First Summer Camping Trip

We like to take several camping trips each summer if we can manage it. It is my husband's busy time at work, but if we schedule far enough in advance we can make it happen.

This past week, the four of us plus my parents headed over to the eastern half of the state to Lake Pearrygin State Park. This was a new camp spot for us and our campsite was right on the lake! I was concerned it was going to be crazy crowded, but apparently we lucked out by going mid-week (Tues-Fri) and only the last day did the annoying neighbors show up. =)

The view from our campsite:

I was a little nervous about this location and Zachary drowning, but it was up on a bank and considering he's not very adventurous, I didn't have to worry too much. We had a nice relaxing week. The boys always love camping. I used this link from Pinterest and some leftover bags from Malachi's Hot Wheel birthday party this past March (which I apparently posted nothing about!) and put together a scavenger hunt for them. Zach is really too young, but he liked walking around with his big brother anyway. 

My mom and I tried out a few new meals (mostly her ideas). We had a camping pizza which was a big success, cooked our cornbread like pancakes to go with our chili and campfire french toast (moderately successful... if I'd followed the instructions correctly it might have been better!)

Malachi was excited to be able to fish right off the side of the lake. He learned to cast out a line pretty well over those couple days.

We walked around the nearby town of Winthrop, which is a little touristy old-timey town. Then we headed out to see the Falls Creek Waterfall. It was just a short little hike, but had a beautiful view.

All in all a fun trip! Already have a site scoped out for next year and ideas for what to do and bring since we've got a better idea of what's in the area. =)

I'll leave you with this.... this is what fun looks like... maybe too much fun. =)

Merry Christmas

We had a lovely Christmas with our families. Busy, of course. But good. 

The weekend before Christmas we spent with my in-laws. Malachi loves it because he can have a sleepover in the living room with his teenage cousins and spend the whole weekend playing with them. I like it because that means I don't have to drive there on the actual holiday. Win-win.

On Christmas Eve we did our traditional Christmas Eve service at church. That is always an interesting service because all the kids are in there. Mine almost don't know what to do with themselves - whether to be awed or frustrated.

Then we come home to dinner and our Christmas Eve tradition of new jammies, eggnogg and hot cocoa and watching The Polar Express. This was Zachary's first year staying up with us to watch the movie and he was so cute! He loved it! Here was a picture I tried to take of the two boys enthralled with the movie.....

Only to be given this look which says to me, "Mom! Why are you disturbing my first viewing EVER of this train movie??" LOL

Christmas day was spent opening our gifts at home, assembling lots of toys (why do they make things SO HARD to get out of the packaging??) and then heading over to my parents for opening more gifts and Christmas dinner! My mom very nicely didn't get the boys gifts needing assembly - unless you count Legos. We had enough of those at home already. =)

So now the toys are scattered everywhere, Zouff the Elf has returned to the North Pole, we have WAY too much candy in the house and I'm trying not to think about taking everything down next week.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Summer Wrap Up

I can't believe it's the end of summer already!! How did that happen? In our house, we're gearing up for the beginning of Kindergarten! I'm a little terrified, but I think it will be good. 

Yesterday I received an email from Malachi's teacher to set up our "Kindergarten Interview".  Honestly, I have no idea what to expect from this year.... being homeschooled from 1st-12th grade doesn't give you a whole lot of practical experience for the public school system. To say I'm a little skeptical is a bit of an understatement. I think there are a lot of awesome teachers out there, but they can only do so much with a broken system. I'm willing to give it a try though, so hopefully it is a good experience.

We also went shopping for school supplies with grandma and make a trip down to the outlet stores for new school clothes - of course mommy and grandma got a few things also. =)

I've also been trying to figure out how to streamline our mornings. I'm not a morning person, so anything to help me out is great. I took this idea from Pinterest @TheGunnySack for organizing clothes for the week. I went to Target yesterday and purchased a six-cubbie haning shelf organizer. Malachi thinks its cool (??) and so hopefully that will get us going. This way he can get himself dressed in the mornings and I know he's actually match.

We've been trying to fit in all the stuff that I didn't get to earlier in the summer.... like swimming lessons! Last year I only got Malachi in for a week of lessons at the YMCA. This year I didn't think I was going to get him in at all, but then I got told about a local place that was a good price AND they had one last session for the summer. Hooray! Only 3 kids in his class and he's doing really well this year having gotten over his fear of putting his face in the water last year. 

We happened to see Zachary's physical therapist at the swimming place. It was exciting to show her how well his walking now!! Last time we saw her he had only taken a few steps between us. Hooray for finally walking!!

We're going to try to "quit sugar" in our house. I was offered this book to review by the publisher and didn't plan AT ALL to want to do it.

But after reading it I've discovered that I already agreed with a lot of what the author had to say, but had no idea how to go about implementing it. Sooo... I'm actually really interested in trying it. She has a 8-week sugar detox program, so we're ALL going to try it. Convincing my husband with the sweet-tooth ("does this mean you're not going to make cookies anymore?) took some doing... but he's on-board too. We'll see how it goes......



Lastly... found this precious picture today of Malachi holding his new baby brother in the hospital.... awwwww......

My Boys

What’s been going on with my boys lately? This has been a pretty great period of time. They have started really trying to play together. I knew that having three years difference in age was going to make it interesting when it came to playtime. Unfortunately, I think it got postponed even longer because of Zachary not being mobile for so long. Malachi wanted to play with him…. It’s just kinda impossible with someone who doesn’t move around.

Now that Zach is crawling –really crawling – I find them playing with their cars together and Malachi running with some ongoing imaginative storyline while they’re playing. It’s so fun to see them interact and Malachi is so thrilled to have a playmate. I know it’s only going to get better as they get older and Zach finally starts walking.

In November we started physical therapy with Zach. He had started a sort of army crawl on his own, but I was happy when we started the actual physical therapy. He very quickly figured out how to crawl on all fours and then probably mid-December we finally got him to roll over from his back to his front! That was a huge break-through of its own. He had only rolled over a handful of times and was like a turtle when he was lying on his back. The day he came home from PT able to flip himself over was an exciting day! Now he is into everything – no cabinet is safe now. This is something I never really experienced with Malachi. Zach loves the kitchen cabinets. I might actually have to child-proof them. Small price to pay for a mobile toddler though. Next is working on standing and walking. He is still very resistant to this… but we’ll get there. I’m so happy that he’s crawling now, that I don’t really mind that he’s not walking yet.

Malachi had his first visit to the ER a couple weeks ago. He was sliding across the hardwood floor in our house and caught his knee on the heating grate in the floor. It tore a L-shaped hole in his knee. Of course I was at work, so Daddy brought him in to see me down in the Birth Center and then up to the ER they went. Zach hung out with me until grandma came to rescue him (I didn’t really want him up there with all those yucky ER germs) and Malachi ended up with six stitches. What an experience! Trying to keep those stitches in there for two weeks on the kneecap of a very active four-year-old boy! Glad they are out and we all survived it.

Aren't you glad I'm not posting pictures? I could have had a nice gory one here. =)

I was thinking that when I saw everyone posting their pictures of their kids going off to school (and preschool) this past week that I was going to be sad.... or possibly regret my decision to keep Malachi home with me this year.....

...but what I found myself thinking instead is how tiny they all look! I have decided I'm very, very happy to have my boy home with me one last year. I know that that no matter what I decide to do next year - whether sending him to preschool full-time or kindergarten - he'll be gone forever. Maybe that sounds a tiny bit dramatic, but seriously, they are only home with us for such a short period of time. Five years in my case. Then he will spend at least the next 12 in school... away from me most of the time. That doesn't even count all the endless hours of sports or clubs or whatever he's involved in!

Anyway... I am happy that I'm happy with my decision. =) Nothing worse than wondering if you did the right thing or not!

We have spent 2 weeks on the Letter A in our curriculum. Last week school started on Tuesday and this week we had morning commitments Monday and Tuesday, so I just decided to make it work with Tuesday-Friday last week and Wednesday-Friday this week. I have my lessons all organized and ready to go for the next 3 days including supplies. Hooray!

Lastly... here is a super cute picture my mom snapped of the two boys last week. She was babysitting and they were watching Transformers. Apparently Malachi was worried that Zach might get scared during certain parts of the movie...

Isn't that sweet?? Keeping his little brother safe. =)

A Walk on the Trail

We are fortunate enough to live near (within walking distance) of a paved trail that goes for MILES. We take a nice leisurely walking  through a senior's community and then we make it to the trail. I love it because it keeps Malachi, who is usually on his bike, contained and off busy roads. This was a day last week - when it was lovely and sunny outside!

This picture on the left is a very large, camouflaged frog. Malachi spent a VERY long time looking at the LARGE black and green frogs by the side of the road. I thought it was interesting too until we scared some and they went yelping (seriously... they yelp) and jumping from the bank into the water and totally freaked me out. Then I was done with the frogs. =)

Happy Easter!!

Spring!

We're just enjoying some nice Spring weather today!! I got out the stroller and sprayed it down with bleach water to remove all the mildew (I left it outside in the elements this Fall) and then we took a nice walk! Hooray!

Getting Big & Brotherly Love

My little Zachary is getting so big! On Sunday morning he started out first thing by saying "da da" to me during his morning feeding. I responded, "ma ma!" and he just laughed at me. "Da da" has been a constantly repeated sound now in our house - and he seems very proud of himself. 

We have commented in our house how Zach seems to have NO DESIRE to attempt crawling or anything of that sort. Nothing seems to motivate him. We can barely get him to stand while we are holding him up - he just buckles his little legs under himself (although... we have started working on this in earnest and I think he's finally catching on).  Malachi was crawling by 7.5 months and so had already been a mover and shaker for several weeks now at Zach's age. In some ways its kinda nice that my little Zach is staying a baby a little longer. He's not in such a hurry to be on his own and independent.

Malachi is still totally in love with his brother. On the drive to my in-laws the other day I head this in a quiet voice from the backseat, "I wuv you Baby Zach. You are the bestest brother." So sweet!
Also, after we were listening to Zach say "da da" over and over I asked Malachi what Zach was going to call him. His response was, "It's not nice to call names Mom!" Hmm... not exactly what I meant.
This is my silly Malachi boy.

Why is this fascinating to boys?

8 Months!

My baby is eight months old today!!! 
Zachary is 18lbs and his new favorite food is those cereal puffs. We have nicknamed them "baby crack" in our house because he loves them so much. I think they are probably not that good for him, but I figure I make all this baby food from scratch, so a little cereal puffs isn't going to kill him. =) We are switching to Cheerios after these are gone though.

What is new with Zach this month?? Well, he's slept ALL night several nights. I'm talking went to bed between 5-7 pm and didn't wake up until 7am.
Foods he's tried up to this point are: pear, sweet potato, sweet pea, butternut squash, cauliflower, oatmeal, rice, cantaloupe, carrot, apple... No teeth yet for this guy... although I think he'd appreciate some!
He is finally sitting up on his own well enough that he doesn't have to be propped or surrounded by pillows all the time. He has NO desire to start moving around though. Malachi was crawling by this point - Zach would rather be held.
New activities he's loving: he dances to music, he is starting to really enjoy his little books, clapping games and pulling his feet and toes. He's also becoming more talkative and loves to try to eat mommy's necklace all the time.

Malachi and Zach are such cute little friends. They really love each other and I just keep hoping it stays that way. Malachi is so good about playing with him and Zach just puts up with all his brothers over-zealous loving. =)

Love this little guy!!!

Winter Days

We have been keeping busy this past week. I've been working a lot with a couple co-workers out on leave, so I've been missing my boys a lot. Today I am making up another batch of Turkey Breakfast Sausage and last night I made up another pot of Homemade Yogurt. Success again! I think I've figured this yogurt thing out. Today I pulled out a 6oz container of the yogurt to hopefully use as the starter for my next batch.... as long as no one eats it! Here's a picture of my new batch of yogurt and my yogurt-making helper this morning:

The boys and I took ourselves on a nice brisk walk today. The weather here has been dry (strange for the Northwest), but very cold. I decided we had been stuck indoors up long enough and we should brave the weather. Here is Malachi next to his new Big Wheel bike he got for Christmas from Grandma and Papa. He loves it and I do too.... because he can't go quite as fast on it as he's regular bike! He's wearing the Ribbed Knit Hat I made him back in June. =) Love this hat... fits him great and will for a long time - my husband can get it on!

And here's my little Zach - all bundled up in his stroller and happy to be out!

These two guys are so fun. Malachi still adores his brother. The other day I caught Malachi pulling Zach's bouncer thingy into the playroom saying, "What should be play with Baby Zach?" I offered to help (in an attempt to avoid some kind of moving disaster) and Zach ended up next to the train table. Malachi proceeded to play and talk to Zach until bedtime (probably a good 30-45 min) and Zach just had a great time watching and listening!

 

5 Months!

My little Zachary is 5 months old today!!

Sitting!

Brothers!

Can't believe how fast time is flying! This month we had our first flip front-to-back (although he seems unmotivated to do it too often), sitting on his own, he was dedicated to the Lord at church and had his first Halloween and Thanksgiving. He continues to be such an easy baby! He's generally happy and so easy to put down to sleep! When he's ready for bed - he's ready and willing. It's fun to watch how he's starting to play with toys more and be interested in things around him more and more. No teeth yet.. but I keep thinking we're working on some.

Recent Malachi Moments

Three has been one of the most trying ages for us thus far. I'm hoping it  gets better from here... at least for awhile. Although on the flip side of the frustration is the funny comments that he makes regularly. Here are a few recent ones that I want to remember:

Getting ready for bed one night-
Me: Let's wipe the dirt off your face before you go to sleep.
Malachi: Why? It just get dirty again.

After baking an apple pie:
Me: We need to let the pie rest.
Malachi: Why?
Me: Because it just needs to rest before we eat it.
Malachi: It needs a pie nap?

He has a habit of getting in Zach's face... Zachary apparently likes to have his personal space because he usually cries when this happens. One day Malachi went up to Zach, who was asleep, and I overheard this - probably in anticipation of Zach crying:
Malachi: Don't cry. God is with you.

Everything is "a wittle bit" (translated to a little bit)
"I have a wittle bit of yours?"

"I go there a wittle bit?"

The most frequently heard word in our house at the moment is "WHY?"
I always thought I'd be a patient person who attempted to answer my children's questions, but there gets to be a point when there is no answer. I admit I've become a mom who answers, "because I say so" or "that's just the way it is" much more than I ever anticipated.

When he does something he thinks might be wrong, he says, "that's silly" or "that's silly, huh?"

"I got you a question." Usually followed by, "I just got you ONE question."

He's starting calling people "Big guy." Like, "Hi, Big Guy!" This does not seem to apply to only one gender.

I love my Malachi. He's a crazy, caring, and fun-loving little boy.

He's growing up so fast I almost can't believe it. It scares me.

I hope I can remember all these special little moments.

Life.

I'm not sure exactly what I want to get out of this post today. I want to post something, but I don't have a specific direction my thoughts are heading. With the beginning of September, I feel like I have a lot coming up in our lives in the next few weeks... but I'm trying to enjoy my last two weeks at home full-time with my babies. =)

Returning to work. I return to work this month - on the 15th. This makes me sad although I'm going to be returning to a much better schedule. I discovered that my schedule in the ER did not make for a very good home life for our family. I was too tired, worked too many bedtimes in a row and was frustrated a lot. I am going back to a schedule of two-10 hour shifts a week with no more than two days in a row. Although I am wishing I didn't have to go back at all.... I am thankful for the fact that I have a job and can provide benefits to my family.

Moving. We are moving this month. We had only planned to live in our current house for six months. It is a temporary place since the house we lived in before was going to be sold fairly quickly. We've finally - after 8 months - found another place that we can afford. I am very excited to move to a place with a backyard for Malachi to play in. The place we live now has a tiny backyard that is all landscaped and there is not one spec of grass. Where we're moving is also an older home... and it will be less stressful on me to keep it "perfect".

Surgery. My husband is having knee surgery two days before I return to work. He has had this same surgery on his other knee about 10 years ago, so he knows what to expect - kinda. He won't be able to take care of the kids alone for a week or so or do any work for a few weeks... and then he'll probably try to do some light duty. When you own your business, you can't really afford to take off too much time.

Our train creation!

Malachi. Age three is hard. My child swings from sweet and loving to defiant and difficult in a minute. I have always tried to enjoy every moment of his life because I know it will go by so fast... but can I be honest?... I want to get past this phase as fast as possible. I do not enjoy it. I am mad frequently, giving punishments constantly and feeling like a failure too often. We fight about using the potty. We fight about meal times. We really fight when we go to a store about him not running away or having to be in the cart. I've completely given up on nap time because I just can't take another fight everyday.
I try to remember that in the last year he's moved, his parents have both worked different schedules than he's used too and we had a baby. I'm hoping this next move will be a positive for him, since I think we'll be more relaxed about the house.

Zachary. This little boy is so precious. I am enjoying every minute of him at the moment. He laughs and smiles and coos at us all the time. No colic, not very fussy, he's a genuinely happy guy. At his two-month check-up he was 13.2lbs. As I'm writing his he's staring at me at just laughing and laughing. =) I am thankful that he is such an easy baby. I'm thankful that Malachi loves him so much. And I'm thankful that going from one-to-two kids has been a fairly easy transition. I heard lots of horror stories and ours has been very peaceful. Zachary just arrived into our lives and we just can't imagine him not being here.