Artwork Display

The boys have been creating so much fun artwork at home and at school and bringing home fabulous grades on papers (Justin brought home a 103% on his latest spelling test and Evan a 101%).  I really wanted a place- other than the fridge door- to display their work.  I found this idea on pintrest (have I mentioned lately my love affair with pintrest?!).  I created it this week, it took more time to get it hung than it did to create it!  Its working out great.  We get to enjoy seeing our artwork during dinner because it hangs in the dining room!  

Pumpkin Painting

One of my favorite activities of the season is pumpkin painting.  We do it every year.  Here in 20120 (look how little the boys are).  We like to retell stories of painting past.  Like the year that Evan ate a big glob of acrylic paint off his brush and began projectile vomiting while I frantically called poison control.  Fun time.  This year was much more tame, and clean (although Justin managed to get paint under his eye one minuted into painting)! The boys both wanted angry bird pumpkins so we traced them off the Internet and they did a fabulous job painting them.  Nathan was not involved in this project (I learned my lesson from Evan and no longer give toxic paints to children before age 3).  

Tree Art

Today's art project was inspired by the trees outside and all the beautiful leaves and color in our world.  Nathan had a great time with the paint.  The Q-tips were the perfect tool for this project!  He had so much fun in fact, that he asked to make another one "I want to make one for Nana" he told me decidedly.  And so we did.  Its hanging on their fridge in the new house already!  Speaking of hanging artwork, Im on the hunt for a way to display some of the work the kids have been creating lately.  I have a big wall earmarked for the project, I just dont know what Im going to do yet...

Photos in October

This is a scene you wouldn't think to find in my house, on my window sill.  Whats that?  An animal bone drying out in the sun!  The boys have my mom to thank for the "wish bone". 

Nathan playing with some stickers and exercising his fine motor skills.  The things we have learned from Evan will indeed benefit Nathan.

Nathan is quite a character lately, full of jokes and silliness.

Nathan and his friend Max playing together at a local indoor play space.  We get the boys together every week to hang out while their older siblings are slaving away at school.  Its good to be the baby of the family!

 Sliding together down the inflatable slide.

 More sliding.

 Nathan finally got brave enough to slide while facing forward!

 Pretending to buy some food.

I finally feel like I have my feet under me and Im caught up on projects.  I've been starting some crafts and activities with Nathan in our free time.  Today we made paper cars.  Nathan LOVED this project.  I cut everything and he glued it all down and then decorated with crayons.

 Nathan tracing the letters C-A-R.

 Using rock crayons - these are the BEST invention ever for encouraging proper pencil grip in little kids.  We started using them with Evan and Nathan loves them too.

I came into Justin's room to find this scene set up on his trunk.  So cool.

Recent Video

I came in the kitchen the other day to find Nathan with the orange juice container, which he had taken out of the fridge, trying to drink directly from the container.  They start young folks.  I got this video of him reenacting the event afterwards.

Nathan -Fall

Our cute littlest.  Love this kid.

It's Been a Long Road Getting From There to Here

I randomly have this Rod Stewart song stuck in my head.  Apropos of nothing and everything these lyrics keep cycling though my mind.

This song.

It * has * been a long road, these last couple weeks.  We have been living through the joys and challenges of change.  I've adopted several truths related to change and repeated them over and over to myself, finding comfort in the repetition.

 “For some people, change is nothing but an opportunity. For others, change is a penalty.”

“If you have faith in yourself, you will accept changes easily. You won’t be afraid of who you might become.”

"A year from now you will wish you had started today.”

Justin has been fine through all of this change.  More than fine, in fact.  My brave child.  I never fully appreciated his bravery until these last couple weeks.  Its such a phenomenal quality he possess.  He has such strength and self assurance.  He exudes confidence.  And I have no idea where he gets it all from, because rest assured, if I were in his position right now, I would not be facing all this as confidently as he has done.  He has a smile on his face every morning on the way to school and every evening after his day.  We are so very proud of him.

Every day I feel more confident in our decision to place him in his new school.  He is being challenged and stimulated in ways that can only help shape that amazing mind of his and build on his incredible intelligence.  Did I mention that last week we got his national standardized testing scores back?  Our Justin scored in the 99th percentile for the nation in math.  That type of gift need to be nurtured, not ignored.  This is Justin's time to shine.  Shine on sweet son of mine, shine on....

First Lost Tooth!

Evan would like to announce that he lost his first tooth!!!  He lost it at school last week, while eating lunch.  I've (understandably) just been so busy I didnt get a chance to get a picture of it until now.  He was quite proud.  The tooth fairy brought him a huge lump sum of money because it was the long anticipated first tooth.

PS- Can you guess what Evan is going to be for Halloween based on the costume he is wearing around the house when I took this picture?!  LOL.

Ch-Ch-Changes...

Change is never easy.  Even when you know its for all the right reasons.  Even when you are certain the outcome will bring desirable effects.  Its hard to let go of the past and embrace change and a different future.  We have had big changes in our lives recently.  

An opening became available at a private school we had been toying with the idea of sending Justin to for a couple years now.  The opportunity without warning just presented itself, and it felt like it was meant to be so we went for it.  With Justin's enthusiastic agreement we enrolled him in his new school and he started his first day there today.  No butterflies, no worries, just a huge brave smile on his first day on his new adventure in life.

Why the change?  Our Justin is so very, very smart and such an enthusiastic student.  We are hoping that this new school will provide him with an environment to learn more, push himself harder and use that amazing brain in his head to its fullest capacity.