Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Jensyn ~ 7 Months

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Jensyn getting so BIG! 

Okay, technically that’s not true.  She’s a peanut.  She’s in the around the 12th percentile for her weight.  Still, she’s growing up too fast!

Jensyn celebrated her 7th month by having her first bout of the stomach flu.  Ugh.  Poor baby.  Max started early in the morning and was sick until 1 PM.   Lots of hand-washing, hand-sanitizing, and encouraging the kids to keep their distance from one another…I tried everything in my power to keep Jensyn from the germs, but what can you do when you’re the lone adult in a house with 3 very small children?

No sooner had we gotten the boys settled in bed for the night than Jensyn started getting sick every 5 minutes.  This went on for a couple of hours.  She wouldn’t nurse, of course.  We tried Pedialyte in a syringe, but it wouldn’t stay down.  She was beyond miserable…just laying in our arms, eyes wide open, totally spent…no smiles, no cries, nothing.  Poor baby girl.

We called the pediatrician, and we were prepared to bring her to the ER for dehydration, but suddenly she settled down, perked up, and started smiling at us.  She slept in our bedroom that night so we could keep a close eye on her through the night, but she ended up being just fine after that.  

We’ve introduced the cup (with water), and she enjoys playing with it.  She certainly does not have the hang of really drinking more than a sip or two just yet.  She likes to fill her mouth, then let the water run down her chin.

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Jensyn still enjoys food.  I think she prefers carrots over other vegetables, as she rarely turns her head away from those.  She almost always finishes a whole container of carrots.  Generally, I give her fruit for lunch, veggies for dinner, and rice cereal (with water & a splash of apple juice) at bedtime.    Sometimes, she eats a whole container.  Other times, she’ll only take about 10 bites.

She’s tried bits of cracker and bread now, too, and I’m thinking we’ll probably try Puffs in a few weeks.  She loves to lick fruit, too.

She still nurses wonderfully, and (most of the time) she’s good about not trying out those new teeth.  It only took about week of “don’t bite” said in a loud voice to teach her to behave!  Jensyn is more easily distracted when nursing during the day now.  (There are so many things to see; why stop to nurse?)

Jensyn is fascinated with her tongue.  It’s ALWAYS hanging out of her mouth!  She’s also fascinated with her toes, and this picture does a great of showing both of her latest obsessions!  October2011 128

She loves to jump, jump, JUMP!  This is one of Jensyn’s happiest places when she’s not in Mommy’s arms.

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She loves her brothers, and they love her.  Alex is so good, so gentle, so sweet with his baby sister.  I love how he tries to take care of her, to talk gently to her when she’s upset, how he always want to see his baby sister in the car to know that she’s okay.

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Max isn’t quite so gentle, but he does love her!  He loves to give her toys, to make her giggle, to sit in a chair and hold his baby sister.  Sometimes he forgets what’s appropriate with a baby, but overall, he’s an excellent big brother!

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Jensyn LOVES the doggy!  The feeling isn’t exactly mutual, but as long as Maggie can give her kisses, the dog is okay with the baby…until the fur-pulling begins, that is! ;)

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She’s still a pretty routine sleeper – up between 7 – 8 AM, naps for about an hour (sometimes longer) around 10 AM, naps for 2- 3 hours around 2 PM, and goes to bed around 8:30 PM.  She generally wakes once to nurse during the night, and it’s usually around 3 AM.  Sundays and special days always throw us off a bit, and time change last weekend was…interesting.  She was all out of sorts the next night, but she seems to be getting back on track.

Daddy has his special time with Jensyn while Mommy bathes the boys before bed.  Usually Jensyn is super-sleepy by the time I’m finished with the boys, so she’s fussing.  On this night, she fell asleep in Daddy’s arms.

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Jensyn is most definitely a mama’s girl right now.  Nothing is better to her than being with her mommy.  Other people are fine UNLESS I’m around.  Then, only I will do!  Here, Grandma S is playing with Jensyn…who wanted to come back to Mommy!

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This little miss gave up her pacifier long ago, but a pile of pacifiers was sitting in the corner of her crib.  Not long ago, I got her up from her nap, and she was desperately trying to shove a pacifier into her mouth.  Now, she’ll take it for a few minutes once in a while.  October2011 136

Jensyn can sit up on her own and roll both ways, but NOT if Mommy is around.  If I try setting her on the floor, she has a FIT!  I still set her on the floor and sit right next to her, encouraging her to sit, roll, or play…but she’ll SCREAM.  When I’m not around, Daddy can get her to sit for a few minutes or roll around to reach toys on the living room floor.  I guess you’d call that stubborn.  I still make her try for a little while each day, but it always results in tears.  All in time, right?

Here she is trying out her cousin’s old swing at Grandma & Papa’s house.  Although she’s getting big for it, she really enjoyed it!

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I’m probably cloth diapering her more than 90% of the time now.  Thanks to the VERY HELPFUL SUGGESTION of a reader, we’re using coconut oil as a rash cream/barrier with every diaper change.   What a difference that has made!  It took about a week, but now there’s no more rash at all!  I *love* cloth diapering my babies, and I love that it saves us money! :)

Just a few cute pictures before ending this post…

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I really can’t believe how fast this year is FLYING by.  We love every moment of these sweet baby days.  I mean that, too…even 3 AM doesn’t seem so bad when I think that, so very soon, you’re going to be a big girl. 

We love you LOTS and LOTs, Jensyn Kate!  Happy 7 Months, sweet baby girl!

Saturday, November 5, 2011

The Story

Our church is reading through The Story this year, with each age category (adults, teens, children, preK) working at their own level of understanding.  We’re up to the book of Joshua, and Alex is coming to know his Old Testament stories better than we thought possible for a three year old. 

His New Testament, though…well…we’re gonna have to work on that:

Lunchtime, a few days ago…

Alex (playing with his noodles):  Look, Mom!  I made a cross!

Mom: Nice, Alex!  Hey, do you know who died on the cross?

Alex:  JESUS!!!!!!

Mom: Well, do you know WHY he died on the cross?

Alex:  Uh, because he was getting old?

Friday, November 4, 2011

Trunk or Treat

I don’t get very into Halloween.  We don’t decorate, read books about it, or do anything very special.  Most years we go to the pumpkin patch, but we didn’t fit that in this year.  We do let our kids enjoy an afternoon of dressing up for fun.October2011 223

Last year, we took Alex and Max to a friends’ church for their Trunk Or Treat.  There are TONS of cars handing out candy, inflatable slide & bounce house, and lots of fun for the kiddos.  We decided to do it again this year.  This was the Saturday before Halloween.

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Max was a furry green monster…in a costume that was just a bit too small.  He wouldn’t let me try it on in advance.  I only bribed him to wear it by promising that people would give him candy if he put it on.  (Bad Mom!)  Once had had it on, he was pretty proud of his costume.

Surprise, surprise…Alex was a firefighter!  He asked if he could bring the garden hose along with him to put out any fires.  We decided that much be a bit much to haul around! ;)

These pictures were taken on the hay ride.  Just like last year, the boys were more interested in our friend Scott and his tractor.  The hay was just a nice place to sit while they watched him drive!

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Jensyn wore her darling little pumpkin hat.  It’s hand-crocheted, and it’s so pretty.  It had the perfect shade of green on the trim – a deep sage color, rather than a bright green.  I found it on Etsy for only $6…my steal of the season! ;)

October2011 238Afterwards, we stopped by Grandma & Papa’s house to trick or treat.  When I went to get Jensyn out of the car, I found her sound asleep like this…

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On Monday, we did something we have never done before…we went to trick or treat at a few homes in our neighborhood.  I really have no interest in my kids trick or treating, but Alex was excited about it…and a few of our neighbors complained last year that they wished we’d bring our boys around.

Our firefighter drove his fire truck (with Daddy pulling the dog leash to speed things up…) and we visited a few neighbors.  (7 houses total)  We spent more time chatting with neighbors than we did getting candy, I think.  October2011 259

Our boys got TONS from the neighbors, though, because they were the ONLY trick-or-treaters in our little neighborhood…so everybody unloaded their candy on us! (With only 18 homes on 1 acre lots, most of the neighborhood kids choose to go elsewhere.)  They prefer the suckers, but I admit to steering them towards the CHOCOLATE…so they could share with Mommy! ;)

Alex had a FIT at home before we left, and we almost didn’t go.  He refused to say the words “trick or treat”.  He thought he could just stand silently and hold out his bag.  We told him that if he couldn’t use his manners, he couldn’t get candy.  He came around, and after “practicing” at our own front door, he did a great job.  Here they are next door at Preston & Jordan’s house:

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Now they’ve been asking for candy for every snack time, after every meal, and even for breakfast.  (Hey, I’d love to have a few Kit Kats for breakfast, so how can I blame them for asking!?) 

I’m not giving in every time, of course, but they are each having a piece or two of candy every day.  In a few days, their stash may just magically disappear…and they might get a prize in their bag instead.  (Perhaps a few new Hot Wheels cars?)

So there you have it, our low-key Halloween! :)

Tot School – Letter E and Fall theme

Alex is almost 4 (46 months) and Max is 26 months

This is actually last week’s post, one week late.  We didn’t do tot school this week; we were taking a week off and just enjoying ourselves – playing games, playing outside, reading lots of books, going to the library, just “being”.    

We used Fall themed printables from Homeschool Creations and Raising Rock Star printables from 1+1+1=1

Yes, Alex wore a firefighter hat and duck slippers to do autumn-themed printables.  Oh, to be three! ;)

I know it’s hard to tell what this is, but this is the directional words mini book.  You cut out apples, read the page, and glue the apple into the correct place on the page.  Alex really enjoyed this activity!  After we glued all the apples, we went through the book with a red bingo dauber.  Alex stamped the word “is” (this week’s sight word) on every page.

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Max had fun sorting these foam blocks from Target’s dollar section on our color sorting mat.  He just adores building towers out of anything we have on hand!

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Alex & Max both matched the cards.

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Alex was all excited when he saw this counting game set out for him…until he realized that you can’t SPIN it.  After that, he didn’t care at all.  If we did it again, I’d probably add a spinner and have him clip the correct number on the spot when he spins it.

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Doing the 10 part puzzle…and proud to finish it correctly!

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Alex is starting to cut on the lines…finally! 
(He’d still rather cut a paper into confetti, but at least he’s trying.)

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This week’s RRSP mini book…Alex is going through the book and circling the sight word “is” on every page.

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A few weeks ago, we spent the day at a friend’s house.  The children played while the mommies made busy bags.  Both boys were excited to try the button snake that my friend Lori made for them.

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I reintroduced bingo daubers (dot markers) a few weeks back, and both boys are in LOVE!  Max also used candy heart erasers (?!) to cover the holes on the pumpkin page.

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Here’s a little view UNDER the table as Alex is working…

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Shadow Matching…

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If you’re happy and you know it, your face will surely show it!
(Max’s favorite tot school song…there’s a happy face on that popsicle stick)

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Cutting, sorting, and gluing apples and leaves…
love the look of concentration on that little face!

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I love those wobbly little letters on the middle page…I might just be a little sad when he’s better at writing his name.  It’s just too cute right now!

(Max did the dot page on the left; Alex did the dot page on the right)

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You can learn more about RRSP, Preschool Corner, or Tot School by clicking on the links below.  You’ll also see what other moms are doing with their tots and preschoolers!

Tot School

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Bitty Buckaroos Preschool Pack (Itsy Bitsy Learners)

With the encouragement of a few friends and family members, I’ve decided to try selling some preschool packs.  The graphics come at a cost, and a lot of time & love goes into creating these packs.  With that in mind, some of my new packs will be available at my Teacher's Notebook store,  “Little Monkey Printables”.  lmprintables
Don’t worry ~ I understand that not all of you can afford to pay for a tot pack.  I aim to get out one new free pack per month, and there are no plans to change that.  I’m in the middle of working on a TRAIN pack for all the Thomas fans out there!  It won’t specifically be Thomas trains, but there are some similar graphics that your little engineers will love!  Hopefully that pack will be ready & available for FREE in a few weeks! cowboy sale image
The new Bitty Buckaroos pack is the cowboy themed pack that I mentioned a while back.  It’s available as an instant download for $2.99 at Teacher's Notebook.  There are familiar activities that you’ve seen in my packs before, and there are also lots of NEW activities – even some geared for slightly older kids like the pages shown below.
sample6sample4  sample2 sample3 sample1 sample5
Uh, the mistake in the “Missing Number” sample is NOT in the actual pack.  It was corrected…I just forgot to correct the sample! Sorry!
This pack contains 40 pages: title, credits, 35 printable pages and 3 instructional pages for parents.  There are 28 different activities for you & your child to learn and play together!
Here’s the complete list:
  • Addition Mat
  • Beginning Sounds
  • Counting Mat
  • Circle What’s Different
  • Circle The Smallest
  • Color By Number
  • Connect The Dots
  • Count & Clip
  • Count & Color
  • Do - a - Dot  C is for Cowboy
  • Find The Letter (Uppercase and Lowecase)
  • Finish The Pattern
  • Find & Stamp
  • Handwriting Practice
  • Maze/Path (beginner & advanced pages)
  • Measurement
  • Memory Game
  • Missing Numbers
  • Prewriting Page
  • Puzzle Cards
  • Scissors Skills
  • Shadow Matching
  • Shape Matching
  • Size Matching
  • Size Sequencing
  • Sorting Cards
  • Ten Part Puzzle
  • Word Builders
All graphics are used with permission from KPMDoodles (Etsy) and Alice Smith (DigiWebStudios).