Our Baby Rilie is now 4 years old!
Definitely not a baby anymore.
Jackson sneaking candy with Great Grandparents.
Rilie, Alvin, and Alex enjoying Break the Ice
from Uncle Adam and Aunt Andrea
Rilie's Rockin' Ridin' Pony from
Grammie and Papa Ivey and Nick and I.
I couldn't get any good pictures of him on it.
I do have a video I'm trying to upload.
Even the big boys can ride it!
Kael enjoyed too.
Other Fun Stuff!
Alex reading to his brothers. He tested into 4th grade readers (book pack). He hates reading chapter books though. He gets overwhelmed and tells himself he can't do it. We'll buy the 3rd grade pack and easy him into chapter books.
Morning sunrise out our living room window.
Cooking with Alvin and Jackson.
Rilie and Alex catching bad guys.
While raking leaves, Alex found a caterpillar!
Alex reading to his brothers again.
I'm so glad when daddy comes home, glad as I can be.
Two peas in a pod!
We have lots of birds that migrate through our yard. I've never seen this kind before.
It had red eyes. This was the best pictures I could get of it.
I love this shirt! The kid's cute too.
Thanksgiving Turkey
We're grateful for Rilie, books, Jesus, dad, toys, Wii, temple, homeschool,
Alvin, Jackson, Church, toys, TV, books, Alex, and toys again.
Rilie eating cereal AT THE TABLE like a big boy!
Reading the box of cereal as well.
Jackson eating with him.
Alex reading to his brothers again.
A More Detailed Update...
Life is going very well. Our homeschool co-op finishes next week. It's been an amazing and intense 12 weeks. Alvin and Alex have been asking to finish their school work on their own. Last week, we made a list of assignments they could do independently, and which ones needed my help. We came up with 2 hours worth of school work. So far, they've been doing really well! They finish their work anytime between 8:30 and 10:30am!! This has given me time to play with Rilie and Jackson, prepare for dinner, and keep up with some house work. Alvin and Alex enjoy having a long break of uninterrupted play. After Rilie gets on the bus and Jackson lays down for a nap, we finish what's left. Even still, we are very excited for our holiday break.
Alvin is entering the wonderful world of retainers. *Sarcasm*. Although the kids love the office: It has a reading area with tiny doors you have to crawl through to get to the books and bean bags, three iPads bolted to the wall, and the Disney channel playing. Two weeks ago, they put in his first set of bands. Tomorrow, we'll go back for another set. We'll repeat that again two weeks from now. After that, they will pull baby teeth that were supposed to fall out by now and put on metal spacers to hold teeth in place. Supposedly, this will prevent needing full braces. So far, he's done a great job avoiding candies and snacks he can't have. He even reminds me!
Alex is growing up! He is becoming very helpful around the house and with his younger brothers. He has generally been very helpful, but he is becoming more mature about it. He doesn't just help when he's asked, he helps when he sees a need. We've hit some rough spots with listening to other adults, but we're learning how to give him more independence with his choices. He was jealous of Alvin's upcoming retainers. It's just another thing Alvin gets special attention for (if you asked Alvin he doesn't feel like this is "special attention"). But, when Alex found out Alvin can't eat popcorn, snickers, and other things... the jealousy wore off.
Rilie is continuing to talk more and more. He saw a picture of a monkey and started saying words like "jungle". He loves hiding-go-seek and duck duck goose. He loved all the gifts sent, thank you. We had his first friend birthday party. While they were playing, he kept singing happy birthday to them. We continue to experience potty success! Rilie has been helping me cook in the kitchen more. He enjoys helping set the table too. He has brought home many art projects from school and we tack them on his wall. He takes great pride in this.
Jackson is also talking more and more. Yesterday, he walked up to the stove, raised his hand to the stove, said "HA!" (hot) and pulled his hand back. The same way you teach a little one not to touch the stove. We had a friend over on Sunday, she said Jackson walked into the kitchen through both hands in the air and said some version of "Kitchen!" like he was meeting a long lost friend. Jackson loves drawing on walls, furniture, and monitors. Rilie and he are good buddies. They laugh, torment, cry, and play with each other throughout the day. You can never assume who starts it or who will end it.
Nick has been traveling. He went to San Francisco and Chicago this month. His boss says he can't travel again until February, hopefully April. Wagstaff wants to send him on more trips. My only guess is he learns quickly and teaches well. They have more systems and programs they want him to learn. Typically, they only have one project per IT employee. Nick is up to four projects. He still has too much down time, and hopes to take on more. In April, he is going to Orlando. He really wants us to go as a family. We'll see what's in the cards.
Me... well, you can see what's going on with me as you read above. "I'm adjusted. I eat 3 meals a day and look both ways while crossing the street. And I get disciplined. Yeah, I get disciplined real good! With BRICKS!" (name the movie). No, things are going really well *smile*. Sometimes, I get overwhelmed with what I'm not doing, but usually I can focus on the positive accomplishments. I'm enjoying some new found time with my babies. I love Cub Scouts. We're working on the Scientist pin. I made three activities the kids rotated to learn different scientific laws and tomorrow we're going to Walgreen to talk with a scientist (aka pharmacist).
