Brothers....

It’s crazy to think our family of four will be expanding any day now! (Granted, I’VE been expanding for the past 9 months…. No pun intended! I plan to get back to the ‘old’ me, or the ‘me’/new normal that my body has become post-children.) The boys seem to be excited to meet their newest little brother, and I am excited to see what his personality will be like when he is a bit older. We have one extreme and another extreme of personalities in Weiss and Klein now and I can’t even imagine another type, so it will be exciting to see. I am anticipating him to look like his other two brothers because they both DO look so much alike and favor each other dramatically—especially when they were little tiny babies. I have been relatively comfortable here during the final hurrah of my pregnancy; I told one of the midwives at a previous appointment that I thought this kiddo might be a bit smaller because I have been more comfortable this time around. She said that could be the case! On my appointment Tuesday, another midwife palpated my abdomen and said the little guy seemed to be somewhere in the 7 pounds range at this point. Granted, babies can grow around a pound each week during those final weeks in-utero, so if he camps in there too much longer, he may still be a BIG boy like Klein (9 lb, 2 oz.). Now that Klein is older and approaching two and a half years, he and Weiss are playing together more like brothers do. It is really so cute to watch (for the most part!). Weiss is pretty good about sharing with Klein and helping him out; on occasion, things get crazy, like a typical brother relationship. They now sleep in a room together and share a twin (yes, you read that correctly) bed. They have a full-size loft bed above them, but we haven’t installed the ladder because we are still nervous about falls from that height and the daredevil little brother who would find a cheap thrill from doing something crazy from atop a loft bed….. Go figure. Mornings are fun because Weiss and Klein wake up at the same time most days and both come out of their bedroom together, with Zoey on their heels (she sleeps on the rug in their room.) In my opinion, every morning is like Christmas morning. (I am referring to those mornings where the boys wake up together on their own, both come out of the bedroom together, and no one is coerced or forced to awaken, thereby creating a bad mood!) Klein and Weiss are really into protein shakes (chocolate banana almond is the favorite) for breakfast, which is a hit for me, as well---one blender-full feeds the entire family! Klein loves to watch me blend the shakes and pulls up his step stool like clockwork every time I fix them. It’s so cute because when I pour the shakes in their Thermos, Klein always screams, “SHAKEY TIME----YEAH!!!!!” Usually after this Weiss and I get started on school, and Klein will either join us and create ‘art’ or play independently, which I am thankful he does quite well in the early mornings, which is the time during the day when we are most productive and fresh for school. Weiss has also been wanting me to teach him piano; I have his books, I am just lazy in teaching him. I was beginning to feel so bad because every time I would sit down to play, he would ask me, “Mom, can you give me a quick piano lesson?” Finally my heart couldn’t take it any more! I finally started back this week with him during Klein’s nap, and he really seems to enjoy it. Like anything else, I need to just put it on the schedule and do it, because he really seems to enjoy it and at this point seems like he is a more artistically/musically driven person from what Logan and I have seen in him. A cute tidbit from this morning: today they were sharing a Pez stash I had no clue existed in a dresser drawer in their room….. I could hear Klein saying “Oh ‘tank’ you, Bubba! Your ‘elcome!’ “ It was really precious and I couldn’t help but chuckle around the corner as I eavesdropped. When I went in the room to get Klein to change his pants before his naptime, he carried one of the Pez candies in his little hand. When I laid him down to change him, he said “Yummy to my tummy, Momma! It’s ‘elthy!’ “ (He obviously has heard the phrase used in our house more than once, but just had it in the wrong context!)

Recent Musings...

As usual, it has been a while since my last blog! Hopefully I will have more to chat about after the newest little Stanley arrives! The countdown has officially begun! I am 37 weeks, and I am at that point in pregnancy where it is just not “cute” anymore…. I have also had something this pregnancy that I really didn’t have in the others—pregnancy induced insomnia. It’s not that I am too uncomfortable to sleep; I just wake easily and can’t go back to sleep when I do. NOT fun, folks. Oh well. I am thankful for a happy baby and I am healthy, so I can stand to be a bit tired during the day. I guess God is just prepping me for a normal day in the life of a busy mom with 3 kiddos! I have also slowed down on some activities, but have picked up some new ones. Infant Aquatics wrapped up for the year, and I will begin teaching again either late March or early April of 2013. (That is so crazy to say, huh?) I will definitely have our smallest munchkin in the pool as fast as I can get him! Even the tiniest babies can float, and they actually do it very well because they find the water soothing and they don’t have any preconceived notions of what happens. They are truly precious to see in the water that young! I really enjoyed teaching my first season of Infant Aquatics—I have been blessed with the most fabulous indoor pool in this area, and I love teaching the kids. I’ve also had lots of positive things and comments coming from the parents and family members of the kiddos and babies I have been so blessed to teach. That’s what a one on one lesson will do for you---the kiddos do learn aquatic safety and swimming basics! I love to see how many of them are ready to move on to stroke work (the bigger kiddos) when I am finished. It’s so amazing seeing kids who are initially afraid to stick their head under the water turn into ‘little fish’ who are diving for swim rings at the end of the course! Since I have wrapped up IA, this means that the school year has officially started! As I mentioned in my previous post, we are homeschooling Weiss---he would be starting kindergarten in a traditional group setting this year. We attend an amazing co-op on Tuesdays called Classical Conversations, which is a Christian version of classical education. I had researched it last year and really liked what I saw, but in particular, the families who were involved with the program. It is a national program with local affiliate cooperatives of families, and this is the Marble Falls area’s third year. Classical Conversations has children from preschool to 12th grade, and as they age, Latin, logic, and debate are a part of the core group of subjects (we don’t really have to deal with these for a few more years!). Klein and Weiss look forward to ‘school’ every week. The tutor presents the new information for the week ahead, and all of the information is presented with movements, motions, songs, pictures, and other catchy ways for the kiddos to learn. The kiddos also learn an art concept each week, have music, a cool science experiment or two, and each child has to speak over various topics in front of their peers each week, so public speaking begins early. It is so fun to watch the little people give their weekly speeches. One week, they told their favorite story, another week was favorite jokes, and this past week was facts on their favorite animal. Homeschooling has really been an enjoyable experience so far for me! I really do love it. It’s fun to see what Weiss is learning, but also discussing things with him and seeing what is in his little heart and mind most definitely trumps the learning part. He is learning at a rapid pace—that is just the nature of working with a child one on one, regardless of their initial ability. What would take me several hours to teach to a group of ten takes 20 minutes--or less--to teach to only one. If Weiss understands a concept, we move on. However, the various programs I am using are great to review everything so I can be sure he has retained the information we’ve gone over. I’m absolutely loving the math program we are using; it is extremely comprehensive considering the scope of knowledge for his age, and looking back at what I learned in comparison to what he is learning now, I am amazed at where he is and the confidence he will be able to have with math! He has a goal to move to the next level by Thanksgiving or Christmas, and each day anxiously adds another number to his number line that shows how many more lessons he has left to finish! He is going to be rewarded for his long term goal with a much awaited special something he has picked out. I have really loved teaching him math and phonics, and discussing history and biblical concepts with him have been exciting, because he is learning to relate certain areas at a young age. For example, we are working on ancient cultures in history, which includes the ancient Egyptians. He now knows these are the Egyptians of the bible who are mentioned in Exodus, and it was neat to see his eyes light up when he realized the connection on his own! We’re reading a short chapter book on ancient Egyptian culture from the “Magic Treehouse” series, and it is so amazing to see the joy he has when he finishes a book on his own---he is so proud. Weiss and I have a lot of fun together, as well! After we finish work for the day, I usually try to do a fun activity or schedule some one on one time during Klein’s nap. Sometimes it’s just playing a video game together, but other days, we do little art projects or crafty things. Sometimes we just discuss topics, life situations, and how to handle things and different types of people. Logan and I try to pose hypothetical situations to make him think, especially with how he responds to other kiddos and people. He is a work in progress, but he is doing great. I can see such a difference in the nearly two short months we have been working together. We are going through the bible together from beginning to end with a great picture bible and I am explaining some of the concepts that are a bit--ahem-- shocking, to say the least, to a child has been interesting. I am glad he is already learning to understand even those who love Christ devoutly may fall and stumble, but God still loves them despite their many flaws. (This was our discussion after Moses killed the Egyptian, with Rebekah and Isaac playing favorites with their children…. As you all know, the list goes on!) Weiss is also going to begin going to the local nursing home every other week to interact with those who live there, as well. When Logan arrives home, he is great to ask about what we have done for the day and encourage Weiss. He loves to get involved and ask questions about what we have done and where we are going with learning. He also helps to explain things in a way sometimes that I have not thought of. Usually this is done around the dinner table. He is so patient with Weiss and really helps me tremendously. I am blessed with a great husband who, when it comes to things regarding our children, sees things in much of the same perspective as me. Of course, this is a long post. I am hoping to get some recipes on here soon that our kiddos love and so I can have an e-copy of them….. Hopefully (I’m a wishful thinker!) I can get some of those done soon! Here are a few recent pictures of us, and I'll have to get on Logan's computer to get some more great ones of the boys. Until then, everyone!

Here's Logan and I at a recent event in Horseshoe Bay. (Almost 37 weeks preggo here!)

Here's Klein snacking after playing hard in the rain for about an hour and a half and then riding the real, live Thomas the Train at "A Day Out With Thomas" this past weekend. It was a super fun day for all of us!

Here's Weiss in his Thomas the Train rainboots, happy as a lark, with his "Weiss Air" airplane after waiting so patiently in line two separate times with Logan for a balloon creation....