Naomi is 7!

 Happy Birthday Naomi Irene! You are 7 years old today! Here are some memories of your past year: 

Airbrush tattoos at Fall Fun Day with Restore were a fun change up this year! 

We went to NWMSU Homecoming in October. After the parade, we went to the Student Body and you found this little bearcat and didn't want anything else. He is affectionately known as 'Bear'. 

You started losing teeth this year! We wanted to get a few close-ups to remember your toothless smile. You lost one of your front teeth last night (11/4) so now there's just one tooth hanging out up front! 

Special time in September involved Starbucks and Hobby Lobby. 

You dressed up as Princess Peach for Halloween this year! We ordered costumes early, so you had a few chances to dress up before Halloween night. You make a cute Princess Peach! 

Apple picking at Cider Hill Family Orchard in KS. It was a beautiful day to pick apples! 

One of your teeth was very wiggly and I couldn't stomach taking it out for you. But Levi made quick work of it-- grabbed a small piece of paper towel and pulled the little sucker right out. You weren't even scared! 

Your handicraft for school this year is embroidery. This is the first project you completed! You did a fantastic job! You gave this to your Kid City teacher, Ms. Karen. Now you are working on a dishtowel with a more complicated pattern. I can't wait to see how it turns out! 

Our family went to Worlds of Fun for the first time this summer! You were the first kid to ride the Mamba with me. On the first big drop I was really regretting my decision to ask you to ride, but you made it through and even ended up riding a second time that day! You are one courageous little girl! 

You began 1st grade in August! You are learning addition, letter sounds, handwriting, and are working your way through 100 Easy lesson to learn to Read. We are studying Ancient Times in history, learning about Johannes Brahms, reading through the OT, studying weather for Science. Your handicraft is embroidery and you are doing a phenomenal job! You are taking a session of CrossFit with Zoe this Fall and have really enjoyed it! 

Over the summer your older siblings stayed up at Mimi's for a couple nights so you had Mom and Dad all to yourself for about 36 hrs. You ate it up! You loved the attention and getting to choose all the things. It was a special time for all of us together! We even went to MOD pizza for dinner! 

You are in the 90th percentile for your height! I am so curious to see how tall you will be! 

You want to get a pet of your own but are not entirely sure what it should be. Your current idea is "something that fits into a purse so you can carry it around the house." So... we're going to wait a little bit longer. ;)  

You are really a chill, go-along-with-the-flow girl! When we say we're going to do something or go somewhere you get ready to leave and rarely ask questions. 

Your first pedicure! We had a fun time getting our nails done together in May! 

You enjoy helping out when the kids cook! 

You love this fox hat from Aunt Teresa! Somedays you wear it all day long! 

BIRTHDAY INTERVIEW! 11/10/24

What is your favorite color? Black 

... food? BBQ chips 

... movie? "Hop"

... TV show? "Baking Impossible"

... book? "Harry Potter" 

... fruit? Strawberries 

... animal? Puppies

... instrument? Piano   

... band or singer or favorite thing to listen to on Spotify? "Nightmare before Christmas" 

... thing to do every day? "Listen to music." 

... thing to learn? "Math"

... about Zoe? "She helps me build some stuff, like Legos." 

... about Levi? "Levi? Him helps me with school." 

... about Zeke? "He gives me hugs." 

... about Mommy? "You read to me." 

... about Daddy? "That a nighttime I can sleep on his stomach" {said very enthusiastically with a big smile!}. 

What do you want to be when you grow up? "A babysitter" 

What do you like most about homeschooling? "That if I have a hundred chart, then, I don't need to do it all." [she's talking about the fact that I let her split up some of her big math pages and do them over a few days instead of having to do it all at once.]

What are you looking forward to about being 7? "To build more Lego Friends sets!" 

Naomi Irene, I absolutely love being your Mom! You bring joy and laughter to our family. You have lots of energy and aren't afraid to try new things. You are doing a great job at your CrossFit class this semester with Zoe. You started out pretty nervous and would get overwhelmed with the amount of people and the loudness of the gym, but you've grown in areas of being able to keep track of your numbers as you workout and being a better listener. We are working on getting better at taking care of your curly hair. You are doing a great job in piano and are just a few pages away from starting Level 1 books! You are great at sight reading and picking up the notes and rhythms fairly quick! Your concentration levels have improved and you sit and color and play for longer periods of time these days. I still love to walk into your room and hear you doing "stories" with your dolls and stuffed animals and now your Lego Friends. You are still sometimes shy when I don't expect you to be. And you  really love to sleep in! Happy 7th Birthday! Love, Momma 

Zoe is NINE!

 Happy Birthday, Zoe Kayte! You are nine years old today! 

- You have made some leaps in caring for yourself this year! You brush your own teeth in the morning, you brush your hair regularly (remember last year when we had to cut that big rat's nest out?!?!), and you've started taking out and putting in your own earrings! 

- You love animals and being outside. You've had Lila and Owen for a whole year! They're doing very well. You like to teach Owen to do tricks. He likes snacks like banana. 

- You love to have your face painted! We've had several opportunities already this year and each time you ask for a dog because when you get older it might be a fun job for you to have. So you've been comparing their work to see how they paint the dogs and which one you like best. You've also been "painting" Naomi's face (with markers!) which I'm honestly ok with. It always washes off eventually and you both enjoy it :) 

- On our most recent Special Time in June we went to BAB and you outfitted your bunny, Cinnamon. Then we had dinner at Red Robin and you had your face painted after (they offered it for free at RR), then we went shopping for a few things at Target, and finished with ice cream at Andy's. I had such an enjoyable time with you -- you really enjoy shopping and you make decisions readily, which I appreciate very much! You don't dilly dally, you know what you want, you find it and get it. This makes shopping more fun for me too! 

- You are playing so well with Naomi these days! You spend most of your time together, which every once in a while, you tire of. But for the most part, you are very patient, you stick up for her, you keep her safe from spiders, you help her in the swimming pool, the bathroom, anywhere she needs to go. You love to play with dolls and stuffed animals together, making up stories. You play lots of games together, right now particularly, Exploding Kittens, Uno (Zelda version), and "Who Is It?" (the knock-off version of Guess Who?). 

- You like to help Dad with his building projects. Here he was working on the bee hives. 

- You like to cook and bake with me! I try to have you help me in the kitchen every week with some sort of task -- making your brownies, cutting fruits or veggies, stirring pasta, etc. You have also been working on your cake decorating skills. Some day, my hope is that I can do all the baking and you can do all the decorating! 

- You love holding Mimi's baby chicks she gets every Spring. 

- You are a practical, get-it-done girl. You might delay in some chores more than others, but most of the time when I turn around, what I've asked you to accomplish has been finished. You like to have set rules and routines because the structure helps you know what to do and when. Which is good on MOST days, but we're all working on getting better at flexibility :) 

- Lila had a litter of bunnies on January 2. You helped raise and care for them in our basement. Sadly, only one made it to the 2 month mark and went to a new home; recently we learned that she has now passed away. We did have someone tell us that a rabbit's first litter of bunnies almost never makes it, but it was still sad when each of them has died. 

- Your favorite bunny of the bunch -- you named her Daisy. 

- You are a strong and hard worker. You like to climb and hike and run and play. You enjoy CrossFit and this year you are going to try gymnastics for the first time. You enjoy watching soccer and tonight (8/1) we get to go to a KC Current game which we're all really excited about! You don't seem too interested in playing a team sport, but perhaps in the future you might try. For now, we'll continue to hike and walk and play. You've been swimming almost every day this summer in our backyard pool.

BIRTHDAY INTERVIEW! 8/2/24

What is your favorite color? Blue

... food? Chow Mein and Pizza

... movie? "Bolt"

... TV show? "Lucas the Spider"

... book? "Quinnelope and the Cookie King Catastrophe" 

... fruit? Peaches 

... animal? Bunny

... instrument? Violin

... band or singer or favorite thing to listen to on Spotify? "Lady Gaga" 

... thing to do every day? "Swimming!" 

... thing to learn? "Art" 

... about Naomi? "She's fun! She plays with me."   

... about Levi? "I can tickle him."

... about Zeke? "He lets me borrow his headphones." 

... about Mommy? "That you teach me the piano." 

... about Daddy? "He does art with me!" 

What do you want to be when you grow up? "Someone who takes care of animals, like a vet. Or rescue pets at a Rescue Center." 

What do you like most about homeschooling? "I don't need to wake up as early. And I know everybody. And I get to sit at my own table." 

What are you looking forward to about being 9? "I am one age older." 

What did you like about the KC Current game last night? "The ice cream and when they scored a goal. And my new visor!" 

Zoe, you have improved your piano skills so much this year! You like to wear {my} house slippers every day. They are pink and say "Day Off" and it is funny to see you shuffling around in them every morning. You still sleep with Kitty every night (you picked her out from the KC Zoo on your 4th birthday!). You are reading better all the time and continue to improve your art skills through personal drawing and doing art together with Daddy. We have read all of the "American Girls" books over the past several months and you seemed to enjoy them, especially the Samantha and Felicity books. You learned to finger knit with Miriam this year and are going to learn to embroider in this upcoming school year. You often sing and dance around the house which I love! You do well riding your bike on our family walks each Sunday and have begun to wear your helmet (every time) without complaint! You continue to wear a head band every, single, day with your hair in a ponytail. I've kept your hair shorter these past several months and it's much easier to manage since it is so thick. Just long enough to get it all put up in the ponytail with nothing touching your neck! Occasionally, you allow me to put your hair in pigtails to give your head a break from the ponytail. But otherwise, it's in its standard position :) Zoe, I am so thankful you are my daughter. I can't wait to watch all the ways you'll grow and learn and mature this year! You have been asking questions about Jesus and baptism and I am praying that you will continue to grow in your spiritual life and that you will be baptized at the right time where it will be meaningful and you'll be able to remember it for always! I love you, Zoe Kayte! ~Mommy 

Zeke is 12!

 Happy 12th Birthday Ezekiel Dekker! Here's some things to remember from the past year: 

- You enjoyed creating this marshmallow/toothpick structure at the Kick Christmas party. You were very proud of how big your creation was by the end! 

- For our gingerbread house cookie decorating day you attempted to create a 3-D work. Apparently we did not create the correct "glue" for it to hold, so we had to shove everything into a glass bowl for preservation. You were quite disappointed. But it was still delicious! Next year? Sugar+water = glue. 

- Your annual contribution to Thanksgiving dinner at Aunt Teresa's house -- cranberry sauce! Dad's favorite. And I think it's becoming one of your favorite things to eat also. 

- Fun at the KC Zoo! You enjoy walking, jogging, and biking. You don't particularly love any sports although you've gotten into watching Chiefs football this year. You enjoy taking hikes with our Adventure+Wonder hiking group on Thursdays. You've begun to make a few friends which is wonderful! You are inviting one of the boys from our group over to our house for your birthday this Saturday, to play Minecraft and eat pizza for lunch. I am happy that you've found a friend who enjoys some of the same things as you! 

- We  bought a few sets of new clothes for the Fall because you have grown! At your most recent doctor appointment they measure you are 5' 5" and it's been a few months since then. I bet you've grown another inch by now. 

- You are in middle school this year! And you have enjoyed attending the Middle School Youth small group on Sunday mornings at Restore. You've gone to a few of their events this year as well -- Friendsgiving, the Christmas party, and game night. 

- Cooking your dinner on our camping trip up at Wallace State Park in September. 

- You enjoy cooking and baking with and for your family. You have made quite a variety of things! You are getting better at including your siblings and giving them helpful advice on what to do and how to work together. 

BIRTHDAY INTERVIEW! 2/1/2024

What is your favorite color? Orange 

... food? Pizza 

... movie? "The Mario Movie" 

... TV show? "Tom and Jerry" 

... book? all Home Improvement Books :) 

... fruit? Apple-Pears 

... animal? Fish

... instrument? Guitar 

... band or singer or favorite thing to listen to on Spotify? "I like Parry Grip, he's a good one, I like him." 

... thing to do every day? "Read, play outside, rest, read, read, and some more reading. And then some building and taking stuff apart." :) 

... thing to learn? "I think... wiring." 

... about Naomi? "She's my youngest sister and that she's fun to play with." 

... about Zoë? "That she's artistic and that she has bunnies." 

... about Levi? "That he's my brother and that I can wrestle with him and that I can play with him on Minecraft and it's fun together." 

... about Mommy? "Mommy, oh the many things I could say about you. I like that you're my Mom and that you make great food and that you help us learn the piano." 

... about Daddy? "That he takes me on jobs and that I can go fishing with him and Levi and that he's fun." 

What do you want to be when you grow up? "An engineer or an electrician or a plumber." 

What do you like most about homeschooling? "That it doesn't take almost the entire day to do all the subjects and that it only takes half the day. And that Mom teaches us." 

Ezekiel, I love you with my whole heart! You are thoughtful, kind-hearted, silly, forgiving, chill, and so much more! I appreciate the way you are starting to really develop your strengths, but I've seen you take strides in areas where you've been weak as well. I love our time together on Monday nights -- taking walks, talking, learning about you, watching YouTube videos, writing in our journal, and praying. And I am supremely happy that you love this time too! You make sure it happens and look forward to it as much as me! You have begun guitar lessons this year with my friend, Andrew and I think you are going to excel. You have a natural ear for music. I appreciate that you will bring your guitar downstairs and play a song with us during our Wednesday night family Bible study time. I hope you will continue to do so and eventually feel comfortable leading a song or two on your own. Now that Pop-Pop lives nearby, you love going to his house to help with projects. You love to troubleshoot and fix things, put things together, and if you don't know how to fix it, you can usually find it in one of the 20+ library books you keep stored on your bed for your "nightly" reading :D I could go on, but for now I'll wrap up by saying how proud I am of you. I look forward to being with you this year as you continue to learn, spread your wings, and continue to find your place in our family and this world. Love, Mom 
P.S. I had this whole thing typed up, aside from this last paragraph, back in February. I guess I forgot to publish. Whoops!