Selah Playing with Alan

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Captin Zip and Violet

Kaity and Joe dressed up for the Fall Festival this year as Kaity's comic book characters, Captin Zip and Violet. Selah went as The Most Adorable Baby in the World. It was an easy costume. Jeff and I went as a happily married couple. Also not a far stretch.

Captin Zip!

Violet the inventor

Her top left tooth finally broke through today!

Going on the hayride!

Selah is ecstatic every time she gets to ride on Daddy's shoulders.

Joe Pittard, Published Author

I had Joe write a story as part of his schoolwork this week. I told him no one would help him spell or anything -- he could just run free with it. I'll take a picture of it later (no batteries again!) but for now here's what he wrote ...

hey Joe hey Jon DO you wot To hav Fun yes. hey I no FooT BoL. GOOD sot

And he even illustrated it!

The Years Are Short

I don't really have anything new to tell you, but I had this adorable picture and wanted to share. Selah is definitely amping up the activity level. She's crawling all over the place and getting into whatever she can. She does have a concept of "no", though, and I can occasionally stop her by simply speaking. Not like her big brother, who at this age thought "no" meant "hurry up and stick that in your mouth before I take it away." She's eating real food three times a day now, along with still nursing three times per day. She's very petite, which she'll be quite glad of years down the road. I love feeding babies this age because they'll eat everything you put in front of them! At least my 3 have. It's not until they get about 18 months that it all goes downhill. Anyway, it's a lot of fun feeding a baby such healthful, nutritious meals. Selah loves tilapia, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, broccoli, potatoes, carrots, peas, grean beans, avocado, oatmeal, plums, bananas, apples, cheddar cubes, and lots more. It's hard to believe Kaity and Joe ate all those things once upon a time.

Good News/Bad News

The good news is, Jeff worked this past Monday, is working today, and works this Monday. The bad news is, Jeff worked this past Monday, etc. It'll be nice to have the money, but we miss him when he's not home.

Last night we had movie night, watching The Glenn Miller Story. The kids are very familiar with his music but have never seen the movie. Glenn Miller goes way back with us -- in fact, we'd been dating about 2 months when I gave Jeff tickets to the see the Glenn Miller Orchestra at the Imperial Theatre in Augusta for his 19th birthday. It was a great date that we still reminisce about. We saw them again a couple of years later at the Civic Center, shortly after Kaity was born. Joe requested Hot Cocoa while we watched the movie, so I made a batch.

Today the kids have spent most of the morning playing on the Wii, with Wii Sports. Selah is currently napping. I've had two cups of coffee. Life is good. :)

Double Digit Midget

My little Kaity Grace is ten now ... and it seems like yesterday that she arrived! From that tiny little baby to a girl who can clean the bathroom and does her own laundry. What a difference ten years makes!

We spent the weekend with my parents, and they helped make Kaity's birthday really special. Unfortunately Baba had to work all weekend, but we did get to see him Friday and Saturday nights. Friday night after we arrived, we had chocolate birthday cake, which the kids also had for breakfast. :) Kaity got to open her presents from Grammie and Baba and she was so excited to get an American Girl Just Like Me doll. Grammie also got a soccer outfit for "Ally Kate". Kaity named her doll by combining Grammie and Baba's middle names -- Allen and Lynnette. Saturday morning we girls went to get manicures and pedicures -- Selah just watched from her stroller. I could have taken a nap during my pedicure! It was very nice. We also went shopping at Bath and Body Works so I could get Kaity her present from Mommy and Daddy. She picked out a sweet vanilla-strawberry scent. The guys went to the Boshears SkyFest in Augusta for the day and really enjoyed themselves. 

Saturday night Mom, Kaity, Selah and I went to a Chris Tomlin concert. He sang all our favorites. It was wonderful!

Ally Kate has pierced ears and glasses just like Kaity!

 

Selah slept through the entire concert. Don't tell Chris.

Handsome ...

"Then the man said, 'This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman because she was taken out of man.' Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." Genesis 1:23-24

"I have now been married (twelve) years. I know what it is to live entirely for and with what I love best on earth. I hold myself supremely blest -- blest beyond what language can express; because I am my husband's life as fully as he is mine. No woman was ever nearer to her mate than I am: ever more absolutely bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. I know no weariness of my (Jeff's) society: he knows none of mine, any more than we each do of the pulsation of the heart that beats in our separate bosoms; consequently, we are ever together. To be together is for us to be at once as free as in solitude, as gay as in company, but a more animated and an audible thinking. All my confidence is bestowed on him, all his confidence is devoted to me; we are precisely suited in character -- perfect concord is the result." -- Charlotte Bronte, in Jane Eyre

Epic Battle

Selah Vs. Darth Vader ...

"And now, your highness, we will discuss the location of your hidden rebel base."

"The Force is strong with this one."

"Obi-Wan has taught you well."

"You've learned much, young one."

First Soccer Game

The big kids were beside themselves with excitement yesterday over their first soccer games of the season. Naturally my camera was not cooperating, so I was trying to snap pictures as quickly as possible before I lost all the power the batteries had.

Kaity especially wanted a picture with Joe that she could put in her soccer picture frame.

Kaity's team is United.

Of course Joe wanted an action shot.

Joe's team is the Wolves.

 

Selah was excited, too.

Kaity's game ...

Kaity blocking the ball.

The Wolves ... ages 4-6 -- 'nough said.

It was COLD! And Selah's no dummy -- when it comes to keeping warm, it's all Daddy. She barely looked at me all night.

Dinner by Kaity and Joe

Just when I despair of the children ever eating well, they surprise me. I told them they could fix whatever they wanted for dinner and I was really impressed with their choices. Kaity fixed Bagel Bites and along with hers she chose cottage cheese and kiwi. Along with his, Joe had grapes and yogurt and tried the kiwi. They both drank orange juice. Ah, sweet progress. I had Simple Veggie Orzo.

Selah Update

I don't know if I mentioned it before, but Selah is pulling up on the furniture. It's really, really adorable.

But it makes Kaity a little nervous ...

Kaity piled the blankets and laundry and pillows all around after Selah used the chair to stand up.

Speaking of Death Stars ...

The kids spent some more time painting yesterday and here's what Kaity came up with ...

Judging by Luke's appearance, this is after his hand was cut off.

And then she did a self portrait ...

Boys are different ...

Joe describes this as 17 tornadoes hitting houses. He actually painted the houses first, then added the tornadoes.

Don't Make Me Get My Death Star

If I have to say, "Joe, go put your lightsaber upstairs." one more time during a school day ...

Vincent Van Joe

Joe has been quite prolific in the art department lately. Inspired by his sister's "Captin Zip"* comic book series, he's written and illustrated one of his own called "John Destroyer". Yesterday during Bible time, he grabbed a sheet of paper and began drawing a picture of the Bible lesson, on Adam and Eve. Please excuse the graphic nature of this illustration ... we ended on the "and they were naked and not ashamed" part.

Adam, Eve, and a bear. Judging by Eve's hair, it's apparently very windy in Eden.

We also read the first two chapters in Genesis, which inspired this picture ...

And then we read a chapter of Mr. Popper's Penguins by Florence Atwater, which inspired this drawing ...

I think I'll save them and sell them someday for millions.

*Yes, I know that "Captain" is misspelled, but when corrected, Kaity says, "That's the way I spell it." I'll be contacting Webster to let them know it needs to be changed.

Another Beautiful Monday!

Our little family is really trying to soak up and savor each Monday we have with Daddy! I, at least, feel like the days are numbered. We don't want to take anything for granted. 

This morning we had school and chores, just an ordinary day. Joe is studying Egypt and the early civilizations and Kaity's focus is the Eastern Hemisphere -- China and Japan, lately. Joe just finished reading Homer Price by Robert McCloskey, one of our favorites. Kaity is in the middle of Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Lewis. She's enjoying it a lot.

At lunchtime, Jeff went with a friend of ours out to lunch while I took the kids to play with some of the other homeschoolers from our church. Five other families were there and the kids really enjoyed riding bikes, running around, swinging and talking with their friends. None of us wanted to leave, but we had a lot to do at home!

Jeff ended up taking us out to Chick-Fil-A for a little lunch. We haven't been in quite a while so that was really nice. Selah had her first taste of the famous chicken sandwich. Unsurprisingly, she loved it. The owner/manager of the store is a super sweet lady named Margaret. She always remembers us when we come in and today was no exception. The kids had gone off to play on the playground and Margaret came over, sat down and chatted with us for a while. As we went to leave, the kids spotted her behind the counter and ran over to say hello. She asked if they wanted ice cream, looking up at us to get our okay. The kids hesitated and looked at us, too, because we had already told them no since we didn't have any extra money. We agreed, though, and it turned out Margaret gave it to them for free. She marshalled them back behind the counter and let them fix the ice cream cones themselves, complete with whipped cream and a cherry! The kids were thrilled.

Back at home, we finished up more chores and schoolwork. Jeff played outside with them, and then the neighbor kids came out to play. Anyway, since the kids are occupied and Selah is sleeping, I really need to get busy again on the house. Loving Mondays!

Extraordinary Day

This morning, I packed up a picnic lunch for all of us and we headed up to the mountains of north Georgia! We went straight up to the Hillside Orchard Country Store, where we'd never been before. It was a really neat place, pretty typical of other places you'd find in the mountains, and the whole family enjoyed it. Kaity had a little birthday money that she used to buy candy for herself and Joe, a coloring book, and a soccerball shaped picture frame -- so she could frame a picture of the two of them in their new soccer uniforms. Jeff and I got apples and pumpkins. I can't wait to make stuff with 'em!

We left the store and went to find a spot for a picnic. Jeff's internal GPS led us to a great picnic spot in the Chatahoochee National Forest. The wooden picnic table was positioned right by Lake Rabun, complete with ducks and water shallow enough to see the fish swimming. After everyone had eaten, the kids went wading for a bit and then collected pinecones.

On the way home, we stopped at a little pottery store that had some absolutely gorgeous pieces! There was a young man sitting at a pottery wheel throwing a pot. Joe was completely fascinated by the process, even asking the man questions about what he was doing! We finally had to pull him away to leave. I loved seeing him so absorbed in something! We didn't buy anything today, though I'm definitely adding Hickory Flat Pottery to my wish list.

The day's excitement continued when we got home ... After Jeff mowed the grass, he and Joe went on a bike ride and Joe took a pretty big fall. He started to lose control of his bike and tried to steer onto the grass. Unfortunately, instead of a shallow ditch, it turned out to be a big hole for a drainage pipe! Jeff was about 100 feet behind him and he described it as Joe losing control, then -- shoop! -- disappearing!  Poor Jeff's heart stopped as he raced ahead to check on the boy. Turns out he got off pretty easily. A bump and a few scrapes on the forehead along with a sore right wrist were all the injury he sustained. After Nurse Mommy washed him up and iced his forehead he was back to normal.

Kaity made her own dinner ... angel hair pasta with Parmesan cheese.

Selah started really, truly, all the time ... crawling on her knees. She's been just doing the combat crawl or scootching forward on her knees, but tonight she was all over the place crawling!

Also, I made some awesome Mini Sweet Potato Muffins. They're from Taste of Home. They almost make up for the fact that I didn't have good batteries for the camera today ... which is why you don't have any pictures to see. *sigh*

Ordinary Day

Just a regular Friday here ... We went grocery shopping this morning, and my friend Kim came along. She's learning to cook and she sent me a text message last week asking for a new recipe to try. Knowing her tastes, I suggested corn chowder, and she loved the idea. So, she came home with us after shopping and we made it together. The kids had a snack and went outside to play with the neighbors, who are apparently out of school for the day. Selah had a delicious lunch of avocado, peaches, whole wheat bread and tiny cheese cubes. That apparently gave her the energy for her excitement of the afternoon ...

Climbing on a box! She and Mommy played a fun game where Baby would climb on the box of Kaity's school books, get stuck and start to cry. Mommy would rescue Baby, and Baby would immediately climb back onto the box.

The TV Cabinet

When Jeff's brother Joe was here, they moved the big TV cabinet back to our house. I deferred to Jeff when he said it was too bulky for our living room, but he finally realized that the clutter and mess around the smaller TV cabinet was driving me slowly insane.

Okay, so we didn't stop Selah from getting into the cabinet because she was having too much fun.

"Oh, hi! Am I not supposed to be in here?"

I love having all the cords and wires and videos and games and controllers and all the mess associated with electronic equipment hidden behind closed doors! Days go by that we don't even open the doors to the cabinet. It's so much nicer to have a solid piece of furniture with plenty of storage for our stuff, instead of the stuff being in piles around the TV and cabinet.

Ahh ... much better.

Anyway, after I got it all cleaned up and the shelves put back into place, I knew who to call for help.

Kaity is my organizer. She's the quintessential first born, the one who likes to be in charge. Who likes things HER OWN WAY. She's a born leader, but she is also (generally) very obedient when I give her something to do. If I need books put on a shelf, or something organized, she's my go-to girl. So, one of her chores yesterday was to put all the kids' videos neatly in the cabinet. Joe checked to make sure the videos were in the cases then gave them to Kaity to shelve.

Here's a great example -- while I was typing the above paragraph, Kaity watched a short video for school. When the video was over, with no prompting from me, she said, "I think we'll make this shelf the Wii shelf. Is that okay, Mommy?" And she proceeded to organize the Wii remotes and games on the shelf, even checking the batteries in the remotes and putting them in the charger.

I could get used to this!

A Passel of Pittards

Yesterday Jeff and the kids and I went to his parents' house to spend the day. His two brothers were there with their kids, which made it the first time the Pittard grandchildren were all together in one place! We got pictures of them with Nannie ...

L to R: Jacob, Joe, Joel, Jackson, Selah, Kaity, and Sarah

Jeff with his brothers, Jason and Joe.

Our newest addition, Joe and Jennifer's Jackson Scott.

"Look what I found, Mommy!" Selah really liked looking in on her new little cousin.

Papa with the newest grandbabies.

Selah with Uncle Jason and Aunt Jennifer

 The kids spent most of the afternoon hunting grasshoppers. I don't know how many they collected, but it was a lot! I wish I had a better camera, and that I was a better photographer, because the lighting was gorgeous!

Jacob and Joe on the hunt

Joel

Kaity, showing me her latest catch.

Jennifer and Jackson

The Pittard granddaughters -- Selah, Sarah and Kaity.

Selah with Uncle Joe