September 3, 2010
Latest News 2009 Kimball Family Year in Review December 22, 2009, 10:06:39 PM by Katie Dear Family and Friends, It has been a year of growth for the Kimball family: growing a toddler, growing a blog, growing out of our house. We’re working on putting our house up for sale and are nervous at the prospect of getting rid of half our stuff…and slightly more nervous that we won’t miss it at all.  Anyone know someone looking for a great starter home in Grand Rapids?  We’re staying in the area, just moving “up”. It’s amazing, really, how much children can grow and develop in one year.  God’s works are something to wonder at!  We’re honored to have co-created with Him and to have the responsibility of caring for two of His children here on Earth.  We pray daily that we don’t mess it up! Here’s what Paul has been up to in the last year: Started a one-day-a-week religious ed program based on the Montessori method (Catechesis of the Good Shepherd).  He loves seeing his friends and having a teacher other than Mom.  His teacher thinks he’s something special. Christmas gifts from both sets of grandparents included lessons:  ice skating and gymnastics.  Lots of fun to watch him try his hand at both! Tried downhill skiing in February at Boyne (northern Michigan).  He blew us all away with how quickly he picked up on the method, got over his fears and even figured out how to cut back and forth and stop on a dime!  We were so impressed, we took him on the chair lift.  Oops.  That hill was taller than it looked for all of us, and there were some tears shed…but then he was game to try one more time! Summer = “Can I go outside and play with my friends?”  We are so blessed to have older kids who don’t mind playing with a 4-year-old in our neighborhood.  They played lots of sports, caught lots of bugs, and got wet when it was warm enough! Swimming lessons this summer were very successful.  Paul is a hard worker and good learner and isn’t afraid to try something new, so he picked up a lot.  He’s not quite a fish without a flotation device yet! Caught his first fish with Uncle AJ up in Rogers City! It was nice to have 3 little perch for lunch, but even nicer that Paul got to spend time with his uncle doing something special.  See some photos at http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/08/12/wordless-wednesday-sons-first-fish/. The training wheels came off in September with a victorious ride…and then they went back on.  “I’ll ride a two-wheeler when I’m 5,” he says. Back to school meant a loss of all the big kid friends, but Paul and the little 4-year-old girl from two doors down struck up a great friendship and can play “doctor” all day. Am I wondering about that?  Uh, yeah.  At least I have the kid who teaches his friends about Jesus and the saints! When the cold weather came, we found ourselves indoors a lot more.  We’re doing a little school…sort of…unschooling, I suppose.  Paul has latched onto coloring as a favorite activity, can listen to music and dance all day long, and is reading entire books without (much) help.  It’s exciting to watch that little brain go!  His favorite activity is probably anything with his dad.  He just lights up when he gets to spend special time with Kris, and his mood for the morning is pretty much dependent on whether he gets to see Daddy before Daddy leaves for work, or not.  Which has all changed in the past week…see Kris’s section for more! Little Leah has grown from a barely crawling baby to a walking, talking, sassing, problem-solving little girl.  Her pigtails stay in only as long as she wants them to (she likes to hand the hairties to me with a knowing smile), she eats great at the time of her choosing, and she gives herself time outs when she hits her brother and I don’t catch her.  But she doesn’t stop hitting the brother.  She has all Mommy’s Polish stubbornness and a good dose of winning personality to go with it.  Highlights include: Celebrated her first birthday with all her grandparents.  She thought sweet frosting was curious and odd and tore up her cupcake instead of eating it.  But give the girl ice cream and she does a happy feet dance!  Chocolate was one of her first 20 words.  Both kids’ birthdays are highlighted at http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/07/10/finer-things-friday-kiddos-birthdays/. We weren’t sure Leah would be alright with swimming this summer, but it turned out she is a fish and LOVES it.  She’d stay in the pool until she chattered and turned purple and then hit the wall and screamed to get out and get warm!  (If only we had some 90-degree days so she could be warm AND swimming…) If anyone remembers how much Paul loved fruit when he was this age, Leah is giving him a run for his money.  I have never seen her voluntarily stop eating fruit.  Here are some fun photos of some blackberry picking on a walk (http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/07/15/wordless-wednesday-guess-what-we-found-on-our-walk/), and we also braved strawberry, blueberry and apple picking with her.  She loved every minute and was always eating!  You can see photos of the apple picking here: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/09/25/5-reasons-i-love-apple-season/. Leah went camping for the second time in her life, and she became one with the dirt. Not in an existential weirdo way, but in an “I-love-to-play-with-sticks-and-dirt” way.  We had a lot of fun even though it was 42 degrees when we woke up and a hopeful 70 for a high.  You can see lots of photos and stories here: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/09/04/finer-things-friday-family-camping-trip/. Sometime this fall she grew from a baby into a little kid wanting to be a big kid.  If she could do every single thing her brother does, she’d be happy!  She loves to climb up on a chair at the kitchen table and just “be”.  It makes her feel older, I think.  Her “problem-solving” skills become evident when she routinely drags said chair across the kitchen to the counter, climbs up and presents herself ready to help Mommy work.  It’s cute, but not if you’re working with raw meat or just can’t accept the help at the time.  She has already learned to sort silverware out of the dishwasher into its proper places in the drawer.  That was Paul’s chore, so now he needs a new daily opportunity. Any ideas? Leah has a fascination with the potty and has actually had some successes hitting the mark!  We’re not expecting her to be trained within a week or anything, but it’s exciting that no diapers may be around the corner someday.  However, if she’s clearly making a big stink, and you ask, “Leah, are you pooping?” she vehemently shakes her head and says through pinched mouth, “Nooooo.”  “Do you want to put it in the potty?”  “Noooooooo!”  If you’re rocking her down at bedtime, on the other hand, she will pat her diaper and claim triumphantly, “Poo poos!”  Of course she wants to go the potty then. Halloween = introduced to the joys of candy.  She didn’t know it existed until then (other than chocolate chips), and now she’s hooked on “nan-ee”.  Drat.  She was awful cute in her ladybug costume though! Leah received some baby dolls for Christmas last week, and doggone is she in love with “Bay-Beeeee”.  She could carry one of them around all day.  She’ll cover them with blankets, feed them, take them to the potty…Kris says, “Did Paul do this at his age, or is this a girl thing?”  Paul takes care of her babies now when she throws them on the floor.  You can pretty much figure out what Katie’s been up to by visiting www.KitchenStewardship.com.  I really enjoy blogging and the online community I’ve found, but it’s stressful in its own right and takes too much of my time (because I allow it to).  I’ve changed the way we eat quite a bit in the last year, get raw milk and grassfed beef right from the farm, make sourdough bread and lots of other things from scratch.  It’s quite an adventure, and one that will continue for quite some time, I imagine. This summer the kids and I went on a city bus trip just for the experience, something that Paul and I had been talking about for months.  I blogged about the day here http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/08/07/finer-frugal-things-friday-city-bus-field-trip/ and because of that, I was invited to be on a local TV news show to publicize the city bus system.  It was a real treat to get my 3 minutes of fame! In my other spare time, I’m still enjoying weekly Bible study and monthly book club, try to hit a daily Mass once a week and chase after the kids until I get really, really tired.    We had a little scare with Kris’s mom this summer, as she had a surprise double bypass.  We supported her through her rather quick recovery and continue to see the Kimballs once a week for a (healthy) dinner and playtime with the kids. Kris has been focusing on health for the past year or so and started the P90X exercise program in June.  It’s a 90-day intensive workout system…and he’s still working on it.  It’s impractical for a dad of young children to work out every single day, but I’m always blown away by his dedication.  I do a yoga or kickboxing workout with him every so often; they’re incredibly challenging! Pretty much every minute of Kris’s life has just changed last week.  His company, which has been downsizing like they’re on Weight Watchers, finally did something other than let someone go – they sent everyone home.  His physical office building is now closed, and the employees are working at home.  We curtained off one end of our basement room, but there are some adjustment pains as we figure out how to keep a playroom and a home office separated by a piece of fabric. That, coupled with choosing a school (out of 7 choices!) for Paul’s kindergarten and windows that are having issues are pushing us to look elsewhere for our “forever” house.  We don’t want to have to move again, ever.  Blessings for all of you for a holy Christmas season, which, contrary to cultural belief, actually is just starting on the 25th and runs through January.  Pray for us that we don’t get caught with two mortgages or living with the in-laws for too very long! Love, Kris, Katie, Paul and Leah ***To see photos of all this hooplah and more, click the "Pictures" tab on the left side of the screen back near the top. comments (0) | Write Comment   2008 Kimball Family Update December 23, 2008, 12:21:43 AM by Katie Dearest family and friends, Some apologies (but not many) for the paperless update and postcards.  It really will save a lot of green:  paper to save the earth and postage to save our budget, as well as the fact that I don’t have to worry about formatting this page, making copies or running out of ink.  (Phew!  That’ll leave enough time to actually bake some Christmas cookies this year!)  Maybe we’ll be innovators of a new trend… On to the update you’ve all been waiting for! Our greatest accomplishment of the year, is, of course, adding our beautiful Leah Katharine to our family.  She is now six months (already!), sitting up quite well, spitting out all her food, preferring the Nuk (pacifier) to nursing to sleep (during the day – the opposite of her brother), loving playing with toys, loving watching her brother play even more, and growing quite a little personality.  In fact, the lady behind us in church said, “What a lot of character in that little body!” when she was about three months old.  I’m still trying to figure out just what that woman saw that particular day, but she’s right! “Before Baby” We had a low-key winter before March threw us back into a whirlwind spring:  trips to the circus and the Grand Rapids Symphony presentation of “Teddy Bear Picnic”, and an Easter vacation to Florida/Disney World to see Uncle AJ off before he deployed to Iraq (AJ is back in Michigan for good now, as of Sunday 12/21).  Paul was a joy in Florida, wishing to swim like a fish and ready to try anything at Disney World (although unsure of a few rides once on them, like Pirates and the Haunted Mansion).  The best part of the Disney day was the very last thing we did.  In Toonland there’s a little play area that has lily pads that shoot water out at random.  Paul played in them and began by getting wet, then looking at Mommy to see if it was okay.  After receiving encouraging laughter from the adults, he graduated to standing directly over the fountains or putting his face in, giggling gleefully in anticipation of the snoot-ful he was about to receive!  He was a sopping mess by the end (see pictures), but we had extra clothes just in case and were happy to change him in the middle of the park! Paul turned three April 30th, and we were aware that it was his last birthday as the “only” child to dote upon.  We gave him a whole day of fun:  streamers in his doorway upon awakening, surprise Elmo cupcakes awaited him at breakfast, Mommy took a day off work to play with him, we went out to lunch (his choice:  Chinese buffet, the one with Superman ice cream for dessert!), opened presents here and there, and went to Chuck E. Cheese with the grandparents for dinner.  Talk about one exhausted three-year-old by the end of the day!  That weekend we celebrated with a Big Bird cake, both sets of grandparents and all the aunts and uncles who were in the country at the time.  The same week, Paul also was invited to play Duck, Duck Goose with a whole class of eighth graders at our church.  It was a riot; for more, read the post on the website about that day.  Immediately after the grandparents left from the birthday party, we hosted our friends who have a 5 ˝-year-old girl and a boy Paul’s age.  The kids had a blast playing together, our dishwasher couldn’t take it anymore and died, and then the evening that those friends left, Paul’s godmother came for a visit.  After 10 straight days of company, he cried for 10 minutes after waking up on Monday morning with no one extra sleeping in our house!  (And we got a new dishwasher that week, which works AMAZING and only flooded leaked into the basement once, before it was completely installed.) Paul was definitely preparing for the birth of a sister:  he started fighting naps, acting completely defiant, and telling Mommy (just once) that he wanted Leah to go away.  He mourned the loss of my lap and I think he could sense that he was going to lose some of my time, too.  He already was, to “tired Mommy” who didn’t want to play as rough or as much as she used to.  We were at wits’ end and finally instituted a “respect jar” behavior system:  Paul got to eat 10 M&Ms each night with his bedtime books, but for each time he defied or disrespected his parents, he lost one.  It was pretty successful for a while, but we cancelled it this fall after he stopped caring about M&Ms!  An interesting developmental note: after learning about the Easter story, Paul developed a fear of death.  He spent an entire Mass in a crummy mood because he saw the crucifix above the altar and got upset.  I think that for a while, he thought that HE would have to die on a cross like Jesus, that the mean soldiers would poke his side, and perhaps that it would happen as a child.  One night we figured this out when he said, “When I am bigger, I won’t be afraid to die.  But then I’ll need a bigger cross.”  Wow.  How many of us won’t be afraid to die when we’re bigger, cross or not?  Sometimes the maturity and selflessness of this kid overwhelms me.  …and then he’ll scream “No!” or refuse to put his clothes on, and I remember:  He is definitely still just three years old. “Leah is born!” Leah has retained some of the personality she started about 2 weeks before her birth:  she often is very content doing whatever she is doing until she is completely ___________ (fill in blank with tired, hungry, or bored) and then she screams and wants her wish fulfilled IMMEDIATELY.  I thought she was coming every day for about two weeks, and would often be on the couch in pain by afternoon or evening.  When she finally came, it took about 5 hours of labor and 39 minutes in the hospital and – she was born.  100% invested in whatever she is doing and totally focused, that’s our little Leah!  I had a lot of help from my mother, who stayed a week to help out with Paul, meals, and li’l ol’ me, and my wonderful friends and Bible study gals, who brought meals until I ran out of friends!  The physical recovery was a bit harder than with Paul, but Leah was an easy baby and I knew what I was doing more, enough so that I was out picking strawberries a week after Leah’s birth.  My mother thinks that was ludicrous, but those berries sure taste good coming out of the freezer this time of year, and Leah slept in her stroller the whole time anyway!  Paul, amazingly, chose the week of Leah’s birth to hit his required 7 dry nights in a row and earned the right to wear underwear to bed.  Then he started fighting me tooth and nail at naptime when I was tired too and liable to fight back.  That made for a rough transition, and Kris and I often asked, “Where is our sweet little boy?”  The sweet little boy never totally came back, but we’ve found our stride as a family now and the bumps of misbehavior are shorter and more manageable.  (Wait until tomorrow – I’ll be erasing that part!)    “Summer Fun” We managed to travel 2 hours to Kalkaska for the Fourth of July festivities when Leah was just 2 ˝ weeks old.  It was wonderful to see my extended family and introduce them all to Leah, who was the star of the weekend.  Between her and our resident 3-year-olds (Paul and my cousins’ daughter, Alysen), I’ve never seen more “paparazzi” with cameras snapping shots!  Paul loved the boat this year and had no fear of boat rides, and he even went tubing behind the boat at a pretty decent speed (with a parent on the tube).  He and Kris fell off just once, as we were trolling in to the dock.  Still no fear!  Hooray! We quickly filled the rest of the summer with blueberry picking, playing outside, learning to ride a two-wheel bike with training wheels (like a pro the first day, tumbles and all, scared of moving the next, and then like a pro for good after a week), a trip to Rogers City to visit Grandma and Dzia Dzia in August, camping as a family, and Aunt Michelle’s wedding the weekend after Labor Day.   The kids and I stayed in RC for a week while poor Daddy had to work, then he joined us for the end of the Nautical Festival and my 10-year class reunion (a hoot!  The most fun I’ve had all year).  We are very proud of our accomplishment of camping with a 3-year-old and 2-month-old…camping, mind you, with zero amenities beyond the firepit, and leaving our house in a slight drizzle with the forecast of “chance of rain” all weekend.  We seriously lucked out and had no rain for setup or take-down and just a few hours of precipitation the second morning.  Paul had a fabulous time, enjoying the food over the campfire, the novelty of sleeping in a tent, the “tinkle tree”, and the huge waves Lake Michigan shared with us after our 10-minute hike over dunes so steep and tall we thought we’d never make it.  I was very thankful for my sling and a baby who becomes more contented the more outside air she gets.  Even going from inside our screen tent to outside, Leah would calm down.  It was hard work, seriously hard work, to manage the children and the demands of camp life, but the challenge made the rewards all the more sweet.  It was a truly priceless weekend, and one we hope to repeat year after year.  We love the thought of our children reminiscing on their childhood and having a traditional “family camping trip” to reflect on each year. On the flipside, Michelle and Tejay will only get married once – and what a day it was!  Paul was cute as a button in his tuxedo and wild as can be on the dance floor.  He himself said he wouldn’t dance with Mommy because he was dancing with all the pretty ladies – a true statement!  He picked up more 20-something women than most 20-something guys I know!  So many people asked us where he learned his dance moves…I wish we knew!  He simply loves music and even has personal “dance parties” in his room when he is supposed to be having “quiet play time” (what “naps” evolve into when your child is three!).  It was a beautiful, well-organized, and holy day that will be talked about in the Kimball/Brinker/Evans clan for years to come! “Fall Fest” September dawned the start of a new school year:  the first time I’m not starting school in 24 years.  My job was cut because of budget in the spring, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing as it would have been a big discernment process about whether to continue my six hours a week with two children.  Odd, though, not having any change in my schedule after Labor Day.  I’m still adjusting to being completely “at home” with no one (ever) to keep me accountable for my time other than me (and our resident three-year-old, who will tell you if your house is dirty or if you’re wasting precious playtime!). We enjoyed time as a family at a local apple orchard twice, riding the wagon to pick apples (2 ˝ bushel overall, and there are only a few left), sampling the cider, and allowing Paul to make all the choices in the corn maze.  We bought pumpkins to carve, and Paul and Kris designed their own “scary” jack-o-lantern face.  Paul is old enough to start preschool this year, but we’re not quite ready for that.  A friend and I are sharing teaching responsibilities for five families every other week and working through a Catholic homeschool preschool program.  It’s been great for Paul to have “school” and a teacher, time with friends, and we do a calendar at home and work a little on the side as well.  I’m excited to see all that he’s capable of learning, and I only wish I had more time to prepare lessons for him and more self-discipline to really keep a regular schedule of “school time”.  In spite of all that, he’s learning to read some sight words and can blend about any three-letter phonetic word, with a little help on the vowels at times.  Good stuff!  We also let Paul try computer games from the library for the first time this fall.  He was totally enraptured at first and would ask to play right after breakfast.  I worried that it would be an addiction, but already it has tapered off, just like any other toy.  It’s fun watching his prowess with a mouse, and hearing him develop technical language skills like “exit” and “click”.  Somehow Paul created an alter ego, named "Jason", this fall.  We don't know any Jasons, nor are there any in books we've read, so even the name is a mystery.  Unlike many kids who have imaginary friends, Jason IS Paul, and "Paul" is the imaginary one.  !!  Jason was four years old for a while, then five, and now he's 10.  He has parents, but he really likes being at our house.  We let him stay mostly, but if he misbehaves we do threaten to send him home to his folks!    If you check out the pictures, you'll see that Paul is a big helper -- in the kitchen, painting, with tools, and outside.  He likes to be near his parents and will help, or "help", with anything.  We are proud that he is a man of prayer already -- he always prays for the emergency when he hears a siren and he likes praying the Rosary and often requests to do the whole thing instead of just a decade for night prayer.  He got to try ice skating twice now and is pretty doggone good for a 3-year-old, we think!  He loves hockey and wants to take lessons, along with gymnastics, which he saw on Sesame Street.  We'll have to see what January brings... Leah is growing like a weed, although still very petite as babies her age go.  She is not mobile yet, but she’d like to be.  She pushes hard on her arms when on her belly, and ends up going backward a few inches and screeching when she realizes she’s actually further away from her target!  She loves exploring the Christmas tree and touching the ornaments, when she’s highly supervised.  She is still a “100% girl”, fighting to stay awake until she must fall asleep, usually deeply, nursing hard and fast and then crying the second she’s done because she’s not playing yet, and throwing baby tantrums if we take something away from her that she wants.  Give it back, and the screaming stops in an instant!  I worry about my little drama queen as a toddler and (shudder) teenager.  It will be a fun trip to see how this personality develops.    We started food the weekend before she turned 6 months, and unlike her brother, she is not yet a fan of eating.  She was SO excited the first time to finally get a chance to do what she’s been watching everyone else do for so long, but after a few bites, she started making faces and has decided it’s easier to push food out of her mouth than swallow.  She’ll eat about a half an ice cube of pears, or a few bites of sweet potato or rice cereal, but then her lips are closed and she’s not easily impressed by anything, although the “airplane” game makes some headway at getting the spoon into the mouth.  Leah is a real “people person” and loves to smile and giggle at people behind us in church, in line at the store, etc.  She’s the hit of every get together we go to, and many people call her “Little Paul” because of her remarkable resemblance to her brother.  It looks like she’s growing brown hair, though, perhaps with a touch of red, so between that and her more feminine features, she’s taking on her own look now.  Now you know more than you possibly want to about the Kimball family 2008!  Come visit sometime and join Kris and Paul as they sled off the deck and down the hill in our backyard!  Click on the “Pictures” tab to the left on the main page of kimballfam.com to view a “2008 year in review” – a few pics from each month or big event. A very Blessed Christmas and Happy and healthy New Year to all of you! comments (0) | Write Comment   The Duck Duck Goose Story December 21, 2008, 02:16:16 PM by Katie Paul has had an ongoing relationship with the 8th grade drummers at our church for the last year and a half.  It began when he was a carefree 18-month-old and danced in the aisles at the Friday school Masses when the kids played.  The choir started noticing him, and then they started visiting and talking to him.  They learned his name, we learned theirs, and this year the two boys who play the drums stopped to say hello to him every Friday.  Paul always played shy with them and rarely said a word, then talked incessantly about them after they left.  One day he suddenly decided he would ask them to play his new favorite game, Duck Duck Goose.  And he did!  Their first response was a sheepish face and:  “We’ve been drafted to play Duck Duck Goose!”  They were so kind, though, and told him they’d think of something.  <br><br>They ended up talking their religion teacher into letting them play during school, so the Friday after Paul’s birthday (a totally fun coincidence), Paul played Duck Duck Goose and a bonus game, Red Light Green Light (the 8th graders’ idea) with all 24 8th grade students at Blessed Sacrament School.  It was the sweetest doggone thing you’ve ever seen!  We brought cupcakes that Paul helped to frost and he gave each student a blessing with holy water on their way out.  The drummer friends were so sweet with him, and even held his hand when he was the “goose” because he started out a little shy.  I took some video, which Paul fondly refers to as “the Duck Duck Goose Show” and watched it about 5 times in the first week.  I even caught him quoting from it as if it were a book we had read.  As an epilogue to the story, the boys even invited Paul to “help” them run games for the younger children at field day, and Paul played tug-o-war and relays with the kindergarten class and his favorite 8th graders.  What 3-year-old can say they’ve had a play date with an entire 8th grade class?  My son is unique and awfully special…  comments (0) | Write Comment   Update on Leah and Paul July 28, 2008, 10:44:15 PM by Katie Leah is doing wonderfully and growing and changing so much.  I got to weigh her on July 24th, and she was already at 10 pounds!  That's over 25% over her birth weight of 7 lbs 6 oz, and far surpassing her brother, who didn't get that heavy until 2 months, although he was born at 8 lbs.  She has on days when she takes 2 or 3 great naps of about 2 hours each, and "off" days when she's fussy all day and can't figure out if she's tired or hungry.  If she doesn't get a good first nap in the morning the first time she's tired, it throws off the whole day.  Then she's tired while she's eating and doesn't get a good meal, and hungry when she drifts off so she doesn't stay sleeping.  She still goes down well at night and gives us 1-3 hours of evening time to get things done before having to go to sleep (like writing website updates, for example).  She is worn in my sling a LOT because I have to chase Paul around, make dinner, and move on with life.  The other day I was even nursing her in the sling while walking through JC Penney, shopping.  I couldn't figure out how to try things on while nursing though!  I'll just have to return what doesn't fit.  Leah's smiles are awesome, but only when she's in a really good mood and well-fed and not tired (see above for explanation!).  She has amazing head control and even likes to push up on her legs and can support her own weight.  She's not very interested in toys yet, as she doesn't quite realize that her hands are attached to her body and under her control.  She does like to listen to music, certain voices, and play silly games with people trying to make her smile.  She tracks faces with her eyes very well and enjoys watching ceiling fans.  Paul loves to talk to her, hold her, and gets all excited when she smiles at him.  It's super cute!  If we're eating a meal and she wakes up and cries in her cradle, he is the first to jump down and RUN into our room to comfort her.  She does bug him sometimes, though.  He's been heard to say in a terse voice, "Nurse her, Mom, I can't hear the TV!"    Paul's summer has been a fun one.  "The summer of large motor skills" I'm calling it.  See photos for more details.  His horizons are expanding and he's testing his boundaries, both discipline-wise and "can I go to the neighbors' house to play?"  It's been different for Mommy, but since I'm stuck sitting down to nurse Leah often throughout the day, he's gotten to do more without me than I'm used to, including going to the neighbors' to play, without me being with him.  It's an adjustment period for all of us, partly because of the addition to the family, and partly because he's just growing up.  He's so excited about school and would really like to be 5 years old, because his favorite friend is 5.  He'll be in a 3-year-old classroom once a week at a homeschool co-op in Lowell.  I'll be teaching one or two of the three hours for his class.  He'll get an hour of gym, one of religion, and one of Montessori activities (like "centers" in a traditional classroom).  I'm excited about it too!  Hopefully I can structure the week enough to do something in our basement as well, either with other kids like we did last year or just Paul and I.  He can already sound out 3-sound words like "pop", "hat", etc and likes to write some letters, so I need to take his motivation and run with it!  The last week of July we're in Rogers City visiting my parents and enjoying the local festival (and my 10-year class reunion) the first weekend of August.  Poor Kris has to stay home to work during the week.  We're hoping to try camping as a family some weekend in August or September.  Hopefully we're not crazy to do it with a tiny infant!!!!  We'll keep things updated as much as possible via the website and emails as Leah grows and changes daily/weekly! comments (0) | Write Comment   Birthday Pool June 13, 2008, 01:10:48 PM by Kimball You can view the results of the birthday pool here. Dereck Urbanowski is the winner, guessing only 7 hours off the actual time! comments (0) | Write Comment   View All News