Learning New Things

This post is really for me, so I will remember these things. Otherwise, I know the memories will fade as my children grow.

H
This week, H learned to ride his bike without training wheels. I knew he was capable if he just had someone working with him. I just had not taken the time to help him. K was attending a ballet intensive, so our school days were very basic. This left a lot more time for learning in other areas.

K had taken one of H's training wheels off, but I could see that all that was doing was training him to lean to one side, so I removed the other training wheel and practiced with him. The first day, he didn't get it. Old habits die hard, and I could feel him leaning mostly to one side as I held his seat to balance him. On the second day, I decided to use a different approach, I leaned over and put my hands over his, holding onto the handle bars with him. This worked much better, and before long, he was able to ride short distances on his own. After building some confidence, he was riding all over the driveway on his own. The only difficulty he had now was starting, but once I showed him the trick to that, he was able to slowly master it and be on his way.

H still needs some practice before we go on long bike rides, but I am so pleased with him and the effort he put into learning this.

Little A

A recently figured out how to nod her head. This was a fun accomplishment, but it meant saying goodbye to her old way, which was just too cute.
When she figured out how to shake her head to say no, she soon learned that she needed to start doing something to say yes. Her solution was to do kind of a whole body up and down movement. It is difficult to describe, but we all enjoyed watching her communicate in her own way.
She also has started to use her signs a lot more frequently. I love when she signs "please" because she says the "s" sound with it. Actually, it is probably more like "pssss".  I am really enjoying this phase of her life with all the cuteness.

Memories and Ramblings

I have noticed that I have not had the time to regularly blog since I gave birth to my fourth child. For this reason, I have very few posts that include him. It is not that my experiences with him are any less entertaining or memorable. This post is dedicated to him and a few memories I want to keep.

S has had a habit of rubbing my arms when falling asleep for a while. When he was really young, he used to give me five when nursing. Now, he likes to put his hand up my long sleeves and rub my forearm as he relaxes. I have started to sing to him (and Hunter) before bedtime, and he snuggles down into my arms while in the rocking chair, sticks his hand up my sleeve, and listens. Sometimes he faces me a little more and sticks both hands up my sleeves.

Another memory I want to capture is that of S singing with me. I have started to sing some Christmas carols at night so the younger two can learn them by Christmas. Today, while I was singing "Away in a Manger" to him, he started singing along with me. We were rocking, looking into each others' faces, and singing together. It was such a sweet moment.

When I am done singing, I say the 23rd Psalm, and S knows it is time to go to bed. He insists on having his sippy cup (it has to be the blue one) in a certain corner of his crib, and he sleeps under his Cat in the Hat blanket. All this constitutes his bedtime routine, whether napping or going to sleep at night. I am not sure how it will all pan out once baby number five arrives. I guess we'll find out in April.

I Want to Remember

I've heard homeschooling compared to a black hole. Everything gets sucked in. This is definitely true in my life as well. My days are spent schooling, cleaning, cooking, caring for my kids, and running errands. That doesn't leave much time for anything else, especially blogging.

In the midst of this chaos and busyness, there are parts of life I want to remember. I am afraid that if I don't write them down, I will forget. Like when H puts on several pair of underwear at a time, or how S dances and claps his hands when AJ plays "Grand Old Flag" on the piano and sings to it. I want to remember that H is the first one to help if I am doing anything in the kitchen. It doesn't take long before I hear the chair scooting across the floor as he pushes it from the dining room into the kitchen, saying, "I want to help, Mommy."

I want to remember K dancing to "Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam" as I try to sing S to sleep, even though she should be in bed herself. And H breaking out in poem when he sees the moon... "The moon has a face like the clock in the hall, She shines on thieves on the garden wall." I don't want to forget S crawling toward me, saying, "Mamamamamama," or his proclamation of wanting to nurse, "Nu nu nu nu nu." I want to remember K crawling into bed with S when he starts crying, trying to calm him by snuggling with him. And H standing with his legs apart and his arms out, trying to "trap" people from passing by, even though he weighs only about 5 or 6 pounds more than S. He is so feisty and full of passion.

I want to remember AJ crawling around on the floor, trying to get S to chase him, and succeeding in getting him to laugh. And AJ playing the Demo song on the piano and galloping around the fireplace as part of his "dance" to the music. And AJ telling me the best part of co-op is science because he has me as his teacher. And H telling me he is happy with me right after I told him I am not happy with him. Then his asking if I am happy with him after he has obeyed and the hug that ensues.

I want to remember H talking about the air show for weeks and AJ riding his new bike around the cul-de-sac, singing "God Bless the USA." I want to remember their spontaneous patriotism in the Safeway parking lot on Columbus Day when the flags were flying. They burst into the national anthem and all sang their heart out.

I want to remember K glancing up at me as I enter the dance studio toward the end of her class, and how she is obviously distracted by my presence as I see her looking at me instead of focusing on the task at hand. I want to remember how she loves to read past her bedtime, and how she devours books. I want to remember that AJ turned his light back on to do his sentence workbook when he should have been trying to go to sleep.

So, while many of my posts are for others to learn what is going on in our lives or to record the unique experiences we have encountered, this one is for me. I want to look back and smile as I remember these fleeting days. Because time does indeed fly by quickly.