time had sort of fallen by the wayside. We got busy doing other things and I would plan to do stuff with her later in the day and it never happened. Now, I am doing school stuff with her first thing - Lucy joins us for most of it. Then Lucy does a couple of independent things while I work with Daphne. Then when I am done with Daphne (we usually work for about 30-45 min), I work with Lucy. We get all of her work done (except history and science - which we do with Norah) by lunch. Daphne is LOVING her school-time. She asks every day, "It my cool time yet? Peas?" Seriously, cute.</div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjztHrfQiqA6Kg4XJKk0Uu2H94v1kn8GjqO0Ko6qnMDzDGDsJSanT7CmdO3BRjAVYqVHaEWxQAC1aLQ8U_7Q4C7mEwiWdAcDRSzJEo0uih22vNNrJnR_tyn6veeEC4yRx1caSANmfG5C9k/s320/IMG_5111.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5704371979224272418" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo4i3NfmcXgDUOhyBYx35Lus-dKfWxpGUyLm4CPHCKsVpjmvd28dq4NPVRBwJTxmlht2ci05wv-LpFnS9FTsJ49Lr9d6d8y34JR8YN10vOEjt8XUdZaITDNQXn5Zq6s7wiijAr7MdYHHo/s320/IMG_5197.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5704371417884743314" /><div><br /></div><div>Norah spends the whole morning doing independent work. She practices the piano, works on math facts, completes her handwriting, works on her writing lesson, reads, etc. I try to change it up for her - but she is a creature of habit so she likes the regular schedule. Once Daphne goes down for her nap, er, I mean, rest time (Well, I don't know what to call her afternoon time in her room. She doesn't sleep, she doesn't rest, and she really isn't quiet. at. all.), I teach history and science. When we finish that, Lucy goes to her room to listen to a book on cd or to play. Then I teach math, spelling and grammar. The schedule is working well, except for the fact that we literally don't finish until 3:30 or 4 in the afternoon. The girls do get breaks here and there so it works for them.</div><div><br /></div><div>I am glad that we are back into a routine after a crazy December. The girls are happy with the minor changes that we made. It is hard to believe that this school year is more than half over. I am so not ready to start looking at curriculum for next year but it won't be long!! </div>Heather S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03206422816795019117noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825026573449733117.post-59896654627691406082012-01-22T14:30:00.006-06:002012-01-22T15:03:45.025-06:00Happy Birthday, DJ!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfOmaFgYjOst4q4Z09XbDA8pUdVfueCyEeotSNvJMteY9dXmiZd7kdQPMdIcxkXEUL5bzO4eyHA13TEtG1XyQGc0tTLWjN0kQw1kbKNZTkwXGjnzY7bYCA76D_roV7XDJPet7ZzGxptXY/s1600/IMG_5310.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfOmaFgYjOst4q4Z09XbDA8pUdVfueCyEeotSNvJMteY9dXmiZd7kdQPMdIcxkXEUL5bzO4eyHA13TEtG1XyQGc0tTLWjN0kQw1kbKNZTkwXGjnzY7bYCA76D_roV7XDJPet7ZzGxptXY/s320/IMG_5310.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700561468936959954" /></a><div><div style="text-align: left;">Daphne turned 3 this week. . . .although, she is trying to convince us that she is 16. Multiple times she told me, "I be 16. I be driving. You give me car?" Umm, no, not for a LONG time!<div><br /></div><div>On her actual birthday we didn't do much out of the ordinary - we just had a normal school day. When I asked her if she wanted waffles or spaghetti (her 2 favorites) for dinner, she said, "Quesadillas." So, the girls had cheese quesadillas and we had tortilla soup. We had cupcakes after dinner - we tried a new recipe.</div><div><br /></div><div>We had a little party yesterday - just family, but Daphne had a great time being the center of attention!</div></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifl4m2J_eJwWDud1QtL72kkHlhe3rYw4hPny83p57CN0nUMZqT1T8c9PLAde0s1l26AygMxIPgHHdS3aeWooHzuw05Sf23Yw69BXhjqImWTc52lowj7dkpJllqjgX5r_OVcy25B-rSyEw/s1600/IMG_5308.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifl4m2J_eJwWDud1QtL72kkHlhe3rYw4hPny83p57CN0nUMZqT1T8c9PLAde0s1l26AygMxIPgHHdS3aeWooHzuw05Sf23Yw69BXhjqImWTc52lowj7dkpJllqjgX5r_OVcy25B-rSyEw/s320/IMG_5308.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700561272639908818" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ycH1IAhpQk3EKFDUqU9lk8dw9WxmVPG-TBVmC_rJYZUKPLLvTri3AmPEmCUsKlS9blS0aO7HEdBvHQNEfDjnN5KYlm_LrPhdlnIzMloG2XPXIXAOmg9UffDb8rqfvFTjEdNukfO6tBE/s1600/IMG_5277.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ycH1IAhpQk3EKFDUqU9lk8dw9WxmVPG-TBVmC_rJYZUKPLLvTri3AmPEmCUsKlS9blS0aO7HEdBvHQNEfDjnN5KYlm_LrPhdlnIzMloG2XPXIXAOmg9UffDb8rqfvFTjEdNukfO6tBE/s320/IMG_5277.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700561264125849042" /></a>Daphne is a huge Minnie Mouse fan so we decided to do a few Minnie things for her party. The cookies are just chocolate cookies - my mom and I just rolled big cookie dough balls for the face and 2 little ones for the ears. We baked one tray to see how they turned out and then finished the rest once we saw how they turned out.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipsxF7PC4UtFXKPspWUUfKUWCQklY5T5LeU1v2irHYYm1Mt1IlDjsygP3jen5zml6fCGA2qy2TA3XOXgDQ6O881SWQlB6GFD3-gH5P6Iaa540EJohFliKhhWLrWYtSbm-lb2ZaW4FZdys/s1600/IMG_5279.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipsxF7PC4UtFXKPspWUUfKUWCQklY5T5LeU1v2irHYYm1Mt1IlDjsygP3jen5zml6fCGA2qy2TA3XOXgDQ6O881SWQlB6GFD3-gH5P6Iaa540EJohFliKhhWLrWYtSbm-lb2ZaW4FZdys/s320/IMG_5279.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700561260480200418" /></a>These Minnie Mouse heads are big and little oreos dipped in chocolate. This wasn't as easy as I originally thought it would be - oh well.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRkjaQgbBYKEAm_FVXurgqRwBkW3rrdV735wv_Y0XQ0RtY40sI0Lfu1dYrQfHkP_wjU4ilbOrE6I5LIUB5JAwN9SJrbBrV8wLcpoalOfc_1EAmHDRPcoTFC3MvTs6Ut0aptOSyKb01wjM/s1600/IMG_5282.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRkjaQgbBYKEAm_FVXurgqRwBkW3rrdV735wv_Y0XQ0RtY40sI0Lfu1dYrQfHkP_wjU4ilbOrE6I5LIUB5JAwN9SJrbBrV8wLcpoalOfc_1EAmHDRPcoTFC3MvTs6Ut0aptOSyKb01wjM/s320/IMG_5282.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700560554291842658" /></a>Showing Uncle Rick her favorite IPad games.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-XMnMUHtPkphVm-M2aeIC4w3GlA_9P-P3TwZT8QQat6E6fEHeEgvoudFMNF65opGT4abdaBhK9gwQzLMk25ld6w_K547lcZKDON0yNFaNdeL9lwzf3-uL6kx6mIX07m0qSpKipPxDc5g/s1600/IMG_5296-1.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-XMnMUHtPkphVm-M2aeIC4w3GlA_9P-P3TwZT8QQat6E6fEHeEgvoudFMNF65opGT4abdaBhK9gwQzLMk25ld6w_K547lcZKDON0yNFaNdeL9lwzf3-uL6kx6mIX07m0qSpKipPxDc5g/s320/IMG_5296-1.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700560553068156402" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMvUtrhCvnmYeJJW7U5rasyEl_rtEjNHsyl9ofFCIPQCMnreg55Du2b7nY87CEfZyaZSavbocKqfbAqily182reuEMgnL0-oiF570dXSXaf2V5QBKffvH__wJgHkBZfgJDF3bDfEk6LHE/s1600/IMG_5290.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMvUtrhCvnmYeJJW7U5rasyEl_rtEjNHsyl9ofFCIPQCMnreg55Du2b7nY87CEfZyaZSavbocKqfbAqily182reuEMgnL0-oiF570dXSXaf2V5QBKffvH__wJgHkBZfgJDF3bDfEk6LHE/s320/IMG_5290.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700560547991134930" /></a>Daphne was hilarious trying to blow out her candles! Check this out!!</div><div><br /><br /><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ajw6aHyiKKE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br /></div><div>Daphne's little Minnie Mouse hat was made by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Joyful-Creations/253168321397698">Joyful Creations</a>. She makes great stuff. . . check it out!</div>Heather S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03206422816795019117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825026573449733117.post-73956848776146454772012-01-21T20:41:00.005-06:002012-01-21T21:07:46.018-06:00Run, Run, as Fast as You Can!<div>One of my goals for this half of the school year is to be better about my intentional 'totschool' activities with Daphne. Our first theme of the year is one of my favorites. . .Gingerbread Men. We read several versions of the Gingerbread Man, including <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gingerbread-Man-Easy---Read-Folktales/dp/0590410563/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1327201221&sr=8-2">this one</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gingerbread-Man-Picture-Book-Classics/dp/0794517862/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1327201221&sr=8-5">this one</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gingerbread-Girl-GINGERBREAD-GIRL-Hardcover/dp/B002VKKQ2E/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1327201333&sr=1-7">this one</a>, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gingerbread-Baby-Jan-Brett/dp/0399241663/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327201303&sr=8-1">this one</a>.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGtAdtcc_MOoOS9i0Fxqe2VpuaF9bOsBElaN7KF1c6uMn1GFHLLxbK_OC2_nCKr7-FvKM9l6uDgYIcTm0eZmWef6LRwqAARQnpWPVm0F6OnoHnMVB55bBwuZGCmeADIll88dANm6I7u6s/s1600/IMG_5244.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGtAdtcc_MOoOS9i0Fxqe2VpuaF9bOsBElaN7KF1c6uMn1GFHLLxbK_OC2_nCKr7-FvKM9l6uDgYIcTm0eZmWef6LRwqAARQnpWPVm0F6OnoHnMVB55bBwuZGCmeADIll88dANm6I7u6s/s320/IMG_5244.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700283664582548818" /></a>The girls enjoyed a variety of activities related to gingerbread men. The crafts had to be Daphne's favorite. She was so serious as she worked. Cracked me up!!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKF1JmxspN6ip_KBuwiRVaTcfodlsbBm2jajvLfG-XI1D0YZujeKIMB8gSoSni1_9HOPBRGCYtGMALKX9AK3wy2IIYDWjCYcuKbE7miEGPic0tzHJbrdKhlN-9DVMvqoUlLH-B9ZLaO6w/s1600/IMG_5241.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKF1JmxspN6ip_KBuwiRVaTcfodlsbBm2jajvLfG-XI1D0YZujeKIMB8gSoSni1_9HOPBRGCYtGMALKX9AK3wy2IIYDWjCYcuKbE7miEGPic0tzHJbrdKhlN-9DVMvqoUlLH-B9ZLaO6w/s320/IMG_5241.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700283656141041634" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqbVi2dnWr_moMGyVgG7evqIbfwS2idcuDjVrrj0tbHWStPnttsfW5gOKpa7X0nk0MT8pr103nymA6w1-R8eE3CGiNGrWIX43VIAUfE3bnjdIwRYezAOr7mITnNpQ7prf3D6WXXJrOhP8/s1600/IMG_5235.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqbVi2dnWr_moMGyVgG7evqIbfwS2idcuDjVrrj0tbHWStPnttsfW5gOKpa7X0nk0MT8pr103nymA6w1-R8eE3CGiNGrWIX43VIAUfE3bnjdIwRYezAOr7mITnNpQ7prf3D6WXXJrOhP8/s320/IMG_5235.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700283649996690978" /></a><br /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh85YVlUKWU4x7sPonWp5c82hvogowAibn4iBPRU5SthjjNs3lLt1O9PL4nzC_d3DrUUwI_t8B1FeEz8POIsl073JhlHs7MrbirGusN7mHmgR2cy3vKBLK9x4yDNsALWKcilY3KZwunGnU/s320/IMG_5208.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700282474765632050" /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigEZO43C8WtvYgufSJUqRmTHXjBSuE1npoxWTKG13CWZ63YDKHDWoJYN98-WpEij_sXrsFBHUF22FegUGEUE9jO41WTwRRitebUL4gYSe8JSJTYQqsDUdZT9P6gsSujQUeIyhkYYoQ26c/s320/IMG_5201.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700282455793555522" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrRuMX5cpea1aP2h6SDDHEhUEMItwXvCG9cqCMaf34jtD-rhZrcwG1Q72DWgXQxMjFDRagRlrWnLpwTpLeGVY0LfgWBROmIAdeZ6C51SU9tKhsZDkMv3d7NvxPT4iq24xWXFwhUBhsjWk/s320/IMG_5207.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700282462439922082" /><div><div style="text-align: center;">We actually did a lot more than just crafts but for some reason I didn't get many pictures of anything else!! Whoops!!</div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuhQ1UXSk2vaIyPZlzrcGGixs0kXM8ZjgDuYzexLqlXMMUi7roeqpnn92IrTQtbUV2T8qEELz-jAL2NlefYSbxSSM8E5yAo_4z11fYkKOAFqbPsKY65NGW7SiUyklC5fsUwOAluq3TBdc/s320/IMG_5195.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700281798769532082" /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8X2KDlYL8D3j2vm0dZaM_JgqOu2ZbZ7pzIwfBCzqAuMiBUMa8W7CNLy3TCgiPOI-QUlod-HO3R4VdXTQCHk6Nw0dBeFDN17YgyEayvFNKFdlNke4Y2JTp-CssILnuGAQqFDFew3iKJ48/s320/IMG_5193.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700281790966241106" />Some of our other activities for the 2 weeks include:</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioWnBigQVDjg-K4ae2bvCNg77PDt1SeKs9hIT6ZIKW2WwI3JdLnaMzrZez0J6I35Agm6-SzS21313ffdHBe9a_7kNHj1pbrJ6vsq4QGbVVC4o_HsxYAmaNeYjEGMA_o29xZ5cQ289Q4N0/s1600/IMG_5219.JPG"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioWnBigQVDjg-K4ae2bvCNg77PDt1SeKs9hIT6ZIKW2WwI3JdLnaMzrZez0J6I35Agm6-SzS21313ffdHBe9a_7kNHj1pbrJ6vsq4QGbVVC4o_HsxYAmaNeYjEGMA_o29xZ5cQ289Q4N0/s320/IMG_5219.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700283139433378946" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">playing with the snow. . . inside. Way too cold for this mamma to go out.</div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnM0K7LJSrHHkkZ6s_LGJC-7o2ikCGU6l3jXt1qFOkSDRIFeyyuXHsJ-GUI-xhywnD1v0JHADh8D7BMfn5vcMOlKtjmsOCFp2Ijv8WzzNrrKLZYOTzZ3t_W2SX3LT1hxbuEAboOyTiuTY/s320/IMG_5210.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700283120762697218" /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">Playing with magnetic dolls. Daphne spent hours during the week playing with these. She loves them!!!</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLUAt_ut9Zz9L9mvk-h10yRYzW5yDPH1s2Wvvrhn55BluZIut4vZezOQov7jYge2PqT5soNjG72DTr_J4GRwVA1BhDfaqrPZL1jOv0lgiN5h0tln4DsBXH7DYP817QSKHuWX3sxhzzr-Y/s1600/IMG_5217.JPG"><img style="text-align: right;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLUAt_ut9Zz9L9mvk-h10yRYzW5yDPH1s2Wvvrhn55BluZIut4vZezOQov7jYge2PqT5soNjG72DTr_J4GRwVA1BhDfaqrPZL1jOv0lgiN5h0tln4DsBXH7DYP817QSKHuWX3sxhzzr-Y/s320/IMG_5217.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700283129277719138" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">and painting! Look at that serious face!! Love it!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Heather S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03206422816795019117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825026573449733117.post-20378433926501730662012-01-21T19:26:00.008-06:002012-01-21T20:41:16.034-06:00Basement Project. . . Done, Finally!`<div><div>I have been working on our storage space in the basement for a long time. . . .I mean, years. We have been in our house for almost 7 years but never utilized the space the way I wanted. I would start organizing and rearranging and then it would again become a collect all. Then I just sort of gave up and just continued to add to the mess and never put anything away. Ridiculous, I know. Finally, however, it got to the point that I couldn't walk from one side of the room to the other without hurdling over things.</div><div><br /></div><div>As embarrassing as they are, here are the before pictures:</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrkZU2CO-Sf8C2qW_cFCYHOKgowN_cNkt_SZroryPkEUpns6mDzSMWYOKkpjqN0OnBvzdZArg35tB6uMU0rR1JnTgu7ih52YcZ5hzu71pb-wFP5fe0jBCIqibq6KyhD928cOV_uq2Mu9g/s1600/IMG_5165.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrkZU2CO-Sf8C2qW_cFCYHOKgowN_cNkt_SZroryPkEUpns6mDzSMWYOKkpjqN0OnBvzdZArg35tB6uMU0rR1JnTgu7ih52YcZ5hzu71pb-wFP5fe0jBCIqibq6KyhD928cOV_uq2Mu9g/s320/IMG_5165.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700264588420939314" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /></a><div style="text-align: center; ">Notice that I didn't even shut the cabinet doors. How lazy is that?</div><div style="text-align: center; "><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNuSkg6zQswp80wrcmYvIwVkihFdWw2SDS1zJu9pdcO-nwBXtXPvL7Wwld9whlYuJDGvWb7EgHGZ241lhqEz5YIcjE7aNS68tCbJ1RCzbjSxLDEbZ6YF8qwesGBXlPJaq3oMVJt7b7KbY/s1600/IMG_5169.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNuSkg6zQswp80wrcmYvIwVkihFdWw2SDS1zJu9pdcO-nwBXtXPvL7Wwld9whlYuJDGvWb7EgHGZ241lhqEz5YIcjE7aNS68tCbJ1RCzbjSxLDEbZ6YF8qwesGBXlPJaq3oMVJt7b7KbY/s320/IMG_5169.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700264582713799522" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><div>The first step of the process was to take all the stuff out of the room. We literally took everything except the large furniture out into the school room. The plan was to have it completed by the end of our Christmas break. . . however, I didn't get it all finished so we did have school in various places the first week of January. Anyway, I started by arranging the shelves and cabinets where I wanted them and Kevin added a few extra things and moved the heavy stuff. Then I organized the clothes - with 3 girls and 2 nieces (plus a couple of friends who have passed along clothes) we have a lot of clothes of various sizes. I sorted them, thinned out, boxed them and labeled them. Then I organized all of the craft/sewing/art stuff.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ZomYXsheZF76v-bPNVTV8UYWOiIKIBDJ_uOVKrDjSecZmdI-W0WAPXhTDT016FDKOTgrFTTU24AFApTMoQpLL1pQ0BnfBX8E2OqEyWFeNbSwS0cTxtPD4mj6ARy0Ggykkentl7mqKpU/s1600/IMG_5171.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ZomYXsheZF76v-bPNVTV8UYWOiIKIBDJ_uOVKrDjSecZmdI-W0WAPXhTDT016FDKOTgrFTTU24AFApTMoQpLL1pQ0BnfBX8E2OqEyWFeNbSwS0cTxtPD4mj6ARy0Ggykkentl7mqKpU/s320/IMG_5171.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700264576102978962" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /></a>We had this tv cabinet from our other house that has been in the basement as storage. There were things it it, but they were literally thrown in and stacked on top of each other. We never used it anywhere else because it is a corner cabinet and there just isn't a good place in the rest of the house.<br /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj28Yj5epUVOzTjmwgyp-tLfUd8S3o1kWsUnR0SgMgKvYvDtOT9f7VOJkYHrM7KphFXru15UALAi3pfrdVvzEuDER3DPuf5UpSGH5PXm4pd1gz7qAjeXYcXv9mwu6pt-ODa5B-BwfRK_O8/s320/IMG_5180.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700263601763244530" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " />Kevin added some shelves and peg board to the cabinet and voila! It is the perfect craft/sewing storage cabinet!!<div><br /></div><div>I should add that there were times when Kevin and I were both working in the basement (or I was working in the basement and Kevin was at work) and the girls were just playing. Daphne wanted to help. . . .with everything! This is what she was doing most of the time:<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwZIsTFLceJy4vHEteR4X6niuc9r7Rj4yh8tAlvcqd8lxcLUzafeQMcGydlgyQu73jZO9n8E4rfdS4AMaN1n2f0YIsnFHfyWcn_ZodA5cdaDnZyiVt6G7jYL_kX43AxilCbMs9e4ClrFQ/s1600/IMG_5177.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwZIsTFLceJy4vHEteR4X6niuc9r7Rj4yh8tAlvcqd8lxcLUzafeQMcGydlgyQu73jZO9n8E4rfdS4AMaN1n2f0YIsnFHfyWcn_ZodA5cdaDnZyiVt6G7jYL_kX43AxilCbMs9e4ClrFQ/s320/IMG_5177.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700263965272996306" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /></a><div>After a couple of weeks of work, it is done. For the first time in 7 years, there aren't just areas that are organized. The whole storage room is clean and organized. I love it. Here are the after pictures:</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgITZjtB6fpoCQwaQOSfmVquI-uWNckBmFzYQ5Yn78nmQA7etWKmb1hWsvRxQNzncndSqQtm79AbSDiX1msn2I96ebDHck9t9tWDQptUMsQ0ADm9APPsv_dSYWobuESG-GrUOotD7KrMok/s1600/IMG_5182.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgITZjtB6fpoCQwaQOSfmVquI-uWNckBmFzYQ5Yn78nmQA7etWKmb1hWsvRxQNzncndSqQtm79AbSDiX1msn2I96ebDHck9t9tWDQptUMsQ0ADm9APPsv_dSYWobuESG-GrUOotD7KrMok/s320/IMG_5182.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700263596241842066" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFoFiBqe4oeBLWozGZvtaLIloxAKVYiSwH1VMUfsTazz2grIZKzB5dNK4wUUD698etkzFYnDeg_a2ugsWoDTZBtQvKtYV-9pLbraPJYA-UKm9uTKWdYB7PPrP8_WEAj_AfQHmNSKeUlcU/s1600/IMG_5184.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFoFiBqe4oeBLWozGZvtaLIloxAKVYiSwH1VMUfsTazz2grIZKzB5dNK4wUUD698etkzFYnDeg_a2ugsWoDTZBtQvKtYV-9pLbraPJYA-UKm9uTKWdYB7PPrP8_WEAj_AfQHmNSKeUlcU/s320/IMG_5184.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700263591482304514" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a>To the left of bookshelves is an art table (ignore the white microwave underneath - that is gone now). The girls love that they can go in there and paint, glue, cut, and create. I love that it doesn't matter if they make a mess!!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4n2RQasHgf_14Qy7x_Y-Z8qjh9yJWXb_Ts-78g6fEodcWqPwY75kGGhyphenhyphenjzfAW_A0Cg3V0WYqusF62OTsCPqDIHX5mO6xcq0HmDpdSBS3iNer9XqHvEdov7XOdh2NfAMRzYblP3S8hVF8/s1600/IMG_5186.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4n2RQasHgf_14Qy7x_Y-Z8qjh9yJWXb_Ts-78g6fEodcWqPwY75kGGhyphenhyphenjzfAW_A0Cg3V0WYqusF62OTsCPqDIHX5mO6xcq0HmDpdSBS3iNer9XqHvEdov7XOdh2NfAMRzYblP3S8hVF8/s320/IMG_5186.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700263584924339730" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a></div></div></div><div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7V7wefr78ITLoQakma7wXrRRra5OeofFmLnrtk0OWDHFicgLwQtlEaPVeAUHPWobnPx_80Hf18AwImhJHTzkEQHX7bgLHutceWR5KEWQ7yMAOadwQtve9AFzZ1W6OJ7IrTXk269u6e-c/s1600/IMG_5185.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7V7wefr78ITLoQakma7wXrRRra5OeofFmLnrtk0OWDHFicgLwQtlEaPVeAUHPWobnPx_80Hf18AwImhJHTzkEQHX7bgLHutceWR5KEWQ7yMAOadwQtve9AFzZ1W6OJ7IrTXk269u6e-c/s320/IMG_5185.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700276388638003170" /></a><div><br /></div>Heather S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03206422816795019117noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825026573449733117.post-78104187352630739632012-01-01T21:45:00.005-06:002012-01-01T21:59:03.651-06:00Happy New Year!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKtcvcvqBi9B2W1__OjOIlHD2O-23aAIfs8a2Wp7JqLCrEhvoBeHT9V8KEu3deqNTYQS88eA7YPLcUhFpbvmGnZ1UBYTX4vfkJTjJ71xNsDkxSRQZx465jRB9SdeP8BUENUM1HO5u1tHs/s1600/10272011-171.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKtcvcvqBi9B2W1__OjOIlHD2O-23aAIfs8a2Wp7JqLCrEhvoBeHT9V8KEu3deqNTYQS88eA7YPLcUhFpbvmGnZ1UBYTX4vfkJTjJ71xNsDkxSRQZx465jRB9SdeP8BUENUM1HO5u1tHs/s200/10272011-171.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5692876263710088626" /></a>Happy New Year from the Swinigans!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6poMaDL01hqyPD3nB3FD4K28-KTfMHWptFLTX6lSrIKcceW9eBiGj9ASqGgVrvNMr5nYRAhzaF8ZvsJADExWJqER64QrJgPZZCSMmyF1QjuPXmZGtCNUuc7yQgLidofw4o-hkwXycxKE/s1600/10272011-164.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6poMaDL01hqyPD3nB3FD4K28-KTfMHWptFLTX6lSrIKcceW9eBiGj9ASqGgVrvNMr5nYRAhzaF8ZvsJADExWJqER64QrJgPZZCSMmyF1QjuPXmZGtCNUuc7yQgLidofw4o-hkwXycxKE/s200/10272011-164.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5692876120563238146" /></a><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>While I am not one to set New Year's Resolutions, I do usually have a couple of goals that I strive to reach. </div><div>1 - Read through the Bible in a year (this is often a goal and I have yet to actually accomplish it all in one year). This year, Norah is going to try to do it too. She has her checklist of daily scripture readings in her Bible and she has day 1 checked off! </div><div><br /></div><div>2 - Lighten up about my house. We have been doing a weekly cleaning on Saturday mornings (when we are in town) and I would like to continue that and just do my best during the week to keep things straightened up. If things don't get done, so what? My priority is my family - not my house!</div><div><br /></div><div>3 - Play with the girls more. I know I am home with them all the time but we are usually doing schoolwork and housework. I often send them to play and don't sit down and just play whatever they want to play.</div><div><br /></div><div>4 - Get my kickboxing certification - that is already scheduled for this month and I am super excited about it!</div><div><br /></div><div>5 - Be more consistent about logging my food in My Fitness Pal. Be more consistent about having a cheat meal instead of a cheat day or weekend! ha! I also want to be better about sticking with the meal plans that I create. I am great at making meal plans and even grocery shopping, but about halfway through the week I lose interest and we often just wing it!</div><div><br /></div><div>6 - Now that my hip is finally feeling better, I want to run another half-marathon! We are signed up for one in May. </div><div><br /></div><div>Really, I could go on and on but 6 is good for now!! Anyone actually have resolutions? If so, what are they?</div>Heather S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03206422816795019117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825026573449733117.post-37219271402493875652011-11-27T19:04:00.003-06:002011-11-27T19:08:59.208-06:00Lucy's Story<div style="text-align: left;">One of my favorite things about having a kindergartner is the inventive spelling! I love watching a child's reading/writing skills emerge in the very beginning! Lucy is totally into writing right now. Usually we get a sentence or two here and there, but today she actually wrote a story and was quite proud of herself.</div><div><br /></div><div>See if you can figure out what she wrote.</div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 376px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdHLlpGyT3__0RWTaEptlc56za9VLWTKRsxCCK2ZG8BydFPJ3LcR54pOmNuDYDYJV7LVknhHpVVLzSzC_3scnnrF5KchBDrFU8IbZ0JwKpWoDwDoN_Gok4xNKmGoicbNGqTuzQMejAgeQ/s400/IMG_5040-1.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679847008572122562" /><div><br /></div><div>Need some help? </div><div><br /></div><div>"I bought a monkey. It was crazy. I didn't know what to do so I put him in the store. He was sad so I bought him again."</div><div><br /></div>Heather S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03206422816795019117noreply@blogger.com2