Falling Into Place

Well, I was just going to post a few pictures, but then I realized it's been so long since I last blogged. So, what does life look like for us right now?

We have a 4 going on 5 month old who still spits on me a lot, but rewards me with her happy Haylee smiles a lot. She eats like a champ and sleeps like a champ. And she's basically off the charts with all of her categories......20 lbs 1 oz (yikes!), 26.5 inches long, and her head circumference is 17 inches. I assured the doctor that I only nurse her 4 times a day.....since she was about 11 weeks old and slept 12 hours/night. Haylee is also rolling around and grabbing toys, hair, clothes, etc. Her sisters adore her.....of course, what's not to love?

Naomi is 2.5. She is such a fun 2 year old. Her chocolate brown eyes light up when she smiles. She is loving her gymnastics class on Thursdays......she never stops moving during the entire class! Her brown eyes are so bright for the whole hour! I love being able to participate in her class this year! She also enjoys story hour at our local library each week (she wasn't so fond of it the first week). And she's just started to prove to me that she knows more than just all the Disney princess names. Turns out she does know her colors, shapes, numbers, and letters!

And Rachel is about to turn 5 in less than 2 months. This number is hard for me to accept. I've never been emotional on their birthdays before.....but this one may get me. Rachel is enjoying her gymnastics classes and story hour at the library too. Having special things on certain days of the week has been helping me teach Rachel about time.....beginning with days of the week and months of the year. Rachel is doing Kindergarten this year at home. It's like our freebie year. She's loving school. We cleaned out the sunporch and have a great school room. She loves sitting at her desk w/ all her papers, pencils, markers, crayons, glue sticks, etc all around her. I'm moving out of my comfort zone and doing things like painting (so messy but brings out my 4th grade self). She does love her crafts.


Our biggest accomplishment so far is learning to read. As an incentive for Rachel to read, we opened a little store, inspired by the lovely Aunt Kelly Renno. Rachel got to shop at Aunt Kelly's "Renno Store" one time, using "Renno Bucks." I suggested that we give her "Hamilton Bucks" for a "Hamilton Store." She was quite skeptical of what a "Hamilton Store" could offer, so she wanted it to be called the "Renno Store." So, we opened up a satellite store down here. Kelly and I haven't discussed whether our "Renno Bucks" work at both locations;-) Rachel earns a buck a book. The other day, she read ten BOB books in one day so she could buy these window things:

 Then, today, she read ten BOB books and was able to buy this crown that she has been eying for a couple of weeks. I make her count out her "Renno Bucks" too.....I figure this counts as math as she does some addition and subtraction, trying to figure out how much more she needs to earn to buy the items that she wants. For once, I love the dollar bins at Target! I'm sure this will come out in counseling later in life.....mean mom who paid a dollar for cheap products and then charged her ten (fake) bucks:-)

Well, that's about it for our updates. Ben and I are doing well......tired but blessed. We're enjoying this time with girls and praying that the Lord gives them new hearts that want to obey Him. Each stage with them has brought new growth and new challenges. Here's hoping it's not another 3 weeks until my next post (I'm sure that's what the grandparents are hoping!). Oh, and the girls do start soccer this Saturday (Ben is so happy!), so we'll have to blog about that!