Wednesday

A (rainy) day in our life...

We usually begin the day by taking Christian over to school and then beginning Michaela's math lesson.  We go over the calendar, talk about patterns, time, money, and solve a daily problem.  Today I thought it might be less distracting for Michaela if Eliana were on the floor playing.  I got on the floor with her and tried to go through Michaela's math from there.  It worked really well...see for yourself. 

Eliana moved on from the blanket to the Lego bin, and I thought I could capture some cute moments since I already had the camera there.  I thought,"I'll write something funny, like 'Think inside the box,' or 'Lego my foot!'  I took one picture:

Then Eliana managed to tip the bin over while holding on to the side and guess where she landed?

Can't tell here, can you? Yikes!  Branded by Legos...two perfect Lego marks on her forehead...Still a sweet smile.

Christian gets out early on Wednesdays, so we picked him up, had lunch at Chik-Fil-A, and then headed to Barnes & Noble on this rainy day.  We love to go there on rainy days. 

The afternoon went by relatively peacefully... 

We also spent time making some goodies for teachers... 

Here are some shots of our evening just before bath and bed:

Thanks for sharing our day!

Post-Wreckage

That makes me feel a little more sane.  Now do I get some cake?

Train Wreck!

Oh, no... that's just my kitchen. 

A Fair Day

One of these shocking statements is true...can you pick which one?

a.  Christina ate a cockroach.

b.  Christina took her kids to the state fair.

c.  Christina bought the family a labrador retriever puppy.

The correct answer is "b!"  Mike and I did take the kids to the fair today, and what an experience.  It was "Over-the-Top-Ville!"  The smells, the sights, the sounds-something was coming at us from EVERY direction.  People were everywhere.  Food was everywhere.  Colors were everywhere.  And it was SO noisy.  Michaela and Christian loved it!  They were busy taking it all in, from the smell of the horses to the shouts of the gamers; from the music on the rides to the colors on the Midway; from the taste of the pizza to the smell of fried whatever-you-can-think-of (i.e. cheese curds!?).

  

When we first arrived we visited the horse barn and, of course, there were tractors out front: 

Right after checking out the horses, we tried to make a plan for our time at the fair, and headed to the Midway: 

We spotted the swings and both the big kids were going to ride but Christian was too short.  Michaela was brave, though, and she went on by herself.  She seemed to like it, and I just couldn't believe she was flying around in the air like that on her own.  She looked so big!  I was nervous she would be afraid or feel a little sick, but she was all smiles. 

Since Christian was a little small for the rides, we headed over to the games.  Both the kids enjoyed trying to hit their targets, and Mike got in on the action, too! 

We were able to watch some motorcycle stunts and some daredevil tricks:

Mike and Michaela enjoyed a ride on the Texas Star, our world-famous Ferris Wheel (well, maybe not world-famous), while Christian had a "Lemon Chill."

 

Here are some final images from our extravaganza:

My First Baby

Michaela is growing up so fast.  I cannot believe how different she looks since last August when Eliana was born.  Her whole face has changed.  She has also lost 7 teeth and her two front teeth took forever to come in.  So now that they are mostly in she looks so much older.  She looks like a young lady instead of a girl who was just a preschooler.  That might sound funny because she is 7, which is not like we just stopped using sippy cups and wearing diapers.  But the last four years have been so nutty and have brought so many kinds of changes that, in the whirlwind, I hadn't stopped to notice how much she was changing.  

While some things are obviously different, like her teeth or her feet getting bigger, some things have not changed as she has gotten older.  Michaela has always had an eye for beauty.  She notices beautiful things and appreciates aesthetics.  She loves to sing, and listen to music.  She is very observant (which means I can't get much by her).  She is quick and very logical.  Recently I was frustrated while trying to feed Eliana because she wouldn't eat anything on this particular occasion.  I flipped the spoon onto the table and sat back in my chair dejectedly and said, dramatically,"I quit.  I'm not feeding her anymore!"  Michaela laughed and said,"But that means she would never eat!"  I looked at her and chuckled and thought how smart she was to be able to take things to their "logical conclusion."  Her humor also helped to make the tension of the moment go away.  She has always loved babies, even when she was two.  When Christian was born Michaela and I would sit on the couch together nursing our babies.  She would lift her doll up to her chest and hold her there and look at me with this face that said,"Like this, Mommy?"  She wants to be a "Mommy" when she grows up.   All of these characteristics and qualities are so wonderful to watch in her.  Seeing such amazing attributes in my daughter makes me want to be a better mom for her. 

Eliana and Christian demand a lot from me most of the time, in good ways and in tiring ways.  Michaela is easy most of the time.  This makes me realize that I have to pay attention to her deliberately because I don't want to miss anything!  She might be coming up with some nuclear-physics-molecular-bionic-hyper-sonic-theory and I wouldn't know it because I was trying to get Eliana to sleep!  She is a treasure, a joy.  I pray that I am able to convey that to her each day.