a slice of her day

one of the most frequent questions i get about homeschooling is in regards to little caroline.   while i considered finding a vintage playpen to trap her in I also had optimism that I could effectively homeschool while also being intentional with my time with her.

we have our rough patches but by in large its been beautiful.   over the last several days i snapped pictures of some of the things she does during school time.  

each activity can last anywhere from 30 seconds to 5 minutes.

her chef hat is a must when she cooks.  

linking cubes.  big smile.  

loves to read.  prefers to look through scrapbooks.  

crazy about stickers.   

they usually get on paper but lots of storage bins have sticker decor.  

her new "smile" face.  she is insisting on closed eyes.  

                                    lacing beads.  hard skill but she is getting pretty good.

getting her wiggles out.  

she loves to sort her animals.   

building.  (i just noticed she was stacking same colors...way to go caroline!)  

another example of her new smile face.  open your eyes, child!  

yes, handwriting practice pages have been scribbled on.  yes, kinsley has held her ears saying she can't concentrate during a little tantrum.  yes, we have hard days.   but overall caroline is loving homeschool just as much as me.   

update:  i can't help but include this:

early morning play-doh

birthday at the beach

my (sweet, spunky, adventurous, snuggly, glued-to-mommy, lover of chocolate, adored by her sisters) little gal just turned two.  

she got to celebrate at our favorite home away from home...charleston.

 caroline, you bless our family.   bless us.

 you are full of life.  you run everywhere you go.  there is a very literal spring in your step.

 i treasure my time with you.   you are a jewel.

 you are our entertainer.  when you realize we are laughing at something you do, you become downright theatrical.

 you cling to me.   you grip my arms when you lay against me.   if i have sleeves you wiggle your hands up my arms so our skin is touching.   i love that.

 time outs.  kisses and sorries.  definite parts of our days.

 you are growing up.  you are pretending.  you cook me food in your kitchen while wearing your chef hat.   big big milestone.

 your sisters think you are wonderful.  they think you are hilarious.  the three of us girls get tons of smiles and laughs because of you all day long.

 you watch them.  you talk to them in the car and hold hands, car seat to car seat.  

you can keep up.  you certainly try.  

pretty soon you will be a big kid like your sisters.   i can't wait for what those days will bring.   

it was an awesome weekend celebrating you, little girl.  (forever my baby girl)

last week.....

hallie insisted on doing the hula for her 1st day of preschool picture.  

 caroline did this puzzle one million times.  

she went to her sad spot when things didn't go her way.      

hallie rocked some pretty great bed head.   

they did sand art.  our stairs have never been more colorful.   

we found this guy in the woods behind our house.   we were captivated.   

the tortoise triggered nature journals and a trip to the library.   last week was a good week.  

not caught on camera

we are gearing up for a busy fall---just the way i like it.   an exciting change is that we decided to homeschool kinsley this year.  one week in and i wouldn't trade it for the world.

i don't have one specific milestone or event to share.   instead i want to list a handful of stories--things that i know i will forget if i don't make a point to bottle them up and store them away.

caroline loves to be naked.  loves it.  when we get home she usually completely undresses.   

hallie and her card games.  she never tires of crazy 8's.

kinsley is the most health conscious kid i know.  i once told her orange foods are unhealthy and she now refuses all goldfish/cheez-its.  always prefers something juicy.   

caroline the daredevil.   i have had numerous strangers tell me i need to sign her up for gymnastics.  

we had a putrid smell coming out our vents.  ben had to go under the house to get to the source.  he made a homemade hazmat suit.  it was hilarious but caroline was terrified.   lots of screaming and burying her head into me.   

when i hold hands with hallie she likes it when i squeeze tightly.  if i ever loosen my grip she take her opposite hand and tightens our two hands together.  

hallie and kinsley learned how to ride bikes with no training wheels.  hallie figured it out first.  her little heart was pounding.   kinsley was in shock which led to sheer determination.  a few minutes later she had it mastered.   

hallie fell out of bed at midnight and got 4 stitches.  "i have yarn in my head."   

soccer has started and ben is again coaching both their teams.  at kinsley's pratice, caroline participated in many of the drills.  she did amazing.  dribbling.  shooting on the goal.   she is not two years old yet.   

kinsley watched parent trap.  a graduation from princess movies of sorts.  she watched with her head slightly cocked and a smirk on her face.   she aged about 5 years before our eyes.    

caught on camera

every time i lost a tooth when i was growing up i was adamant that my tooth fairy box be left outside of my bedroom.   there was something very unsettling to me about a fairy flying all around my room while i slept.  i wanted nothing to do with her.  

enter parenthood.  

we are on borrowed time while kinsley still believes in the make believe world.   her innocence and imagination are gifts and it's fun to nurture them.   she has studied the above picture and examined every detail of her fairy.  

 

escape to the northern woods

every trip we go on the girls get to pick out a souvenir.  when i saw this book, it was a perfect representation of how our trip began so i snagged it for caroline.   

the short story is that we had a long and mind-boggling start.  

upon arrival to the airport we learned our flight was delayed 9 hours.  they told us not to leave in case there were changes so we settled in and rolled with it.    in hindsight, it would have been a blessing if a 9 hour delay was all we had to endure.   

after 12 hours, 2 cancelled flights, a plane with no flight crew then a flight crew with no plane we got our luggage and drove back home with some exhausted and confused kids.    

the next day was also a bit bumpy getting on the plane but thankfully we finally got in the air.  and our luggage safely made it to memphis.  but we were in minnesota.   our faith in delta is not soaring.   

but we made it and finally began a pretty darn good time with family who we don't get to see nearly often enough.   

caroline's first time on a boat...loved it at first.  

then she had second thoughts when we picked up speed and it got windy.   

cousin june and hallie (hand holding unprompted)

uncle tommy, sawyer, kinsley and adalyn on the tube's inaugural ride.  

brothers

got a bit bumpy

hold on kinsley!

7 grandkids

this is a fun memory...ben and tommy were like little kids.   

ben's grandparents...sooo adorable riding around the lake together.   

cousin tasney is an amazing ballerina.  the girls were in awe while she gave lessons.   

ben was in heaven around the campfire.  

one of my favorite pictures of the trip.  mother and son.  

even without makeup amber is stunning.  

ben didn't shower for a week; it may be in a plastic tub but at least these girls bathed.   

i got to check 4 wheeling off my bucket list.  so can all my girls.  

jake and alisha standing in the headwaters of the mighty mississippi.  

it was a treat meeting and spending so much time with baby gibson.  happiest baby in the world.  

clearly, caroline has had better moments but i am a sucker for any and all grandpa/grandkid pictures.   

quadruple scoop.  that's my boy.  

the cousins spent most of their time moving at this speed.  they had soooo much fun.   

ben had the greatest time with his family.  fishing and boating are his loves and i'm so glad he got to soak it up.