Thursday, August 3, 2023

Zoe is 8!

 It's your birthday, Zoe Kayte! Here's what you been up to over the past year: 

- You love art! You like to draw, color, paint, and create. You and Daddy do art videos on Sunday afternoons and have created many lovely paintings and marker drawings. We discovered Art for Kids for Hub on YouTube this year and you absolutely love it! You've probably watched and followed along with over 100 videos. It definitely shows as I'm trying to put away papers before the new school year and your art is everywhere! We are hoping to put you in an online art class for the Fall. 
- We went to breakfast together at First Watch back in February for special time. You are a great eater! Some of your favorite foods are strawberries, nutella, pizza, cucumbers, stuffed peppers, and grilled cheese sandwiches. But you are not picky for which I am grateful! 
- You love to play games -- board games, computer games, video games, tag, soccer, volleyball; even making up games with Levi or Naomi. You win consistently at Dutch Blitz and Trekking. You seem to have a good mind for strategy. 

- You enjoy baking with me in the kitchen. You have a brownie business this summer and it has gone quite well! You've made many batches of brownies. You have all the ingredients memorized, I just have to help a little with amounts because you make 8" pans and 9x13" pans, some are regular, and some are gluten-free. They are very good! 



- I took you to your first pedicure last Fall! It was fun for both of us. It's always nice to be pampered now and then. 

- Up in Maryville, MO for the homecoming parade and football game! We enjoy taking everyone there to see where Daddy and I met and got married. 

BIRTHDAY INTERVIEW! 8/2/23

What is your favorite color? Teal
... food? Enchiladas and grilled cheese sandwiches and pizza  
... movie? "Bolt" 
... TV show? "Tom and Jerry"  
... book? "Zoe's Room" 
... fruit? Strawberries 
... animal? Bunny
... instrument? Violin
... band or singer or favorite thing to listen to on Spotify? "Jazz, I mean my cds from Pop-Pop" 
... thing to do every day? "Art"
... thing to learn? "Art"  
... about Naomi? "She plays with me."  
... about Levi? "Hmm... I don't know actually. That he smiles in a funny way." 
... about Zeke? "hmm... that he lets me borrow stuff." 
... about Mommy? "That you help me and that you make my food." 
... about Daddy? "He colors with me and he sometimes plays with me and reads to me." 
What do you want to be when you grow up? "A painter or artist."
What do you like most about homeschooling? "That's it's not as long as public school. That's it" 
What are you looking forward to about being 8? "That I will do lots of fun stuff. And I'm sad I'm not turning 7 again." 

Zoe, you will be starting 3rd grade on Monday! You are becoming a better reader and making progress across the board in school. You are getting better at playing piano too. You like to come with me when I serve on the worship team at Restore, so you'll wake up early (6 am!) and help me set up, then help Aunt Teresa and other leaders out in the lobby, play with Miriam, go to Kid City and then to MVP during the second service. You have been asking questions about baptism too. I enjoy spending time with you Tuesday evenings. We take walks and talk, read books, watch YouTube videos, play games, bike up to Mission: Board Games, and spend time getting to know each other a little better. You like to sleep in, wear your pink nightgown, swim, dance, and generally have a fun time! You are getting your first pet on Saturday -- a Holland Lop rabbit! He is a 'blue otter' which means he is a blueish-gray color and has cream colored feet. You've named him Owen. Daddy and you have been working on building his hutch to set up on our back porch. You have been so patient, you have asked for a pet since you were 6, so I'm really happy that it's finally happening for you! You are responsible and kind and I know you will take great care of him. I can't wait to see what this next year holds for you. Love, Mommy 

Monday, July 24, 2023

Who turned ELEVEN?

 I want to get this birthday blog typed up before anymore time passes! I'm not sure if I'm just putting too much pressure on myself to remember and think of everything or what. But I will continue to work on getting over my perfectionism in order to have something rather than nothing! 

Back in January Zeke turned 11. He had a great year. He went on his 10 year trip to Ft. Worth, TX in March 2022. 

- Zeke loves to mini golf! 
We ate at Central Market --- one of our favorite places because it's grocery store style food, with lots of choices, but you can sit outside! 

BBQ with Dr. Ross, one of Jeremiah' mentors from seminary 

We stayed at SWBTS and showed Zeke lots of the places that Jeremiah and I frequented while we lived in Ft. Worth. He had fun swimming at the RAC, playing games in the cafeteria building, and we stayed our nights at the Riley Center. 

We visited the Dallas World Aquarium -- so great! 

It was very special to get to show Zeke his birthplace and give him a sense of who he is and where he started. 


BIRTHDAY INTERVIEW! 7/24/23 
What is your favorite color? Gold 
... food? BBQ chicken pasta and lasagna 
... movie? "Chipmunks 2- The Squeakquel"
... TV show? "Grizzy and the Lemmings" 
... book? "Peter Nimble and his Fantastic Eyes" 
... fruit? Mango
... animal? Fish
... instrument? Guitar 
... band or singer or favorite thing to listen to on Spotify? "It changes, I don't know. My station" 
... thing to do every day? "If I could, play Minecraft everyday and watch Minecraft videos. Oh, and read!"  
... thing to learn? How things work 
... about Naomi? "She's younger than me." 
... about ZoĆ«? "That she's artistic." 
... about Levi? "That I can play Minecraft with him." 
... about Mommy? "That Mom cooks and gives me hugs when I'm sad." 
... about Daddy? "That he has a very interesting job." 
What do you want to be when you grow up? "A plumber" 
What do you like most about homeschooling? "That I get to stay at home. And I don't have to take a school bus. And it doesn't last that long. And I can spend more time with my family." 

You are a great big brother! You care about what happens to your younger siblings and help me out *most* of the time ;) 

You have become an excellent reader! You prefer non-fiction: manuals, how-to books, books about electricity, wiring, solar panels, how things work etc. But recently you have devoured a few fiction books; I am thankful to see you broadening your horizons. 

You got your braces off! 

You enjoy baking and helping out in the kitchen. 

Every year for Thanksgiving you are in charge of making the cranberry sauce -- a family favorite! This year you made it all by yourself. We are proud of you! 

I just had to include this one because we are hand twins! And I love it :) 

You chose Dr. Robotnik for your Halloween costume. You think he's really cool because he makes lots of inventions and is a bit of an evil genius. You plan to be him for the next few Halloweens! 

You enjoyed this outdoor train set we saw at one of our A&W hikes in September. It is set up outside at the Overland Park Arboretum. It was really cool! 

Our first family bake-off. You and Naomi made pop-tarts and won the competition! 

We went mini golfing many times throughout your year. You love it! This picture is from the Parkville Mini Golf. 

Zeke, you are smart, kind, and love a good pun. You know how to fix things around the house that I don't understand. You enjoy sleeping in, playing piano, watching videos on YouTube, jokes, building with Legos, and listening to loud music. We are so excited to see how you continue to grow and change and become the man God created you to be. Love, Mom 



Friday, February 24, 2023

Levi is NINE!

Levi, this blog post is late in coming, but I am going to do it anyway. Happy 9th Birthday! Here are some pictures of what you've been up to the past year: 

You had a Pokemon themed birthday! Daddy and I made you a Squirtle cake from vanilla cake with blueberry filling, rice krispie treats, and fondant. 

You wanted to get sushi for your birthday lunch, so we went to Kome Sushi. You loved it! We sat along the bar and watched the chef make the food. You tried lots of fresh, raw sushi and enjoyed it! 

On the 16th, we went to Main Event to celebrate you. We were there for many hours playing in the arcade and playing laser tag. The boys all did the high ropes course as well, which you got a little nervous about, but you made it all the way through! As a special surprise, the manager allowed you INTO the crane game to pick out a stuffed animal of your choice (you chose a huge koala!) and then you got to try out the virtual reality game as well. 


You love to stay busy. In the morning we try to give you tasks because you wake up ready to work. You'll sit on the couch and spend time with Dora. You like to play board games if Daddy has time. Sometimes you'll wake up and get a jump start on school work. If you could have your way, you'd watch TV or play your nintendo switch. But we try to guide this time toward helpful activities. 

You enjoy baking and cooking in the kitchen. You have gotten pretty good at making our family's unity cookie and peanut butter cookies. I think you mostly do it because you get to lick the batter at the end, but who wouldn't be motivated by that?! Here we were making reindeer cookies for one of our Christmas school activities. 

We are pretty sure you react poorly to food dye, so we try to avoid them as much as possible. It seems that especially around Halloween you break out with a rash on your chin. But it's been a lot of trial and error. We've been avoiding dairy and gluten since you were 3 and it seems to be beneficial for your overall health. 

Playing Pokemon Labryinth at Mission: Board Games. We get to go on 3 special times throughout the year. We do a variety of things; in July we went to a KC Monarchs game and had an absolute blast. In November we went to a nearby game store to play games together. I really enjoy spending these times together. We also do "Together Time" for about 30 min. each week. You really enjoy this one-on-one time with me and we do a variety of things: read, pray, talk, watch YouTube videos, and play on your switch to name a few. I pray this time stays consistent and it will bear fruit in our relationship. 

You are getting better at making green bean casserole for Thanksgiving every year! 

You are silly and fun! You love to laugh and run; play football, volleyball and soccer. You like making friends and talking to other people. You like reading the "Calvin and Hobbes" comic books. You are becoming a better reader and starting to read more and more on your own. You particularly love books with lots of action -- like Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, and more. You like shooting your Nerf guns, bow and arrow, and fishing. 

You love finding and caring for little animals. You are a great care taker of Sapphire your leopard gecko. You began your own pet care business this year and were able to open a savings account with a good chunk of money (besides buying a few things off your amazon wish list!). You are hoping to double that amount in the coming year! 

We enjoyed a fun camping trip as a family in September up at Wallace State park. You enjoyed laying in the hammock, fishing in the canoe, riding your bike around the loop, and exploring. You seem to really love the outdoors and I hope we're able to do more camping trips in the future. 

You are almost ready for your next bully battle! You've loved moving up to the Black Belt club and having a smaller class size that is more focused. Your favorite teachers are Ryan and Paul. You plan to take a couple of private lessons with them to further prepare you for your Bully Battle in 2023 when you hope to earn your first orange belt. 

The kids enjoyed competing in a family baking competition! You and Zoe made chocolate whoopie pies. You worked together well and did a terrific job following the recipe. 

This was a fun science experience when we painted thin layers of glue on our skin, waited for it to dry and then peeled it off. It was meant to represent the way reptiles molt and shed their skin. You loved it! Especially since you love learning about reptiles so much! 

You walked in the Parkville Day parade with your Kick group! Zoe and Daddy joined you as well. It was a hot day, but you seemed to have a lot of fun! 

You are in 3rd grade this year! In Math you are learning multiplication; you are becoming a better reader - we are almost through the 100 lessons book for learning how to read. You are improving your skills in piano and nearly ready for the red books. You are less frustrated with school than you used to be. You are very motivated to get through your essentials -- math, phonics, and handwriting -- every day so will sometimes work ahead either the night before or the morning of. 

This is Oreo and Marshmallow, a couple of the cats you take care of with your pet care business. This year you hope to make business cards to spread the word. Although I think more than anything, I'm going to need you to start biking to some of your jobs to save me some time ;) 

This was a fun day at Powell Gardens. This cabinet was full of chrysalises, waiting to have butterflies emerge. You thought it was pretty cool! 

Birthday Interview -- February 24, 2023 
What is your favorite color? "All of them" 
 ...movie? "Croods 2" 
... tv show? "Avatar: The Last Airbender" 
... book? "Calvin and Hobbes"
... fruit? "Banana"
... animal? "Gorilla" 
... thing to do everyday? "Do screen time!" 
... about Naomi? "That she likes morning and night hugs." 
... about ZoĆ«? "That she likes playing games with me." 
... about Zeke? "That he builds tents downstairs for us." 
... about Mommy? "That she helps me figure out problems in math."
... about Daddy? "That me and him like fishing."
What do you want to be when you grow up? "What do you call someone who owns their own shop? A business owner -- an animal shop." 
What do you like most about homeschooling? "That our school isn't as long as public school." 
What is your favorite food? "Lasagna" 
Anything else you want to remember about turning 9?  "That there's only one more year until my 10 year old trip! And that I'm 9. That's it!" 

 Levi Olin, you are so loved and wanted and appreciated in our family! Our lives would be much quieter without you. You are persistent, want fairness in all things, struggle with intense FOMO, stand up for yourself (and others), like routine and consistency, wear very large shoes (I think we've finally found a pair that last more than 2 months, fit your foot well, and don't require me to help you put them on!!!! #winning), know how to start your own load of laundry, are picky about your socks, and love family movie night -- with pizza! I love you so much! Happy Birthday!  ~Love, Mom 

Friday, November 11, 2022

FIVE years old!

 Naomi Irene, you are five years old today! I am having a hard time accepting that my baby is 5! How can this be? 


- You enjoy participating in school with your siblings! You're tracing letters and numbers, completing mazes, playing with playdough, playing ABC Mouse, listening to many, many books, doing a few reading lessons, cutting pictures, taking a few piano lessons, and more things I can't think of right now. You are very sharp with numbers. On your own you're skip counting, adding quickly, and seem to understand it all in your head quite easily. I will be curious to see how this progresses. 

- You are shy. When we go to new places, you want to stick close to your family. It takes you a long time to warm up to new people before you'll actually talk to them or even look them directly in the eye. You are starting to give hugs to more people! 
- You like to help me in the kitchen -- measuring, pouring, mixing. You complete one-minute chores around the house such as taking laundry to the hampers, putting away shoes and books, putting away the silverware from the dishwasher, and you are learning how to wash dishes! 
- You like to play outside, although you prefer to be with others when you do. I will occasionally see you outside alone, but it's rare. You like to swing. You do well on our nature hikes (we walked for 2 miles yesterday!). You're becoming interested in frogs and bugs, whereas before they made you scream and run away. You are riding your balance bike well and can keep up with your older siblings on our family walks each Sunday.  
- Some of your favorite foods are -- honey nut cheerios, frosted flakes, plain potato chips, honey mustard chicken, fries, pasta, roast, steak, and strawberries. You don't like food that is too spicy or overly flavorful. This morning for breakfast I made you chocolate donuts with pink frosting, yogurt parfaits, and hot cocoa. For your birthday dinner tonight we're having pasta, green beans, lemonade, red velvet cake, and strawberry ice cream! 

- You like to do things in your own time and own way. At night you like to shower by yourself and take your time. You don't like to be rushed because you'll totally shut down into a small, mute brick that won't do anything. Which is tricky when we're trying to get out the door and get ready for bed. 
- We went camping in September at Wallace State Park and you had fun catching little frogs beside the lake. You did a great job playing outside, riding bikes, and enduring the yellow jackets that joined us for every meal! You had fun in the canoe with Daddy too! 
- As with your older siblings, I am now finding many of your selfies on my phone! You enjoy taking pictures, mostly of yourself, but I find some of other people as well :) 
- You had your face painted at the Fall Fun Night at Weston Red Barn farm. You chose the ice princess pattern and sat very still while she completed the look. It looked great! 
- You have recently begun to ask again when you'll get to take dance class. You wear tap shoes around the house, love listening to music and dancing, you jump off of things, spin, work on moves you've learned at dance class, and more! I can see that's in just in your bones. 
- On November 6, we took you and Zoe out for your birthday movie. We saw "Lyle, Lyle Crocodile" and it was very good! It was a clean, funny movie for all of us. You laughed out loud at several spots and were at the edge of your seat! Now we're listening to the soundtrack on Spotify at home. 

Birthday Interview: 11/11/22 
What is your favorite color? "Black and a little bit of yellow, but just a little since I have a yellow head band.. and pink! And... another color which is, blue." 
... movie? "Lyle, Lyle Crocodile" 
... TV show? "Gabby's Dollhouse: 
... book? "Curious George" 
... fruit? "Strawberries" 
... animal? "Oooh! *thinking with her finger to her mouth* That one's a hard one..." *she can't seem to come up with one. 
... song? "The baking one (from Lyle, Lyle Crocodile) 'Rip up the Recipe'" 
... thing to eat? "Pizza" 
... thing to do every day? "Play!" 
... about Zoe? "That she plays with me." 
... about Levi? "About he plays with me too." 
... about Zeke? "I don't know." 
... about Mommy? "About you bake."   
... about Daddy? "Oooh, about him goes to work and gets money." 
Who is your best friend? "Ooooh, my bestest friend... can it be one in my family? *whispers* Zoe" 
What do you want to be when you grow up? "Oooh, a baker!" 
What do you like most about school? "About I get to do mazes!" 
What are you looking forward to about being 5? "About I get new clothes cause the other ones are too small. But I can't fit them." 

Naomi, you are so loved! You bring joy and laughter to our family. You are my calming goat. Over the past year, you've told me countless times "I love you Mommy!", at least daily. You would alternate with different versions such as "I love you a latte!" :) and "I love you SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much!" You tell us you want to be a mommy when you grow up and have lots of babies. This year we are doing a baby/doll birthday party. You love to feed and dress and take care of all your dolls and you'll be getting a new stroller and bunk bed to add to your collection. You like to snuggle and cuddle with me at bedtime. You still whisper to me that you need me to put your blanket back on in the middle of the night. I love your beautiful, curly hair and hope that it gets easier to brush it at night! You like to kiss me on the lips and your sweet, little lips are pretty dry right now. I ask you if you want chapstick and you tell me no. *ha ha!*