Pictures

I’m posting a few miscellaneous pictures from yesterday and today:

As I type this Daddy has Junior out on the Bobcat with him. The little fellow seems to be enjoying himself quite a bit:

Help, Mr. Sandman!

Today I could really use suggestions for getting an almost-5-month-old baby to sleep longer than 30 minutes at a time during the day. Remember how ecstatic I was oh, say, about 3 weeks ago when Junior was taking 2-1/2 hour naps? I’d love to get back to that place. Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream!

We’ve been dealing with a very challenging Junior the last couple of days. Last week I realized that we’d forgotten to give him his antacid for a couple of days, so we decided to experiment and see if he needed it anymore. He so needs it. Sunday night at 10:30 he started in with the non-stop screaming like he hasn’t done since we started the reflux med in April. When I tried to nurse him he’d squirm and kick and arch his back (reflux symptoms). It was 1:30 before Daddy got him back to sleep, and he only slept fitfully for most of the rest of the night.

Junior’s back on his meds now but still quite cantankerous. He seems to be holding a grudge against us, and he’s taking it out on us at naptime. This afternoon he woke grumbling after a 30-minute nap and now refuses to go back to sleep. What makes this even more frustrating is that I know he can do it. So, any ideas?

Dandelions

Do you remember when summer was just this simple?

Blaze and Thunderbolt

A narration of the book Baba read today:

“Blaze went out to the west, and on his way he met a real cowboy. The cowboy said the west was just a couple miles away. Billy and Blaze went out a long ways off, and on their way they met the same cowboy that they met before. Then Billy saw three cowboys chasing a horse. The cowboy said that the horse’s name was Thunderbolt. The cowboy said, ‘It’s hard to catch that horse because it runs very fast.’ Billy said, ‘I’ve been up to a hill, and I saw Thunderbolt up there a couple of times.’

“The next day Billy and Blaze went up to that same hill and saw Thunderbolt there. Every time they went up there, Billy would let Blaze go off to wherever he wanted, for he knew that Blaze would always come when he called. Each time Billy and Blaze went up to that hill Billy would always put some carrots and sugar up on a rock for Thunderbolt. That same day Blaze went up to Thunderbolt, and they both shared the carrots and the sugar. When Billy and Blaze went home they met the cowboy, and they told the cowboy what had happened. The cowboy thought maybe Thunderbolt was feeling lonely.

“The next day Billy went out, and instead of going to the hill he went somewhere else. When Billy got home, he saw Thunderbolt in the fence with Blaze. (Before I go on . . . Thunderbolt was a tricky horse!) Billy’s mother and father let him keep Thunderbolt. (Billy was a lucky boy, wasn’t he?)

“When Billy heard that he could keep Thunderbolt, he went out to the cowboy with Blaze and told the cowboy that he was going to keep Thunderbolt and that he caught Thunderbolt. Billy thought that he could only ride Thunderbolt if Thunderbolt wanted him to. The cowboy said he would try it, but Billy said he would. So carefully Billy got on Thunderbolt’s back and started to ride him. Billy thought that Thunderbolt was getting to know him.” (Blaze and Thunderbolt by C.W. Anderson)

I have more Billy and Blaze books, and when I read those books I’ll tell them to you, too!

What About Socialization?

It turns out that socialization of homeschoolers is a non-issue.

Those of you who read the linked article will understand why so many homeschoolers roll their eyes when confronted with the “S” word.

Junior Day

I noticed I’ve been neglectful of Junior in the news and picture department lately. To remedy that, I’m making today Junior Day. When last I spoke of him, I think he was still taking 2-hour naps. Notice I said “still” because he’s not doing that anymore. Not even close. The dream lasted for less than two weeks. I suppose it might have been a happy growth spurt or something on that order. Nevertheless, he’s still a much more cheerful baby during the times he’s awake, and sometimes we can squeeze an hour-long nap out of him.

The past few days Junior’s spoiled Mom and Dad by sleeping late in the mornings. Yesterday morning he woke up to nurse at 6:00 AM, and went back to sleep until 9:00. Daddy had taken yesterday off of work to rest up, so he got to sleep in to an embarrassingly late hour. Last night I had a book club meeting, so Daddy put Junior down to bed. The little guy woke at 2:30 AM this morning for a feeding and then not again until 8:00!!

To quote Daddy, Junior’s a “sturdy lad”. I don’t remember either of my other two children having the strength that Junior has at such an early age. He was using my parents’ Johnny Jump-up at 3-1/2 months, and now at 4 months he’s a pro in the Exersaucer, at an age when most babies are still wobbling and need support:

That Exersaucer has been a life-saver for me. I keep it in the kitchen, and I can do dishes or laundry or help Baba with his schoolwork while Junior plays contentedly with his toys. He likes to be on his feet, so he’s happy for a much longer time in the Exersaucer.

I think Junior will be sitting up on his own soon. Here he is practicing on Daddy’s hand:

And finally, I just had to add this one last picture. He looks so sweet here, don’t you want to kiss him?

Signing Time

This summer I wanted to do some “fun” learning as a break from our usual day. I decided it would be great for our family to learn American Sign Language because it’s something the whole family can learn and use (including Junior, in a few months). After doing some research with my buddies on the Well-Trained Mind bulletin board, I ordered the Signing Time videos. I’m impressed! These videos are the brain-child of two Utah sisters, one of which has a deaf daughter. They feature cousins Alex and Leah (who is deaf) and are beautiful in their simplicity. Instead of using loud music and crazy characters to keep the kids interested, the videos display children of all ages modeling the signs with quiet background music. Each video has a few catchy tunes that inject a bit more fun into the learning process. Baba and Marge especially appreciate the “Silly Pizza Song”.

We’re catching on to several signs by watching Signing Time. Baba especially picks up the signs quickly and has been instrumental in teaching Margie as well. He’ll even come to me during the day and use sign language to ask for something (for example, “I want milk, please”). I’m hoping to find ways he can use sign language in the community to give him more practice.

Birdbrain Amos, Part 2

“After the snake left, Kumba [the tick bird] came back with Cha, a new tick bird. Kumba sat on the nest [on Amos' head] while Cha stood on the ground and told Amos to stand still. They tested Amos by saying there was a crocodile. Amos turned his head, and when he turned his head Cha pecked his nose. Amos asked, ‘What was that for?’ Cha said that they were testing Amos. Then they tested Amos again by saying there was a gorilla in the tree. Amos moved his eyes up to see, but there was no gorilla so he didn’t look up. Cha said that was very good.

“The python popped up, and when the python popped up, Kumba was surprised and flew away. Amos asked, ‘I didn’t know you were attacking me.’ The python said, ‘I wasn’t going to attack you, I was going to attack your tick bird.’ ‘Oh,’ said Amos. Then the python said, ‘Don’t you remember I’m taking care of the tick bird problem for you?’ Then the python said, ‘Lower your head so I can gobble up those bird eggs.’ Amos said, ‘No!’ Then the python slid away, and while he was slithering away he said, ‘Mark my words.’ “

To be continued . . .

Mr. T-Ball

I finally made it to one of Baba’s T-ball games last night. He finally got his team shirt! We’re sittin’ pretty on the T-ball scene. Here’s his first at-bat (and the only one we captured on film because Mom was busy with a photo shoot of Margie and Cousin Bird the second time):

And, of course, it wouldn’t be a real T-ball game if there wasn’t some rough-housing involved:

A Flower Among Flowers

Baba was going to continue his summary of Birdbrain Amos, but he was distracted away from his task. Margie will pinch-hit tonight:

“See, Mom, I diggin’ a howe! My thpider can wive in here!”