SIP Week 2: March 22-28

Jonah found a roly-poly and we did some research on them, then he did a video presentation on what he learned for his teacher.

Acting out a scripture story.

Jane's playground

She's doing well with little bites of soft foods. She loves avocados. It's good for the skin, too.

Lego times. We tried using the coffee table to keep it safe from Jane, but she didn't like being away from the action in the play room alone.

My Aunt Julie sent the boys board games that I put on their wishlist after they loved them at Sheri's house. This preschool coding game is a big hit. I made some crazy tricky paths for the older kids after they played several rounds at Perry's level.

All that playing wore Jane out.

She can't destroy the track if she's contained in the train bin.

Her new favorite toy is John's computer mouse.

The bouncer keeps her from getting into mischief.

We did letter T for preschool and I made Perry's brothers participate to fill out the class.

Jane also attended class. With Mr. Avocado.

She likes pulling things out of baskets. She'll taste something, then discard it and grab something new to try.

We've been doing lots of drawing lessons. I actually enjoy doing them with the kids because I'm a terrible artist and they really help.

Jane helped John put together the tether-ball set.

Once a week John and I pick up salvage food from the grocery store and deliver it to the church, where people from the community can pick out what they need and the rest goes to a shelter.

With the 2 per person limit on groceries, there was maybe five times the amount of some things as usual. Both fridges were totally packed with all my tetris skills. It was a lot of work, but nice to know people in need would have extra during this time.

Three yoga kids and one observer

Well, hello

Porgs were the cutest drawings we did. I was very proud of mine and Perry's looked like a little trump bird.

Oh, heyyyyy there.

Scott has embraced being home and is more relaxed. The extra free time has been really good for him. He doesn't seem as rushed and likes just playing with Jane again. 

Her crazy eyes are so focused. 

She loves graham crackers. Just gnaws on them like a little bird.

Chubby sleepy girl

Smiley love happy to go for a walk

We made chalk paint

and created some masterpieces in the driveway.

They love hiding in this tree when we go outside for walks.

They're surprised every time we find them like it's the first time they've hidden there.

The only sane one in the group. Give her time.

More baby snuggles.

I just love it. 

Reading a little Duplo instuction book in her free time.

We finally made the s'mores the boys got for Christmas. Perry's been asking for months and he hasn't stopped.

Making them only fueled the fire, pun intended.

Jane was not sure what was going on, but she liked it.

Ready to climb up this step.

Hanging out on her own. Not crying or getting into trouble. A very rare sight.

Sweet baby

I parked Jane outside to watch the boys play.

A piece of bread. I like to give her tiny pieces because it makes me nervous, but she snatches food out of our hands.

My cutie bunny baby

Perry worked hard with John to get the garden going.

I went to check on these two and they were doing cute brotherly things in the backyard together.

Thinks she's a big girl

She looks like the dalmations watching k9 crunchies when she looks up at the tv.

She loves staying up late while we watch tv and try to get her to sleep before both of us crash.

Shelter in Place Week 1: March 16-21

Jonah and Scott made their own playing cards so they could play solitaire like my mom had on her ipad.

Jane surrounded by toys, playing with her sock.

Scoot-pulling herself down the hallway.

Our neighbor, stuck at home, dug out the roots next to his sidewalk and lowered the 2" crack so the path is smooth now. It's so nice for the stroller and safer for all the tripping it's caused over the years.

Trying to get into a productivity groove.

Since the kids had the Friday off before the shutdown, it was an abrupt halt to school with no preparation. I had them do their summer workbooks from last year until their teachers could get everything organized.

We also did some crafts that Perry and the preschool group have enjoyed, but Scott and Jonah hadn't tried yet, like fingerprint drawings.

And lots of exercise videos, especially when it was raining out.

My mom was with us for the first two days of homeschooling, which really helped keep Jane happy and Perry entertained.

She thinks if John's home, she must be held. He's not changing her mind, either.

So happy to pull herself up and be able to reach more mischief.

Lots of reading time.

Jonah wanted to take a picture where it looked like Jane was riding by herself. She wanted to eat the ears.

We laid down our duplo arsenal to do some directed drawings.

Crashed on the floor.

Getting some Oma snuggles bright and early.

Jonah discovered Jane liked being pushed in this rocker, declared it her chariot, and ran her around and around the room.

Painting rainbows for St. Patricks Day decor. We also drew leprechauns, had Lucky Charms and they found gold coins hidden in the play room. Thankfully I've set a low bar for holidays, so this year wasn't really different other than not doing anything fun at school.

There's my post-nap sunshine.

Getting some stretches and wiggles out.

John's lunch break looks a little different now.

We dusted off our ancient ipad mini to see if any of the kids' school apps would work on it. One of them did, so Jonah and Scott took turns using it. And Perry spent the whole time asking for a turn.

John's cute new coworker

My mom changed her flight to get home as soon as she could since everything was so uncertain. They had her fly out the next morning, which was good, but we were sad to see her leave early and without being able to do anything I'd planned.

Getting into trouble, always.

She couldn't quite get up the step, but she could still reach up and find slippers to chew on.

She's much happier and more contained on John's shoulders.

Having a visit with some friends.

Reading one of the books he has memorized to Jane

I declared it a board book day, so we took turns reading all of them throughout the day.

It tucked them right out. Actually it was Jane waking up several times a night, every night, that did it.

Luke Skywalker came over to play. One of the good things about being home so much more is rediscovering the activities the kids haven't used lately, like dress-ups.

Pictures of Jane and her cute outfits haven't changed much.

I take the kids around the block when they're getting wild or if John has a meeting he needs to be unmuted for, but he likes to come stretch his legs with us whenever possible.

That afternoon nap hitting hard.

Then she's nice and wired at bedtime.

Trying to grab my Hogwarts castle pieces.

Jonah's teacher started up classroom meetings, which was good for him to see her and his classmates.

They made mazes for Jane out of pillows, which she liked climbing over.

It's been taking a lot of extra time to do school and extra energy trying to keep the house as positive as possible. Sometimes I just snuggle this little joy and let the rest go.

The boys are good about playing together. I can tell when emotions or rowdiness starts to escalate and try to redirect them.

Perry wore jeans with his rugby shirt and looked too, too adorable. 

(Then he had an accident on the bathroom floor because he couldn't unbutton his jeans and I was ignoring his yelling. Sorry, bud. He was mostly shocked at what was happening, since he never had accidents after he potty trained, which was two years ago. I just started laughing and told John how funny it was, then Perry thought it was a hilarious story and told his brothers, so no harm done. Except he'll probably go back to never wearing jeans again.)

Ready for some puffs. She's getting better at eating soft finger foods.

It was a long week with lots of big adjustments, but we enjoyed being home together more.