the latest on Stella

 Stella is now 6 1/2 months old and just as delightful as ever. She always has a big grin ready for anybody who'll glance her way. Daniel is particularly good at getting her to laugh and giggle.

She can sit on her own now, and grabs at everything within reach. Gone are the days of reading or knitting while I nursed her, unless I want pages torn out of my books or a tangle of baby and yarn. She's a great sleeper, usually sleeping from 7:00 to 11:00, when she wakes up to nurse before we go to bed, and then going strong until 7:00 or 8:00 in the morning; and napping 4 solid hours during the day.

She got her first tooth two weeks ago, and seems like she might be adding another one soon (lots of drooling and gnawing, and a chronic runny nose). We've been having a go at solid foods, which she seems to enjoy as long as we keep both of her hands busy with a couple of spoons for her to hold.

She sits on her own now for short periods of time, and loves to push up with her arms when she lays on her tummy. She's been toying with the idea of pushing up onto her knees too, but usually just ends up high-centered on her belly.

She is very much our little miss sunshine.

Respectably chunky

 

 Mama's sweet pea-in-a-pod. The baby sling is a life-saver.

Sitting Pretty

Smile!

the latest on Jack

 Jack is the lover in our family. He's almost always ready to dole out snuggles and loves and absolutely cannot go to sleep at nap time and at bed time until he's given kisses to every single person in the house-- even if we've got non-family-members visiting. He loves Stella a lot. Sometimes too much; I've got to keep a careful eye on him around her or I'm likely to find him smothering her with hugs or covering her face with his blankie, which he so generously wants her to snuggle.

He's also an incredibly tidy child. He actually enjoys wiping up spills, putting away toys, starting loads of laundry, vacuuming, etc. etc. I can keep him busy while I'm making dinner if I ask him to stand on his step stool and wash the dishes. Heaven forbid if we forget to put away a book or toy before nap time or bed time-- he won't sleep until it's put away.

Speaking of sleep... Jack recently made the big switch from the crib to the toddler bed. He's been in it a couple of months now, but he still calls it his "New, new bed". I was worried that we'd have to give up naptime when he left the crib, he did surprisingly well at making the transition. I find it highly ironic that my most difficult baby sleeper has turned out to be my most reliable toddler sleeper. 

He's slowly but surely learning to talk; adding a couple new words to his vocabulary every day. He's very much a two-year old though, as his favorite word is "NO".  He pronounces the 's' at the end of words funny: like a "fff" sound, except made by sucking air in instead of blowing it out.

snuggling with Stella

Smile!

Two of his favorite things: Dad and a Good Story

the latest on Daniel

Daniel just "unofficially" finished a year of kindergarten with Lincoln. He wasn't actually enrolled in kindergarten last year, since he didn't turn 5 until January, but he sat in on all of Lincoln's lessons and by the end of the year was performing very well in every subject. Lincoln's teacher tested him for us and agreed that it would be best if he skips kindergarten and starts 1st grade with Lincoln in the Fall. He's really excited to be a first grader and get his very own shipment of school materials when school starts.


Daniel loves to read; he's always reading labels and signs and feels very proud to sit down and read books to Jack and Stella. He even has a go at a page of Harry Potter now and then. We've been reading the Harry Potter books at bedtime and are just a couple of chapters shy of finishing the 4th book. Daniel loves nothing more than pretending he's part of the story. I can get him to do just about anything (folding laundry, cleaning the bathroom, etc.) if I can weave it into a Harry Potter plot.

He's taking summer swimming lessons through the city rec department. On the first day of lessons, he woke up at 6:30, put on his bathing suit, and came to try to drag us out of bed and get to class (which didn't start until 10:30). The next 4 hours dragged by for him, but he was probably the happiest kid there when it was time to get into the water. He loves every minute of class.

Here's looking at you, kid

Hanging out with Stella-Wella-Wacka-Bella-Boxing-Blue (his nickname for her)

at Canyonlands National Park in May

the latest on Lincoln

Lincoln just finished up a great year of homeschool kindergarten. We did it with the help of Utah Virtual Academy-- a charter school that provides curriculum and support to homeschool families.  He did well in both math and reading, but math is his favorite subject.

We celebrated the end of the school year by having a mom and Lincoln date to The Quarry, our local rock climbing gym. His favorite part was rappelling back down after he'd climbed about 15 feet, and then doing it all over again. He's already planning on going back to celebrate the first day of first grade.

He's spending his summer days playing outside as much as possible: watching our two hens {Sally and Penny} peck in the dirt, riding bikes, playing ball and playing elaborate imagination games with the neighborhood kids.

He's also enrolled in a summer art class offered through the city rec department. It's been lots of fun to see what he comes home with each day.

 self-portrait by Lincoln

 fisherboy

With Daniel at Canyonlands National Park in May