Sprinkler Sunday

Even though our backyard has next to no grass, we decided to embrace the mud pit and give our new sprinkler a try today!

We also enjoyed a good water fight.

Interesting that I set up the timer, ran to my place, and yet am the only one ready for this picture. :)

That's better!  We had a nice, low-key Sunday.  Love spending time with my little family.  Can't wait to see what our lil' peanut thinks of the sprinkler next summer.

"Stripe me up like a tiger"

Preschool Graduate!

It doesn't seem like that long ago that my little man and I started doing preschool together.  This week was our final week!  During the year I worried that we took too many "personal days" (ie: we were out of town, had family visiting, were sick, or just plain slackers) but we actually finished up just a week and a half after public schools here let out for the summer.  We celebrated C's preschool graduation with a trip to the zoo and dinner at Red Robin, which he picked for their balloons.

I would say our first year of homeschooling was a success.  My boy sometimes needs lots of motivation to stay focused and work hard.  And I do think he benefits from one-on-one attention.  I'm also just really grateful for the ability to be my child's first teacher (although I believe every parent is a child's first teacher!  I'm just squeezing more time out of the title) :) 

C can identify all his letters and letter sounds.  For instance, I can hold up a flashcard and he can tell me the name of the letter and the sound that it makes.  He can name words that start with a certain letter, point out objects around the house and tell me what letter they start with, and even occasionally pick out certain letter sounds within a word.  He can phonetically sound out words based on the letter sounds we have learned...which means he is reading a little bit!  His handwriting has improved since we started but definitely has a long way to go.  (He is, after all, still only 4!)  He's got some basic math concepts under his belt.  Simple addition and subtraction using objects.  Less and more, patterns, shape identification.  And I'm sure he would want me to mention that he can now count to his favorite number, 100.  He's learned a lot this year!  The thing I love the most though is how much more he has learned about God.  I'm glad I chose a curriculum written from a Christian world view.  It has really helped me be intentional about teaching C things I want him to know.

I remembered to snap a few pictures from our last week so I could look back and see how much he's changed over this school year.

 

When he colors in his workbooks he usually just haphazardly scribbles, but one of the cats on this page had stripes and he was really concerned with making it look like a tiger.  He asked me to color it.  I told him to just slow down and take his time.

 As you can see, he totally has untapped potential to be revealed just by slowing down.  Typical boy. :)

 Thumbs up!  We did it!!!

I picked up a workbook today full of bridge activities for the summer between preschool and kindergarten.  We'll do a few pages each day to keep us from becoming too undisciplined over the summer.  In the fall, C will officially be a kindergartner.  Like, on the books with the school district, official!  Complete with meetings with a representative from the district and portfolio reviews throughout the year.  Eek!  I considered doing what Maryland calls a delayed entry (aka "holding him back") because C's birthday is at the end of August and he will be very newly five when the school year starts.  However, I feel like he can handle kindergarten academically, especially when done at home with less distractions, more attention, and plenty of time during the day spent just being a kid and burning off that energy!  Right now, (plans always subject to change!) we think we'll send C to public school in the fall of 2012.  My biggest fear with homeschooling him for kindergarten and then sending him off to school was that C would be ready to do the work in first grade, but not be up-to-par socially.  So, in order to expose him to a more structured learning environment, the teaching styles of others, being amongst his peers, and the fact that he has asked numerous times if next year is when he gets to go to "real school" we enrolled him in The Nature Preschool at Irvine Nature Center.  (He'll go two afternoons a week from September-May)  We've been to the nature center a few times and C loves it.  Their preschool program is for children ages 3-5 and seems like it will be right up C's alley with things like nature hikes and animal encounters on the agenda.  We attended their open house in the spring where we got the chance to play in the classroom and talk with the teacher who will actually be in C's class.  I came away feeling like it's going to be a very good fit for our little man.

I am nervous (mainly that I'm permanently screwing up my kid...but that is not specific to my decision to home school...I worry about that when it comes to most things) ;)  And I'm also looking forward to another year at home with C.  My husband remarked the other day that "the laundry isn't going anywhere."  "But his childhood is" I replied.  These days are precious and I'm very thankful that C and I get to spend them together.

Rebel Race

Last weekend hubby ran the rebel race.  It was 9 miles filled with super fun obstacles.  So super fun, in fact, that hubby actually broke his ankle during one.  That was about mile 3 or 4.  He then ran the rest of the race on his newly fractured ankle.  Don't worry, I told him later that he was young and handsome and totally capable...and didn't need to do silly things like rebel races to prove it to me. ;)  Other than the whole ankle incident, he said it was a lot of fun and is already campaigning for me to do it with him next year.

The before shot.

The race was held out at a farm, so it was already set up with lots of fun things for kids to do.  I had no problems keeping C entertained while we waited for hubby to finish.

When the first runners started coming in we headed over to the finish line to make sure we saw hubby finish.

 The after shot.

* Hubby's ankle is healing up nicely.  He's wearing a boot during the day and goes back for another xray in a few weeks.

Oh, the questions

I do a lot of blog-stalking.  This entails me spending copious amounts of time reading about the lives of strangers.  I do realize this only makes my habit a little better, but in my defense they are all blogs of families who have adopted children.  And even though my husband teases me relentlessly, I will not stop. ;)  I find tremendous value in reading about the lives of those who have 'gone before us' so to speak.  I've read a lot of stories about "the questions."  Oh, the questions.  Lots of nosey, rude, inappropriate curious minds out there.  I've yet to have an experience that was really blog-worthy. 

Oh, wait, there was the time I went for my physical.  The nurse knew I was there for a physical for my adoption agency.  She asked lots of questions.  Including this gem, "So, will the baby have military connections?"  At first I was thinking insurance?  I was, after all, at the doctor's office.  Um, yeah our kid will be covered on our insurance.  Just for clarification I asked, "What do you mean by connections?"  "You know, like will he have a military father?"  Um, yeah my husband is in the military.  And, obviously, he will be said child's father.  I'm confused.  I must look it because she clears it up with this, "I just didn't know if the baby's father would be military.  You know, cause of how back then there were so many of them getting those women pregnant.  Is that still how it is today?"

Then there was the time in the bookstore when a woman asked us if C was our only child and hubby held up the South Korea travel book we were thumbing through and said, "Not for too much longer.  We're adopting from Korea."  "Oh.  I heard that's really hard to do here. (and she points down.  I assume she is speaking of the country we live in as opposed to Barnes n Noble.)  Is it?"  "We can't really speak to domestic adoption since we are adopting internationally."  "Huh.  So, you don't want to have any more....she racks her brain for the word...natural kids?"  "Nope.  We're only interested in the unnatural, sci-fi type."  That was the snarky response I came up with after the fact.  I think I actually said something like, "We don't know if we'll have more biological (helping her out here with her terminology) children."  And then later I kicked myself for even giving her an answer because, really, it's none of her damn business.

Just like it's no one's business if we plan to have more kids.  Which I get asked all. the. time.  Pretty much since the time C was about 2.  Anytime someone asked me if he was my only child and I replied yes.  The follow-up always came, "Are you gonna have more?"  At first my reaction was to think, good grief, he's only 2.  And does she see him flailing on the floor and screaming? 

Then later what I wanted to say but never did became, actually we already had another baby.  And he died.  The mean girl inside of me still wants to try this out.  Because boy wouldn't that put this lady who doesn't know me one bit in her place and maybe teach her that, no, you don't need to know everything about everyone. 

And now.  Now when someone asks me if C is my only child I struggle with what to say.  I am so thrilled about our little peanut and want to tell everyone about him.  But, I am learning that when I choose to say, "Actually we are waiting to bring our son home from South Korea" instead of a simple "for now" I better be prepared for more questions.  Because you know the questions are coming!  And they are not all ignorant and rude.  Some of them are just genuinely curious.  Like the woman today who asked me, "Why South Korea?"  The first thing that ran through my head was, because we like Asian babies.  I wasn't sure how that would go over seeing as how she was Asian.  And I was pretty sure it wouldn't be the kind of answer she was after.  I did respond.  But, later started thinking.  I know she was just being curious...but no one ever asks a pregnant woman, "Why?"  Because that would be too personal, right?  It's like asking a woman, "So, why did you decide to make a baby with your husband?"  We just assume they got pregnant because they wanted a child. 

I realize this will never be the case, but it would be nice if people did the same for adoption.  You adopt because you want a child.  Simple as that.  No need for more questions.  I know these are just early lessons for me.    Lessons in the fact that we are different.  And people question different.  We no longer fit into the "traditional family" box.  And that is a solid guarantee for questions.  Oh, the questions.

Sandy Point

Sandy Point State Park is one of our greater discoveries in this area.  I would venture to say it's even giving Georgetown cupcakes a run for its money!  We absolutely love having a beach close by.  It's on the Chesapeake Bay so by no means is it a tropical paradise.  But, it sure beats the heck out of being landlocked in Kansas!  Our beach makes C super happy.  Which makes this mama happy too.

Salt water in the mouth.  A hazard that doesn't stop him from coming back for more.

We found a horseshoe crab!

I think it might be time for a new swimsuit...one I can build sand castles with my kid in and not worry about creepy men staring at my cleavage.  Or maybe it's because I'd like my husband to be able to take pictures of us without getting all inappropriate with the zoom.  I ask him to capture some family memories that actually have me in them and I get boob shots.  Lovely. 

So far, Sandy Point has not disappointed.  We think it's a perfect way to spend a summer afternoon.