Gwen @ 4 months

This post is WAAAAAY over due, but I decided to post it anyway. I figure these are more for me to look back on than anything else...

Oh my baby! You are just getting to big to fast! I can't believe how much you have changed from the little floppy thing I brought home.

Your 4th full month of life brought very few "milestones", but there was still lots of fun stuff!

For starters this months photo shoot was the most challenging so far! You wouldn't stay still! You kept falling over, wouldn't keep your hands out of your mouth, and tried to tear your month sticker off your onesie:/ I am surprised I got any decent shots!

 You discovered your hands this month, and every time we look at you they are in your mouth!!!;/

Gone are the days of your sweet little baby whimper, you now let us know loud and clear when you aren't happy:( You have perfected the pouty lip too, and it is our warning sign that louder things are coming!

You found a new favorite this month...Your wubanub! We call it your "lovey", and you are very happy to hold it, chew it, and just generally love it:) The spoon in the second pic was Mommy's desperate attempt to entertain you for a minute so she could eat:/

You received you first package from Citrus Lane, and I don't know who was more excited, You or Mommy! Lots of fun stuff for you, and a little "happy" for me:) You liked the board book best.

Your siblings are still your favorite thing. You burst into the biggest smile when ever you see either of them, and it makes mommy's heart sing:) They think you are just as great!

Warning! Photo Dump of Random Cuteness:

Love this "Big Girl" Outfit:

This is your "TV" face! You still love Baby Einstein:)

This is Daddy's favorite outfit currently.

Big Ole Button Hat!

Seem SO big to me in this pic for some reason...

I don't know how I could love you more!

Here are the "Stats":

• You weighed in at 12lbs 12oz at your 4 month check up, 24 inches long, exactly in the 50 percentile
• Still managing to fit in a size 1 Pampers!
• Wearing some size 3-6 month clothes, but also still fit in alot of your 0-3 month stuff.
• You are getting used to Tummy Time, but still prefer the Bumbo or to be held.
• If we need to entertain you we stick you in the "Jumparoo" which you seem to really like! No pics of you in it though:(
• Still like to nurse ALOT, but seem to be making somewhat of a schedule and you always go to bed for us really well!

You're getting to be so much more fun to interact with! Can't wait to see what you accomplish by next month:)

Biography Book Boards

I have not posted anything related to homeschooling in FORever! So I am hoping to easing myself back into it with this fun idea I came up with for a "Book Report".

Now my guys are both in 4th grade, and I am not going to sugar coat it...They kinda stink at anything English/Literature related. I also realized they had NO idea what a book report even is (hanging head in shame). So I encouraged them to pick a historical figure of their choice and do a "mini report" on it. My thinking was that I wanted to find out what they read about the book, but at the same time not overwhelm them with a paper book report that they aren't ready for.

I scoured Pinterest for alternatives to book reports and found TONS of fun ideas, and I will be implementing several over the next couple months. However since I had specifically asked the kids to pick a person to read about, I wanted something a little more geared towards a biography. So I kinda meshed a couple ideas together and here is what we ended up with:

Biography Boards!

These turned out SO cute, and I am happy to report that the kids liked doing them as much as I hoped they would!

Yup, School on the floor. 'Cause that's how we roll around here;)

Here is the skinny:

Each child was to put the name of their figure at the top of their board.

Gillyan picked "Leonardo Da Vinci" and Gideyon's choice was "Benjamin Franklin". Cracked me up how much their choices reflected their own personlity traits.


Then we used large index cards (for ease in the case of "redos", and for neater handwriting) to add some facts about that person.

The first card on the left contains "Basic Bio", the figure's Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death, and where the lived/were born. The first card on the right is that child's "Favorite Fact" that they learned while reading their biography.

The next 3 cards on the left contain "Fun Facts". These were to be facts that most people wouldn't know if they had not read a biography on the character. An example from Gideyon's : "Ben Franklin created some of the earliest versions of batteries". The 3 cards in a row on the right are "Famous Facts". These facts were to be facts that most people know with out reading a biography on the person. Example from Gillyan's:
"Leonardo painted the famous "Mona Lisa"".

Finally we completed the boards with big "Paper Dolls" of their figures, that the kids created on my Cricut! They chose all the colors, clothes, and accessories. I simply helped operate the machine.

Their Dad was super pleased with their effort and they proudly hung them on our dining room wall. Hopefully this will get them excited to "report" on their book reading for the future:)