More Baby News

Rachel is getting SO big! She now walks at least half of the time. She also loves to watch her brothers and sister play and tries to join in the fun. Getting thrown in the air by Daddy or playing "hide and seek" with him are great fun! She's got such a lovable, easy-going personality. She's rarely fussy-- just so content. (And unfortunately she didn't learn that from her Mommy, but I'm working on it.) I think her favorite person to watch and play with is Garrett. He's full of energy and is always entertaining. He's also always singing and she loves music! Sometimes it sounds like she's really singing along!

A Working Day

Today we kind of puttered around. I did lots of laundry. I worked on sorting out clothes bins (when I changed out bins for the fall, I realized they really need some work) and I still have lots more to go. We did some straightening up. Micah did some vacuuming-- YES my seven year old LOVES to vacuum! Am I a blessed woman or what?

We also had times where some people were having "diligence problems." We have tried all manner of punishments, incentives, rewards, consequences, timers and other methods to increase diligence on morning jobs, chores and family work times. We are still working on it! Today, Matt and I decided that we would institute a new plan. If someone isn't working diligently and with a good attitude, when they satisfactorily finish the job they are doing they get an additional job. That way they get extra practice on whatever area is needed: focusing on the work at hand rather than worrying about what others are doing, doing your best, having a good attitude, getting your work done in a timely manner, etc. We figure that if the kids don't learn to work hard with a good attitude, at least we'll have a clean house! ;)

Oh, and lest you think all that we were doing was slave-driving our children today, we also played a game of "Sorry" with Micah and Karissa while Garrett was napping. Our family likes games. We have LOTS of them! Garrett is just starting to get old enough to get in on the fun and the kids do a good job at patiently teaching him how to play. There are some games he's just not quite ready for though and those are a little more fun when he's napping or already in bed for the night.

Another highlight of the day: Rachel listened to Matt reading lots of stories to Garrett and her before bed tonight. This is a rare event. Usually she acts as though she is being tortured when someone is reading to her. In our house of bibliophiles, that is quite distressing! (She has enjoyed looking at board books for quite a while, but listening to stories has been quite another matter.) Let's hope this is the beginning of a whole new era for Rachel!

Oh, and there's more Rachel news! She is toddling around quite a bit. I would say she walks about 1/3 of the time and crawls about 2/3 of the time. It's hard to believe that she will be one year old a week from tomorrow. My baby girl is growing up SO FAST!

Vision Forum Drawing

I really like Vision Forum. They have lots of great books, CDs and toys! Someone sent me a link with this entry at the Life in a Shoe Blog. So, I thought I'd share it.

Here is my dream order (well, kind of-- I'd like to be able to spend more money ;) but it's a little version of my dream anyhow :D ):

Passionate Housewives: Desperate for God by Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald ($16)
Thoughts for Young Men by J.C. Ryle ($8)
The League of Grateful Sons DVD ($20)
So Much More by Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin ($20)
How to Dethrone the Imperial Judiciary ($14)
The Importance of the Electoral College ($10)
Of Plymouth Plantation ($24)
Beloved Bride: The Letters of Stonewall Jackson to His Wife ($15)
The Influence of Older Children on Younger Children CD ($10)
The Bible Lessons of John Quincy Adams for His Son ($12)

The contest is only for products that are published by Vision Forum. There are lots of other things that our family would enjoy as well!

Saturday Soccer Game

Our kids seem to be involved in a lot and it keeps us busy. But at this point we still can do most things together. If, because of the busyness, everyone starts going in different directions we will probably need to rethink some of activities. On Saturday, we all enjoyed spending part of the day at Micah's soccer game. The other kids didn't watch 100% of the time, but they did spend some time cheering Micah on.

Here are some pictures of our time on Saturday. (Daddy had the camera that day, so he's not in any of them.)

Brothers

Don't you love it when one of your "big kids" does something nice for one of your "little kids"? It just makes my heart melt when I see my kids being kind to one another. I wonder if that is how God feels when we are kind to our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Sorry the picture is so dark. I tried taking it several times and resetting the lighting on my camera and just couldn't get a good picture for some reason!

World Map Baby Blanket

Someone on the Woodshed message board was asking about fabric maps. I mentioned this cute baby quilt that I have. So, these pictures are for "the other Anita" on the Shed. Sorry that it's so wrinkly. It's a nice blanket and gets used a lot.

Here is a picture of the whole thing:


It also has "facts" on it. However, I'm not sure how accurate the populations are, because I don't know when they are from.


There are also pictures of things that are associated with each area.

Milestones

As of last Friday, October 5, Matt is officially as old as I am... for another month at least...


As of yesterday, October 11, Rachel is 11 months old.

Here is a picture of her last week with Grandma:


Here is a picture of her today at nap time:


I haven't gotten a picture yet, but today Rachel has been standing for MINUTES at a time. (This isn't the first time, but I forgot to write down when she started doing this.) She also has been taking 2-4 steps at a time. (Also not the first time.) I don't think she's been doing it for more than a week or two, so I'm not too far off, am I? sigh