Weekly Wrap Up...

This week in our school we...

 Learned the letter I (honestly, Ava is going through this book so fast that the whole 'letter a week thing is not very realistic)

In poetry we...

read the Song of the Iris Fairy.  I liked that she was yellow and wild, not the traditional purple that is so common in grocery store bouquets.  This week Ava is able to correct any errors I make while reading our poem of the month.  (This is not a teaching technique, I just stumble a lot with this one for some reason.)


Our theme of the week ...
is Butterflies!  How perfectly timed is it that our very own supply of caterpillars arrived in the mail this weekend? (that Easter Bunny is so clever)  We read a few books about butterflies, some of them we've read before, but it was worth reading them again.  ~Fabulous Fluttering Tropical Butterflies, by Dorothy Patent, ~Monarch Butterfly, by Gail Gibbons, ~Monarch Butterflies Up Close, by Carmen Bredeson, and Monarch and the Milkweed, by Helen Frost.

Ava has been very excited looking at, and adding to our calender this week.  She's a planner.  She even wrote a little story about it!

The park has been a really wonderful addition to our weekly routine!

In Science we...
This week we set aside BFSU and focused on our caterpillars!  Ava has named them all.  Rosemary, Snapdragon, Petunia, and Lavender.  Perfect.

In Math we...
~Learned the traditional names for 11 and 12 (and a bit of etymology as well)
~Made a little book to reinforce the value of teens
~Focused on counting by 5s with traditional names
~Experienced the consecutive numbering around a clock
~Begin to learn the position of the hour numbers on a clock
~Learn the term hour hand, and minute hand
~Learn the position of the hour numbers on a clock

We added an analog clock to our kitchen, and it has caused quite a stir.  I can only imagine this is what getting a gaming system would be like for other families.  Oh the hours of fun.

In Art Study we...

Explored The Old Stagecoach, by Jonathan Eastman Johnson.  Ava thought the kids looked like they were having a really good time, but she wasn't interested in joining them.  "that doesn't seem like my kind of fun.  I like to look for fairies, not climb on old broken things."  Ya, that sounds about right.

This wrap up is actually from a few weeks ago.  I fell behind when blogger was down for a few days.  I need to catch up, as I plan on using the Weekly Wrap Ups as a guide when it comes time to go through kindergarten with my boys!   I have two more to add before I'm caught up.  Yikes!

Pardon the Interruption...

We've been at friend's  party.
With Ice Cream.
And Cake.
And Juice, and frozen fruit pops.
It's been wild.
(I'll be back to blogging tomorrow.)

Sweet Sixteen

In 1994 I met you. 

 

In 1995 I started dating you.

 

 

In 2003 I married you.

In 2004 I made you a father.

In 2007 I made you a father of two.

In 2010 I made you a father of three.

On May 25, 2011 I'll have known you longer than I haven't known you.  We'll have been together for 16 years.  In July we'll have been married for 8 years.  In October we'll have been parents for 7 years.  This life we have together is beautiful.

I'm still over the top crazy for you.

Quiet moments...

In a weekend that is full of planed activities, parties, shopping, and fun, its the unexpected moments that stand out.  The little stolen quiet moments of real play.  These are the moments I treasure.

Gratitude Mondays...

Here's what I am loving today...

~Painted Lady Butterflies that have emerged from their chrysalids...

~Weekends full of parties and a baby shower...

~Marbling ...

~Getting everything in order for a little baby who will turn One in less than one month!!

~A baby who started walking!!!

(just a few steps, just a few times, but SO amazing to witness) 

~A little boy who can hop on on leg, and jump backwards...

(He's so proud he'll show anyone who will watch him)

~A little girl who has started making checklists of things to explore when we go camping..

(in SIX weeks)

(Um, I think I know where she gets it from)

~A partner who is great to take naps with...

(and watch movies with, and go to parties with, and to lunch with)

~An unscheduled break from blogging!

(now I have two Week Wrap ups to write, for prosperity sake)

~A sister who is moving most of her family to AZ for a year!

(the sacrifices that military families have to make are beyond my comprehension.  I don't ever want to know what it is like to have to make their choices.  Ever.  I like Matt right where he is)

Its getting hot!

(see what I am doing here is turning an inevitable negative into a positive.  It must get hot, we will get through it, then this too shall pass!)

Here's to a new week!

Let's see if I can get back into blogging!?

Two years...

I was meandering through my massive digital collection of photos and randomly ended up in May 2009.  As a (relatively speaking) grown up, two years doesn't seem that long.  I know on some level two years is a very long time, but in other ways two years passes in a flash.  And then I look at photos of my babies, who two years ago were babies.

Ava...

Cyrus....

 

Two years ago there was a four year old Ava, and a two year old Cyrus.  There wasn't ever going to be a Sol.  We were done.  I'd been a mother for 4 and a half years.

Some things have stayed very much the same.  I still have two (now three) beautiful, fun, clever babies.  I still love being their mother more than I ever could have guessed.

Sage and Spirit...

Love this.

Gratitude Monday....

Here's what I am loving today...

~Weekends with a whole day unscheduled....

~Reading a good book for a 2nd time...

~Planning out the summer months of fun...

~A little boy who goes to the grocery store dressed fully as a fireman..

(with basketball shorts, of course)

~A little girl who writes her own books...

(inspired by synopsises of classics)

~Local fresh Italian food...

~A baby who can shake his head yes...

(we have the beginnings of verbal communication going on here!)

~A partner who goes to the grocery store with a 

~fairy princess and
~a fireman and feels so proud of his 

magical little group
(He even wore a baseball hat so he'd be in costume also...)


Happy Mid May to you all!!!

Did I say birds? I meant butterflies...

Our weekend field trip to the Desert Botanical Gardens was supposed to be a great opportunity to watch birds.  (and I'm still sure it would have been)  As soon as we got there, it was clear that our focus had changed.  Who can think of birds when the butterfly garden is open? 

 

Not to worry, our binoculars were very well appreciated.

Ahhhhhh...

It's a heck of a lot easier to face the big bad triple digit weather with a little bit of this...

And as we don't have one of those (yet) we'll just go to where they are...

A solid summer plan if ever there was one!

My Magnificent Mother's Day

A wonderful weekend that ended in champagne.  A brunch at my favorite Phoenix hideaway.  A day with some of my favorite people. 

And the food?  Oh my goodness.  

Magnificent indeed.