8!

JT celebrated his 8th birthday today. We all enjoyed a wonderful time together, even if Papi kept insisting the celebration was in honor of his being off work. :)

Our birthday celebrations have some consistency to them. Papi takes the day off work (yes, this uses up a full week of his vacation time each year, but it truly is worth it.) Breakfast always includes pancakes that make in the shape of each person's age. When it's your birthday, you get you new age in pancake numbers. The rest of the day is planned (to some extent) by the birthday boy/girl, unless they are too young, and then Papi & I plan the day.

The activity of the day was to play min-golf, however when we got to the park, mini-golf wasn't open. So we played soccer (JT & I against Papi and JMC) while the girls walked around the field picking flowers. The Papi & JT played some more soccer and practiced some new skills while I took JA, JMC, & JL to the park. Then all 4 kids plaed hide-and-seek for a bit. We had a delicious lunch at a local vegan/gluten free bakery/restaurant and then came home for the little ones to nap.

Opening birthday cards. JA made him a card from herself, as well as from JMC & JL. He also received cards in the mail.

Papi pretending to swipe JT's birthday money.

I baked JT's requested chocolate birthday cake, while Papi took JT for birthday pictures and to run some errands. When they got back, we headed back to the park for mini-golf. Then home for spaghetti and meatballs with melted (dairy free) cheese, and chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and sprinkles. Such a fun day! Even JMC (4 years old) kept thanking JT for his wonderful birthday fun choices. :)

JMC - big enough for a real min-golf club.

JT looks so grown up!

Someone REALLY enjoyed the cake. :)

19 months old!

I missed JL's 18 month birthday here on the blog. We took note of the day as a family, but we don't really celebrate half birthdays, and I just didn't get a chance to post here. Anyway, Papi & I tend to really enjoy the stage of 18 months-their 3rd birthday. Not that we don't enjoy other stages of child development, we love all of our children at each stage they are at at any given time. (I now have 2 who like to read over my shoulder, so I have to cover my bases here.) :)  For some reason, though, we really enjoy watching the children as they develop their vocabulary and their vocabulary tends to explode when they are between 18 months and 3 years old.

In the past month, JL has learned to climb up and down stairs (though we still get nervous about letting her), climb onto the sofa, jump on the bed, jump along the sofa, open the baby gate walk through and close it behind her, and just today she learned how to climb up onto the dining room chairs.

Her vocabulary is truly exploding, too. In Spanish she can say agua, hola, alo, gato, leche, suave, si, no, & gato

In English she says hi, bye, uh-huh, & wow

In baby sign language she says more, eat, please, & soft

And she knows the names for Mami, Papi, JA, and Hurley (her cousin's dog).

(This post was written in January, and I just never got around to posting it. Oops!)

JL loves to imitate her siblings! 

sisters

JMC & JL are as thick as thieves. They mostly play well together.

JT reading to JMC & JL

JL decided to join JMC in timeout. 

For about a month or so, this was her favorite reading spot. She would take all of her board books out of the box, and sit in as if it were a recliner. Then she would look through her books for up to half an hour at a time.

After visiting cousins for New Year's, JL searched our house for Hurley, their bichon friese. JA came to the rescue when she brought out her white FurReal Friend puppy dog. 

I've never known someone who can wink at such a young age!

Papi, Mami, & JL

School

I've mentioned before that we are studying world geography and cultures this year. It is actually called Exploring Geography and Cultures by My Father's World curriculum, and we love it! The studies are divided up by continent, and incorporate the ecosystems, climate, and animals of each continent for the science portion, as well as geography, a brief history, and culture for select countries. We also learn about missionaries who worked in the various countries. It's an all around fun time, as we enjoy learning about people and nature. :) Oh, and trying new foods from other countries is a pastime of ours, so that works in well, too.

Thankgiving and into December

Thanksgiving was a blast. Papi and I enjoyed making the menu and preparing everything together, taking turns in the kitchen at times, and dancing around each other quite a bit as well. Papi made the turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, and green bean casserole. I made the sweet potatoes, apple cherry pie, herb dinner rolls, and something else I can't recall right now. Everything was gluten and dairy free, and everyone said it was delicious.

Playing Enchanted Forest

JA and L played Draw Something, sending pictures back and forth to each other.

Ita and JL

 Thanksgiving weekend is when we like to decorate for Christmas. Papi usually has a long weekend, and the house tends to be relatively clean, so it works out well. :) Papi puts up the tree and all lights. He also drags the boxes out from the shed (and commented that we don't have very many Christmas boxes!) The kids and I put on the ornaments, strategically placing the breakable ones up high, and those that are toddler-safe down low. This year, our tree has very few ornaments on the bottom third and top third, but the middle third is quite full. :)

On Tuesday, JMC had his first eye exam. We like to take the kids once they are 4 or 5 years old, since it's covered by insurance and we both wear glasses, so we figure it's only a matter of time. Well, we were surprised to learn that JMC is the first of the kids to need glasses. He was excited, and requested that they be either green or red, preferably both. We were glad to find a pair of red frames that are flexible (like Papi's) and they were ready the same day. It's been an adjustment (for all of us) but JMC is beginning to notice that he can see better with them on, which makes things easier.