Anna Kate is One!

Can you believe that Anna turned one last week?  I cannot.  This year has gone by in a flash.  I took Anna to the doctor today.  She is still tiny.  She only gained 1 1/2 lbs. in the last 3 months!  She is 16 pounds, and 30 1/2 in.  That makes her 4th percentile for weight and 92nd percentile for height!  She wears 9-12 month clothing and size 3 diapers.  (Really, she could probably still wear size 2 diapers, the 3s are a little big...tiny baby). 

She is starting to talk up a storm (all 3 of my kids have been early talkers.  Maybe I talk too much?).  She says: mama, dada, bubba, Aya (Ella), and woof!  When she hands you something she says, "go."  I think she's trying to say, "Here you go."  She can point to your nose, your eyes and your mouth.  Her favorite games are patty cake and peek-a-boo.  She is a mama's girl...seriously.  Whenever anyone else approaches her, she grabs the back of my arm and holds on.  She does not want me out of her sight. The doctor assures me this is normal and that I will be able to go to the bathroom alone again sometime in the forseeable future.

She did the army crawl exclusively until she was 10 months old.  Then she started crawling up on all fours.  She is all over the place.  She is pulling up on the furniture and cruising.  She shows NO interest in walking on her own yet.  She hasn't even tried it.  She's my 3rd, so this is perfectly fine with me. 

She has 2 cute little bottom teeth.  She loves to hug Aidan and Ella.  She lays her head on their shoulders and says, "awww," while patting them on the back---sweetest thing, ever.  She has always been a very laid back baby, but in the last month, she's developed a tiny temper.  She growls at people.  It is hilarious to see such a tiny little thing growling.  If you tell her "no," she cries like you broke her little heart. 

She loves to dance, and therefore, loves any toy that plays music.  She is fascinated by dropping things into buckets.  She loves cashew chicken and cheesy chicken with rice, honey nut cheerios, and crackers.

She has 2 dimples and big blue eyes and is as sweet as she can be.  I can't believe a year went by that fast, but I also can't remember what we ever did without her.  We all love her dearly.  Ella says, "when she gets older, I'm going to tell her about how cute she was as a baby," and "she is so cute, I love her little head."  Aidan says, "she is the cutest baby ever, I just love her so much."  And her parents are just as smitten.  I foresee one very spoiled little girl.  :)

 

Happy birthday sweet girl.  We love you so much. 

Dear Santa,

This made me smile:


Dear Santa,
     I want a medium-sized big horse that's black, and a medium-sized big horse that's brown, and a small medium-sized small horse that's an old paint.  Santa, I hope you give good presents to my baby sister that she will love and make her smile.  Santa, I love you when you give awesome presents to everyone in the townville at Christmas.  Santa, tell the boss elf to make good presents for everyone in the world that God made.  I love you Santa and the awesome presents you bring on Christmas Eve.  And, dear Santa, I know if I love you, you will love me back.  I love Christmas.

                                                                                                                  Love,
                                                                                                                    Ella

A Few More Things I've Heard Lately:

Ella (to her friend Ellie):  I have to hide to do bad things.
Ellie:  What kind of bad things?
Ella:  Sometimes I stick my face between the couch cushions and spit.

Lovely.  Don't go digging around in my couch cushions.  You're welcome.

Aidan:  When I die, I hope they fly the flag at half-staff.  I want to be important. 

Aww

Me (to my nephew, Cooper):  Hey Cooper, it smells like Up Dog in here.
Cooper: Oh, I farted.
(Ideally, he would have said, "What's up dog?" and I would have said, "Nothing, what's up with you?)

I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving!

We Bring These Gifts

The last 2 Christmases I have felt like I needed to do a better job helping my kids focus on Christ's birth.  We talk about it, but let's face it, for them, it's all about the presents.  I knew I needed to do a better job with holidays when I asked Aidan why we celebrated Easter and he said, "because that's when Jesus killed Adam and Eve."  sheesh. 
Anyway, I've had this idea to write a family devotional for Advent for the last 2 years.  I wanted it to be fun, but also meaningful.  I wanted it to have concrete ways that we could focus more on Jesus and on helping others.  So, this year, I finally wrote it.  I wrote a Bible study that not only teaches the Chrsitmas story, but also teaches families to be intentional about strengthening their relationship with Christ, to be intentional about loving on others and to be more appreciative of the amazing gift of God's son.  In the study, I have the kids think of one thing every day that they can do as a gift for Jesus.  I am excited to see what our family comes up with and how we are able to bless other families this Christmas season.
I wrote it with my kids in mind.  Then, I thought other families could really use this too.  So, I've been furiously working on it the last few weeks, and now it is finally ready.  I self-published it on Amazon tonight (only a digital version for now).  I would love it if you would check it out.  If you love it, please write a review so others can buy it and love it too.  Here's the link to Amazon:



 



The Bible study was written with families in mind, but I think it would be good for individuals and couples also.  If you're children are very small, you may have to modify a few of the activities for them.  I would love to hear your feedback.
Thank you so much!

Texas History

When I started thinking about home schooling Aidan, I had to start thinking about curriculum.  What I discovered is that you could easily spend a small fortune.  We don't have a small fortune.  So, I scoured the internet and book stores trying to put together the best curriculum I could that was also easy on my pocketbook.  Come August, I had everything figured out except History.  There is a lot of great curricula out there, but I really wanted to teach Aidan Texas history.  In public school he would be learning Texas history.  Plus, it was one of my favorite things to teach when I was teaching 4th grade.  We were low on funds, but since I had taught Texas History for years, and took a few college classes on Texas history, I thought, "Hey, I can make my own curriculum."  Well, that has turned out to be quite a bit of work!  It is fun, and Aidan says History is his favorite subject this year, so I think it has been worth it.  So, since I've put all this work in, I thought I would make it available to other home schooling families as well.  So far, I have written studies on the regions and symbols of Texas and on Native Texans.  I am in the process of writing one on Explorers and Missions. 

These studies can be self directed.  You gather all the books you can find on the subject at the Library, and the student uses the books and the links provided in the study to complete the exercises.  There are lots of crafts.  You can make a salt map of Texas and a lap book if you wish.  It is targeted at 4th graders, but could easily be adapted for other ages.  I wrote it with home school students in mind, but I would have loved to have something like this for my students to use when I was teaching public school as well.  They could do it in groups using books/textbooks or in the computer lab.

So, if you could use something like this, please check it out.  I have the first chapter...Texas Symbols and Regions all ready to go.  I am putting the finishing touches on Native Texans.  It will be ready in a day or two.  Explorers and Missions will follow soon, with other installments coming as Aidan and I get to them in our studies.
Check back for the future installments. I am adding a tab at the top of the blog for the curriculum.

 $3.99 

 

Please share this post with anyone (teachers/home schoolers/etc.) that you think might be interested.  Thank you.  :)