Mom School

Molly missed going to Kindergarten this year by 15 days. Darn-she is so ready! But that means I get one more year with her at home and she'll always be the oldest in her class, which seems nice. After two years of doing the joy school thing, most of us moms were pretty burnt out so we decided not to do that. We considered enrolling her for preschool and then decided that it really wasn't necessary, for her at least. Enter "Mom School." We have school on Monday and Wednesday, preferably when the others are napping. Molly seems to look forward to it. We don't have too much of a schedule but there are 5 things we always do.

1. Workbooks. We do three pages.

2. Reading/Writing. She has to be able to recognize sight words as well as be able to spell them without looking at them.

3. Calendar. Just learning the months and days of the week.

4. Memorizing. We are working on Articles of Faith right now.

5. Piano. She's using some old books that I used. They are working well but I think I need to find some that are geared toward younger kids. I took a video but she was too nervous and couldn't remember what she was doing. I'll have to post one when she gets a little more confident.

We realize that she is missing out on some things...particularly the social aspect of preschool. But we're not too concerned. She is great at making new friends and she is a confident little girl. It might be a bit of a stretch going from no school to 5 days a week but she adjusts quickly and we know she'll love it once she finally makes it there!!

October's Post!!

This month-by-month thing seems to be working out well!

In the fabulous month of October, we...

...went to the pumpkin patch!

love this place, and it's free

...took a drive up Payson canyon to see the beautiful leaves!

seriously, if you live in Utah and don't do this every year, you are so missing out

...decorated sugar cookies with Sister Couey and Carver!

...saw the witches at Gardner's Village!

...partied with the Moyes cousins!

...strolled down SF Main Street to see all the scarecrows displayed!

...partied again, Goodrich side!

...carved pumpkins!

there was no "we" involved, mostly just "dad"

...decorated the piano.

molly's idea

...went trick-or-treating!a fireman, Rapunzel (wig made by yours truly, thank you), and the cutest kitty you'll ever see

Sisters {and brothers}

Sisters are awesome.I'm glad these two have each other.

I hope they are always the very best of friends.

After all, a sister makes you happy.

Brothers are pretty cool too. This poor boy sandwiched between two sisters. He loves cars and trucks, yet he knows the names of all the princesses. He usually requests his truck book at night but has been known to ask for "ancy" (Fancy Nancy) or "Pink-licious." He runs around shooting whoever and whatever in sight although I did catch him this morning wearing a pink crown and dancing around to The Nutcracker.

Yup, poor kid.

baby girl love

Brynn is eight months tomorrow. Time has flown. She has successfully wiggled her way into our hearts for we truly cannot imagine our family without her in it.

In the last few months, Brynn has successfully learned how to sit up.How to crawl.(Which means she is putting absolutely everything in her mouth.)

And, most recently, how to pull herself up on things.(Look at that smile-she thinks she is so big!)

Justin won't let me nickname her "runt." He thinks it sounds rude or something. But really, that's what she is. She weighed 12 lbs 6 oz at her last appointment which was a few days before the 7 month mark.

In the eating arena: she has exclusively been nursed. She's never had a bottle. I didn't mean for this to happen, I planned on giving her bottles every now and then like I did with my others, but it just didn't happen. Chalk it up to laziness, or cheapness; I didn't want to take the time to pump and I really don't want to pay for formula. She's been an excellent nurser although she is now so easily distracted. And it's not like it's easy to find a nice, quiet place with the other 2 crazies running around. We'll keep plugging along, hoping that it continues to go well in this area. In all truthfulness, I have loved, LOVED nursing this wee one and would like to continue as long as I can. We'll see how big she is at her next appointment and if it's necessary to start supplementing. Cross your fingers!!

She is eating solids as well, of course. Baby food when we're on the go and whatever we're eating when we're home. It was a slow start, I will admit. She didn't quite get how to open her mouth and instead tried to suck everything off of her spoon. And the fact that she really has a teeny tiny mouth made it tricky at first. She's getting the hang of it now and picking up some speed so hopefully that will help in the weight department.

Sleeping, sigh. She's getting pretty good in the day with a longer nap in the morning and two shorter ones in the afternoon. She wakes up usually twice at night, if I'm lucky, only once. Crying it out won't work, it only wakes up the other two. I don't think she's hungry, but that's the easiest way to get her back to sleep. It is these times when I wish she'd take a binky...

She has one itty-bitty tooth on the bottom. She is cutting it right now and is a tad bit cranky about the whole thing.

She has a crooked smile. When she gets really excited she crinkles her nose and snorts.

She is quiet. She babbles some but mostly likes to sit back and observe.

She has wispy hair and not enough to do anything with. I rarely even put a bow in it because she instantly pulls it out.

I often find her sleeping on her belly with her knees tucked under her belly and her bum in the air.

We just love this little lady. Aren't babies the best??