Thursday, September 29, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
riding the birthday train . . .
yesterday we had a busy day writing thank you notes for the presents we received at the party on Saturday.
we also made chocolate chip cookies for Joseph to take to school today for his friends. According to Joseph, "all kids LOVE a chocolate chip cookie."
Joseph has been so excited about his birthday, so I wanted to make sure it lived up to his expectations.
The birthday balloon fairy visited during the night and Joseph woke up to a room full of balloons!
Then daddy delivered his warm birthday cinnamon roll.
It was time for school and he left with cookies and thank-you cards in-hand.
After school, Daddy & Joseph met Mama & Jacob at a restaurant for dinner. Much to Joseph's glee, we were given the #5 for our table.
We went to All Aboard for dinner. A very fun restaurant that delivers the food to your table via train!
After dinner we returned home to open presents.
And Joseph got to stay up late and play.
We can't believe that Joseph is already five years old. He is a great helper and is usually eager to do his chores.
Joseph loves going to his pre-school three days a week and we can tell a huge difference with him socially. His pre-school class last year used a kindergarten readiness program and about half the class went on to kindergarten. He is in a more advanced class this year so we have no doubt about his readiness for kindergarten next year. They have been studying shapes (pentagon, hexagon, cube, cylinder, etc.) and Johnny Appleseed. Last week they did an apple taste test between red, green and yellow apples and this week they made applesauce. They're also gearing up for fall. His current homework is to take a nature walk with his family and then bring to school a sampling of what he found.
Joseph loves to learn on his own and works hard on math, writing and reading. He can read surprisingly well for his age and I only have to help him occasionally when he texts his Papa or instant messages Daddy during the day. He also loves to type up signs on the computer and print them out. We currently have several signs hanging up around the house - along with his shape flashcards. (Our house really looks more like a pre-school with all the books, signs, post-its and toys. . . . . 'tis the season.)
Joseph likes to be in charge of everyone and everything and gets quite frustrated when he gets corrected for correcting his brother. He would like to make the rules. Since Daddy and Mama were both oldest children, we understand the feelings, but still can't allow the behavior.
Joseph is very sweet and still loves to snuggle and hug and leaves love notes all over the house. He is passionate and focused when "working" on the computer, building something fantastic or "drawing," which really consists more of him writing fancy math problems all over a paper. He is obsessed with calendars and clocks and "always knows what day it is." He has a wooden calendar in his room that he updates every morning before he comes downstairs.
He loves to go to Bible Study on Tuesday mornings with me and tells me all about his lesson on the way home. We've been able to have some great discussions recently about God and I love watching him process the stories he hears at church.
He has been a joy to watch as he grows and develops and learns. We love our precious boy more than we can say and are so proud of him.
Monday, September 26, 2011
birthday party!!!
Joseph turns 5 this week! We had his birthday party on Saturday at Jump Zone. He told us about 9 months ago that he wanted to have his party there so planning has been fairly easy. On Friday morning we started our party prep at home and Joseph was excited to help.
First we put together the goodie bags for our guests. . .
Joseph wanted a "space" theme for his party so we did what we could with what we could find.
We made some homemade "moon dough."
We also created recipe cards in case anyone wanted to make more at home.
And our spaced themed cupcakes . . . .
Joseph was so excited to go to his party on Saturday and wear his new rocket shirt.
The birthday boy blowing out his candles.
Ready to open presents!
Joseph was so excited to have his friends at his party and they were excited to help him with his gifts.
So - a fun and exhausting day for everyone. We have more fun planned for this week as our sweet boy turns 5!!!!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
post its
Joseph has recently discovered post it notes and how useful they are.
Useful for putting price tags on everything in the house.
Useful for remembering your address.
Useful for reminding your mama about your birthday party plans.
Useful for labeling all the exits.
And then, when your brother figures out how fun it is to frustrate you by removing all your carefully placed post its, you can leave a special post it for him.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Weekend o' family fun
This past weekend found us traveling again. We headed to Nashville where we dropped off daddy and picked up Aunt Alissa, then headed on to Indianapolis. Cousin Scout turned 1-year-old last week and her birthday party was on Saturday evening. We helped make her special cake and cupcakes and relaxed with the Shetler family.
Uncle Jon gave Joseph & Jacob a little guitar lesson.
Baby Cannon is getting so big and smiles like it's his job.
Aunt Alissa helped wrangle boys and was great fun to have along on our road trip.
Baby Cow's/Scout's first birthday cake. 
She dug right in to that cake and ate the whole thing.
Then she tore in to her gifts. She took a short nap at bedtime, not wanting to miss the after-party, and was in rare form later that night after all the sugar.
