Blain: My sweet, tough, loving, funny, brilliant, charismatic boy! Blain has turned into a little boy these past couple months. He had a big growth spurt and lost his little baby face. He is so silly making jokes, playing out crazy scenarios with his legos and toys, and coming up with hypothetical stories that get more and more bizzarre and off the wall. When we play "guess the riddle" in the car he is usually the first one to figure it out, even before mommy! Blain has stated he wants to ask Santa for a Leiden Jar to catch lightning - what other 6 year old boy is so fascinated with science! It's always so interesting to see what his amazing mind comes up with.
Blain is always so willing to give hugs and tell you he loves you. It just makes you want to hold him the way he holds back his tears trying to be tough and tries not to smile sometimes!! He is giving and learning to compromise with all the girls,even when they play differently. He is so good at sharing his toys and treats with his siblings. Blain loves peanut butter and nutella sandwiches which he can now make himself. Blain has stated that his favorite food is pretzels and even prefers them over chips! He loves fishing with his daddy and eating the fish afterwards. He has been super into playing ninjago legos which he even saved up 12 of his own dollar to buy. His favorite TV shows right now are transformers rescue bots and a Ninjago lego show. He likes to watch Hercules and Big Hero 6 when it's his night to choose the movie.
Blain is usually the first one up in the morning. He gets his own breakfast, gets dressed all by himself, and comes to cuddle me in bed. He puts the dishwasher dishes away daily, helps clean the living room and toy room, and does pretty good keeping his bed room clean too. Blain is always somersaulting around on the floor and doing front handsprings on to the couch. He is on his head doing handstands and headstands and practicing his cartwheels in the evening while we are "relaxing" in the livingroom.
Blain is really into super heroes and really believes his Daddy has super strength. When we were out hauling the hay Blain assured me if all the hay fell off the trailer Daddy could just pick it all up in one go with his super strength, but we would just have to make sure nobody saw him do it!!
Blain is still really into his treasures which he keeps locked in the safe he got for his birthday. Nate got a shiny golden bookmark from chicago and told Blain he has to read a page out of a chapter book or a full picture book to keep it every day. He sits with me and works hard through those words to keep his newest treasure! He is starting a collection of cool looking silver and golden keys which he keeps in his treasure chest as well. He also likes looking at and catching bugs which he keeps for a while and then releases after studying them and watching how they move and act.
Chloe: It's hard to put into words just how caring, thoughtful and creative Chloe Rose has become. She works for days making gifts for family members of their birthday. She uses every ounce of her creativity and everything within her grasp to create beautiful and thoughtful gifts, treats and cards for the people in her life. She spends so much time thinking about what each person likes and would enjoy then gets to work! She is fast outgrowing her paper, cardboard, tape and staples which are her go to materials for creating. She scrounges around the yard and scrap wood piles looking for supplies to make stronger, more durable creations. Before bed she informed me she is going to start making some shelves to put up in her room so she can organize it better! Nate better get to work teaching that little girl how to work with wood!!
Chloe loves school and reading! She has finished the first 2 Little House books and is now on Farmer boy. She reads unprompted by Nate or I, and I suspect if she had a flashlight she would read late into the night, but as the days are getting shorter she can no longer read in bed by the light from the setting sun! Chloe also loves fishing with her daddy and was thrilled when he took her on a daddy daughter fishing date! She is so patient watching her line waiting for the fish to bite! She is still a die hard ramen eater whenever she has the chance and also loves veggie sandwiches, rice and burritos.
Chloe loves doing her own hair and choosing her own outfits. It's a struggle to get my hands on her beautiful hair these days! She is getting really good at braids and ponytails and she usually chooses a side pony when she she does it herself. In the soccer picture below she did her own 2 ponies with braids! And speaking of soccer she is getting better every practice and every game! She is getting more aggressive toward the ball and her coaches are very impressed with her big kick! They have her do the free kicks and are training her on center back. She still does her cartwheels out on the field occasionally but it's a blast to watch that little girl play!
Chloe is such a good helper around the house and with her siblings. Sometimes she is the only one who helps clean up the house at the end of the day. Chloe is responsible while watching over her little sisters when Nate and I are working on projects together. She has even made everyone sandwiches for dinner, changed Zeyta's diaper, and made sure everyone was ready for bed on time! Chloe does like to sleep in, but not on saturdays! She is up and ready to watch Sofia the First, Rescue bots, and play the Ninjago game on my phone. She still loves the movie Matilda but likes anything silly that doesn't have romance in it! Chloe flat out refuses to talk about boys from school, folds her arms and gets really pouty when I ask her about it!
Avenlea: This cutie pie is our peace keeper, melts your heart with her cuddles, and cracks you up with her silly personality. She is the first to compromise or give in to make other people happy. All day I hear her helping Zeyta to be happy by sharing and getting creative with her play so Zeyta can have fun too. She is so tiny when she curls up into a little ball on your lap or snuggles with you in bed. She goes off on crazy tangents making up silly words and sounds, crazy faces and dancing around!
Avenlea loves to play! She scooters and builds legos, swings and plays kitties and genie dolls, practices cartwheels and sings karaoke to Moana and Frozen. She plays dress up with Zeyta, colors, and is just getting into puzzles (24- 36 pieces). She loves her ipad time at night and also enjoys watching Sofia and Transformers on Netflix for her screen time.
Avenela has been doing Upstart online preschool for about 3 weeks now and is learning so much! She is on letter L, understands counting, and where to start reading in a sentence. She usually only likes doing it for the minimum 20 minutes per day, and gets super anxious when she is timed on how many letters she can make, but she is getting proficient at using her little mini travel mouse and sings the little nursery rhyme songs around the house.
Avenlea has always been very tender hearted and sensitive. The whole family has learned to say things to her in a "happy, nice voice" or else she gets sad and needs a minute to be alone in her room while she cries or "wilts" as I like to call it. She is getting better at communicating her frustrations and asking for help rather than crying and I hope formal preschool will help even more with that this year!
Avenlea loves cereal and will eat at least 2 bowls every morning. I'm so glad she eats really well at breakfast (oatmeal, eggs, bagels) because she doesn't eat much throughout the day, but she does like to snack on goldfish, apples, and peaches! She is so sweet letting Chloe sleep with her in her bed every night while Zeyta learns not to cry for more milk. She loves getting in her swim suit to pour cups of water out of the baby pool and make mud puddles.
Zeyta: Oh Zeyta Z! She is just what yo'd expect from a 2 year old - beyond cute one minute and throwing a huge tantrum the next! She is opinionated and hates not getting her way. Zeyta picks up on what her older siblings are doing and how they react to things and mimics them in tons of situations! If Avenlea is crying about water in her eyes in the bath, zeytacries and asks for a towel for her *dry* eyes. If Chloe is begging to listen to the trolls song before turning off the car Zeyta is right there with her asking for "Trolls". When Blain thinks something on his dinner plate looks gross Zeyta will say "gross" while looking at her plate! It's hilarious but also crazy to witness just how much she is absorbing from everyone around her. I've even caught her calling Avenlea "Avenlea Dawn" in an upset voice just like I do when Avenlea isn't behaving the way Zeyta wants her to, lol.
Zeyta loves to play toys with Avenlea, swordfights with Blain, and "Bounce Bounce" with Chloe. She loves playing downstairs in the newly organized play room (thank you GRAMMY!!!!) and outside with her ride on push car, swings and baby pool. She will sit and build lego towers forever and loves barbies more than any of the other girls have. There are times when I change 4 or 5 barbies into different dresses that she brings me while loading up the dishwasher.
Zeyta also really likes the farm chores and animals. When she's upset about getting out of the car all I have to mention is going to see the pigs or chickens or cows and she immediately cheers up. She has been loving all the time we've been spending with Fancy and Olivia and often asks me to take her to go pet Bella, which usually means trudging through the long grass to the back of the pasture. She is pretty gentle when helping collect eggs and laughs and laughs watching the chicks with their mommy
Zeyta loves being read to especially for naps and before bed. Some of her favorites are the Baby einstein books, puppy books (clifford, spot) and pop up or pull tab books. She always asks for more or again after we're done and it's time for sleep. Zeyta's most requested foods include eggs, string cheese, and fruit. Zeyta loves her milk at bedtime along with her blanket. She brings her blanket with her in the car and I get nervous when I forget a sippy of milk because it is such a comfort to her when she's tired or overwhelmed.
My sweet Zeyta loves to sing nursery songs and dance to kids in motion. She is learning to say sorry and will give you soft strokes after she hits. She lets you know when you say something she doesn't like "Daddy say mean to me!" and what she wants/thinks she needs "Mommy I need soda!" She is silly and smiley but is helping the saying "terrible twos" keep it's reputation. Half the time she will be playing, then literally thrashing and rolling on the ground because she didn't get what she was asking for. She definitely keeps us on our toes!
Farm Update: Summer has treated us pretty good on the farm. We have been eating cherry tomatoes (finally after 3 years of trying!) zucchini, minibell peppers and a lemon cucumber! We were getting lots of yummy strawberries (they've slowed down now) and one plant out of 3 rows of blackberries is giving us berries every couple days. The raspberries have one more year to start producing before I rip them all out and do the whole thing in blackberries or strawberries or try another fruit (kiwi vines, dwarf fruit trees?) .
We are stocked up on hay for the winter, but might be getting 30 or so more of just grass hay to cushion our supply:)
We had some help from our neighbors loading and unloading our first trip of hay but Nate did the second field all by himself while I drove
gotta love the covered in hay look!
The biggest farm news is the addition of 2 new cows to the herd, Fancy and her heifer calf Olivia! Fancy is just over 2 years old and Olivia is her first calf who is 3 month old. We are not getting too much milk out of her but we're hoping that will increase if we can get Olivia in there with her to help with let down. It's super cute to hear the kiddos asking for "fancy milk". I hope she gives more so I can use it for my "dairying" through the winter. Right now we will be lucky if we get enough to cover our milk needs without supplementing from the store. But I'm thrilled to be milking again after a 6 month break!
Mommy Daughter pair
Neither are halter broke but Fancy is very willing to come when I call her and shake a bucket of grain. Nate is planning on halter breaking Olivia and teaching her to lead.
Our skinny mini cow! We are trying to fatten her up a bit before winter! She is only about an inch taller than prince Ali but she should still grow a little over the next year
Happy Birthday Avenlea!! This cute girl is 4 now! We had family over for a Tikki Masala dinner and strawberry cake and strawberry ice cream. Then 2 days later on her actual birthday we had leftover cake and ice cream and went to play at the park. I had wanted to take her somewhere fun for her birthday but the Truck broke down and we were stuck at home all day, but Em, Summer and Sadie came up for an hour or so to play and wish the her Happy Birthday!
Singing Happy Birthday - No tears this year!
Cutting her cake!
two hands!
Yummy Birthday Cake!
She got lots of fun presents including this shimmer and shine cooperative game, which we played about everyday for the next week!
Blowing out candles on her actual birthday
Avenlea started school about a week after Chloe and Blain and it has taken her some getting used to. The first day I drove her to school and she went into the classroom balling and yelling "don't leave me!". She came home to me on the bus and told me about her fun day playing play dough and with the little dollhouse in her classroom.
She had to skip her second day since I was flying to Cali and there was nobody there to meet her, so she went down to Uncle Ted's with Zeyta to play with her Mitchell Cousins. The next tuesday I had her ride the bus and she ended up crying and basically getting carried into her seat and put in her buckles. She was happy coming home and again told me about her fun day.
Now she is doing great getting on the bus without crying, walking with Chloe and Blain and getting dropped off at the little kid playground, and she tells me that she doesn't cry in her class! She wants to wear the same pink dress and sparkly jeans every day so that is a bit of a struggle but she is doing so much better in such a short time!
Chloe is starting 2nd grade and was of course thrilled to death to be back in school "It's my happy day!" She really likes her 2 teachers and Nate informs me that they are some of the best in the district.
Chloe and Blain are on the same hall, not quite across the way but close enough to walk together to class everyday. They informed me they really like walking on the colored parts.
I was so excited when Chloe asked me for an orange in spanish the other day! She usually denies knowing any, gets mad when I ask her to say words, and gets shy when I bring up anything related to spanish. They say the kids get really good at the language by 3rd grade so she's on her way!
She is too BEAUTIFUL!
Oh my crazy energetic Blain! He has transitioned into full day pretty good, only falling asleep in class the first couple days... I tried so hard not to laugh when he came home the first day and described falling asleep. He is way too young to be sleeping in school, little stinker lol.
Blain has already made a friend in class who lives over in Wheeler park. The little boy was also in his preschool class at Sunshine Circle so it was fun that they are in the same class again. They had a play date last week and played legos the whole time. It was interesting to see how Blain plays with a boy instead of his sisters or girl cousins.
I have to force Blain to wear non basketball (soft shorts) a couple times per week because he always chooses them! He looks so cute in his cargo shorts I feel it is my job as a mom to let him get good use out of them before winter comes and then he's out grown them all!
of course some silly poses
Em let me borrow her camera so I could try and get some really nice back to school pictures, I just love this one of Blain! His smile is so mischievous and cute!
Ready to go into his 1st grade classroom!
Total Eclipse! We stayed outside looking at the sun for about an hour to see the eclipse! From our house it was about 95% and super cool! Tons of people went to Idaho and Wyoming to see the 100% eclipse and I heard it took 10 hours to get home, normally a 3 hour drive.
Zeyta not quite understanding how to use her glasses
Avenlea looking at the sun during the eclipse. It was so eerie outside, light but dark at the same time!
Chloe was pretty diligent about checking the sun every 10 minutes or so while we waited and watched it get more and more covered
Blain was the only one who kept going out to watch the sun get bigger after the first half of the eclipse had passed. My little scientist!
Soccer: Chloe has had 4 games now and her team had their first win today! She is learning a lot and Nate and I even did a little positioning practice with her before movie night on friday. She doesn't seem super competitive but she does have fun out there!
Team Huddle
Kick Off
Get that Ball!!
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