Stinker in a Swing

I took the kids to the park last week, and I put Sierra in the swing as usual.  I would sit her in the swing with her back up against the back of the swing.  And every time, she would wiggle her way down until she was hanging like this.

And she thought it was great fun!

Fun With Molly's Ipad

Alexa has discovered the fun of playing with the camera on Molly's Ipad.  At least it keeps her busy on Sunday afternoons, right?

Sweetness

The kids were playing outside one day last week, and I snapped a few pictures of my littlest girls (who are getting way too big way too fast).

Teaching Time

Jordanna playing with play dough - keeps her busy while the big kids work.

Alexa working on the hundreds place in math.  Right in front of her is her art page for the day.

Jordanna coloring "Hickory Dickory Dock."

Caleb reading Stuart Little.  He finished it last week, and next up is The Mouse and the Motorcycle.

From My Kitchen

Chocolate chip scones

Cinnamon swirl bread

Ahoy Matey

Krispy Kreme was giving away a free dozen donuts on Wednesday to people dressed as pirates.  They also were giving away a single donut to anyone who wore an eye patch or talked like a pirate.  So, we grabbed some friends and some pirate clothes and were rewarded with 52 free donuts.

First Day of Fall at the Fair

We enjoyed the first day of fall today at the fair, wearing shorts, and sweating.  But it was still a fun day at the fair with some friends from church!

Alexa ready for some fun.

And Caleb, too.

On the Ferris wheel

The view from the Ferris wheel -the dads with the strollers.

Jordanna (finally) riding a ride with her friend. She was a bit unsure and scared at first like she usually is.

Sierra sucked on her toes for awhile.

The big kids played the fishing game.  Caleb won the XL prize, and he picked a monkey.

Dads and kids and prizes

Notice Alexa wailing in this one.  She was a bit tired from staying out late at a football game.  She actually took a nap after the fair for the first time in ages.

Sierra took a nap in the stroller.

And then we went to the petting zoo and had lunch, but I forgot to take any more pictures.

From My Kitchen

Another breakfast idea.  Figure one tortilla per big person and half a tortilla per small person.  Place on cookie sheet and sprinkle shredded cheese in a circle about an inch away from the edge.

Crack an egg into the center and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes to desired doneness.  I use a pizza cutter to cut into slices.  Enjoy!

Teaching Time

Alexa working on place value and two digit numbers with the math blocks.

Jordanna "working" hard on her "school" work (i.e. coloring and playing with stickers)

Caleb researching koala bears for his science unit on mammals

Sweet Sisters

Busy Week

What week isn't a busy week around here?

Monday, we did school as usual.  It takes most of Monday to get all my lesson planning and grading finished and to get Caleb ready for school on Tuesday.  We also went to the library, made my copies for school, and met some friends at the park.

Tuesday, Caleb and I went to school.  Afterwards, I dragged all 4 kids to Aldi.  Then we went home, and I made gourmet frozen pizza for dinner for when Dave got home from tutoring after 6:00 (he'd home at 4:30 on other days).

Wednesday, I took Sierra to the doctor for her check up and Jordanna for the doctor to look at her eczema.

Thursday, we met lots of friends from church at the park to play and have a picnic lunch.

Thursday night we had movie night with the kids since Dave was going to be gone Friday night.  We watched The Lorax, which I think was good, but I barely sat down during it.

I've been working with Sierra on eating this week.  I've been trying to give her things she can hold and gnaw on.  She may or may not have ingested a few crumbs, but it's a start.

Friday, the kids and I ate lunch with Dave at school.  We also went to a consignment sale, the library, and to my parents' house for dinner.

On Saturday, I cleaned my house (finally), baked, did a million loads of laundry, went to Publix, and waited impatiently for Dave to get home from his trip.  Yay!

Nine Months

Sierra is nine months old today!  It has been quite a month.  She had casts on both legs for three weeks out of the last month.  She also had 3-4 days of an upset tummy followed by almost a week of a snotty nose.  AND, she cut three teeth.  So, she has not developed much physically (crawling, scootching, etc.) this month because she's been busy healing.  I don't think it will be long before she's moving around.  She's sitting by herself very well, spinning around while she's sitting, lunging for things, and bearing weight on her legs in the exersaucer.

She had her nine month doctor visit today with a new pediatrician (because we switched insurance companies).  He gave me referrals for her current doctors.  He also ordered some blood work (thus the band aid on her arm) and gave us referrals to a gastroenterologist, a speech therapist (for tongue/swallowing) and a nutritionist, so we can get to the bottom of her tummy issues and get her eating solids.

 With that long introduction, here's what Sierra is up to at nine months -
-Weighs 16 lbs 3 oz pounds and is about 28 inches long.
 -Wears  6-9 month clothes.  Hopefully she will still fit in them for several more weeks because I have some really cute 6-9 month fall clothes.
-Wears a size 3 disposable diaper.  Her cloth diapers are size medium and now have to have 2 inserts to keep her dry.
-Still spits up some and drools a lot!
-Has 5 teeth.
-Gets baby food twice a day.  I've also offered her some table foods as well as things she can hold (like a baked sweet potato fry).  She really could care less about food most of the time.  She also hates all bottles and sippy cups.
-Nurses every 2.5-3 hours.
-Naps twice a day most days (except for today where she needed the third nap because her morning nap got messed up because of the doctor).  We've dropped the evening nap so that she will go to bed at a decent hour.  So, she naps about 9:30 and 1:00 and sleeps from 7:00-8:00.
-Still waking up 1-2 (or more) times a night.  She often seems like her tummy is bothering her.
-Likes playing sitting up or in the exersaucer.  No more swing or bouncy seat.  We're going to try the jumperoo as soon as Daddy gets it down from the attic.
-Babbles, coos, and growls.
-Wants to gnaw on everything she can possibly get her mouth on including people's faces, fingers, and other random body parts.
-Is ticklish, especially her neck.
-Seems to be getting slightly less fussy, but still prefers Mommy to anyone else.
-Has only ten toes!