Maybe one day I will not start a blog commenting about how horrible I am about updating and ya-dee ya-dee ya-da! Well I have given myself 12 mins so let's get to the chase.
A TON has happen since my spring post, which I hope to actually break down in the next week into proper postings. Items covered will be:
1) The birth of our DAUGHTER
2) The sale/moving of our home
3) the building (or lack there of) of our new home
4) living at the farm
5) Starting Kindergarten
But for now let's cover NOW.
We are currently living with my inlaws, who have graciously welcomed us into their home since we sold our house on Aug 21 - so its almost already been 4 months! And, thankfully, general consensus of the house is a good 4 months. Winter is in full force, as to be expected. But it started later than usually and has been fairly kind. We did have about 4 days of -40, but hey I kind of like those days. You hunker down and power through and have the satisfaction of knowing not only did you survive -40, but you lived. Still did errands with the kids. Still kept going!
Life at the farm is pretty awesome, and will be that much more awesome when we are in our own home! But I am loving being out of town, away from the hustle and bustle. Even though going into town 2 or 3 times a day can be exhausting, and you work harder to be more strategic about getting EVERYTHING done once you are there, we are all really loving it .The boys love running around and having more freedom. I enjoy knowing I don't have to be constantly supervising them so they don't get kidnapped or hit by a car!
Lincoln is finally getting into the routine of Kindergarten. Even though each school day is met with "Is it full day or half day?" And a larger protest if it is full day, it is getting easier for him. We were very proud when his teacher awarded him student of the month for November - he was the second student to receive it in his class. And since the first month was spent with him crying every morning on his way to school - it was a big surprise and he has made great improvements! He can easily spell his name, and can identify almost all the letters. He recently came home with a picture that he drew of the Nativity scene - and it's pretty much the best thing ever. Joseph has 'giant arms and little feet' and Mary looks like an angel. And the angel doesn't look like an angel. And the sheep looks like porcupine and it is AWESOME. We are constantly amazed about how smart he is - he can grasp big concepts and has amazing follow up questions when he and Stephen discuss things like WW2. He also still has his moments when he doesn't get his way or Jack ruins something and its full on crying. But those getting farther between.
Jackson, wow, what do I say? Well let's start with the fact we went to a community supper tonight and in the course of the 2 hours there Jack ran around, jumping on random people's backs, climbing on other peoples tables to get a drink, and tried to shove the light saber he got up his nose. Stephen and I kept looking at each other like - who's kid is that?!?!? He is still completely fearless and a huge risk taker, which is most of the time, a lot of fun. We are really proud of the way he jumps whole heartily into life - always up for something new. He does take more energy than Lincoln - Jack will just decide it's time to go, whether we are at church or the store, and he will leave. So we have to watch him closely. It will be a bit more relaxing when we are out of the "Where is Jack?" stage. We also noticed recently he seems to identify with the villains more the super heros. As he runs around the house yelling, in the CUTEST deep voice "I AM CAPTAIN HOOK!" Or growling "I AM MEGATRON".... I hope this doesn't mean anything. But it is a bit concerning, ha ha ha. He would love to go to school with Lincoln, but I have told him he can't go until he is 4. In the mean time I have told him the the childcare at mom's group is his class. And he takes it quite seriously. He normally wouldn't stay in the child care, but since we have started going to 'school at church', he packs his backpack and enjoys his class. We even saw his 'teacher' at superstore the other day and he was quite excited! And of course we can't forget his trick that Stephen taught him ' pop his collar, point his fingers and say "EH!" Like the fonz. But of course Jack can't remember its 'eh' and always says 'D!".What a kid!
Ellianna.....our beautiful gift from the Lord, our sweet baby girl, Ellianna! Elli is a joy. She is cute and lovely and all things baby :) She is 4 months and can roll stomach to back, has a very strong neck and loves to talk. I am so glad to finally have a girl to talk to :) She loves to hold toys and is now even getting bored, and has to switch scenery or people to keep her entertained. She likes to sit in her bumbo chair on the counter best so she can be a part of all the action. When we lay her on her back, she always pulls her head up like she is trying to sit up - she has been doing that pretty much since birth. So strong. She can easily get to the middle of her back pulled up now. She has started teething, no teeth have cut yet but she loves to chew on everything, especially your hand. The boys ADORE her, and she is smothered in love from the moment she wakes until she goes to sleep. She is the first one Lincoln looks for when he gets home from school and there usually is a fight over her in the morning as each boy wants their own special cuddle time with her while waking up. She has decided not to use a soother, which is totally new for me. So far its been ok - but might be a problem when we start leaving her with Nana for the evening now that she is older. She is pretty good at napping, I'm able to lay her while she is still awake on our bed and most times she will just go to sleep. She is also a stomach sleeper, which is another first for us. She HATES her car seat, and has since birth , which makes life more difficult when we need to do errands or go anywhere with her. As soon as I lay her in her seat she starts screaming, and generally doesn't stop until we take her back out. Sometimes she falls asleep which is such a treat :) More often than not I have to pull her out of her seat and hold her while grocery shopping, which can be hard pushing the cart with one hand and managing a curious 3 yrs old, but some how we manage!
Stephen is working hard at building our house. He is very dedicated and excited to be homesteading. We built and awesome woodshed this summer - just using a hand saw, nails and hammer. It took a bit longer than if we were to use power tools but it was almost therapeutic doing it the old school way! He loves to chop wood and I lovingly call him my lumber jack. He has an awesome beard right now, as it's winter, and I really love it! My rugged mountain man!
