Daily Lives- Vol. 14

Benjamin's first bath- 4 weeks old

Exploring the woods with Dad and the blow dart gun.

Back into the groove of things around here. 

Inside:

We've found our homeschool rhythm again. Bene's unfortunately had a chest cold for the last few weeks and everyone's been draining like crazy. But thankfully, he seems to be on the mend as do the rest of the kiddos. Still trying to master those early morning after a long night but he seems to be sleeping better now that he's not so stuffy.

Simon (and Will recently started as well) have been enjoying messing around with the Uke in their free time.  Simon is showing improvement and it's fun to hear him crank out a tune that actually sounds good! 

Outside:

The weather has been amazing. 

I'm the first to say that I love a white Christmas and I prefer cool weather to hot sweaty weather, but I've got say, this warm Alabama winter weather has been amazing!

Think cool Fall weather but in December and January.

It's been so nice to be able to send the kids out each afternoon to play (no bundling necessary), going on walks for fun and do run errands and being able to sit on the back/front porch to enjoy the fresh air. 

Winter is surely Alabama's crowning glory- a stark contrast to their summers. 

In the Kitchen:

I really love the layout of the kitchen in our house. It sure makes spending time in it a joy, as I can see the big boys perfectly- making sure they keep on task- while at the same time Maria and Paul have space to hang out with me in the kitchen while I work.

I've gotten back to being on top of meal planning and in the last couple of weeks have been trying to make things for dinner that can be done before lunch, when I have the most energy, and then put in the oven later. 

It's been nice to simplify our evenings. We've also started using the dishwasher in the evenings as well and it seems to have really simplified things as well.

My theme here has become mainly, "get everything done before I'm completely beat in the evening and need to nurse a whiny baby while simultaneously feeding my family and cleaning up. Which clearly, I'm bound to fail at. As I have done. Many times. :) Meticulous planning makes all the difference!

Reading:

So many books. So little time.

Working my way through, "A Shepard's Life" and really enjoying it. 

Also, a Flannery O'Conner story here and there.

Alex has been reading, "One Man's Wilderness" outloud to me in the evenings as well as finishing up the seventh/last book of the Stephen King series, "The Dark Tower."

William just got finished devouring Harry Potter #4- the Goblet of Fire and is just itching to start the 5th (which he isn't currently allowed to start just yet). 

Misc. 

Benjamin has been smiling for a solid week now and is starting to "coo" when he's in a good mood. It's pretty sweet watching his little eyes study your face as he tries to communicate with you. :) 

His poop is looking normal! Praise the Lord! Not sure when we'll get his blood tested again but he seems to be doing well. 

He seems to understand the word, "nurse?" when said in a sing songy voice and immediately starts opening and closing his mouth to answer, "yes!"

Just yesterday he was finally baptized here at the church on base. He was in a very good mood throughout the entire thing with his eyes wide open looking around. 

Maria lost her first tooth (after me "accidently" pulling down on it really hard....)

She's got another one dangling on for dear life that hopefully will be out soon as the adult tooth is alrready in.