Christmas Tree

Picture Perfect:

Jay had a little more help this year getting the tree set up.  Joshua seemed to enjoy being in on the action, and Jacob got stuck with some of the tougher jobs that old men with old backs can no longer handle easily.

 The kids decorated the tree with all their own ornaments this year.  Some were handmade and some were gifts, but it sure made it easier on me since I didn't have to get out all the boxed ornaments.  Clean up will hopefully be easier too.

 I'm having a hard time with how grown up Merrilee is now.  How is it possible she went from this:

to this:

so quickly?

Reality:

And a month later...

We are slowly but surely assimilating to our new and improved family size!  Not surprisingly, the smaller the kid, the larger the grocery bill!  Diapers and formula are not for the faint of heart!

Joshua and Sarah are doing well.  Sarah has some significant developmental and physical delays that have been challenging, but we see tiny little changes daily, and we feel she's going to do some serious catching up in the next year or so.  She came to us only on formula at 20 months, and is now willing to eat stage one baby foods with a spoon.  She also did not like any form of physical contact and is now laughing and playful with us.  She still has a long way to go and had her first appointment with an occupational therapist today, but I have high hopes for her.

Joshua is a very fun, calm, easy-going two-year old who can charm anyone.  He's got a winning smile and loves to make friends.  He's staying in the nursery at church now and has not shown signs of attachment problems.  He is always sad to see me leave when he has to stay home, and is happy to come with me when it's time to leave the nursery.  I know some of it is institutionalized behaviors, but I'm seeing good attachment and bonding happening, so I feel his transition is going smoothly.

Merrilee has been the biggest help, and I often have to give her permission NOT to help.  She takes on a lot more responsibility than she needs to, and works hard to try to make things easier for me.  I've made sure to increase her allowance since we've come home!

Jacob has shown some more maturity since Joshua and Sarah have come home.  He is helping a lot more and is doing a great job of keeping Joshua occupied much of the time when I need to get other things done.  Joshua adores Jacob, and I truly hope they develop a wonderful brotherly love for one another.

Katie Mei's transition into big-sisterhood was a concern for all of us, because she has been the baby for almost three years and has fit the role of little sister so very well.  But she surprised us all with her love for her new little sister and the responsibility that comes with it.  She has not shown jealously or any behaviors that typically come with being ousted from the baby-of-the-family slot.  She has had a few moments when she's needed a little extra attention or hugging, but she's doing great!  I am so pleased with the way all the kids have made this look so easy.

Thanksgiving was low-key here.  It was just the seven of us (My, that sounds huge!), and we didn't do anything more than have a nice dinner.  Jay and the kids stayed outside most of the day and I did the cooking with some help from the girls.  It was a very nice, peaceful day.

Now we are looking forward to Christmas and all that it entails.  I hope I get another update done before then!

Homeschool Highlights

We've gone through three months of school and I've been taking pictures.  I've just been bad about keeping the blog updated with what we're doing.  We've been adjusting to having three kids at work, rather than just two, and Katie Mei has brought an added dimension of entertainment to our day.  So far it has worked out very nicely, since I have Merrilee and Jacob sharing their history, science, and Latin curricula, so Katie Mei has had some one-on-one time to practice her phonics and reading.

We've had an awesome time with science this year, and we've put the microscope to good use.  The book we're using has a focus on life sciences, so we've been studying botany and biology.  We have covered both green seed-producing plants as well as spore-producing plants, and so far in the animal kingdom, vertebrates.

Studying roots

Making a spore print.

Looking at mold on an orange rind.

I also like to let the kids have some fun with school, so I sometimes just let them play games that reinforce what they've learned.  It lightens the day for them, and gives me a bit of a break.

I've never been good at art projects and it's just not a subject I work into our week.  But in the name of science, Katie Mei did have some fun doing what she called "the best craft projects I've ever done!"  Don't know if it was as much a craft project as it was an activity to keep her busy.  But in any case, she enjoyed it.  I've also made her keep a notebook just like the older children do, so I've got some record of her work.  I love that she enjoys school so much.

 

One of the more exciting, but messy, parts of science this year has been dissecting fish!  Mindy's husband John supplied us with several kinds of fish and the children were able to get a close up view.  It was a bit messy, but my kids loved it and even found some reasons to smile and laugh.

It will be interesting to see how our daily routine changes once we have two itty bitties in the house, but I think we'll make it work just fine.  I guarantee nap time will take on a new meaning for me though!