Fall

We've been busy here these days.  Evan & Darren moved to their new room, Isaac moved into Liam's room, and Liam got Evan & Darren's old room. Here Darren & Isaac are checking out Liam's new dresser.  (Darren insisted I get the camera)

Since there was more space in the room, we set up this table & chairs.  All 4 boys promptly sat down together, and had a meeting.  Darren's showing off his coffee.

Raking leaves at our house is sometimes an exercise in futility.  Our biggest tree in the yard doesn't lose all its leaves until the beginning of December.  We spent some time raking yesterday, but as I look out now, the entire yard is covered again...

 The boys don't mind, though.  Isaac dove headfirst into the piles...

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So I was working in the kitchen one morning, and all I could hear in the living room was, "WOW!! Wow!!  Woah!!  Wow!"  I came out with the camera, and saw Isaac reading this truck book.  As he pointed at each picture, he exclaimed, "Wow!!" 

This video is a few weeks old. As Isaac was learning to walk, he'd grab whatever he could hold onto, to help him. In this case, it was his highchair.

(as I watch this again, I'm reminded how he used to scream so very much at the slightest frustration.  I'm so glad he's getting past that phase now!!)

Moving day...

 After a few years of sharing the upstairs bedroom, Evan and Darren have moved downstairs.  It's been a long process in renovating the room - removing carpet, replacing old drywall, painting, getting new carpet.  But now it's finally done!

 There used to be a small doorway to a small crawlspace under the stairs.  We decided that they would make better use of it if we opened it up.  We also discovered that it went a few feet deeper than the original crawlspace did.  They love to play cars, trains, and everything else in that corner.

 The room is quite long, so there's lots of space.  We have taken out all the big kid toys that used to be up top in a closet (games, lego, micro machines) and they love having access to them.

(note the fun laundry hamper made from a pillowcase - thanks Pinterest)

We were learning about levers this afternoon, so we made catapults, which was lots of fun!

In other news, Isaac took his first steps a few weeks ago, and is now walking 6-7 steps at a time (I need to get a video of it - hands straight out in front, tipping and swaying, but smiling like crazy).  And then there are 3 older brothers cheering his every move.  All day long I'm hearing, "Good walking, Isaac."  "Wow, Isaac!  Good job!"  So encouraging, aren't they!

 He seems to be a happier baby these days.  A little less clingy, a lot less screaming.  He will make us laugh throughout supper with his little antics.  He picks up on random words here and there, which his brothers love.  He also participates in our devotions, saying, "a-MEN" at the end.  I was changing his diaper today, singing Eensy Weensy Spider, and when I was done, he sang an energetic "a-MEN."

Liam continues to be his funny little self.  I wrote a few weeks back about Liam's "Mooky pumpkins."  Now the word has become smooky.  As in, "Look how dark it is, Mommy.  It's very smooky."  He often tells me at bedtime, "I'm a sleepy, sleepy boy."

"Tract-or" treat...

So our boys decided they wanted to be farmers for Halloween this year.  I figured we'd turn it into a school project while we're at it.

First we planned it out and made a picture.

Then we wrote out the instructions for how to make them.

We painted our boxes.  The boys decided they'd rather paint with no clothes on, than put on paint shirts...

 Here is our finished product - one Ford tractor, and two John Deere tractors.

 Isaac joined us as another farmer...only he didn't have a tractor.  Maybe next time!

Moving weekend with Oma & Opa

This weekend we helped Eric's parents move from their farmhouse to a house in town.  The boys were excited to have one last visit to the farm, and even more excited to stay at the new house and go exploring for secret passageways!

The boys spent one last morning playing in the big, empty barn.  So much space to play around in!

 Oma & Liam walking back to the house together for one last time

Liam & Isaac enjoyed the view out the window of the new house.

 Most of the smaller stuff had been moved earlier, but there was a lot of help to finish up with all the bigger items.

 Liam was a little tired, so he curled up on the kitchen floor with a pillow and his blanket.

 Oma & Opa have a beautiful jaccuzi tub.   Liam wasn't a big fan of the noisy jets or the full tub, but Evan & Darren loved it!

 After a very rainy, windy, and cold weekend, it was nice to have a bit of sun while we were exploring outside.

Isaac spent most of the time going straight backwards on his bike, and we'd have to turn him around every time he bumped into something.

It was neat for us to be around for the last night at the old house and the first night at the new house.  The boys are looking forward to many more visits there, and much more time spent exploring the secret passageways!

Overheard...

Liam (2.5 years) was playing quietly next to Evan.  He stopped, looked at him and said, "Do you know that Jesus died on the cross for us?"  Evan said, "Yes."  Liam said, "Okay,"  and kept playing quietly.

We were sitting at the table having supper.  Evan has been polling us lately at supper  - asking loudly, "Who likes pizza?   Who likes Fall?" and various other questions.  I answered one of them by raising my hand and saying, "Me!"  Isaac sat up straight in his chair, raised his hand, and called very energetically, "Meee!"  He responded to the next few questions the same way.  Now it's become our suppertime game - asking Isaac questions...who likes naps?  Meee!  Who likes bedtime?  Meee!!

We have air purifiers in the bedrooms.  The boys call them "air purifighters."

The boys were playing very quietly in the kitchen. I came in to see what they were doing, and they were playing with potatoes.  The daddy potato, the mommy, the boys.  Who needs toys, really?

Lately, Liam has been really into colouring very carefully and intricately.  He told me,  "I'm colouring some mooky pumpkins.  They're very mooky, mommy!"

The Toronto Zoo

We went to the zoo with Grandma, Auntie Jenn, Uncle Brian and cousin Hendrik  It was extremely cold in the morning when we arrived (we should have brought hats and mittens!).  We stayed mostly in the pavillions which was much warmer for the morning.  The afternoon warmed up a lot and the weather was beautiful.

Liam took a little fall in the morning (luckily it was right in front of the First Aid station).  He had a bit of a fat lip for the rest of the day.

A new school year

So the plan was to have a few pictures with this post, but our camera card has been acting up.  Will have to post some later.

We have been casually homeschooling Evan through JK and SK, unsure of how long we'd like to do it.  I never pictured myself a homeschooling mom.  But for a variety of reasons, we've decided to continue it for at least another year, and after that, we'll take it year by year.  The main reason being that to send our children to the Christian school would require me going back to work, sending 2-3 children to daycare, which is expensive on it's own.  And I realized that I would be going away from my family for 9 hours a day to teach a classroom full of other people's kids, while someone taught my own.  I have some experience teaching primary/junior grades, I have a good knowledge of the curriculum.  And I love watching our children learn.

Of course, there's always the question of socialization...will the children be able to interact with others, make enough friends, learn how to be independent.  So far, I think our children are already pretty sociable, very comfortable around new people, and quite independent.  They also have eachother to play with - all being less than 2 years apart.  We have also made the effort to include them in church activities, soccer camp, swimming lessons, etc.  There are also a few homeschooling groups in the area that we might become involved with.

The first week of school has gone great!  We start at 8 am, take a few breaks, stop by 10 am. The boys get to play lots, have lunch, some quiet time, and we do another hour or so in the afternoon.  It's amazing how much can be accomplished in a smaller setting versus in the classroom.  Our only obstacle is a rather clingy Isaac, who would rather be held than left to play on his own.  So he just joins in our lessons! 

We noticed the beautiful weather last Thursday, so we worked extra hard, then packed a lunch and spent the rest of the day at the park. Eric has had some time off this week, so we get our work done first thing in the morning, and we have been able to do things together, like going to the corn maze.  The flexibility is great, and the boys love being able to choose what subject to work on next.

We do get a few raised eyebrows sometimes, when people hear that we are homeschooling (I think I've probably raised my own eyebrows in the past) but I think it's going to be a great year!

Baptism of Ayden & Owen