I am a bit of a control freak. It's one of the things I really dislike about myself. So I decided the only way to stop feeling like I have to be in control was to let part of that control go. I see blogs and hear friends talking about their kids cooking with them and I have just not been able to do it. Autumn and Weston have never expressed interest, but it was mainly me not inviting them and thinking all they would do was mess it up. :) Well about 6 months ago I found the cutest aprons and bought a pink and blue one thinking I would start letting them help in the kitchen. Well- those aprons are still in the cupboards with the tags on them and they've never even see them or needed them.
So last night was a first for us! Autumn came to help me make some cookie bars. Last year Autumn went to preschool 3 days a week, this year it changed to 4 days and since Fri had never before been a preschool day the two preschool teachers decided on Fridays to combine the classes and do cooking experiments. I realized then that Autumn needed those fun memories of baking and cooking with her mom; not just with her school mates.
We made Chocolate-Frosted Peanut Butter Cookie Bars.
Autumn did awesome. I measured, she poured, and most of it made it into the bowl, but yes- my kitchen was a bigger mess than it would've been with just myself in there, which I kept having to ignore.
Once we got to the frosting part she was done. But I did have her spread the frosting. She did such a lovely job!
It was a lot of fun. I think Autumn enjoyed herself too. I need to take more opportunities to spend just one on one time with her and enjoy letting her help me, it helps me get over this need to control everything! :)
Autumn started preschool (again) last week. It's crazy to think that this is her last year in preschool. She is loving it and glad to be back with her same teachers again. Last year she went 3 days a week and this year they changed the program to 4 days a week. That made me one happy mom, I cried when I got the letter! I think it'll make the transition to Kindergarten that much easier and just seeing how much her speech improved last year with 3 days, I can only imagine how much 4 days of preschool will benefit her.
Weston started preschool today. Myself and some moms that I go to church with got together to do a co-op, similar to Joy School. He was so excited all morning to be "going to school." We get there and it wasn't quite what he was expecting, I think he imagined a school- or a classroom similar to Autumns, but when I picked him up 2 hours later he talking about the letter A, apples, puzzles, and his friend Merick. Sounds successful to me! Preschool will be good for him, he walks around bored when Autumn's at school and this will help him have something to do while Autumn's at her school.
I am loving this stage that my little family is at, they're learning and growing so much everyday. Plus I love the extra one on one time I get with Bailey while their at school.
Hi. I am Bailey. I'm 7 months old and currently busier than ever. I started crawling a month ago, and while we were on vacation visiting my grandparents in TX I really got the hang of it and was cruising everywhere. But crawling wasn't enough for me. I have an older sister who is an overachiever and my mom talks to other people about how smart she is and how early she did stuff so I feel this need to keep up with her. So as soon I could crawl, I started pulling myself up. No, not to my knees- that wouldn't be impressive. I took it a step further. I find anything and everything I can and I pull myself up onto my feet. I have had a few tumbles and fell a couple of times, but practice makes perfect. And mom always comes quickly to my aid if I am in distress. It drives my mom nuts that I didn't just enjoy crawling for very long, she wishes I would've crawled for awhile and then later figured out how to stand and pull myself up. But where is the fun in that?
Using the coffee table:
Using the couch:
I want to be wherever my brother and sister are. So I climb up and stand with them.
Using my sisters table:
On my sisters bed:
On my brothers bed:
Using my moms leg:
If there's a way for me to pull myself up I will do it. My moms favorite thing- I babble a lot as well, and instead of saying, "babababa" like I did for several months now I say "mamamama" because I can tell it just melts my moms heart. :)
A few weeks ago a friend of mine took our family pictures. Ok, so they're just pics of the kids- but that's what people want to see anyways. :) My friend is starting up a photography business and needed some practice and the last time I had hired anyone to do family pics was when Autumn turned 2 and Weston was 6 months old. Well now Bailey is 6 months old, Weston's 2 and Autumn is 4. It was about time to have a go at it again.
These are just a few of my favorites:
Some things I love about them, is how smiley Bailey is, and how easy it was for them to get good pics of her. (another one of her from the shoot is in the previous post as well) It was over 100 degrees that day and we went and did pictures at 5:30 and at a really fun park. The kids were hot, not very cooperative, and just wanted to play. Stop and take pics? What? Hence the one with all 3 of them, the reason Baileys smiling and the other kids aren't, she doesn't realize how fun a park can be.
Last week I took Autumn and Bailey to the dr. for their well visits. I always love seeing how much they weigh and how tall they've gotten.
Weight: 15.1 lbs. (25th %)
Height: 26 1/2 in. (75th %)
Head: 43 cm (50th %)
Bailey at 6 months is so smiley, happy, and easy going. My easiest baby by far. The only thing remotely difficult about her is her lack of interest in baby food. She doesn't mind cereal or oatmeal- it's all the other untexturized food- green beans, bananas, peas, apples, etc... My favorite thing about her- whether she has napped for 3 hours and just gotten up or if she slept 15 min and got woken up by a sibling screaming, or if she is dog tired and fighting sleep- she is as happy as a clam. She is babbling, rolling in all directions and watching her try to figure out why she can't go forwards and only crawls backwards and in circles cracks me up. I hope she stays this easy.
Autumn at 4 years old has lived true to the claim that once kids are 4, they're over that terrible 2's and 3's stage. I originally hoped that at midnight on her birthday a magic switch would turn old behaviors off and she'd be over all that 2 and 3 year old mess. It didn't happen. It took about a month and now Autumn and I are getting along in ways I worried we never would. She isn't as big of a handful as she used to be and I rarely find myself reprimanding her. I am loving age 4 for so far! My favorite thing about her- seeing her light up with positive praise and when I get on to her brother about something she's quick to tell me that she's not doing that and she's being good. :) She's a big help with Bailey (and Weston) and she is doing amazing with learning to read. She amazes me and surprises me everyday.
I knew with summer coming I would need something to keep Autumn busy. That girl has a knack for learning and just eats it up. With preschool being out and looking at all she accomplished last year in preschool I knew the only thing left was teaching Autumn to read. I was hesitant at first, she is barely 4. But she needed something new and different.
I taught her her letters at 18 months old, and she could recognize all her letters, a few colors, a few shapes, recognized numbers up to 10, and count to 20 by age 2. By 2 1/2 she knew all the letter sounds. I loved being the one responsible for teaching her. I took such pride when we would be at friends or a family members house and she would start spouting off letters she saw on a blanket, shirt, wall, etc... and she wasn't even 3 yet. It made me light up.
It's no secret Autumn is difficult, but she is on her best behavior when her and I sit one on one and do something educational. There's no denying how smart this girl is and I for one do not want to hold her back. I have had a book that teaches how to read for over a year and have gone over it so that I had it perfect when the opportunity presented itself to teach Autumn. Summer is here, and this was my moment. We are only into day 11 of the lessons, and she can read the simple 2 and 3 letter words in the lesson. I don't know what to expect when the lessons get harder and instead of just e and a sounds there is ea, ou sounds how she will do. But so far this has been right on her level.
I took a video because during the lesson she just shocked me, occasionally I have to redirect her attention to where I am pointing and have her say it slow and sound out the words. But she was doing it perfectly. I then tell her I am going to video and you can see minor distractions but she kept wanting to see the screen and the video itself. I am so proud of her.
I want Autumn to keep up this love for learning and be excited about it. So far that's all I have ever seen from her when it comes to learning and I want to help keep that up.
The summer heat is on it's way and before I know it we will be enjoying (maybe enduring is a better word) the hot Arizona heat. I remember last summer getting our electric bill and Drew & I were just shocked and realized we had to change some things. We turned the thermostat up 2 more degrees, I only ran the dishwasher right when we went to bed at night, and I only used the washer/dryer early in the morning or really late at night. We also "tried" ( I use it loosely because I could've tried harder) to cut back on using the oven, stove, crock pot...anything that would heat up my kitchen/home. This summer I am determined to cut back on it even more.
I am prepared to make burgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken, steak, etc...out on the grill and a friend yesterday suggested putting my crockpot in the garage or on the back patio if I use it. But I don't want to get too bored with grilling or eating the same things every week. The 120 degree weather is hard to bear and I won't necessarily want to be outside grilling in that heat anyways. I am looking for new "cool" summer food ideas.
So my question is, what do you cook or prepare in the summer to keep your homes cool?
I am married to my best friend. We have 2 beautiful daughters and handsome son. I have a B.A. in Food and Nutrition, but my passion is crafts and decorating my home with them. Let me know if you see something you like!
