Hero's Garden

Here is Hero's window garden. She is learning how sunflowers, chives, and oregano grow. (She was supposed to have tomatoes, but they turned out to be radishes; mommy broke the pot anyway.) We will soon add parsley to the group. Hopefully she will be better than her mom at keeping plants alive.

Mother's Day Gift

Here are some photos of the lemon trees that my husband (and kids) gave me for mother's day.

Six Month Check-up

Ransom had his six month check-up today. He weighs 16 lbs 9 oz and is 26 1/4" long. That puts him at just under the 50% marker. He hasn't started crawling yet, but he can scoot along on his tummy. He thinks it is the greatest thing to stand up like his big brother. No teeth yet, but plenty of drool.

Cinco de Mayo Pics

Day at the Park

Jericho had fun riding bikes with Mitchell and Michael.

Jericho and Mitchell are ready to race down the slide.

Hero swings from the monkey bars.

Ransom's thinking, "I think I need a bigger hat."

Recent Photos

The Charts

I decided that it was about time I put my children to work. No, I am not violating any child labor laws. I am simply assigning them household chores that they are responsible to complete. Hero and Jericho each have their own chart with simple tasks to accomplish such as "Brush teeth, make bed, pick up toys." At the end of the day, they get stickers for each box that has been completed. At the end of the week, they will get one penny for each sticker. (Yes, I know. I'm cheap, but they think pennies are great.) We also have a chart on the refrigerator. This chart has different chores that pertain to the household. Across the top of the chart are the different days of the week, and along the side are the jobs that need to be completed. In the boxes next to the jobs are the names of the person whose turn it is for that day. This chart is really a challenge for me. Not only does it encourage me to make sure that the daily chores get done, but it requires me to teach my children how to do each task. It's going to take some work.
This chart has helped in greatly in some ways, though. The kids no longer fight over who's turn it is to get the newspaper. Nor do they complain about having to get the dog's food...again.

Playing House

Overheard today...
"Jericho, do you want to play house?"
"Okay, you be the mommy and I be daddy."
"Alright, and here's the baby."
"No, not a baby! How about a dog, okay?"
"Okay."

The Spin

My youngest son enjoys swinging in his outside swing. It is one of the few places that I can set him down and he will be happy for more than ten minutes. Today I did just that. I set him in his swing so he could watch his brother and sister entertain him. Every so often, one of the older children would push him a little. I would observe the interaction from the kitchen window, venturing away for only the briefest of moments. Unfortunately, one of these moments was not so brief as it should have been. I returned to find my daughter releasing the swing that she had just twisted up. The swing, with the baby inside, twisted wildly. I ran out the door, stopped the swing (which still had a couple of revolutions left,) unbuckled the baby, and lifted him up. I watched his little eyes try to focus as I waited for the barf that I thought was inevitable. Fortunately, that didn't happen and the baby seemed fine. My other two children couldn't quite understand why Ransom didn't have a good time.

Then What?

Jericho likes to plan ahead. He likes to know exactly what is going to happen each day. For example, today when he woke up he asked, "What are we going to do, Mom?" My reply, "Eat breakfast." "Then what?" was his next question. I proceeded to outline our whole day for him, each time receiving the query, "Then what?" or "What's next?" Finally, after one such question, I came to the summation of our day and said, "Then we go to bed." His response, "Oh, man! I don't want to go to bed!"

Planting at the Park

The kids enjoyed planting flowers and playing at the park on Friday with our church friends.

Nature Trail Tales

Today we went to a nature conservancy at Los Rios Ranch in Oak Glen. It was great for the kids to get outside and enjoy the creation that God has given.

The moms and kids from our church that went.

Jericho is holding his nature trail guide. He loved looking at the bird on the front and saying, "That's cool!"

Mommy & Ransom

The kids in our group on the "Poet's Bench"

Scottie, Mrs Briget, & Hero

I believe these are Sequoias.

Red-winged Blackbird

No, I don't know the name of this flower, but I am sure my mother in law does.

Apple Tree Blossoms

Easter Photos

This Week

Well, this week has been quite busy, so I will try to give some brief updates about what has been going on.
Monday
Ransom had his appointment with the urologist. Great news, the hydrocele appears to be going away on it's own. Hopefully it will completely go away by his next appointment in October.
Also, I was able to enroll Hero at Community Christian School. I was glad that I got there early since there were only two spots left. I got one and the lady behind me got the other. Now hopefully Hero will test well enough to get into first grade.
Tuesday
Hero had her physical and TB shot. This went as well as could be expected since Hero's greatest fear in life is a needle. Unfortunately she also had to get a blood test as well. She screamed so loud for this part that she didn't even notice the needle being inserted. In fact, after it was over she said that the lady hadn't even used a needle. Glad we got all worked up for that.
Wednesday
Usually this is such a busy day for me but since preschool was canceled and we didn't have church tonight, it was not so bad. I had an eye exam and the kids were watched by my grandparents. The exam went quickly and I was able to visit with them afterward.
The biggest mistake of my day was letting my kids play with play-doh. As some of you may recall, this is not my favorite kid pastime. I was operating under the assumption that this would be a good activity to develop their fine motor skills. Of course the baby decided it was time to eat while they were playing. I wrongly assumed that they would be okay on their own. Did you know that if you add enough water to play-doh it becomes just like clay? I found this out the hard way.
That's this week so far. Much more fun times to come.

Sitting Alone

Ransom has reached another milestone! He can sit by himself for about three minutes at a time without tipping over. Of course, when Mommy wants to blog about it, he wants to sit on her lap instead.