Noah Blake: 17 months

My baby (waaaa!) is almost 17 months old so I thought he deserved a little update. This boy surprises me every day with new things he does and says. Yes, says! I almost never believed parents when they said their one-year-old was talking. All babies babble to some extent and I have always been very critical of believing it is actually words until I'm sure. This time I am VERY sure my baby is talking. Here is a list of the words that I know he says and uses them in correct ways:

Light (points to it, says the word when it turns on)
On (flips a switch and then says "on")
Off (ditto)
Juice (if I give him water he cries for juice - ah!!)
Cheese
Mama
Dada
Papa
Nana
Roro (says this when talking on the phone!)
Dewey (says this very clearly when he sees the dog)
Shoes
Touch
Ball
Up
Down
Book
All Done
Amen

And there is probably some others that I can't think of right now. He loves to run and the boy has no boundaries! When I took the girls outside at this age they would just calmly stay on the sidewalk or driveway but this boy will run wherever the whim takes him!! He is definitely a boy, very interested in hitting his sisters (and sometimes mommy!) which we are working on with him! He is also my most snuggly baby at this age. He will lay his head on your shoulder to rest for a few minutes (which the girls NEVER did), especially if he is being held by his daddy! He definitely gravitates to the male crowd and loves to hang out and do things with his daddy!!

He is still nursing before naps and bed (and during the night). I don't know how long we'll go on but I don't mind it and he still enjoys it and that's what matters. I was always pregnant by this point with the other two kids so I am enjoying the freedom to breastfeed as long as we want without having a pregnancy interfere with that.

He is a joy and a delight . . . a precious and precocious baby boy . . . who is really turning more into a boy than a baby these days!!

Last week = more sick days

Yep, that's where I've been. Taking care of more sick kids. Except this time the good news is that along with the cold all the kids (and I) got, Abigail did not get an ear infection. Hooray!! I was thrilled. :)

On top of that I participated in a garage sale at my church on Saturday. It took every waking moment to price and prepare for that. I made a little money so I suppose it was worth it. Pictures to come.

Everyone is on the mend and we're back to a regular schedule today . . . swimming lessons, school, and a dinner fundraiser.

Preschool at home

That's right. You heard it here. We're "preschooling" at home. Feels like a big deal to me since it seems like everyone I know sends their child to preschool (in this part of the country anyway, not as much where I'm from). Anyway, I wanted to write a little post as to the "why" of this endeavor.

Here are some answers to frequently (or not) asked questions.

1. I'm at home.

My number one reason of wanting to keep Abigail home for preschool this year is that I'm at home. Very simple. I feel like our children's lives with us are so limited in the grand scheme of things, especially these toddler and preschool years. I'm home and I desire to be pouring myself into my children during this time so why would I send her away 1/2 day for 3 days a week?

2. I am interested (gasp!) in homeschooling.

I was public schooled and Andrew was homeschooled. We still don't know what we're doing next year. We have a while to decide. It really depends on which parent you ask and when you ask us. In all honesty, I'm probably 60-40% in favor of homeschooling for Kindergarten and Andrew is probably 60-40% in favor of public school for Kindergarten. Neither of us feels incredibly strongly and I think we'd both eagerly support whatever decision is made.When we know, we'll let you know! We both see both sides of the issue and all the benefits and downfalls of both and we're weighing the best option of our family.

3. Preschool's expensive!!

Not that we wouldn't try to afford it if we really felt it was necessary but it would severely limit our budget. We're able to put both Elsie and Abigail into gymnastics and ballet and we couldn't do this if we were paying for a preschool education.

4. Learning what she already knows.

I've been around a few preschools in my day and so I have a pretty good idea of what she's going to learn. This girl knew her alphabet before she was 2 and knows both Capitol and Lowercase letters. She can count to about 60, recognizes numbers up to 20, can do simple math, and is starting to READ! I'm not saying this all to brag (ok, only a little bit) but to say that since I'm at home with her, and know her well, I can continue to guide her into learning new things and not things she already knows that is mandated by a curriculum structure.

That's all for now. I get asked CONSTANTLY from random strangers about where she goes to school and what grade she's in (yes, I know she looks like she's 6 or 7 but she's 4!!!!). So it always takes a while to explain that she's not in school . . . then the mommy guilt starts on me. Yes I feel like I'm doing the best thing for her and our whole family but going against the grain is never easy for me to do, at least publicly. Those of you who know us well know that we've chosen an "against the grain" path for our kids starting from their very first moments of air-breathing life, which meant no drugs for me during labor. It's continued from there! I feel that this fits right in. :)

Gift of helpfulness: Abigail

This girl is blessed with the gift of helpfulness. She'll even run up to me in the kitchen and say, "Mama is there anything I can do to help you with dinner?" Boy, I sure hope that lasts through the teenage years! :)

She can be a little TOO helpful at times but I still try to always applaud her spirit.

Last week = sick days

Abigail has really been struggling. Each cold she has gotten since July 1 (which would be 3) has turned into a nasty ear infection. It seems like each one keeps getting worse.

On Tuesday the two little kids started getting colds but it wasn't bad. Then on Wednesday Abigail started with a runny nose. In the middle of the night she vomited 3 times (as well as having cold symptoms) so by mid-morning on Thursday, I decided to take her in to the doctor.

(So blessed and thankful that my mother-in-law could come and babysit the little two and feed them lunch. I couldn't imagine having to bring them as well.)

Our doctor didn't have any open appointments (boo!) so I took her to the Urgent Care.

She felt so miserable!!

See?!




This time, not only did she have an ear infection, she had an infection in both ears and one ear drum was almost ready to burst! Wow! I have had that happen to me and the pain is extreme. I remember!

We got her on another antibiotic (her 3rd since July 1) and headed home to rest. She didn't bounce back from this one immediately either. It has taken several more days but she's finally on the mend now.

It's been crazy! Crazy pain for her and crazy sleepless nights for her dad and me. We are going to try an alternative allergy treatment at our doctors to help her with this chronic problem (we are thinking it is food allergy related). If that doesn't work, I would imagine we'll consider tubes for her ears.

So . . . that's what we've been doing. I'm hoping for a few weeks of health here before/if the next round hits us.

I'm trying not to let this get me uptight and picky about her getting sick but it is bound to happen. For my other kids, a cold is no big deal. They can catch one and have a runny nose for a few days and then feel better. But for Abigail these are turning into nasty infections that really knock her out so we'll be sanitizing for a while at least, to just give her body a break!!

Three wolf moon

My husband is not one to pick out his own clothes. He usually tells me or another family member that he needs something and then it will appear for him! haha! Anyway, I was surprised when he told me that he'd ordered a shirt for himself from Amazon. This is what he bought. Good thing I appreciate his sense of humor!!

(On a side note, my husband has lost almost 20 pounds. Doesn't he look skinny here? And look at my darling baby boy!! He's in his favorite spot . . . his daddy's arms!