7 Quick Takes Our Family Edition

1.

My handsome hubby is starting his last year as a grad student in physics!  whoo-hoo!  I'm so proud of him and all he has accomplished so far.  This past year he taught an interdisciplinary Bio chemistry and physics lab.  (No, I'm not worried whatsoever about my children getting a good homeschool education in math and science!)   When not doing research in the lab, Gabe enjoys spending time with his wife and children, reading, theological debates, good beer, listening to Catholic answers & reading Catholic blogs, listening to Gregorian Chant and gardening, his new found hobby.  His efforts have produced some wonderful fresh veggies which include tomatoes, sugar snap peas, green beans, and herbs.  Still yet to produce are pumpkins, cantaloupe, cucumbers, and watermelon.  Gabe is also our master chief and grills delicious meats and pizzas.  He also organizes monthly meetings for a Catholic men's group in our area and was the leader for  the Blue Knights Catholic boys club this past school year.              

2.

I have enjoyed my first year as a homeschooling Mom.  It has been so fun and rewarding watching my children learn and seeing their excitement when they discover they can read a word or write a letter.  In my free time I enjoy blogging, reading, (mostly Catholic Digest or Soul Gardening Journal as well as other blogs),  baking, spending time with my hubby and kids, and listening to Classical music.  I am still trying to master the art of baking bread from our freshly ground wheat flour and working on getting our family into a healthy eating lifestyle of minimal starches and little to no refined sugar.  However, I will leave a little room for the days when chocolate is the only thing that can make a day better.  :)  I find cleaning to be very therapeutic and enjoying listening to Catholic Answers and the Doctor is In while doing the dishes or folding the laundry.  I also organize monthly meetings for a small group of Catholic women in my area where we learn and discuss more about our faith.                    

3.

Elias will be 6 in three months!  He did a fabulous job with kindergarten this year.  He is starting to read short word stories and did very well in math, his favorite subject.  Some of the concepts he learned were to count by 2's, 5's and 10's, the value of coins, and simple addition.  His least favorite subject was handwriting, but what boy does enjoy it?  ;)  This school year Elias completed Year 1 of the Catholic boys Blue Knights Club.  His favorite part was the bows and arrows craft.  He is also learning to play the violin.  Elias enjoys reading, riding his bike, playing wii, helping Daddy in the garden, drawing and coloring, and hunting for cheetahs.  His favorite food is tacos.  Elias's new favorite sport is archery and he is looking forward to participating in a 6 week summer session.  He is a big help around the house unloading the dishwasher, and collecting, folding, and putting away laundry.   

4.

Aidan is our outgoing adventurer.  He finished preschool this year and will be a kindergartner in the fall.  At 4 1/2 years old Aidan can write all his letters and numbers up to 70.  He is eager to learn math and reading and often times listened in on Elias's lessons.  Aidan also completed Year 1 of Blue Knights and his favorite part were the outside games.  Aidan enjoys wrestling with his brothers and playing board games and cars.  His new found favorite sport is also archery.  He is also looking forward to participating in a 6 week summer program.  He wants to learn to play the piano.  Aidan also enjoys riding his bike, doing cartwheels and running super fast.  He is not shy of showing affection and saying "I love you" to his mommy and daddy.  His favorite food is lasagna.  He can't wait to have his own cell phone and computer when he gets "big".            

5.

My little Kieran boy is 3 1/2.  He has such a big smile and loves giving and receiving hugs and kisses.  Kieran enjoys doing whatever his big brothers do.  Although he wasn't officially in school this year he did enjoy working through some Kumon tracing, mazes, and cutting and pasting and coloring workbooks.  He can color very neatly in between the lines.  Kieran enjoys puzzles, riding his bike, and helping Mommy in the kitchen.  He is a good big brother to baby Connor and his favorite food is pizza.  Kieran wants to be George Washington or Buzz Lightyear when he grows up.      

6.

Our little Juliette is quite the character and we love her to pieces.  At 20 1/2 months old, Juliette is starting to potty train!  I actually wanted to wait until the middle of June when our activities slow down but she has a mind of her own and honestly I can't argue with her on this.  :)  We went out and bought her some big girl panties yesterday.  Juliette is talking so much too and joins in while we are praying the rosary and saying the responses at mass.  She enjoys singing while she plays and especially enjoys "mothering" her dolls and talking on her phone as well as dancing.  Juliette is still a big Daddy's girl and is so excited to see him when he gets home from work.  She is very affectionate and loves to cuddle and has a big love for books and reading.  She is the least picky of my eaters at the moment.  

7.

Connor is three days shy of 7 months.  He has his first tooth and is sitting up.  He also has started crawling but I wouldn't say he's cruising yet.  He's still trying to figure out how that all works.  Most of the time he is smiling, easy going, and a happy baby.  However, with this first tooth coming in, Connor hasn't been himself.  He has kept us up screaming the past few nights.  Poor little guy.  Connor loves having his siblings close by and when left alone in the playroom he gets quite upset.  At 18lbs he is quite the little chunk.  Connor stopped nursing last week and is taking a bottle.  He doesn't seem that eager to eat food yet.  He likes to spit and make funny sounds with his mouth and also says "da da da da da."

I hope you enjoyed our family update!  Go see Jen at conversiondiary.com for more Quick Takes.