-Jon. Jon is extremely busy with another semester of Electrical Engineering courses. He works so hard, is on campus for 9-12 hours a day, and comes home exhausted. This semester ends in April, then he has an internship in Dearborn, MI with Ford Motors. We are so excited about this opportunity! After the internship he will have two full semesters (Fall and Winter) and then one term (either Spring or Summer) and then GRADUATION! The end is in sight.
-Aubrey. I am happy to be busy with our two beautiful boys! I have been reading more and more about Waldorf education and philosophy and am so drawn to the Waldorf parenting, education and developmental practices. I have been taking an 8 week webinar course that delves into the Simplicity Parenting principles. I love it! It is taught by Kim John Payne, the author of the book and a veteran in the field of Waldorf education. I will share more about this in another post, but it is my main focus of study right now. I have also been reading a lot of other books for leisure. I think my favorite thing about being done with my degree is the opportunity to read and study whatever I want, all the time! I have learned more about Montessori and Reggio Emilia principles in the past, and hadn't even heard of Waldorf, but more and more I am feeling like I am totally Waldorf at heart. The principles really just make sense to me and put ideas into words that I have thought for years!
In November we moved into a basement apartment in a home that my parent's are renting. It has been very nice having my Mom's company and some help with the boys since Jon is gone very long days. Because of some changes with the home owners, it looks like we will be moving again this month. This was an unexpected change, but we adapt pretty quickly and I'm sure that there will be a silver lining to the whole situation. I am also hoping to start teaching Baby Signs (R) classes in the near future! Now that Declan is almost 11 months old, I am finally feeling like I can take on new things. (Yes, the transition from 1 to 2 children was a big one for me. Even with an easy baby and an easy toddler, it has still been a big adjustment for me. I will also probably write a post about that some day...)
-Aaron. Aaron is a happy, wonderful, energetic, busy little boy. I can't believe that he will be 3 in only 2 months! He has been fully potty trained since December and even stays dry every night. His favorite things to play right now are pirates, cowboys and nights. He loves to be in the world of imagination and is often on a boat sailing somewhere - usually to Neverland. He loves to sing and sings outloud while he plays all the time. He also really enjoys his wooden instruments, books and playdough. Aaron has become so much more social over the last 6 months or so. He begs to play with friends and is so nice to other children. He is always so excited to go to nursery on Sunday. Aaron keeps telling me that he needs to go to school and have homework. I'm so not ready for him to be away from home, I can't even think of sending him away to preschool next year. However, Shanna and I plan to do our own preschool with the boys. Aaron is hilarious! He says the funniest things every day. He loves his baby brother and gives him hugs all the time, checks on him at Declan's slightest sound of distress and always tells him he loves him. He also has a very hard time sharing with Declan and it is something we are working on. I'm hoping that this dynamic will improve when Declan "plays with" more than "destroys" everything Aaron tries to set up.
-Declan. My baby is almost 1! What a wonderful year it has been. Yes, like I mentioned above, I have definitely had to adjust to the balancing act of meeting the needs of 2 children. Having said that, I am so glad that we had Declan when we did and he has been such a pure joy in our family. He is such a happy, sweet baby and everyone falls in love with him. He gives amazing hugs and has the greatest smile and laugh. Declan is a busy, busy boy! He is so fast at crawling and already taking some steps toward walking. I'm hoping he sticks with crawling for a little longer, but I guess we will see. Declan is starting to use sign language and to say a few words. He signs "hat" and "water" and has tried a few other signs as well. He says "Dada", "Momma", "Dec", "Wawa", "Baby", "Hi", "UhOh" and a few other words now and then. He also sings and dances which we love! Declan loves to play peek-a-boo and to read books. He loves to play with his instruments, the toy kitchen and to push anything around like a walker. He mainly just wants to play with whatever Aaron is playing with. Today Aaron was tired of Declan getting into his toys. Aaron took his toys, went into their room and shut the door. Declan crawled after him as fast as he could and then sat outside the door crying and patting the door. Declan sleeps through the night great now, takes 2 naps a day and very recently weaned from nursing to a bottle.
And some recent pictures...
It can be hard to get a picture of this boy when he is awake. He is always on the go and doesn't like to pose for pictures unless he and Declan are posing together. Notice that most of his pictures are sleeping, action shots or him holding Declan. He took a nap holding a flashlight :).
Aaron is awesome at Just Dance!
Jon is making fun of me for taking a picture of my outfit here. Can't you tell? :)
Gotta love Declan's cheesy grin. He does this on purpose when he is being silly :).
Eating toilet paper... I have to watch this little guy closely. He eats anything in sight!
Jon takes Aaron to the free Home Depot workshops on the first Saturday of the month. Aaron has become very proficient at hammering! He seriously hits the nail on the head so well, it's impressive. This is him practicing at home.
They got much needed haircuts after this picture. Aaron still wants to hold Declan all the time. Luckily for him, Declan doesn't mind.
Me heading to a cub scout banquet.
On a Sunday walk today. We love this beautiful, sunny weather. Hoping it STAYS!!!


















