archie is two

these are ten of the things we love about you:  

1. the exuberant greeting you give to whoever enters the room

2. your shiny, golden hair and how it sticks up in the cutest way

3. the remarkable volume at which you call for mom or dad

4. you love getting bowls out of the drawer for "nacks"

5. the way you say "come on" and drag us by the hand when you want us to follow you

6. how you fold your hands and say "amen!" when we pray

7. the low grunts you make when you are displeased

8. the way you love and look up to your big brother

9. you have a laugh just like your great uncle mick

10. when you stand on the furniture, hold your nose, and yell "cannonball" before you jump off

Read more

things jack says

jack is so funny and makes us laugh on a regular basis. we don't have as many words and phrases to translate these days, but there are a lot more one liners and hilarious conversations.

dictionary entries:

• twisty rolls = tootsie rolls [which he collects for gaga dubs]

• book snacks = ritz, wheat thins & cashews ["i want circle crackers, square crackers, and nuts shaped like a phone."]

• spicy drink = starry/sprite/7up

• spicy nuts = honey roasted peanuts

• bird church = when we see a flock of bird sitting on a wire

• snuggling pillow = bean bag

• the noodles that make you feel better when you are sick = ramen

• freeze brain = brain freeze

• bread cheese bread = grilled cheese

one line laughs:

• "i could use a bookmark. a lunch bookmark." [because earlier we had given him a flyer from ihop to use as a bookmark]

• "don't hit any deer!" [his reminder to biscuit when she's leaving our house]

• "are you still in the living room?' [every night. at least five times.]

• "can i tell you a story? so. once upon a time there was an archie, mom, dad, and jack, and they were the best friends..." [for a period of time this was how all of his stories started. be still my heart.]

• "meanwhile..." [these stories always take a turn with a 'meanwhile' somewhere in the middle]

• "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 16 17 18 19 20" [he skipped 13 and 15 for a very long time, but it was so cute i couldn't correct him]

• "good morning bright eyes!" [what he says to archie every morning when he goes into his room to say hello]

• "i took archie's napping coat off"

• "let's blow up archie's mind"

• "hay!" [he thinks it is hilarious to shout this to us in the car when we drive by a bale of hay. he has gotten us on a number of occasions.]

• "mom, if i haven't told you, i really appreciate your help."

• "are the potatoes okay???" [he said this in a panic while watching 'the martian' with dad]

• "wait a minute...this is a BIG wait a minute!" [while playing the pig game with gaga bisc on the way to the beach]

• "mom, how far away is the ladybug concert?" [it was a beatles cover band]

• "there's a guy on the roof mowing the trees" [a tree trimmer]

• "i was watching snoopy in my brain" [after waking himself up by laughing in his sleep]

• "bonus hug!" [we eventually transitioned to bonus hugs after bedtime, which are currently rationed at two per night]

great conversations:

          shelly: "we can go to the pool for a little while."

          jack: "no! let's go for a lot of while. i want to go for seven minutes."     

     

          biscuit: "jack, who's going to follow you?"

          jack: "i'm going to follow myself!"

          shelly: "jack, what's on your feet?"

          jack: "just feet!"

          shelly: "jack look over there, there's some flowers."

          jack: "oh wow, beautiful!" ... "look there's more!" ... "unbelievable."

          [jack yelling downstairs from bed]

          jack: "hey dad, do you...ummmm...what was i going to ask you?"

          [after a few minutes]

          donald: "do you remember what you needed to ask?"

          jack: "ummmm...maybe tuck me in?"

Read more

that homeschool life

when we started this whole hybrid homeschool situation i was not quite sure what it would end up looking like in our day to day, but we've found a great rhythm and are loving the setup we have right now. jack goes to 'school school' at fellowship church homeschool academy twice a week on monday and wednesday. he was a little apprehensive as the first day of school approached, but jumped right in and is loving it. it took a few weeks for him to get to know the kids in his class, but now we get stories about him and his friends every day. 

on those at school days archie usually keeps sleeping while i drop jack off in the morning [which ends up being about an hour round trip] and sometimes he's even kind enough to let me go back to sleep for a bit when i get back home before we officially start our day. it took a bit to get used to it only being the two of us, but we've started getting out of the house for walks or errands and it's really fun to have time with just him to give him extra attention, go his speed, and notice all the fun little things he says or does.

we typically try to get the rest of our school work done on tuesday and thursday. if we're just hanging at home we tend to do a couple subjects, then play outside for a bit, and fit our other lessons in here and there throughout the day. but we can also buckle down and get everything done in the morning if we're wanting to go on an adventure. that leaves friday free for field trips or our little homeschool hiking group.

it's been a great mix for us since we get the fun of a classroom and school friends, and the support of a teacher, but we also still have a lot of flexibility in our days and haven't felt too tied down. i was initially a little worried about how school would affect our family vibe, but it's been great so far and we're still able to go on little trips and get out around town to all the places we love to go!

Read more