Daily Gratitude

Today I am thankful for a nice walking path around the hospital.

And a fun kitchen helper.

Bunnies & chickens

We have recently become friends with a family who lives on a farm outside Waverly.  They have a lot of free-range chickens and a litter of baby bunnies only a couple weeks old.  We paid a visit on a beautiful Saturday morning.  Emily enjoyed holding the bunnies much more than Lincoln.  He was more interested in chasing the chickens around with a bucket of corn.  They both helped gather about a dozen eggs, which we took home to eat, and they also helped feed & water the animals.  Of course, on the way home we got the expected, "Can we have chickens and bunnies?" question.  The standard answer: "No, that's why we go visit them at other people's houses."  :)

This hen is named "Mrs. Furry".  She is very tame.

5 years + 8 months

Lincoln's "Game of the Month" for January has been Bank It!  He received it from us for Christmas and he absolutely LOVES it.  After a few rounds of learning by trial and error, he has figured out some strategies for making good decisions about balancing earning money, buying and saving.  He has also become really good at counting money and can make change using the nickels, dimes and quarters.  I don't mind playing it pretty much every day, which makes it a "win" for everyone! :)

Lincoln has also been doing an excellent job reading the books from the Learn to Read with Tug the Pup and Friends! box set he received for Christmas.  He has worked his way through the A and B Guided Reading levels.  It is so much fun to listen to him figure things out on his own!

Football stand

We are so glad Andjelka is back from her Semester at Sea!  She watched the the kids today while Austin & I attended the Leadership Retreat at Orchard Hill.  She took this picture and posted on Facebook: 

"I love how Lincoln joined Brazilian and American culture by using Brazilian drums I got him as the kicking stand for his stuffed football"

My comments: 
"I love the glint in his eye knowing how many times we have talked about not kicking a football in the living room."

"Oh, and the fact that he wore his pajama shirt backwards all night AND all day!"

Hair cuts

The kids & I headed to Denver tonight for hair cuts.  Emily needed a good trim, but decided to cut 4" off instead.  Lincoln wanted a "professional" cut.  I just needed my layers evened out a bit.  It's always fun to visit and catch up with Trudie!

First day of St. John preschool

After a lot of thought and consideration, we decided to hold Lincoln back for another year of preschool.  He is enrolled at St. John's Lutheran Preschool for five afternoons per week .  This is where he attended for a semester when he was 3 years old. 

Today was his first day, and he was so excited!  He insisted on riding bikes.  The church is only four blocks away, but it requires crossing a very busy 4th Street SW.  He arrived in style with his snazzy Agent P backpack.  He hardly gave a second glance before running into the classroom.

He had a great day and can't wait to go back!

P.S. I also had a fabulous free afternoon and can't wait for many more! ;)

August 2014 videos

7 years + 10 months

 

Emily has also done a lot of growing up this month.  From swimming to riding a bike to attempting to braid her own hair, she is no longer a little girl.  She has also decided she is totally over Hello Kitty.  She was so excited to pick out a new backpack that was "more like my style".  It turns out her "style" is anything besides an animated character. :)  We ended up ordering one online that came just in time for the first day of school.  She likes panda bears and has recently changed her favorite color from green to blue.  

Emily prefers a "sporty" look and recently started wearing full elastic headbands.  She was super excited to pick out some new soccer gear.  She's going to try recreational soccer this fall.

Emily also lost two more teeth this month and is now sporting a "holey" smile.  She pulled both of them out by herself late at night and surprised us in the morning.

 

Emily's favorite books right now are the Dear America series and anything Encyclopedia Brown.  While Lincoln likes listening to the radio at night, Emily's current music of choice is Mannheim Steamroller Christmas CD's.

Shining selfie

This is what happens when someone is bored in the van and starts messing around with photo settings on the iPad.

Cousin fun

We spent the Saturday of Labor Day weekend in Waukee with Austin's family.  The cousins had fun playing with each other, going to the park and swimming with Grandpa & Grandma.