Joe's 11th month and our first week of school

We cannot believe that our Joe has only one month left of real babyhood!  How can it already be a year since we came to Ohio, getting ready for his birth?  But really, we can't remember what life was like without him.  He brings so much joy and love to our family!  He is already fitting in as one of the "Three Musketeers" with his two big brothers...wanting to do just about anything they do.

Joe has some very definite loves:  food (just about anything), water play, throwing balls and any other toy, reading books, pulling apart Duplo blocks, crawling into the laundry room to get to the cat food, and being outside.  He's developing new little habits that are quite endearing.  He loves to point and make a sort of grunting sound and is making new sounds to communicate.  We're currently trying to teach him the sign language for "more", since he makes a high-pitched squeal when he wants more food or water.  When I sing to him, he hums along and moves his head.  He has begun mimicking motions like holding Duplo blocks to his ear as if it were a phone and he shows lots of good fine motor control already - very similar to Jack.

He also loves to share and offers us his cup, his mushy food or bits of fuzz he finds on the carpet!  :-)

His hair is growing more and he has definite curls int he back.  He still seems to be slightly red-headed and VERY fair!  I have to keep his skin covered whenever we are outside.  His skin is so sensitive that his legs and tops of his feet are rubbed raw from crawling, so we have to keep him in pants for the most part.

Joe is an outdoor boy, just like Josh, Jack and George.  He loves all types of animals and laughs when he sees chipmunks or birds or the cats walking by.  He also laughed when he saw this large moth caterpillar we found...the one that could just about make his Mama pass out in disgust!

This week as we began school with Jack, he loved sitting to listen in on stories and particularly enjoyed playing with some of our Math manipulatives like these interlocking cubes.  He carefully pulls apart each block until they are all separated!

He also enjoyed our outside nature study time this week when we went to a park.  He skipped his morning nap, because he just wanted to play and crawl and explore the whole time!

We had a great first week of school with Jack! (I won't post everything we do since I really want to be in the moment with the boys as we learn together, but since this was our special first week, I thought I'd share a glimpse into how things are going!)  There were some definite challenges as we tried to get into a bit of a routine and learn a new rythym for our school days as a family.  But the Lord was gracious to offer encouragement on our rough days and remind me that this is really one of the beautiful aspects of homeschooling:  when you are having a rough day, it is okay to take a break, run outside to play and pick back up on another day.  

We began Monday morning with a special breakfast of chocolate pancakes, sausage and fruit.  The boys loved the food, but were even more excited by their new pencil boxes full of supplies!  (Georgie is participating a lot in what we do, so he has his own supplies and does "school" with us when he is really interested, but we are not pushing him to keep up at all with Jack.) 

 Most of what we do involves reading living books and spending lots of time outdoors.  But the boys (all three) have really enjoyed working with some of our Math manipulatives.

It has been fun to have Daddy here with us to be part of what we're doing.  The boys love when he reads to them.

One of the highlights of our week was our butterfly study.  The Lord timed things so perfectly for us!  About two weeks ago, the boys and I found these caterpillars on Grandma's parsley plants outside.  Two of them were already in their fourth instar (last stage), so we provided food and sticks for them and waited to see if they would form their chrysalises.  We looked up and discovered we had found Eastern Black Swallowtail caterpillars.  

 It was absolutely amazing to watch them find the perfect spot to attach themselves and begin to pupate.

 We actually saw one wriggle out of his skin for the last time!  Amazing!   Such a transformation.

 Then we waited....and on Tuesday (our toughest day of the week), I saw something flutter in our butterfly home and there it was - the full formed Black Swallowtail butterfly in all its glory!!  We were just stunned by the beauty of it and by the wonderful reminder that He makes all things new...especially for us...when we've had an uncooperative day of homeschooling!

 After a day of watching our little miracle, we let him go in the backyard and he happily flew off into the sunset!

We all enjoy as much time outside as we can (even though it has been particularly hot and muggy this week).  The boys built a "fort" out of fallen tree branches and spent lots of time digging up earthworms and looking for other things in the soil.

 And we got our old wagon out of storage so that the three brothers can have fun with it!  It is absolutely priceless to see the big ones tote around Joe, smiling from ear to ear!

So, we will press on with our adventures...trusting in the Lord to give us the wisdom and grace we need to teach these boys in the best way, providing them lots of room to grow and learn!