Pumpkin Carving

Each October, a friend from church holds a pumpkin carving party. Dan and I attended this year. There is always tons of yummy food to snack on, adult conversation and the kids have a great time carving their pumpkins and playing.

Dan did a great job of carving and he sure looks like he was having fun.

Shaggy Dog

Dan's hair had gotten very long. So long in fact that my Dad offered to take him to the barber. I finally tackled the job tonight.

Before...the shaggy dog look.

After...close clean cut boy.  My Dad will be very happy.

Didn't even notice the cat on the sink counter until after.  Silly cat.

Toothy Grin

Dan lost one of his top front teeth yesterday. He has lost a few on the bottom, but this is his first top tooth. He was so pleased with himself for working on it all day and getting it out. I think he will look so different once those big boy teeth start coming.

Ahoy Matey

One of Dan's favorite toys are the Fisher Price people sets. We have several including the Nativity. He plays for long periods of time making up all sorts of stories and adventures.


This time the Noah's Ark set seemed to house all manner of characters, including a pirate, complete with parrot and I think I see an angel peaking out from below.


So many toys that the children get are not played with that often, but these sets are frequent companions for Dan's very vivid imagination.

And Soccer Begins

Soccer season began with a kick off day. All the teams played at least one game. It was a beautiful day. Dan had two short games and Rachel had one regulation game.

Dan is playing in the 8 and under division. The field is bigger and so are the nets compared to last year. He did pretty well, although in typical Dan manner, he gets very easily distracted.

Rachel is playing in the 13 and under division. They play on the big field and the competition and level of play is much higher. She was so thrilled that her team, the only one with a woman coach, got the very cool tie-dyed jerseys.

Pretty much every week night and some Saturdays, we will be at the field, until tournament day on October 16th. Sometimes I must admit to growing weary of so many games, but I enjoy watching the kids play and they have a great time. So, let the games begin!

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school for Rachel, Hannah and Dan. They were all excited after meeting their new (and old) teachers on Tuesday night. They put on their "first day clothes", we loaded backpacks with new supplies, made lunches and we all waited for the bus.

All smiles and excitement for the new school year.

Rachel, lovely as always. She has such a sweet, tender personality.

Hannah, ready to embrace it all. She is so full of life and excitement.

And Dan, just look at his hair and wrinkled shirt (and no it was not wrinkled when I laid it out lastnight). That about sums up our wild and adventurous boy.



I snapped this last shot when the walked out to the road. I think it is so cute how they always line up youngest to oldest.

They came home happy and excited by all the new things. They seem to love their new teachers and were not too nervous about all the new things to learn and schedules to figure out.

I still have mixed feelings about them going to public school, but if they have to go, we are pretty happy with our local school. They work hard to give our children all the special help they need and they do it in a warm and friendly way.

Dan's Sixth Birthday

Before all the excitement of Gabe's injury, Dan had a birthday. He is now six years old! I was glad his birthday came before Gabe got hurt as I am sure this would have put a damper on the festivities and the children so enjoy their special day.

He had been anticipating his birthday for months, as he, Hannah and Rachel all have spring birthdays and his comes last. He had been talking about it and giving us gift ideas.

We hit on a couple of really great gifts for him in addition to some of his suggestions. He was thrilled.

Mom and Dad came over for dinner, dessert and celebration. We allow the children to pick their dinner and dessert for their birthdays. Dan requested shells and sauce and ice cream cake. As always, the cake was very yummy.

Happy birthday, Dan! What a big boy you are now.

An ER Visit

Well, we knew this day would come sooner or later. Dan had his first ER visit. Dan is definitely our danger boy. He often leaps before thinking about what he is doing and it is only because of his very attentive guardian angel (or two or three), that he has managed to keep from major harm.

Wednesday evening he was playing in the woods behind the house and stab his eye with a stick. I am not one to run to the doctor's for every little thing and except for Bessie needing stitches after a biking accident, we have avoided the ER to date, but Dan's eye was actually bleeding, not the surrounding area, but his eye. This seemed like something that could be more serious. We called the Ped and he agreed, we should took Dan to the ER.

We were there for two hours, which by ER standards is not too bad. Everyone thought he was so cute (which he is). They stained his eye and checked for bleeding behind the eye and for corneal scratches. He was so good and cooperative. All was negative. We were relieved. Dan was exhausted. We got home at 11:30 pm, way past his bedtime.

We will hope and pray that it will be a while (or maybe never) that we will need to make another visit to our local ER.

Dan looks pretty glum here, but he was just really tired

Not the best picture, but you can see how red his eye is

They're Off!

Old feed sacks come in quite handy for lots of uses...the boys figured out one.

Dan's Birthday

We were a bit late celebrating Dan's birthday, but we wanted to make sure that Brian was home and he has been traveling quite a bit this spring. Dan doesn't really get the whole time thing, so it wasn't a disappointment for him to wait a few more days.

Dan turns 5!

We always let the kids choose what type of dessert they want on their birthday. Dan chose chocolate cake with chocolate frosting...yum!

It took him several blows to get out his five candles, but he didn't give up. He was so pleased with himself when he finally got them all out.

What concentration
The presents where a huge hit. Dan is always very appreciative of his gifts. It doesn't seem to matter to him if they cost a little of a lot.

The Matchbox Pirate car race course was the #1 pick for the boys.

Happy Birthday Doodlebug! What a big five year old you are.

Free Wheeling!

Dan will turn five years old next week. He is a wee little boy, only weighing it at 32 lbs, but his small size rarely slows him down. He is all boy, very strong and coordinated and quite determined in whatever he attempts.

Brian took the training wheels off Dan's bike yesterday and that was all he needed to venture into more "big boy" territory. Brian gave him a few lessons yesterday and with just a bit of help today, Dan started riding his two-wheeler just like the big kids. He was so pleased with himself and we all cheered, clapped and hollered over his accomplishment.

Way to go Dan!

Brothers

They make me smile!

Cowboy Dan

During our seatwork time, Dan is often on the kitchen floor. I like to keep him close to me as he tends to get into mischief if left alone in the other room. He likes to play with toys, do a preschool activity or look at books.

This was the scene yesterday. He is so cute in his overalls and beat up cowboy hat.

Boys and Trucks

Brian's dad made these trucks for Gabe. The boys love playing with them. There is something wonderful about a homemade wooden toy.

Kitchen Helper

On our MOTH schedule, I have one of the little kids helping me in the kitchen each day. This doesn't always work out, but the kids enjoy their time cooking and helping mom when we do manage it.

A Few Pictures

The end of last week was pretty uneventful...homeschool lessons, speech for Dan, church stuff and play.

Dan wearing my reading glasses

Hannah working on her Learning Language Arts Through Literature

The girls are enjoying this language arts program

Pasta Time

I try and come up with different activities for Dan to do while we are doing our seat work.

Recently I bought a large bag of macaroni and put it in a small plastic container. Dan loves to use cups, bowls and spoons to scoop, pour and fill the containers over and over. This has been a big hit and will keep him busy for quite a while.

Math Fun

Hannah and Dan love playing with the Math U See blocks.

Leaving Footprints

Brian has been finishing up a new room for Daniel. The last few coats of paint have been applied.

After Bri had finished, I noticed paint on the floor in the kitchen, just a smudge of white and figured Brian must have gotten some on his shoe and tracked in downstairs.

Upon further investigation, we came across some very incriminating evidence that a little person had tested the dryness of the paint. Just about Dan size!

A little bit more painting was needed, but I love this little footprint on the plywood floor in his room. It will be covered with carpet soon, but someday, someone will remove the carpet and see this little footprint and perhaps smile.

Dan's Imagination

Dan has a tremendous imagination. We discovered this little scene as we turned out lights to go to bed lastnight. Little Darth vader surrounded by dinos and sharks.

What do you suppose Dan was thinking? How would a light saber match up against a Velociraptor or great white? Only Dan knows how this scene played out.