Thursday, June 27, 2013

Field Trip Day

Yesterday, the kids and I joined my sister on a trip to her classroom to grab her keys before schools out.  Hannah and Ethan were very excited to see a classroom for big kids (she teaches highschool math).  They visited my other sisters classroom earlier this year (she teaches preschool) and were looking forward to comparing.  

Look how little she looks at the big table.

Playing on the chalk board. hehehehe

Irresistible.  Ethan enjoyed erasing.

This makes me smile.

Then Hannah discovered the markers and the white board.

She didn't move for a very long time.

Ben likes things with buttons and cords and went straight for the fan.

Spinning the globe.

Who doesn't like a good field trip.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Hannah's Been Busy

We have been enjoying are time away from the table the last month.  Even though we have not done much in the way of school (that was the plan), Hannah and Ethan have been enjoying themselves and I have enjoyed the break.  Hannah has been spending her time learning to read and I think she is doing quite well.  We are not doing anything beyond reading.  She already knew her letters and their sounds, so mostly it learning how to put the words together and learning sight words (naturally in the context of reading).



The first book Hannah tried was "Storybook Treasury Of Dick And Jane And Friends".  I bought this years ago because I loved the pictures.  Hannah had it in her room and I had totally forgotten about until she pulled it out and asked if I could help her read it.  I really like this (yes it is old school) and there are a couple of reasons.  First, it has real stories with beginning, middles, and ends.  The pictures are compelling.  It uses sight words primarily but does it gradually.  The down side to this book is that as Hannah learns and memorize the sight words she stops practicing her decoding skills.





The second collection we've tried is the "Bob Books Collection 1".  I have been looking for these at Costco for awhile and finally found them this past weekend.  The only reason I bought these is for decoding practice.  I don't like the pictures (Hannah does enjoy them), I do not like the stories (they are painfully dull).  Actually, there is no story just a collection of sentences on roughly the same topic.  But they are good for practice for sounding out words, which is why I bought them.  Hannah thinks these books are fun and I guess that really all that matters.



I love watching Hannah read.  It is so fun watching her connect to the stories she's reading.  I am super proud of her.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Art By Hannah #3


I thought I would share one of Hannah's latest creations.  It makes me chuckle.  Typically Hannah draws people, flowers, hearts, butterflies and bumblebees.  Pretty standard girly things.  Well this week she ventured into a different genre; dinosaurs.  Violent and scary looking dinosaurs. hehehehe

The 2 taller dinosaurs are T.Rex and the smaller ones are Apatosaurus even though they do look like stegosaurus.  I love the attention to detail in the claws and teeth.

While I love the claws (and I do) one of my favorite parts was actually on the back.

I know it is difficult to see but she wrote a sentence.  "Mad Bi Hannah" (bottom left)- translated "Made By Hannah".
She explained that she was practicing as an explanation to why she wrote so parts of it so many times.

I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

For Uncle Shawn

I didn't get to post this yesterday for Andrew's brother Shawn's birthday yesterday but I hope he enjoys it. It was impossible to get both kids to sing at the same time.  So here is a slightly odd version of Happy Birthday! And no I really have no idea what Ethan was doing!


Happy Birthday Shawn

Ethan, Hannah, and Uncle Shawn


Thursday, June 13, 2013

Ethan's Basket Photos


3 Years Old

3 Years Old

3 Years Old

2.5 Years Old

2.5 Years Old


2 Years Old
1.5 Years Old

1.5 Years Old

1.5 Years Old

1 Year Old

1 Year Old

6 Months Old
1 Day Old

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

My 2 Year Old

Today, is the last day of Ethan as a two year old.  I can't even fathom a time when Ethan wasn't there.  Hasn't he been around forever.  Yet 3 years seems far too long.


Here is a list of 12 things you might not know about Ethan:

1.  This sweet boy of mine is affectionate and loving.  He hurts when other's hurt.  Yesterday, Andrew went down the stairs too quickly leaving Hannah at the top crying because she wanted to hold his hand.  Ethan went upstairs and told Hannah that he would walk her down the stairs.

2. This boy has a natural sense of rhythm and tune.  He loves music and noise making in general.  He loves to sing to (at) Hannah.

3.   He goes to bed quite well compared to even 6 months ago.  To got to sleep he must have his "kitty".  Interestingly it is not a cat but actually is a husky dog.  Yes, he does know it is a dog, but he calls it his "kitty". :D
4.  While he speaks quite well he amuses me with his own special brand of pronunciation.   He still cannot even say Ethan properly.  If you listen careful he says "Esin".  He also cannot pronounce r's or l's and instead uses a "w" sound in place of both.  I find it incredibly endearing when he says " I wove a you mama".

5. He doesn't like change and resists even the simplest changes.  He likes routine, the familiar, the predictable.


6.  He attracts dirt like a magnet even when you would think it impossible.


7.  He loves playing outside and with the other neighbor kids but is quick to let you know the moment he is finished with people.  This is the same at church and at family gatherings.  In fact, at family gatherings he is often following my dad around or sitting on his lap because he knows he will be left alone when he is with his Papa.

8.  Ethan runs on cold most of the time.  He sleeps with as many blankets as he can get away with even on the hottest of hot days.

9.  He seems to enjoy working with his hands especially with tools.  Whether it is a toy tool or real tool he likes using them and often has a toy car flipped over to fix it.


10.  He learns best with his ears. I've noticed on many occasions that he only needs to hear things to know them.  When he is trying to figure something out he repeats it many times and wants me to do the same.  On the flip side he has an uncanny ability to not hear or understand when the situation proves useful.  Such as "Ethan please pick up that paper and put it in the garbage" is entirely missed but the whispered comment about possible ordering pizza for dinner can be heard miles away.

11.  He loves his sister fiercely.  Sometimes too fiercely.  He is as tender as he is rough.  He actively tries to help and take care of Hannah.


12.  He loves to pray and is often the first to pray for something or someone.  He has an imaginary Uncle Laban (sounds like Uncle Waban) and whom he likes to visit with on occasion.


Happy Birthday to my almost 3 Year Old








Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Our Very First Box Day

Okay so most of you probably have no idea what box day is but over at our house it meant a very excited afternoon.  Box day is a tradition of sorts at Sonlight.com.  It's the day your box arrives and you get to open it up and look at all of the books and things you will be using over the next year or so.  
This past week I ordered our materials for our upcoming school year (2013-2014). In case you curious (because I would be ), I ordered Core P3/4: Fiction, Fairy Tales, and Fun.  I am very excited and I know that this will be a good fit for both Hannah and Ethan.

Have a look at our box day:
Our box patiently waits until after rest time to be opened.

Someone was excited.

So excited she attempted to open the box herself. I did however bring out some scissors to help.

Our first peek.

Pulling out the books.

Having a look inside.

Not surprisingly Ethan pulled out the game while Hannah pulled out books.

Trying to see if she could read it.

Ethan went in for more.

So excited for some new storybooks to read together.  
It's just to bad were on break right now. hehehehehe
They have such a mean mommy.



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