Wrapping Up September

Wow, it feels like September just started, and here we are just a day away from October already!  Here's a random post of stuff from September...

We've been getting out for lots of runs these past few weeks and enjoying the nice weather!  Rachael and I have been running buddies for the past 3 years...ever since our "first" kiddos were under 1 year old!

Larkyn is officially a thumb sucker...and an adorable one at that!

This was the first time I ran my 4 mile route pushing the triple up the "beast" (mile+long 160th-hill)...I felt SO proud I sent this pic to Paul at work to tell him I did it!  It was ADORABLE the kids were so encouraging the whole way saying, "You can do it mommy, I know you can!"

My mom and I had QUITE the adventure picking up this adorable red locker I found on craig's list!  Now we have a way to organize the kids coats/etc when they come in from the garage - I LOVE it!

Love capturing the moment - Colty a reading Thomas book to Larkyn :)

Summer including Larkyn in her baby-doll play - L is in S's play carseat carrier.

Summer playing dr. checkup with Larkyn - love her face!

Larkyn's first time in a park swing

Lovin' cuddles with my big's listening to a Psalty CD

Colton's first drawing of a person (that I could at least sort of recognize to be a person) - This is Uncle Ty :)

Happy Girl!  L loves her baths just as much as the other two did!

Zoo day - eating lunch while walking around looking at all the animals

Summer was invited to Addison's "Frozen" birthday party where Elsa from the movie Frozen ran the party - total blast!  Summer was soooo excited!

Kids saying "hi" and "I love you" to Daddy at work :)

Summer has been loving to make "books" lately.  All on her own she will put words or numbers on paper, ask me to help her staple them, and then "read" them.  Here she is teaching Teddy his numbers.

Kids helping me clean...so funny how my chore is their excitement!

They loved it ;) 

Perler beads on a blustery day - S and I made the turtle on the left while C napped.  C wanted one too, so we all helped make his (the one on the right).

For school one day we did a favorite color survey to practice math/graphing/number awareness. 

The kids colored the bottom of the graph with colors of their choice

Then we walked around the neighborhood with their clipboards interviewing people and placing their answers on their graphs.  Great movement activity for Colton.  Summer LOVED talking to all the neighbors and both kids loved ringing doorbells :).  I enjoyed the opportunity to meet some people in the neighborhood I hadn't met before.

Summer continued her survey throughout the next few days with people we met up with for playdates and family we saw.  Each time she would interview someone, she would color in a square above their favorite color.  My little social butterfly wants to go "interviewing" again, so this chart may be added to again in the following weeks :).  She did an amazing job reading her graph and would quickly say things like "blue is winning"!

One day, Colty and I worked on matching upper and lowercase letters by using two puzzles we had in our closet.  We placed 5-7 lower case letters on one side of the room....

And we placed the corresponding uppercase letters on the other side of the room. 

 Colton would choose an uppercase letter, name it, and then run to the other side of the room to find its match.  He loved it, and did about 80% correctly the first time.  Here is a video...

I was amazed at the fact that he not only WANTED to sit and put both puzzles back together, but that he completed both!  I think the movement activity first helped him sit still for this part :)  Either way, it kept him plenty entertained while I worked with Summer.

Summer did quite a few sight word activities I found online, including mazes, word searches, etc...

Then she copied the new words she learned into her notebook

She also did some pattern work in her workbook.  She will do workbook pages for as long as I will sit and read the directions to her... she LOVES it!  I had to cut her off ;)

Colton is getting better at his counting.  He can consistently tell me how many items he has if he has 1, 2, or 3 things.  This video shows his first time successfully counting SIX items, however it took a few tries and I don't think he connected the fact that the number he counted to also told him how many he had!  Either way, it shows how he currently counts :).



Colton is learning how to pray, and as of this month can now pray all by himself.  Colton prays for meals (and gets all privileges/wins arguments) on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and Summer gets Tuesdays and Fridays.  Larkyn's days are Thursdays and Sundays (although she doesn't need them yet ;)) and Mondays are Mommy-Daddy privilege days.  This arrangement we have been using for the past month and it has headed off many fights! 

Summer is amazing at remembering to do our verse of the week no matter where we are eating our meal - at the table, in the stroller (on a run/walk/zoo/etc), or in the car (on the way to someplace).  It is habit for her to recite it after we pray, and I love that!  Here are our last two weeks verse of the week...

1 Corinthians 1: 27 - 29 (an exerpt) "God chose the weak things of the world...so that no one may boast before him."  *Note: we talked a lot about this verse and as a result of discussing it together decided to start praying, "I need you, God.  Please use me."   This simple prayer is easy enough for Colton, but powerful enough to impact me!  God uses those who DON'T think they have it all together and who the world would not think would be usable, so that God can be glorified.  I want to be that way!! 
(video)



Psalm 19:13 "Keep your servant also from willful sins.  May they not rule over me."
(video)


We do a lot of apologizing and asking God to forgive us in our house.  Summer does this all on her own - I don't even ask her - when she does something wrong she immediately prays (so cute!).  Colton still needs help praying, but he will almost ALWAYS say to me after doing wrong, "Let's pray for that", and "then I will feel better".  I love that his little heart doesn't feel right until he asks God to forgive him for his wrongdoing.  This particular day Colton's apology was for Grandpa Kirkwood, who babysat him while Paul and I were at Bible study.  Colton was disobedient and said no to holding Grandpa's hand in the parking lot when Grandpa first asked him (we found out when we got home), so we made him send Grandpa an apology video.  His little voice....;)



These last few videos are all about Larkyn...she doesn't "do" many new things yet, but she is pretty cute ;)!  One BIG new thing for her, however, as of the past TWO WEEKS, is she si now sleeping through the night !!  For two weeks now she has gone to bed at 8 and not woken until 6am (and sometimes even 7 or 8!)  Awesome :)  Here are a few videos of her...

Playing with the ducky on her carseat


Playing with Summer


More Smiles for Summer


Summer playing baby dolls with Larkyn (Larkyn is the babydoll ;) )