Joy School

We started a co-op preschool group with 3 other boys in our ward who are Cadence's age. They all turn 4 sometime within this "school year". We switch off which mom teaches, do a welcome, pledge, weather, days of the week, have a short lesson, a snack, and then LOTS of playtime!
  The first group was at our house. We had fun singing songs about the weather, going on an "A" hunt around the house, and learning about our 5 senses! It ended up being a really short activity, which I was aiming for, especially with this being their first "preschool" day. For our lesson we did:
 - Sight: Played "I Spy" - one of Cade's favorite games.
 - Hearing: Everyone closed their eyes while one person made a sound (clap, run water, etc.). Then, they had to guess the sound. They ended up making all sorts of sounds of animal sounds (which was funny because you don't have to close your eyes to guess those...).
 - Touch: Touch different items under a towel to see how they felt (smooth, rough, wet, etc.) and tried to guess what they were.
 - Smell: Used smelly markers to draw a picture.
 - Taste: For snack time, we made silly faces out of salty popcorn, sweet banana slices w/ choc. chips, tart/bitter apples (green), and sour lemonade. After tasting each part, I had a tray of everything they could pick whatever they wanted from (except the choc. chips).

  I also sang to them the song "My Heavenly Father loves Me" and pointed to the senses it describes in the lyrics. We talked about how Heavenly Father has given us our senses to help us enjoy His beautiful creations.
 We had a really fun time and Cadence spent the next week playing "school" with me and pretending he was the teacher! He really loves to learn and while we already did most of these things on our own, it's fun for him to get together once a week with his friends.

This is our semi-permanent "calendar" in the kitchen. It worked for today, but I'm still dreaming of making our own to use with the boys every day, not just preschool days.

Baron Family Reunion '12

We had a great time running up to Idaho for a short reunion and visit. The boys LOVE hotels because they get to go swimming. They are both such fish (though I must say hotel pools are exhausting for moms with kids who can't swim)

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Check out little Ethan! I'm glad summer is over so I don't have to buy a new suit.

The boys get Daddy time!

Just love the hair!

We brought some yard games and others did as well. Austin and I had a great time playing ladderball. I won (with a serious amount of luck).

 

 

 

And the family... (we were glad so many came)

Grandma loving on Kory - who was SO exhausted!

Cadence re-meeting his Great-Grandmother

Mom's new haircut - love it!

We got some good group shots and enjoyed catching up with everyone. It's the first time we've done one and I was grateful I could experience it with my parents! I was especially grateful to see Grandma. It's been almost a year! I've tried to catch her, even by phone, and it's been hard. It was fun see her just after her birthday!
With such a quick trip, we didn't really get to do much else. Dad really wanted to go to Maddox in Brigham City to eat. Everyone thought it was a po-dunk hole-in-the-road. Turns out, it has a nice formal sitting area (and a lodge you can stay at right next door) and a NINETY-minute wait. What a bummer! So we missed that this time but I think now Dad has convinced us and it's on our list of places to eat in December.
We also didn't get to do any of the touristy sites in Idaho. I was hoping to take Cadence to see Craters of the Moon, because he's been so interested in volcanos. We also missed the Brigham City Temple Open House. So, now we have a fun list of things to do next time. We just hope the trip can be a little longer!

It's Always Fun with Grandpa (and Grandma) Come!

Last week, the Baron grandparents came to for a visit. We really enjoyed having them here! They came because dad had a reunion of his siblings and mother (plus descendents) in Idaho on Saturday (a separate post). They helped us work on so many projects to get the house put back together before Ethan comes. First on the list? Choosing a paint color... 

(and Kory's cowboy ride in Daddy's hat)

 See the colors in the background? Neither were picked and we chose two more before the final as well. It was so hard to decide! The texture makes the paint colors look different and even the right side of the furnace (yellow) looks VERY different from the left (that white-ish pink) because the right side gets the window light and the left doesn't. We ended up choosing "Blondee", but the paint job final pics are another post (I feel weird taking pictures because I don't feel like the room is "done" yet...). I always find my best inspiration out of fabrics and mom was so good to help with it!

"All Clear for take off? Launch in 10...9...8..." 

 Here is our little astronaut (Cadence) who happens to be taking Astronaut Grandma and Astronaut Grandpa to the moon in their space helmets! He's really into space right now! He surprised Grandma with his knowledge. She was reading his space book and got to the part about the first man on the moon. As soon as she said "Neil Armstrong" Cadence announced, "he died". Well, he's been interested, and it was in the paper, so we told him and he told her.

Grandpa, Grandma & Cousin Connor

 We had a nice BBQ for Labor Day, which you don't see pictured because I was having too good of a time to take them! The next night (while Austin had school) we went up to Ed & Jenn's for dinner. We did some singing, which we always have a sneak in :) I surprised myself - I can actually still sing! Sometimes I forget it's a part of me (besides lullabies, potty songs, and clean-up songs).

Jenn

Kory

Ed

 

 

Wednesday, we went to IKEA on the way to the airport and then dropped them off to fly home. Both of the boys fell asleep on the way home - exhausted and happy. I'm so glad they are coming back soon because we already missed them terribly and had such a good time! It was easy for me to work on projects for the baby or tend to the kids because I had so much help! Cade & Kory just LOVED spending time with their grandparents!

Cadence's Chore Update

 We've really enjoyed giving Cadence the opportunity to earn money. He now chooses between several chores each day and he likes having options. We don't record the money he earns each day. It was just making chore time too long. But the Saturday store and earning money is still a great incentive for him. He has to do his chores each day to have the Saturday store opened.
 We also really enjoy being able to control what goes in the store. It's less daunting than shopping at a real store, but he's learning the concepts (saving, counting, how much things cost, tithing, etc). It's nice for me when he asks for something to be able to say "I'll put it in your Saturday store".
 He was really into birdhouses all of the sudden. I looked up a whole bunch of craft ideas, but he didn't want to do any of my ideas. He drew plans on a piece of paper to make one himself. Then, on an outing with Dad to the scout store, they found a kit and he really wanted to get it - so in the Saturday store it went.

 He didn't buy it right away (which surprised me), but he eventually did and the work began - sanding, gluing, painting, and a lot of patience for a 3 year old. He helped with every process, though he seemed to be hesitant because he knows Dad can do a better job than him. They had a great time working on the project together - and the best part? He worked, so he could do more work! He worked to earn the bird house, so he could work on the bird house for the birds! 

Is There an Echo in the Room?

Kory and Cadence have really started to gel as friends as Kory has gotten older. It's fun for Cadence to have a playmate, and Kory is learning so much from his example (the good and bad). I just love watching and encouraging their relationship! Cadence and I got a good giggle over this event today.

A Long Needed Update

I haven't forgotten about the blog... in fact, I think about it often! This summer has been ENTIRELY TOO BUSY for our little family to stop. Now, I'm starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. It's getting cooler at night again, school is about to start (not that it makes a difference for us), and the fall harvest is starting to roll in. I'm excited about the changes that fall brings. I'm always so excited to be done with summer - just as excited as I am for it to start! So, a quick little update on our family and then I'll start back-posting everything. Perhaps I'll post links at the end of this of everything I get done so it's easy for you to pick and choose.

Austin - Austin has had a whirlwind summer. He still attend school, but we were anxiously looking forward to his month off in August, until... he got a new calling. He's now the 2nd counselor in our bishopric (the group of people over our congregation). It keeps him very busy, especially while he's still learning what is expecting of him. He's assigned to help with the Young Men, so he is even more involved in scouting than he was before. He just spent a week-long camping experience at Woodbadge, to get trained. He had a blast and I'm sure he'd love to tell you more about his "foxy" ways there (he was a fox). He's busy with work. Sometimes people wonder or are skeptical of Austin's doing so much. Honestly, he's just been given so many talents and he's so great at balancing all of them. If it wasn't given him what to do, he'd be doing either way. It's just who he is.
   He's still working for DNH, and also doing some of his own on the side. We often have loads of toys in our living room (in boxes) which the boys have a blast climbing on. They're good helpers.

 Amy - Wow! Had a serious nesting bug and sold everything. Three out of five rooms in the house will be painted. The boys have a new bed, we have a new bed. The boys have a new dresser... We are still missing any living room furniture and there aren't any curtains. BUT it's looking up. We have new carpet (which is divine!!!), which seems to make up for lack of seating. Seriously, we love to sit on it :) So 3 little boys (yes we're having another boy and I couldn't be more thrilled) in a 750 sq ft house and I went nuts! BUT we're learning how to better use our space and I couldn't be more grateful for a yard. You'll be seeing some house redo pictures soon (hopefully). I'm trying to get everything done while I still feel good before the 3rd trimester hits. Wish me luck (or come over and help!!!).
  Due to Austin's new calling, I was released. Being Young Women President kept me busy through a summer of activities. No new calling announcement yet. I'm doing so much for our family with how busy Austin is it's actually kind of a relief. I'm having a good time taking the boys to the pool and the park, redecorating, and encouraging their learning... more on that with the kids..

Cadence - Is keeping me so busy with his little learning. He gets to pick two chores everyday and we're adding to the list all of the time! Right now he likes to help fold towels, empty the silverware tray in the dishwasher, feed the chickens, gather the eggs, take out the bathroom trash, set the table, and clear the table. He knows how to open the fridge, which has given him some new independence. He is such a great helper and learns so quickly!
 The learning doesn't stop at his household chores. Just in the last week we've explored airplanes, paper airplanes, building a treehouse, planets (earth is his planet and it's his favorite), astronauts (and he finds a spaceship everywhere he goes), and making other paper crafts. He cut out his own circles and glue them on a "truck" he made with paper. He's so inventive and I'm feeding off of it. On our walk to the park today he was pointing out all of the circles. The closer I get to "homeschooling" him, the more I realize, we're already doing it.
 Right now he's also very interested in learning about prophets - from the Old Testament to modern day. His favorite song is "Follow the Prophet" and he has at least 3 or 4 verses learned by now. He's always asking to know more. He also knows most of the apostles and prophets by name. His favorite scripture story right now is Jonah. He's just interested, so we learn about them :)
  He's also learning to engage Kory in playing more. He loves to teach Kory new things. Yesterday, I had a bit of a melt-down and he started picking up his toys all on his own so mommy wouldn't be sad. I'm grateful for days like that.

 Kory - Our little climber. Now he can climb out of his crib, but mostly he's doing an okay job staying in. We had to start enforcing Cade staying in his bed after being tucked in, and now Kory's doing better. He's learned to push everyone's buttons. He plays with everything he's "not supposed to". He's also is fascinated right now by how things work. It's the only thing that keeps his mind occupied for longer than 3 minutes. He spent about 30 minutes at the pool the other day, just sitting with his feet in trying to learn how the buckle of the life jacket is put together!
  He loves to be outside! He'll throw his shoes at me, or bring me his swimsuit. He loves playing with the chickens and has recently discovered how much he loves raspberries. Unfortunately, he doesn't yet know when they're ripe so we've had some casualties this year. Still, it's fun to send the boys out in the yard for a snack, some chickens to play with, and a tramp to jump on. They both have a blast. He's still small. He's starting to bulk up a little bit but people still think he's much younger (so they're impressed with my genius baby). (as we speak, here come the shoes - good thing they're soft leather). For being so small, he keeps up well with Cadence, climbs all over the playground, and generally keeps us busy.
 He's starting to learn more words, which has kept him from screaming (yay!). Some are "truck", "bye-bye", "juice", "shoes", etc. He's not as coordinated with signing, but we still keep trying. We've had a lot of food fights this summer over me not knowing what he wanted. Talk about frustrating!! I think we're getting past that point now- phew!

Our little family is so busy, but we're having a great time together learning and growing. We're just so busy "doing" during this summer it's been hard to find time to record. But here we are, catching up! Hope you're all doing well!