Here are a few things Summer and Colton have been up to this past month...
Playing Out in the Snow and Hot Chocolate
Both kids were ECSTATIC to have their first hot chocolate...
and it is now requested each time they come in from the cold!
Seeing Grandparents
We went to Grandpa's work for his birthday - the kids were so excited to see him!
Grandpa!
The kids quickly made friends with Mr. Tom in the cafeteria and he gave them a chef hat to take home!
The kids loved seeing where brownies were tested, looking at the book of all the types of cereals, testing chocolate chip cookies, and all the fun that comes with visiting General Mills :)
**I don't have a picture but they also LOVE, talk about, and look forward to seeing Grandma Kirkwood when she comes on Thursdays for "Grandma Day"!
Grandma and Grandpa T came for a visit and we went to the zoo together
Grandpa and Colton peeking at the sea life
Arts and Crafts
Our kitchen island is literally covered right now with all sorts of drawings, clay pieces, cards/notes, and various other art projects. The kids have been busy!
Play dough and clay
Paper Mache masks
Paper Mache Masks
Painting
Completed Masks
"Scribble Art" - Scribble a Design and color in the spaces
Turned out great!
Reading
Lots and Lots and Lots of reading! Summer reads to Colton now! Summer and I have read through our first two Chapter books together and love that special Mommy-Summer time. Colton loves Lightning McQueen, Thomas, and any transportation or space theme books :)
Getting Energy Out Indoors
A few lunches at McDonalds SPECIFICALLY for the purpose of getting the wiggles out at the play place! It has been SO cold!
Here are two videos of Colton. The first is a video of him running up and down the hallway. He literally does this almost every night waiting for bathtime or after bathtime...often naked (lol!) and often trailing balloons. He just has such an excess of energy!!! I have to include it because it is such a funny memory for me - I laugh out loud when I watch him! Here is him putting the laundry in the laundry chute, but often there is no purpose to his running...just him literally running up and down the hallway!
This trampoline is such a lifesaver! There are days I literally assign him a number of jumps he needs to complete before he can continue with whatever activity we are doing...just to get his energy out positively instead of negatively!
Games and Puzzles
Playing a kids version of Monopoly :)
Forts and Playing "House"
Pillow Fort
Getting together with friends
We have loved getting together with our small group from church (we all have kids 4 and under). We have quite a few putluck style dinners, birthday parties, etc. We also had a fun super bowl party and the kids all wore their football/jersey gear (even thought we don't own gear from any of the teams that played!)
Swimming Lessons
The kids had a "makeup" lesson after we missed a lesson due to sickness. They were put in the same class for a makeup session and they thought that was SO fun!
Family Fun
We went to the zoo as a family...including doll "Clarabelle"
Colton loved taking pictures on Summer's camera
Lunch at the birdshow
Dates with Mommy
Summer and I went to see "Broadway", a musical production done by the high school I used to teach at. This was our second annual date to Broadway, and we both looked forward to it and loved it!!!! I loved her little hand in mind as we watched the show and watching her excitement! I can't wait for next year!
Colton and I went on a date to see a high school basketball game at the high school I used to teach. He was so, so, so cute as we talked all about everything happening in the game. Each time our team scored he would turn and give me the biggest celebratory hug (that was my favorite part!!).
Sickness
The kids all caught a nasty cough/fever bug
While I didn't love being cooped up in the house for almost a week and the lack of sleep, I definitely enjoyed the extra cuddles!
Watching Daniel Tiger
School
Summer, among other things, has been learning how to use the laptop this month (and LOVING it!).
Here she is practicing typing and learning the "space bar", "backspace" and "enter" buttons
She typed all sorts of things including our families names, different animals, etc and loved being a "big kid".
She is getting better at working the mouse, but it is still tricky for her! Here she is practicing her addition on this interactive site .
She wrote down the problems in her notebook, and then checked her answers using the site. I gave her manipulatives to use to help her count out the answer but she just used her fingers.
Colton and I have been focusing a lot (among other things) on working on writing his name.
He was having trouble getting the grip on his pencil right so we went back to using just his finger doing salt tray practice.
Here is a video...I love this method of teaching writing...
We then transitioned into using the finger to "finger paint" his name...he loved it and did awesome!
Finally, we transitioned to holding a paintbrush. I put dots on his name where he should start his motion, and he really did a great job tracing.
He also loved gluing "smarties" onto his name...so much, so, in face, that we ended up adding his middle name so he could keep going!
Verse of the Week
Learning about the Bible and praying together continue to be of utmost importance in our daily routine. I read each kid their Bible story before quiet time (I love that one-on-one time to read and discuss). We have also started reading through the Easter story from my big Bible during breakfast. We have currently read the story from the first three Gospels and will start on John tomorrow. What a great way to prepare for Easter. We also continue to memorize our BSF verse each week. Here is a collection of February's videos.
My post is few days behind because she (and the rest of the gang!) was sick with nasty colds/coughs/fevers all week (it has been quite the week)!
Larkyn had her highest fever yet on her 8 month birthday - 103.3 degrees.
Coolin' off with Daddy, sporting the fashionable "wet washcloth hat and diaper look" :)
Anyway, we are finally fever-free around here, so I am ready to write about our little 8 month old! Here is a collection of pictures I have taken of her throughout the last month...I realized as I was compiling them that a lot of them have to do with her eating! This girl is only 16 lbs and some ounces but she can put away a fair amount of food!!!! She is now officially a meat eater, and has loved everything she has tried, including ground beef (in pureed lasagna and sloppy joes), pork chops, and chicken. She normally breastfeeds 2-4 times a day, and eats 3 solid meals a day. She will eat almost anything!
Here Summer is feeding Larkyn pureed pears - she loved them as evidenced by her consistent HUGE open mouth waiting for the next bite!
Daddy let Larkyn try chocolate this month and it was love at first taste! Here is a series of pictures - I just love her expressions!
First bite...
MMMMMMMmmmmmMMMMMM!
I'm not sure what you gave me, Daddy, but it sure is delicious! I'll take more of that please...is it on your face?
Oh, there we go. Thanks, Daddy!
Oh MY is that delicious!
More please!
I don't know what to say, this stuff is crazy good!
Other food pictures...
Larkyn will often finish a meal off with a graham cracker for dessert!
I love that she can feed herself this way, and give Mommy a chance to eat :)
She also had her first "wagon wheels" this month.
Larkyn's meals are "combination" meals now. I have bags of pureed food cubes (that were frozen in ice cube trays) in our freezer and I just pull out different cubes at each meal. I usually mix together cubes of various things to create a casserole each meal. Tonight she ate lemon garlic chicken, peas, and carrots mixed with rice cereal. On nights when we are having something that is already baby friendly (mashed potatoes) or easy to puree (crock pot meal) I will give her some of that :).
Larkyn is still such a smiley baby!
She is easy to take pictures of because it is so easy to get her to smile!
Good morning!
Visiting Grandpa at his work for his birthday
With Daddy's hat
Daddy trying to teach Larkyn how to clap :)
Larkyn spends a lot of time playing and exploring her exersaucer when we are downstairs...and very often one or both kids will "stop by" to play with her :)
When we are upstairs she plays most often in her jungle (however she rolls herself out of it after a while!)
Larkyn is in size 6-9 month onesies and size 3 diapers. Her head and her waistline have grown out of 3 month clothing but her length still fits it just fine :) She wears mostly size 6 month clothing (although it is still a bit "long" on her arms and legs) and size 1 shoes (however she can still fit into her 3 month jammies!) My little peanut!
This sweet pea has busy days, with lots to watch and learn from her big sibs! While she generally takes two naps at 9am and 1pm, I am grateful that she can easily catch catnaps in her carseat on BSF days when our schedule keeps us from being home for her morning nap. She is so flexible!
Some Videos:
This is my favorite video of Larkyn this month. Summer took this video of us reading "Peek-A-Boo Forest", a book Larkyn got for Christmas from GeeGee Obermayer. I think it is safe to say it is her current favorite book!
Although Larkyn is not a crawler, she sure is a "roller"! Here is a clip of her playing while her siblings were playing cars.
Colton is such an attentive big brother and just loves playing with and talking to Larkyn. Here is a cute clip of him doing "SO BIG" with her :).
In this video Summer is showing Larkyn her balloon. Larkyn LOVES to kick both her feet and does so almost constantly when she is laying down. Makes sense why she was my most active baby inside me!
Daddy has been trying to teach Larkyn to clap. Most of the time she just stares at him really cute! Here is a video:
I continually think of Larkyn as a "blessing baby" and will almost every night as I pray for her, before tucking her in, thank the Lord for allowing us to have her! She is the sweetest little thing and I couldn't be more in love!
