Some fun with legos

I really haven't been in the mood to blog lately.  A big part of that has to do with the fact that I photographed Gina's visitation and funeral this past week and consequently have been looking at those photos every day.  Painful stuff.  I know her children will appreciate having these photos when they are older.  So I'm going to do a few nice things with them that I know they will like.  Still, my heart has been hurting a lot.  And I'm having a hard time shaking the pain.

I actually took the photos I'm sharing today the day before Gina died. (Oh how I HATE saying that and referring to her in past tense, but that's another blog post.)  Anyway, Caleb has discovered a new love- Legos!  He had so much fun putting these together.  It's also great therapy for him because he really has to use both hands to manipulate the pieces.  He struggles with fine motor tasks because of his weak grip due to his brachial plexus injury.  So this activity was not only fun, it was also therapeutic. 

{insert smile}

This one makes me smile. I love how I captured the air in his cheeks! lol

This week I start another photography class.  This time I'm taking Push Past Your Comfort Zone offered by Lisa at The Long Road to China.  I'm really excited about this because I know what things I like to shoot and how, but I don't want to keep myself in a box.  This is really going to force me to make different choices, and in the end, will help me become a more well rounded photographer- one who knows what she likes but can confidently step out and shoot something out of the ordinary.

So this summer should continue with a lot of snapping around here as I stretch and grow myself as a photographer.  And thankfully my kids no longer see their participation in this learning process as torture a pain.  

And that's a wrap...almost

I thought it would be fun to participate in Darcy's weekly Sweet Shots linkup.

There's no theme to the linkup.

However, this week she's celebrating her 100th Sweet Shot

and encouraged those linking up to participate in the 100 theme.

So I tried.

Congratulations, Darcy!

So what's my contribution to the 100 theme?

A "100 flat" from our base 10 math manipulatives.

Next week, we will be finishing up our core homeschooling year.
Hip hip hooray!

We have thoroughly enjoyed using Ambleside Online.

Last fall, we got our feet wet by incorporating some Charlotte Mason principles

and a few of the suggested readings for Year 1.

By the beginning of this year, however, we dug in deeper.
And I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I've learned quite a bit this year as a result.

We spent a fair amount of time watching birds.

We set up two bird feeders and a bird bath for our viewing pleasure.

We see blue jays, cardinals, and mockingbirds every day, plus grackles, doves, and red bellied woodpeckers.

We placed the bird bath right outside our living room window.
These shots were taken from inside the house (through the window and screen.)

As I've mentioned in a previous homeschooling post, Caleb has wanted to learn to type.

So he's using Typing Instructor For Kids.

Because of his brachial plexus injury, he types one-handed.

Although the typing program is intended for two-handed typists, 

he's doing very well.  He uses a child-size keyboard, which is necessary
due to the added reaching required to type one-handed for anyone.
Really, I find myself typing one-handed at times, and it's a stretch.
Try it.

Anyway, now that summer is here (at least, here in Florida, it's felt like summer for a while now!),

we will be transitioning to our "light school" schedule.

We will regularly do math and reading, while

throwing in some nature study, writing and whatever else interests us.

We keep this schedule because I believe it is important to teach that learning can happen

anywhere and anytime, not just fall through spring, or Monday through Friday, for that matter.

In the fall, we will begin Ambleside Online's Year 2.

However, we have already been enjoying the free readings suggested for the year 

because we just couldn't wait.

So there you have it...

a readers digest version of our year in review.

I'm sure I'll be sharing some of our summer schedule highlights 

as we move into the real summer months.

And after three years on this homeschooling journey, I have to say 

that we wouldn't have it any other way!

We love it!

Favorite Photo Friday: A Windy Day

I do apologize that I haven't shared any photos of the kids in a while.  Before this photo shoot, it had seriously been a month since the last time I photographed them.  Pathetic.  Shame on me.  I love to photograph their precious smiles.

I just haven't had much spare time.  So we had a rare break in the hustle and bustle of our days last week, and I thought I would whip out my camera and snap a few shots our little dumplings.

After putting Madeline down for a nap, I went outside to read while Caleb played some basketball.  That's when I said "Hey, forget the book and get your camera."

Caleb has been playing a lot of basketball since he got his hoop at Christmas.

He is such an athletic little guy.  

Because of the brachial plexus injury to his left arm, he shoots one-handed and does a pretty darn good job with it, too.

Caleb was so patient with me as I interrupted his game to take some photos of him.  I just love this series.  I guess he got a little tired. lol.

Madeline finally woke up from her nap, just a wee bit cranky.

However, after showing her the photos I took of her brother and asking her if I could take some of her, she decided to join in the fun.

Still a bit tired though.

And a bit cranky.

Really, though, it was the wind she wasn't a fan of.  And boy, was it windy!  I think it was gusting to 

25-30 mph!

After bringing her back near the garage (these were all taken in the driveway), she was a tad bit happier.

This focus is a bit soft, but I just LOVE her lips in this shot.  

I tried moving her further away from the garage because the light was better.  Then she complained that she was so cold.  It was like 80 degrees.  

Anyway, it was fun to get out there and capture some sweet shots of the kidlets.  I've already told myself that I need to do a better job of photographing them this next month, no matter how busy we are.

If you'd like to see more gorgeous photos, be sure to check out Lisa's blog. 

Have a great weekend!

Bad, bad blogger.......yup!

I can hardly believe how long it's been since I've updated our blog. The reason? We have been so stinkin' BUSY! And finding a moment to sit at the computer to give an update has been hard to come by. *sigh* So I will do my best to share the Reader's Digest version of our last month.

The first week of May was a big celebration around here, as my birthday and Mother's Day fall within days of each other. We spent several days at the Beach Club at Disney, just relaxing and soaking up the sun and water. The kids built sand castles at the pool and had loads of fun. Madeline gave it her best shot.

We also went for a family bike ride along the Boardwalk. To say the kids enjoyed themselves would be an understatement. See for yourselves.






My sister, Andy, and Leah came to visit us while we were there. So the kids all had a blast. Deb and I also had facials done at the Grand Floridian, which was a treat because we've never had facials done TOGETHER. :) It was a nice, little birthday treat for us. We all had Mother's Day brunch with Andy's parents and brother. It was such a lovely time.

Baseball season wrapped up. Caleb finished up the season playing his best and wearing a smile all the while. When trophies were handed out, Coach Randy called Caleb the team captain. Well, you can imagine the tears filling my eyes at that moment. We are so proud of how far he has come....from spending practices watching from the dugout last fall to transfering his glove to free up his throwing arm....

...making so many outs

and hitting the ball to the fence

His transformation has been nothing short of amazing. He can't wait to play coach pitch ball in the fall. We are so excited that he wants to "move up."

We have managed to play catch in the yard, despite the warm temps here in Florida. Our pool was in desperate need of refinishing, as was the pool deck. Fortunately, those tasks are out of the way so we can spend our blazing hot afternoons swimming in the pool again. We just bought a little slide meant for the yard and put it at the shallow end of the pool. (We got this idea from our brillant neighbors.) The kids have had an absolute blast sliding down it and making big waves!

And in case you can't tell how happy I am to share videos in this post (because they're way easier than photos at the moment), here's another one of Madeline talking about her baby soup bathing suit.





Also this past month, we had the privledge of watching a dear friend of ours, Lisa Duhaime, participate in Dancing With Brevard.  This has become an annual event to raise money for the KLD Youth Foundation, a foundation to help "at risk" youth. We are so proud of both Lisa's dancing AND fundraising, and consequently, she finished in 3rd place for the competition. It was a night of great fun and entertainment. We are SO proud of her. She rocked it out!

This past weekend, Deb, Andy, and Leah came over to just chill out by the pool and relax. We ordered up BBQ from a great place in town....and then we did just that....RELAXED!

We are continuing to do "light" school. I am really enjoying the shortened days and am wondering how it might be possible to keep this schedule going all year. Caleb continues to amaze me with his mental math skills. He's known all his addition/subtraction/multiplication/division facts for a few months now. But now he's multiplying a single digit by multidigit numbers mentally! He's amazing!!

I have said for quite some time that Caleb doesn't really need a spelling program because he does quite well for a 6yo. What I didn't realize was how multisensory my own approach to spelling was and how beneficial this has been for him. Now I finally realize why he's such a good speller. When we finished up our Phonics program in April, I wasn't thrilled with the next grade's Scope and Sequence. Consequently I decided to toss that option but wondered how we would go about "finishing" phonics instruction where we left off. A few weeks ago, my searching came to an end....with the Writing Road to Reading. This is EXACTLY what I was looking for- a program that would let Caleb go at his own pace in spelling and finish his phonics instruction. It uses 70 phonograms and a Spelling notebook....and that's it. It's no frills- love it. And it's almost what we were already doing. This is how I hope to do phonics and spelling with Madeline too, which will naturally lead to reading for her. She's already wanting to "drill" the phonogram flashcards and gets in a fuss when I tell her that's enough "school" for the moment. LOL.

We continue to do History and Science.  I'm like a kid in a candy store when the library calls to tell me all books that I've put on hold are in.  We are really enjoying the additional literature selections.

Well, I think that just about covers our "month in review".  I promise not to neglect the blog like this again.  And I will try to share a few more photos when I get around to editing them in the coming days.  A big thank you to those of you who continue to follow the blog despite the fact that I am a bad, bad blogger these days.

Oh how time slips away

Gosh, I can't believe how many days have passed since I last had the chance to share some photos and a quick update. I'll do my best to satisfy both those needs.

Caleb hasn't been playing much baseball these last two weeks, as the local schools have been on Spring Break this past week. All practices are canceled and games are rescheduled for non-regular practice/game days. He did have two games since I last blogged. I must have missed the memo for the first one because I thought for sure, we were still playing tee ball. But apparently, the other team was convinced this was the World Series or something. I realize this is just the beginning of being around players/parents/coaches who don't share the same attitude about "having fun" while learning to play a sport. But sheesh. Fist pumping, leg kicking, and keeping track of runs in tee ball....where every batter gets a turn to bat every inning and no outs or runs are recorded....it seems a bit over the top. But I could be wrong.......um, NOT.

I really like Caleb's coach, Randy, because the kids are always having fun when they play. He makes every kid on the team feel special. He's wonderful with them.

Caleb enjoys playing tee ball. He loves to get out there and do his best. He swings the bat with all his might. He runs like the dickens.

He's recently decided to do a "Jim Abbott" move...throwing and catching with his right arm (although Jim used his left for both.)

I'm so proud of him for trying this out.

Last week, we had the chance to catch the Yankees at one of their Spring Training games. It's amazing what one season of tee ball has done to Caleb's fan participation in an actual game. He was following the umpire's calls of strikes and outs and watching the interaction of the players. It warmed my heart to no end to see this. Madeline enjoyed singing her own version of the "ABC song" during the game.

A fun time was had by all.

Other than that, we are keeping busy with our homeschooling. And since I have quite a bit to say on that, I'll have to leave it for another post. But before signing off, here are a few photos of Madeline having fun in my studio the front yard.....no, she's not trying to eat eat her arm, just making a silly face.

Play Ball!

Saturday was Caleb's first tee ball game of the season, and boy was it exciting for all of us. Patrick has volunteered to help coach this season. Although he enjoys it a lot, it's been a huge time commitment. So this will likely be his only season coaching.

Team pictures were this week. So I had the chance to grab a quick photo of everyone.

Caleb is the lead off batter and showed why. He had three great hits to shallow right field. But more important than that is the confidence with which he played!

Look at that form and that precious face!

Giving Daddy a "high five"
On the field, the players switched up their positions each inning. He had the chance to play first base for the first time and played well. His accuracy in throwing has improved dramatically, which is quite remarkable because he throws with his affected arm. We are so proud of just how far he's come in such a short while. And he looked simply handsome in his Spring ball uniform.

The kids had some down time between team photos and their game. So they naturally played on the playground the entire time. Madeline enjoyed going down the slides and playing with Emily, making "cakes" and "salad" with all the mulch. Caleb, of course, played "tag" with all the boys and paused for just a second so I could snap his photo.

Madeline has been gearing up for her birthday this Saturday by "practicing" blowing out her candles. She really doesn't need any practice after blowing out her brother's, but you can't tell her that. Lol. It's hard to believe she'll be three years old. In the first photo we saw of her, she was only 19 months old. That seems so long ago. She's growing up so fast!

Wowie zowie, I need to catch up!

Gosh, time really seems to just get away from me these days. There are not enough hours in a day to do all that I really want to. And blogging seems to be getting pushed aside too often. Anyway, I do want to quickly recap our trip to New York, as it was an incredible time.

We actually arrived two weeks ago tomorrow. (Sheesh, how's that for slacking.) Patrick's meeting went very well, which is always a good thing. It was bitterly cold for us Floridians, with temps in the 20s-30s. But we did manage to walk about the city some. We stayed in Times Square, on the 40th floor of the Doubletree. And when I say that the view from our room was amazing, I mean it! It was surreal. I felt like we were in a movie because the view we had is the one so often used in movies that are "taking place" in New York. It was really breathtaking.

On Thursday, Patrick's meeting wrapped up early for him. So we enjoyed lunch at Carnegie Deli. Madeline loved the pickles! It was hilarious. After lunch we walked over to Central Park and took a carriage ride. Despite the cold temps, we all really enjoyed it. We passed by the New York Athletic Club, where our dear friends Jess and Chris were married long ago. Patrick reminisced about all the fun times he had working security at Carnegie Hall and Gracie Mansion. (He had some time on his hands his senior year of college.) That night we ate dinner at a great Chinese restaurant just off of Rockefeller Center. The food was fabulous, as I knew it would be when I saw shark fin soup of the menu.

That Friday, Patrick's father came in to town with his wife, Carol, and son Joe. We had a nice dinner at Becca. And although Madeline can be fidgety in restaurants, she did pretty well, enjoying her meal as well as everyone elses. LOL.

On Saturday, Patrick's mom, Barbara (a.k.a. Bammy) came in from Connecticut, along with Patrick's sister, Michele, our brother-in-law John and niece, Lydia. Caleb and Lydia played with each other like not a single day had gone by since they last saw each other. It was so heartwarming to see. We had predetermined that we would be visiting the new Dis*ney store and To*ys R Us with all kids in tow. And they had a blast. They watched videos and colored at the Dis*ney store and rode the huge, indoor ferris wheel inside To*ys R Us. By the time we wrapped things up, it was time for dinner. So we walked over to Ruby Foo's. By this point, Madeline was so tired, she fell asleep right there in the carrier. Poor girl. A blazing loud fire truck zipped right by us and woke her up momentarily. But she was back asleep on my chest in the carrier. It was a precious moment between us...and she stayed that way through the first half of dinner! I did manage to eat my miso soup "around her" without a spill (I got lots of practice eating with Caleb in the carrier when he first came home. LOL) We managed to walk over to Rockefeller Center after dinner to catch a glimpse of the Christmas tree in all its glory.

We had a such a great time with family in NY, but on Sunday it was time to head to Philly. Caleb was super excited because we took the train. It was his first train ride. The joy on his face was priceless. Madeline enjoyed herself too. It was a really fun way to travel (and good preparation for the possibility of a train ride in Ch*in@ with all our luggage!) We grabbed an awesome dinner at this great little Italian spot on Walnut St. Wow, was the food incredible. And the salad selection....it was hard to choose!

On Monday morning, we headed to Shriners to meet with Dr. Kozin regarding possible surgery for Caleb. He was pleased with the muscle/tendon transfer surgery that Dr. Kadiyala performed over 2 years ago. His range of motion is vastly improved. The trouble Caleb has right now is with pronation (turning his palm down.) He suggested a bicep transfer to the forearm for this. Since we didn't even think there was something that could be done, we still have to spend some time researching this option. The whole team was wonderful and caring. So many people on the yahoo groups have said nothing but amazing things about him. And he continues to live up to that. We were thoroughly impressed.

After our trip to Shriners, we headed off to the airport for our flight home. And that basically brings us up to speed. We finally got our tree up this past Sunday (we forgot to get it up before we headed to NY). And tonight, we finally decorated it. Caleb sat on Patrick's shoulders as he placed the star on top. He was so proud of himself. He just melted our hearts. And since I STILL have not even downloaded all my images off my camera from the trip, I will share some video instead. When I finally get around to uploading and editing my images, I will be SURE to post them here. For now, enjoy some sweet love between cousins. And Michele, John, and Lydia, we can't wait to see you again next week!!!!!

Caleb and Lydia, taken by Bammy (look for a hint of Madeline's attitude at the end

Caleb can tie mama's shoes!

I realize this is just another step in Caleb's development and, therefore, may not seem like such a big deal. But to this mama of a 5yo child with a limb difference, I am just thrilled. My little man tied mama's shoe today all by himself. I did a tiny bit of verbal coaching at one point. But he really did it all by himself. I got it on video, but I still need to download the software onto the desktop before I can get it here on the blog. Once I do, I will be sure to post the video here. This makes me so happy because the strength in Caleb's left hand is still very weak, even after his surgery. So holding a shoelace together to form a bunny ear is not easy for him. Anyway, I'm just tickled and so very proud of him.




***Edited to add: the video I promised***

Caleb ties mama's shoe! @ Yahoo! Video

The CC@@ is back from their holiday break. But still no word on our new LID. Another transfer family who submitted their paperwork a month after us just got word their new LID is 2.9.10. So, we too, are hopeful to have a new LID but just don't know it yet.

Now, I have a favor to ask those of you who follow this blog. It would really mean a lot to me (and our children when they are older) if you could make comments in the comments section when something is meaningful to you. I realize I am not the most engaging storyteller and most of things I blog about really only matter most to the three of us. But this adoption journey has been long, hard, painful, and, frankly, lonely. The reason we chose to blog before traveling and while traveling in China is to share our lives with you during this journey. So it would be really meaningful to us if you could take the time to leave a comment in the comment section once in a while. Your comments are a source of comfort to us today and are something our children will cherish when they are older. Otherwise, it feels like this blog is only for us, and that was not its original intent. Thanks.

Caleb plays in the yard

Here's a little video I put together of Caleb goofing off in the yard with Baba. He just loves his sandbox and playing sports.