10.30.2013

School Days

Oh, I have so much to catch up on from the summer. But I'm going to go ahead and continue with "present" day (even though this post should've been in September sometime), and sprinkle my summer flashbacks in between the various upcoming posts.

We started preschool again this year. Mekonen will be 5 years old at the end of December, so he will start Kindergarten next year. I love having him at home and like that we are pretty laid back about these years. Next year, we will have to be much more on-target, which is why we are enjoying our 2-3 days of preschool a week, sprinkled between play dates, errands, and just kid fun. He enjoys "doing school" as he calls it, mostly because it's one-on-one time with Mommy that Evie gets somewhat excluded from. He's our quality and quantity time kid and wants to be right there with you, talking, chatting, and right up in whatever is happening.

First day learning our address and phone numbers. So cute.
He has a hard time with fine motor skills. He's come a long way with his writing in the last year. He is so cute when he concentrates, tongue out, and everything. Working with big letters has helped a lot. I also mostly have him write with markers or the fattest crayons I can find. The fat pencils with a grip still aren't thick enough. But he does a great job keeping the right pencil holding position even though it's hard for him. 
And this just makes me smile. 
The knight lapbook I made. He loved it. Check out a whole bunch here. This is a preschool pack, but they have also have tons of toddler packs that we used last year. 
Evie sometimes does her own "school papers" as she calls them. She has great fine motor skills, it's crazy. 
Not bad for 2 years old. 
Working on alphabet matching together. Letter for letter and upper case to lower case. 
We try to sprinkle in some nature journals here and there as well. This one is about a pinecone. Too cute. Love his drawing. I have to resist everything in me to not "help" him draw a more "real" looking pinecone. Haha. This OCD mom has come a long way! ;) 

I'm beginning to check out area co-ops next year, although I don't really want a true to form co-op. I'm looking more for a 1-2 day school/co-op that he can attend, without me, and without me having to teach or "co-op." Mekonen is so excited about "going to school when he's 5" so this is a good compromise for us. Thankfully, we have some good ones in the area. We will be homeschooling mostly classical ed., so I'm very interested in Classical Conversations, however they require you to attend school as well. So, we will see. We are going to an open house next week. 

So that's where our school days are at! Laid back, fun, but still learning some things, and mostly enjoying time with my guy who is growing up way too fast! 








10.14.2013

Baby Oren the 3rd!

Well, it's been soooooooo long since I posted and we have some exciting news!!! 
Baby Oren the 3rd 
is well on its way and big bro and first time big sis, are pretty stoked!


I am 15 weeks and Baby Oren is due to arrive on or around April 6, 2014! This new life is profoundly meaningful for our family and represents God's grace, mercy, and unfailing faithfulness. Its a picture of redemption, and we are incredibly humbled and thankful. 

Here's the start of Baby Oren the 3rd's journey!
9 week ultrasound
Baby is laying on back, head on right, feet on left. You can see a little arm bud sticking up in the middle. Cute. 

10 1/2 weeks!
10 1/2 weeks, 4-D ultrasound
Poor Baby O. the 3rd looking a little bit alien-like.
Back to us on left, arms and legs on right. 
14 weeks

The Pregnancy Facts
  • Cravings- I've been all over the board this pregnancy. I'd crave something, eat it for a few days, and then on to the next thing. 
    • First it was frozen pizza, frozen hot pretzels, and hot pockets. Eww gross! I'm not even supposed to eat those in general due to my dairy allergy, but baby must've really needed them because I surprisingly didn't get any migraines from them. 
    • I think my Ph-balance must be off or something because I've been craving all things acidic. Orange juice has stayed as a constant staple (was like that with Evie too with O.J.), but a few things to add to the list are green olives by the jar (complete with drinking all the juice), and banana peppers with vinegar.
  • Sickness- I was definitely more nauseous with Evie than this pregnancy, and threw up more. Thankfully, this time around that stuff was bearable and at a minimum compared to what it could be. More than anything, I've been so hungry. I was never this hungry with Evie. Luckily, with the arrival of the 2nd trimester that has wained a little bit, but overall, I just cannot get enough to eat. When my stomach does feel queasy/nauseous, nothing fixes it like a freezing cold Coke. It's the most glorious thing ever! ;) Other than that, I've just been extremely tired. I hit the afternoon or evening and it's like I can't function anymore. My to-do list takes longer and longer to get done because I am unproductive after a certain hour of the day. Plus, chasing around two munchkins adds its toll. 
So all in all, we are chugging right along, and baby is growing well and healthy. Evie says "there's a baby growing up in Mommy's belly," and when she looked at the ultrasound picture said, "Well, where are its clothes?" She was very concerned about this and talked about how we could see its bottom. When we told them there was a baby in Mommy's belly, they were mesmerized. Mekonen put his hand on my belly and said, "I want to feel it." And Evie wanted to know when it would come out. I told her around her birthday and Mekonen said, "Well, what is going to happen at my birthday?" And I said, "Christmas and Jesus' birthday." He wasn't impressed with the answer. :) 

One of the best part of being pregnant is sharing the news with others and seeing them share our joy and excitement. When we told my parents we sent them this picture of Evie (since they live 12 hours away), and did the classic "Big Sister" shirt for Jon's Mom (Jon already leaked the news to his Dad earlier in the week on a work trip). :) 
Baby Oren is grandbaby number 5 for the Orens, and grandbaby number 10 for my parents! Woo-hoo!