Dakota's Birthday Party!

Well I know some grandparents are eager to see some pictures of our big 1 year old!  (and maybe some others are too :) 

So here they are!  We decided to celebrate at home with some of our closest friends which are like family to us!  We kept the party simple and fun and hoped that our guests were able to enjoy themselves and not feel over stimulated and exhausted as you sometimes feel after kids birthday parties.

We didn't go with any "theme" just simple streamers, balloons and pinwheels.  I got the idea from Erin (thank you Erin) and from what I hear/read.....she throws some awesome kid parties!

A Sample of Renae and Melody's Work!

I didn't invite a whole lot of kids because I wanted to be able to focus on the birthday girl.  But Renae was thrilled as punch that her friend Melody came.  I set them up with some canvas' and paints and they seemed to have LOVED this.  And I thought that it would be a great "party favor" to take home! This idea also came from Erin's Blog (which you can look at here.  Thank you again Erin!) We also had little jars of jelly beans, yogurt raisins, animal crackers and gummy bears that the guests could fill a goodie bag with to take home!  (Thanks Mom for that idea!)

Renae Lovin' the Camera

Auntie Jean and the Birthday Girl!

She is such a delight!  Even when she was getting tuckered out at the end of the party, she was still full of smiles! 

It was a beautiful day! 
.....Still hot......but beautiful!
The girls found ways to enjoy the sunshine! With a little dip in the kiddie pool! 


And then of course I couldn't resist.....the action sequence of Dakota digging into her very own cupcake!  (that Renae decorated for her!)

Yep......she loved it!

Thank you again to everyone that celebrated with our little girl!  Your gifts were all so lovely and thoughtful!  You all made her first birthday so very special.

Wow.....a year already!?!

Well I have to say that I have been nostalgic over the last week prior to her birthday approaching.  I just can't believe that our little baby is a year old already!
I have always been told that time goes so fast and since Dakota is our second I already knew this to be true from Renae. 

So I did, I payed attention.

 I soaked it all in.  ......and yet, it still went too fast. 

Already she is crawling at lightening speed.  And as a result doesn't want to be cuddled nearly as much as she used too.  She travels along the furniture and babbles non-stop.  .....everything except Mama of course....lol.  Her dexterity has improved dramatically and can pick up the tiniest speck off the carpet if you let her. 

She is as cute as can be and an absolute joy to be around.  Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled of all that will lay ahead and watching her grow but I just needed some time to reflect back and remember all of the "baby steps" that she has already passed.

I know that from listening to mothers before me that this is only the first of many many stages that our family will go through. I guess I am feeling the passing of time a little more strongly then before because I know that this is it for babies for us.  Even the nursing part......part of me is looking forward to the freedom.....and yet, I will miss the closeness that we have shared for this last year. 

So even though I am ready for all that is to come I'm still a little sad as I leave this part behind.  I am so grateful that I have been blessed, two times over, with motherhood.  It is the greatest joy that I never expected!

Happy Birthday Dakota!  We Love You.

What we did for our first two weeks of homeschool.

Well, to say that I think the first two weeks were a hit for home school would be an understatement!  Every day, Renae wakes up and wants to know what we will be doing for the day!  She has even asked for me to leave her "school work" to do when she is home with Daddy and I have to work!

When I was doing my research I saw mentioned on homeschoolcreations.com and 1+1+1=1 an organization system that they were using that was simply called the Workbox system.  So I looked into it and bought the book written by Sue Patrick, which you can check out here. 

It is such a simple system to use and since I know no other way, I am sure that there is more than one way to skin a cat.  But I have to say.....this system is really working for us.  The night before I fill Renae's workbox with the activities for the day and then I place little cards on her "work sheet" for the day. 

When she gets through the sheet, she knows that all of her lessons are done. When you purchase the book you also get a code that you can then use on Susan's website for free printables to use with her system. If you like the little picture cards that I have shown you can print them for free here.

We bought the "workbox" station at Sam's club for $29.99 and I believe that you can buy similar ones at places like Michael's and such for about the same amount.  (maybe less with coupon's and sales).
Everyday, Renae wakes up and runs out to "check out" what we will be doing for the day.  She is so excited about it, that it no longer is a chore to get her to have breakfast, get dressed and brush her hair and teeth!  Speaking of which, I plan on introducing her to the world of chores.....I will let you know how that goes.

After she is ready to get going, we do our circle time with our daily sing songs. Calendar and Pledge of Allegiance. 

Then we go into Bible study with The Beginner's Bible and then we do music to Songs for Saplings (which help us remember our weekly bible verse) and Hide 'em in your heart CD's where we sing and dance.

The Girls Dancin' it up!

Matching up the correct number of stickers to the number on the page.

Matching the written word to the number on the page.

Placing the correct number of pom poms to the number and picture.

Matching the clothes pin with a number written on it to the number of dots on the circle.  Which has the added benefit of practicing small muscle control.

After all of this Dakota is usually ready for her morning nap.  So I will put her down and then Renae and I will get started on her "lessons".

Towards the end of week one we did an arts and craft for A is for Alligator.  I got the idea off of 1+1+1=1.

 Oh and remember the Palm tree in the previous post.  Well, we have been reading Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.  If you are not familiar with the book, all the letters climb up the coconut tree.  So we are making our own Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Tree and as Renae finishes learning about the letter of the week.  She does a little play doe mat and then we cut out the letter and put it on our tree!

We usually do 3 or 4 of them and then take a break for snack and then we go out in the backyard to play until Dakota wakes again.  Then we usually go out.  Be it to the park, or the library or sometimes we make a quick run to the store if I need to get something.

Then it's back for lunch and the girls go down for a nap.  When they get back up again, Renae usually does the rest of her lessons and then we play a bit more until Daddy gets home.
And that is our day!  It has been a lot of fun so far and I look forward to continuing on and keeping you posted along the way.

First Day of Home School!

Well, you may have noticed that it has been a long long LONG time since I have made any posts.

....The short answer......I've been doing research.

The long answer.....

We as a family have been trying to decide what direction to go for Renae's education. We still have a little less then a year to make any final decisions, but in the pursuit of looking at ALL possibilities we are going to test the waters, so to speak, to see if homeschooling is a front runner or not.
Why home school? Well, for us there are many reasons; so many that I plan on doing this as a separate post as I get further into this trial. But how this all got started.....well, for us, it looks like public school is not going to be considered. Where we live Renae would start at a school that is actually rated exemplary, however the middle school, jr. high and high school levels drop off dramatically in rating and after talking with other parents of children going to those schools, it isn't an environment that we want our children exposed too.
So, really that leaves, home school vs. private school. We plan on interviewing some of the private school contenders, while at the same time trying out preschool at home (plus she will do some preschool learning at the daycare, where she currently goes two times per week).
And that is the reason behind the long hiatus. I have been researching everything I can get my hands on regarding homeschooling....from blogs, to websites, to a convention, the library, and purchasing some books as well. After that, I sifted through the vast amount available for preschool curriculum. I can't believe how much is available out there! And let me tell you.....I have a whole new appreciation for teachers! I can't believe how much prep work there is done behind the scenes.

I finally decided to go with the Letter of the week + K4 Curriculum that I found on confessionsofahomeschooler.com

I plan on doing an in depth review of this program once we get a few weeks into the program;  so be sure to check back to hear more on that.

For us to do this home school challenge we had to rearrange our playroom/entertainment room. We took out the TV and component center that was in there, as well as our DVD/CD collection and the love seat.

Would you like to see what it looks like now?

I though you would never ask!

View to the Right



View to the Left and Renae's 1st day of Home school Picture

View on Back wall. Why the palm tree? Ahh....you'll see soon!



So what do you think? I would love to hear your thoughts! I look forward to giving you the rundown after we finish our first week! I am so excited to get started!