9 Months

Weight: 21.2 lb.

This month:

He's been working on screaming/yelling, uh, I mean communication

He is crawling like a champ

He can sit from the crawling position

Says "ah-dah" for "all done"

Understands simple directions like "no" or "go see daddy!"

Been known to stop crawling so he can lay down and suck his thumb.

These kids and their thumbs are going to be the end of me!

He's become very attached to his bubby, just like Zeke.

It can be just about any material, which is good.

This morning he grabbed Zeke's Superman costume as his bubby.

Comforting for Cai...not so much for Zeke, ha!

Starting to like playing games:

chase and "peek-a-boo"

Hasn't quite figured out that his head is the first thing that comes into contact with objects while crawling. He's constantly got a little red bump on his forehead from crawling into things.

Getting VERY curious!

Pulls up to his knees to reach something...not quite to his feet yet.

He knows that there are certain things he's not supposed to get into.

He'll go to it, grab it, look at us and smile, like, "now what are you going to do?"

He has very sensitive feelings.

If we get onto him for his little attitude he falls a part=(

School Schmool - Part 3

***Read the first two parts of our schooling journey

HERE and HERE if you need to catch up***

Okay, so now what? I've decided that we're gonna do it. We're gonna homeschool, but I had no clue as to where to start. It was time to do some research.

Where I started my search:

Friends - I have a lot of friends and family who homeschool. I have gleamed so much wisdom and so many great ideas from each of them. I've asked so many questions that they are probably screening my phone calls now...sorry;)

Curriculum Reviews - I started googling things like "homeschool curriculum" and "lesson plans" and found several very promising curriculums that sounded like they would work for us, but wasn't quite ready to commit to something. There are many companies that will mail you samples of their curriculums to get an idea of what they are all about.

Blogs - There are LOTS of blogs out there of other moms in the exact same boat. You aren't in this alone. You can step into their world and see what has or hasn't worked for them. Keep in mind that what works for them won't always necessarily work for you, but you can always get some good ideas from them.

Free Internet Programs - Endless resources are available on the world wide web that you can take advantage of for FREE! A couple sites we enjoy that even get Zeke's attention are Starfall and KidZone.

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The last time we were in Charlotte I got asked probably a half-dozen times what we were doing for school with Areyna. Sheesh... I knew of a mom in the church who had homeschooled her kids and asked what she used to teach her children how to read (I told you I was asking a lot of questions). When she said the name of the book it sounded oddly familiar.

When I got home I dug out a book that my mom had given my sister, who in turn had handed down to me over Christmas, that I had put away and completely forgotten about. It was the exact same book that my friend had mentioned to me earlier in Charlotte.

This book was referred to me by a friend, so I KNEW it was legitimate. Plus, it was handed down by my mom who specializes in teaching children how to read. I didn't have to go out and buy anything!

I had the book in my possession, I had a daughter eager to learn, I had the excitement and motivation to get started...so that's exactly what we did.

Fast forward not even two weeks later and Areyna was sounding out 3-letter words all by herself. It has been absolutely amazing to see the lightbulb go on in her little mind as she realizes that sounds make up words and that she is capable of putting those sounds together to read a word all by herself!

I know you are on the edge of your seat, wondering what book it is. Well, let me tell you!

"Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons" By Engelmann, Haddox and Bruner

Why I love it:

• It only takes 15-20 min. a day
• Totally phonics-centered
• Spiral Learning
• No planning necessary
• What you say is written in red
• If the child's response/answer is not correct it lets you know how to correct them in a positive way
• Each day includes games, reading the sound, listening and writing

My mom also just mailed me a box FULL of books. You would have thought it was Christmas when I opened up the box. One of the sets of books that I'm so excited to start are the "Bob Books". They come very highly recommended to me by my friend who has been using them with her daughter. In fact, Areyna can already sound out all the letters in the first book that I looked at. Yup, she can read a book all by herself. Wow!

I also have some hand-me-down school books coming my way.

So, we have started. It is a good start. It is working. I NEVER thought I'd be able to say that I'm teaching my own daughter how to read!?

Starting in the fall, my plan is to do some unit studies. I'll make it more structured and try to plan a month out so I'm not scurrying around trying to figure out what school will be for that day.

I'll keep you up to date with our progress and our pitfalls, because I'm sure those are soon to come, but I'm ready!

I'd love to hear what works for you or what decisions you have made for your own families.

Music For The Soul

I just found out, this morning, that Helen Gerald passed away yesterday at 91 years of age. She was my very first violin teacher.

I was only 4 years old when I began lessons and my family has continued to keep up with her throughout the years. She and her husband have been dear friends of our family from the beginning.

She taught me everything I know about music. She taught me more than just to play the music on the page, she taught me how to feel the music.

She was always so patient with me and could always tell when I'd had a bad day. She never took it personally, instead she found creative ways to get my attention without it seeming like a "lesson".

It makes me sad to think that she's passed away but I know she was a believer and that she is playing music in the presence of the Lord today!

You can read more about her amazing life HERE.

More Than Enough

Last weekend we headed to the strawberry patch with some friends to pick some strawberries (thanks for the pictures Jenn!) We picked MORE THAN ENOUGH to freeze for smoothies, snack on, smear on our white living room carpet- ahem, moving on, and make plenty of batches of Strawberry Butter. (I'll post that recipe soon, don't worry.)

I had to post our full-length picture. Do you SEE what my child is wearing?! "They" keep saying, "choose your battles"...but, oh, it's SO hard sometimes! At least we got Zeke out of his Spiderman costume for a few hours, even though they ARE his jammies! Don't worry, he still managed to keep up his superhero duties by wrangling Ezra back into the strawberry patch by force:)

School Schmool - Part 2

Areyna was graciously given a full scholarship in Charlotte to our church's preschool and got a GREAT start. It was nice to have alone-time with Zeke, during that time, before #3 came along and it was only a couple of days a week so it wasn't like it was all day every day.

The only downside to her being in school was that, well, we travel for a living! Let's just say that she didn't get any awards for perfect attendance. In fact, I had to sent a schedule to her teachers to let them know when she'd actually be in class!

Herein lay the first "problem" with sending Areyna off to school. I think she'd be kicked out of school for lack of attendance;)

Josh has been so sweet through this whole process. He has absolutely NO expectation either way and just wants me to do what I feel like God has called us to do as a family! I have his full support, regardless of what I choose, which has been very encouraging. Especially when one day I'm gung-ho about homeschooling, feeling very motivated and self-confident, and the next day I'm feeling totally overwhelmed and inadequate, not to mention the days I'm ready to send my kids off to boarding school in another country, ha!

This whole year I've been floundering around, doing some "homeschooling" but it's been VERY sporadic and inconsistent at best. It's lacked direction and structure. I was just making myself more frustrated than anything.

I decided it was time to start researching the different options.

I attended a homeschool convention last year and, while I thoroughly enjoyed it, I was completely overwhelmed with the vast array of curriculums. I just wanted someone to tell me, "Here, this is what you need...all you need...and this is exactly what you need to do everyday."

I also started looking up our local public and private schools and reading reviews and ratings and checking out pricing, which we totally CAN'T AFFORD by the way.

Then I had a realization.

I was trying to decipher whether we were going to homeschool or not, while KNOWING DEEP DOWN INSIDE that I'd already made the mental choice to homeschool. So, why was I making this first step so difficult? I already knew the answer.

My prayers began to evolve from "where" to "what".

Before I get into that I want to write out a few reasons why we have decided to homeschool.

1. We are out of town a lot.
2. Traveling and every day life have become our biggest learning strategy. What could be better than hands-on learning?
3. Since Josh works from home quite frequently, Areyna feels left out when she is the only one not at home.
4. We're not too thrilled about some of the habits she'd pick up in a school (public OR private).
5. By deciding to start homeschooling doesn't mean that we are stuck doing this for life. If we get down the road a ways and it doesn't work then we will pray through our next step. I realize that parent/child dynamics change with each child.
6. Zeke is a bit slow in the alphabet department=) Don't get me wrong...I know he's only almost 4 but he has absolutely no interest, or attention span, for that matter, in anything alphabet or numbers related, unless it concerns how many minutes until the next meal, or how many guitar picks he needs, HA! I want to have the freedom to invest in his passion and love for music until he is ready to tackle reading and writing.
7. I realized that one of the main reasons I wanted to send them off to school was for my "me time". You better believe I KNOW how precious "me time" is and that it is very important for a mother's sanity (as well as everyone else around her). I just couldn't justify my personal selfishness.
8. I also realized that the other main thing holding me back was that I didn't know where to start.

This leads me to Part 3. Come back tomorrow and I'll let you know what has been working for us so far.

School Schmool - Part 1

Josh and I have been praying for a long time about what direction we want to go with our kids' schooling. We thought we had plenty of time...until one day Areyna turned 5! WHAT?! It came up on us so quickly.

When I used to play "house", when I was younger, I would always take my kids to school. When daydreaming about my future children, homeschooling never even crossed my mind. "When I have kids of my own they will get older and they'll go to school." That's just how it was, I thought. I mean, I grew up making bulletin boards and cutting out laminated stuff for my mom, who is a wonderful school teacher. She went to school to learn how to teach. That is what one thing that she is good at. That is what she is GIFTED at. And, since there are wonderful people trained to teach children, that is where they need to be.

Then I met Josh. He is the oldest of 5 kids and they were all homeschooled. They weren't your typical homeschool family. I would have never guessed that they were one of "those" families by their outward appearance. (oh hush, you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about, ha!) They all graduated early, are all very brilliant, extremely social and even dress in the current decade's fashions;) All my perceptions about the typical homeschool family proved to be inaccurate.

So now, I'm looking at both sides and wondering what in the world is best for my own children. I know there are pros and cons to both.

After much prayer for guidance, wisdom and direction we have finally made a decision.

I have decided to write a short series of posts to allow you to see our struggle to find which direction we chose and how we arrived at our decision. I hope to encourage you other moms of younger children. There is no right or wrong way. Every child is different. Every family is different. Let's take this journey together and learn from each other!

It is OK to admit that you don't know what you are doing. For me, I've never been a mommy to a five-year-old little girl, and I remind her of that often. I am learning and she is learning. We will do this together with God's direction and grace.

Evening Swim

Typical Sunday Morning

Sunday mornings come VERY early for our kiddos.

These pictures were taken AFTER I...

turned the fan off,

turned the small light on,

turned the big light on

and the music off!

I decided intervention was necessary!

Finally, after I turned some crazy music on

and began dancing around while shaking my bootie in their faces

I at least got a reaction, heehee!

Josh walked in and told me that I had become "THAT mom!"

What Did You Say?

Tasha: "It feels SO good outside. It makes me want to sit on the front porch with a cup of tea."

Josh THOUGHT I said: "It feels SO good outside. It makes me want to sit on the front porch and plant some seeds."

He's thinking: Babe, I know you are all about gardening these days, but good grief, take a break!