My Tiny Dancer

This weekend was Ave’s first ballet recital! The cuteness was almost more than I could stand! The whole year has been an absolute battle with her…she loves dancing, loves ballet, but every week of going was a fight…tears and all. Matt and I felt like the worst parents literally forcing her to go every week, but I knew she loved it!

Does this look like a child who is enjoying herself? I think she put this performance on only for me every week. Because then suddenly there would be this grown up, smiling ballerina in front of me!

And yes, my kid dances to her own music.

Then like that…it was over.

I tried uploading the video of her dancing, but it keeps giving me an error. You can find it here.

Decisions on Schooling

One of the biggest things that has been on the discussion table for the past few weeks years is schooling for Avelyn. In NY schooling is not mandatory until the child is 6 years of age before December 1st. Last month we received the letters from our local school regarding Kindergarten enrollment and knew it was time to make a decision.

It was not an easy decision, as neither answer {homeschooling or public school} is without pros and cons. Matt and I literally sat down one Saturday afternoon and weighed every option and discussed the entire thing for 2 hours…I’m not kidding.

We talked about the logistics of schooling with a newborn and the triplets, from having the time to homeschooling, to getting Avelyn there and back every day for public schooling. We talked about what is best for her and her personality, what is best for me and my personality, and our personalities together. We talked about the monetary cost of homeschooling and the other costs of public schooling. It was not a decision that was reached lightly.

The biggest fact that made the decision somewhat easier to make, is that whatever we decided doesn’t have to be permanent. We’re not committing to anything for the next 12 years. We’re making a decision for this year, for one child. That’s it. Talk about taking a weight off your shoulders.

So what did we actually decide?

For this year, we’ll be homeschooling 1st grade.

This past school year we did a lot with ABCMouse.com and working on our own learning and LOTS of reading. I’ve compared what Avelyn is able to do with what is the requirements for Kindergarten in our area, and for the most part she’s spot on, and we still have 3 months of this “school year” to accomplish things.

The other part of the discussion was since we have decided to homeschool what are we teaching, what curriculum will we be using. My sister was homeschooled {I was not}, so I’m a bit more aware of the whole thing than most beginners {but not by much}. My mom always pulled together her own curriculums, but always enjoyed Sonlight for their reading and book lists. Last year I had purchased a bunch of the recommended readings for Avelyn for Preschool/Kindergarten and we’ve loved them all.

Matt and I checked out Sonlight’s catalog and were beyond impressed with the whole curriculum for 6 year olds {which Avelyn will be}. We also felt that this being our first year, with a newborn, and triplets, that having a whole curriculum and lessons planned out for us was our best bet. I just don’t know how much time I would have to figure out what we need to learn and a schedule; this will free me up to focus on what needs to be accomplished and give me a format to do it in.

Of course, I still have another 5 months to sit here and deliberate and hem-and-haw about the decision and whether we’re doing the right thing, but that’s just me. Deep down, I know, and Matt and I agree this is the best decision for us, for now. For right now, this is where we’re feeling our family to be led and knowing that God has it all in His hands, regardless of where our children are schooled.

Here’s to starting homeschooling in September!

O’ Christmas Tree

This past weekend we headed into the woods at our friend’s family tree farm to pick this year’s Christmas’ tree: It took us all of about 5 minutes, which is a record. We usually spend a good half-hour walking around trying to find the tree that is just right. Matt chopped it down, and we dragged it out. We, of course, had to get our family Christmas-Tree-Getting picture. It just struck me how incredible this picture is, particularly compared to the last few years.

My how the kids have grown in the past few years…and every year there’s been more and more snow: Which I love! Maybe one of these years everyone will look at the camera and smile nicely.

Do you do a real tree or no? Cut it down yourself?

AvieMae Does Disney

Last week a certain little girl and I took an impromptu trip to the Wonderful World of Walt Disney! A friend of my mom’s offered to split her time share with us in Orlando, we found good airfare, and away we went {my mom, my sister, my 8 month old nephew, Avie and Me}. It was a crazy trip, but awesome research for planning our family trip in 2019 {since visiting, I have decided there is no way I’m taking THREE 5 year olds to Disney—too much indecision and walking}.

We drove up to Syracuse on Monday night, since our flight flew out at 6am {yea, we’re crazy}, but we arrived in Orlando just after noon, which left us the afternoon to recuperate and get things together for Disney. Avelyn had no idea where we were going or anything else, not until we had parked the car in Disney and I showed her the video that Matt had made for her.

She was beside herself with excitement to be in Disney World: She didn’t even have words, just a smile and huge eyes. We got our tickets and headed into the Magic Kingdom…and froze ourselves. The high for the day was around 54* and we had brought clothes in preparation for the 66* they had been calling for {we did have warmer clothes from home and ended up wearing them}.

We didn’t make ourselves crazy with seeing and doing everything, because quite frankly it’s impossible unless you take advantage of the FastPass or whatever other thing they have to get through lines faster. We did what we could and enjoyed it. Of course you do have to try and pull the sword from the stone.

Ave’s two favorite rides were Winnie the Pooh {which used to be Mr Toad’s Wild Ride} and the Pirates of the Caribbean {which she loved because she got wet…the rest of us were not thrilled about that}. I think that Winnie the Pooh was my favorite too. {Our least favorite was Dumbo…it took forever in line and it was really lame. Ave just kept saying how “frusterated” she was.}

We didn’t get crazy with meeting the characters, because it was just too long a wait. I don’t even understand how the princess line worked: It was 30 minutes to see Cinderella and Rapunzel, but 150 minutes for Frozen, but it was all the same line. Ave stood there for 10 minutes and then was over it. I didn’t make a big deal about meeting the princesses, so it wasn’t a big deal. She was excited just to see whomever walking around.  She was disappointed that we missed seeing Merida; I even tried buttering up the attendant to let us in {they had just closed the line a few minutes earlier} by mentioning that Ave was the biggest sister to triplets too…no go.

We did get to eat lunch at Be Our Guest, in Beast’s castle: That was pretty neat! They had themed rooms that you could eat in: The Ballroom, The West Wing, and another room. We ate in the Ballroom which was all decorated for Christmas.

Let me tell you, Disney has this thing down to a science. Be Our Guest is considered one of the upper level restaurants. You stand in line at a kiosk, order your food from a computer, then take a buzzer and put it on your table. They bring your food out when it’s ready, no servers coming around for drinks or orders…very streamline. It’s one way to push a lot of people through fast.

We did get to see Rapunzel’s tower off in the distance, which thrilled Ave to no end, especially when she realized we were walking through her village. My sister and I managed to sneak onto The Haunted Mansion. Avelyn had a fit that she wasn’t allowed to go on, but she has nightmares enough…she would’ve been freaking out.

We did manage to hit up Ariel though for an autograph. I didn’t know how Ave was going to do with it, since any time she had even seen any of the other characters {in the morning} she couldn’t even wave to them, because she was scared stiff.

She warmed up quite well to Ariel though: They thoroughly enjoyed their discussion about Bubbles.

Then, slowly, the sun began to set…

Then Ave, my mom, and my sister went on the teacups…which thrilled Ave to no end {my mom….not so much}.

Then was one of my favorite rides…The Carousel of Progress. I think I just like the old kitchen….I was rather disappointed with the family of today…they were rather lame.

Ave did get to meet Buzz Lightyear, but we won’t be telling Henry that {it’s his FAVORITE!}

Then we hit up the Incredible’s Dance Party for a few minutes.

And we caught the castle all lit up.

We were in the right place at the right time to catch the Frozen show in front of Cinderella’s castle which was wonderful {it was Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, and Olaf “icing” the castle for Christmas}, even if I did start to have a bit of a panic attack with all the people pressed in tight. I ended up with Ave on my shoulders so that she could see and I knew where she was. Also, I may or may not have started to tear up {several times through out the day} at the thought of sharing such a time with Avelyn.

After that we started to head out, it was dark, people were tired and cold, and it was enough. We did hang around to do some gift shopping and to watch the Main Street Electrical Parade.

After that it was a warm bath and bed…

The next day we visited Downtown Disney and…

and the Lego Store.

And Ave got to meet her favorite princess: Aurora {I think it has to do with the pink}.

And then…it was time to go home.

And boy….was I glad to be home. If you want to see the whole album of our pictures you can find them here.

Avelyn Turns Five

This….

to this…

*Weighing 40lbs, 44.5“ tall
*Wearing a size 12 shoe, and 6/7 in clothes {she needs the length, but the waists are swimming!}
*Loves books…LOVES THEM! She ends up with about 15 in bed with her every night.
*Has such a heart for her brothers and sister, and every one else {this kid has more “cousins” and “brothers/sisters” than we’re related to!}
*Loves the colors pink and purple
*Has more shoes than most grown women {thanks to the endless supply of BaBa’s shopping}
*Loves pretending and being outside
*Loves making up her own songs about Jesus and his loving us
*Is growing to like Ballet more and more.

As for the rest, I’ll let her tell you herself: 

 

Avelyn, you are more than words can say to me and your daddy. Our first, the one who made us parents, the one who is our best friend. The one who can push us over the edge and draw us in close at the same time. You are an amazing, incredible little girl.

You can read all of Avelyn’s Growing Up posts HERE.

Halloween 2014

Happy Halloween from Jessie the Cowgirl, Buzz Lightyear, Strawberry Shortcake and Sheriff Woody!This was the first year since before Avelyn was born that it was actually decent weather to be outside for trick or treating: It’s always been cold, rainy and miserable! The kids had an absolute BLAST running around in the dark and knocking on doors, and they were surprisingly well behaved.

Summer Stories {Part 1}

This week, I plan on catching you all up on life inside the White House. Renovations are going strong, we’re nearing the end….there’s just a lot of detail stuff inside that’s on hold while they finish the outside. The fairs over and things are finally starting to settle down in our “new” house. I told Matthew that this weekend was the first he’s spent in our home since March.

We’ve had a pretty busy summer, beyond the renovations that have been going on. For the first 6 weeks of “Summer” the kids had swimming lessons Monday-Thursday. They all did awesomely! Unfortunately, the triplets were put back in PACA {Parent and Child Aquatics} because they weren’t 3, which made things a bit more complicated, since we had to have 3 adults every day to go in the deeper pool with them, we managed most of the time. Ave did so well in swimming that she’s moved up to Level 1, and possibly will go in Level 2 next Summer.

And 2 of my lovely helpers: Oma and Mrs. Schicky

We even convinced Daddy one time to go to the pool with us. Despite his aversion to going, he and the kids had so much fun! The were so upset at the next day’s swimming lessons because daddy wasn’t there.

It’s really a shame that none of my kids enjoy swimming in the pool.