Pictures taken so far in August

Wordle fun

I'm sorry that I haven't posted much around here. It's not that I don't have any news.. it's just that - well, you're used to hearing it by now - I haven't found the time to sit and write or to download new pictures.

But, I did find this nifty thing on the 'net as I was reading through some articles online. It's called a Wordle. Right from the wordle.net website, a " Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text." I used the text from this blog to create the wordle posted below. I think it represents us well.

Click the image to see it bigger - I think it's funny how the word TIME is the largest one that stands out to me when I look at it. I promise to try and do better about posting once school is in session. For now, enjoy the wordle...

We're growing!

On August 1st, we'll have a new friend joining us 3 days a week! Paityn is scheduled to start on a Friday, giving her and mom the weekend to bond and recuperate after Paityn's first day of daycare! Noah will always be the man of the house - now he has another little lady to look after. We'll have 3 toddlers and 2 preschoolers in the house! Our days will be packed full of fun. With school starting soon, I have big plans for lots of arts and crafts.

Fall is by far my favorite season, and I'm definitely looking forward to having a full house of kiddos here to help me grow and learn each day!

Thursday Thirteen

For my previous Thursday Thirteen post, please click here.

Here are thirteen things that I consider to be noteworthy (out of a billion, gazillion!!)

1. It's adorable how Noah is stabbing with a fork now. Today, we had peas and coin carrots. He got the carrots okay, but was frustrated at the little green peas that were not stab-able!
2. Noah knows fingerplays and songs very well. Once in a while, a new one will come to my mind that I don't think I've done with these kids in a long time (recently, it was 1 little 2 little 3 little Indians - except I use "boys and girls" instead of "Indians" to be politically correct, hehe) and he catches on every single time. I think he has a really great memory and a love for all things music!
3. Noah's favorite thing to do when he's here at Miss Maggie's is to swing. I think it's impossible for the child to get pushed on a swing and NOT laugh. He giggles every time and I adore it!
4. Savannah is growing into a beautiful little girl. The waddling toddler that I once knew is now wearing "big girls" all the time and loves "write letters" with Julia.
5. Savannah's belly laugh is contagious. When she gets to laughing, everybody gets to laughing, and that just makes her laugh even more. It's hard to NOT have fun when she's in a giggly mood!
6. Savannah would have me read her books all day long every single day if she thought I would do it. She loves story time, loves picking out books, loves guessing plots by analyzing pictures, and enjoys hearing the words read.
7. Julia is starting part-time preschool this August and is very nervous! She tells me, "mom? I am only going to go to school on the days when you are going to come there with me, k?" Sweet Julia, mommy passed preschool long ago, and now it's your turn. You'll be fine without mom.
8. Julia is taking dance classes on Monday nights! Sometimes, during our music and movement time, we practice dance moves - from ballet to tap and even tumbling. It's fun!
9. Julia has her mom's sarcastic sense of humor. She loves it when we pretend and play opposites. "Mom? Is it not okay to eat my green beans?" she'll ask with a coy smile... "am I gonna be in time out if I eat my green beans?" She wants me to play along and say - yes, dear - you'll be in BIIIG trouble if you eat those veggies!
   
10. Rebecca is crawling everywhere and loves to walk with her walker. Just this week, she has started "creeping" along the furniture. She'll be catching up to Noah in no time - a feat she very much looks forward to.
11. Rebecca is learning a lot of new sign language. It's great how quickly she catches on!
12. Rebecca does not care for water play. Well, I take that back... she LOVES when we have water play - but wishes to sit on the sidelines watching everybody else, rather than jumping in and getting wet.
    
13. I love my job. This week, it has been hard because I've been so tired. Vacation Bible School at the church is coming to a close tonight - and I am looking forward to getting to bed a bit earlier each night next week. But, even when I'm exhausted and have so much to catch up on with journaling, blogging, putting laundry away, and everything else - I still love my job. And I wouldn't trade it for anything!

There are many, many pictures that need to be uploaded. Perhaps this weekend I'll steal an hour or two from my family and update the flickr page. I'll be sure to let you know when they're up! Thanks for stopping by. Hope you're having a great summer!

Staying Busy

As always, we've been staying busy here. With the summer upon us, it's hard to resist trips to the park and play days in the pools. Luckily, we have a fairly flexible crowd - it's usually easy to keep everybody entertained.

Yesterday, we played in the pools - but it wasn't the same without Noah and Rebecca (They were snoozing - perhaps they figured it better to nap than deal with the heat?). Savannah and Julia had a blast, though - and I was surprised at how quickly they "jumped" right in despite the freezing cold water. I have to admit, it does feel pretty good since it's been so hot and humid around here. I even got wet up to my knees. :) Fun!

Today, we took a walk to the park. Cornerstone Park isn't that far from here, but I prefer to venture to the park at the Greenbelt. It's a bigger park, tends to be less crowded with field trips (Cornerstone is right by the swimming pool) and sometimes we see a class from our old friends at Open Arms there. When we do run into old friends, it's great fun to play with other kids and it's wonderful for me to get some adult conversation! Plus, the extra walking is good for all of us, and it gives us a chance to appreciate nature a bit more.

Unfortunately, we didn't stay at the park very long. We had snack and then played for just a few minutes. I got worried about the weather moving in. Despite the great forecast, the sky was darkening and I could smell rain. So, we jetted out of there quickly. The girls were good sports - even Savannah picked up the pace a bit and we enjoyed talking about weather all the way home. It's too bad, really, because by the time we got halfway home, the sky cleared and it was hot and sunny again! Oh, well. Better safe than sorry!

There are tons of new pictures up at flickr. Enjoy :)

Oh, by the way - we are going to visit the Deanna Rose farmstead tomorrow, and then I'm hoping we'll get to the library for story time next Thursday! Busy fun!!

More young people wanted!

The best advertising for any small business is word of mouth! I'm on the lookout for two more buddies! I would love to have a part-timer and a full-timer. Part-time care is defined as 29 hours per week or less. And, well - full-time is anything over that! Minimum age requirement is that the child is an accomplished stair-traveler! There is no age maximum, though I won't be able to transport kiddos to/from school.

Our friends would LOVE to have more friends join us! Do you know anybody looking for some TLC?

( By the way - I'm so flattered and humbled by the referrals I'm getting for babies!)

Our "fans" really do rock. I love my job - I hope it shows. Thanks for helping get the word out!

Summer Fun! Pool days

We had SO. MUCH. FUN. today! It was our first water play day, and it was a blast! I have to admit, I was a wee bit nervous about it... who wouldn't be with an 8 month old, 11 month old, 2 year old and 3 year old? But, everything was smooth sailing and, did I mention? It was SO MUCH FUN!! I wish I had the time and patience to give you lots of details - about Savannah and Julia's pretend play - about Rebecca's quick retreat from the water, about Noah's splashing ... but, alas, I have work to do. Here are more pictures to oogle at! And, feel free to check out the other pictures from today over at flickr. :) God has blessed us with another wonderful day!