Crazy Socks and Shoes

Our homeschool coop has themed days every once in awhile and this past Tuesday was Crazy Sock and Shoe day. The kids decided we would all wear mismatched shoes and socks and wear the socks inside out! I opted for mismatched flip flops since I am pretty sure it would have driven me crazy to wear one tennis shoe and one flip flop. Even Ella participated with her mismatched socks!

With Scott being gone, school tends to go all day long. We do a little in the morning and try to focus on the important stuff (writing, math, etc) but this evening we focused on the fun- playing in shaving cream. Catherine wrote her first "A" all by herself without looking at the letter and Lydia cracked us up when she wasn't sure what to do with her "gloves" (aka shaving cream covered hands).

Hope you like the cute pics!
The mom.

Ella is 2 Months Old

Ella is 2 months old today. She had her well baby visit and was 11 lbs 12 oz, 70th%ile and 24in, 93rd %ile. She has been getting bigger every day. She loves to smile and thinks ceiling fans are hilarious! So far she has kept her blue eyes and all her hair. In fact she has taken to pulling her own hair and will often hold onto it as a means of comfort.

She still proves to be a good baby. She sleeps well, travels well, and deals with the "loving touches" of her siblings well. She can now hold her head up very well and has found her talking voice- cooing and saying sweet things when you talk to her.

Enjoy the picture of her from last weekend sporting that new smile!

End of Summer

The leaves are changing, the weather is cooler, and the change of season is in full swing. As we traveled up to Chattanooga last weekend to see Scott, we were able to observe the changing leaves as we drove north on I-75. It's always pleasant to have cooler temperatures in the evenings and see the beautiful colors around us!

Our summer was packed full of fun activities, vacations, a new baby and much more!! The kids and I had a final summer playdate last Friday with the children Crickett nannies. Benjamin and Caroline are close friends of our kids and see them almost everytime we are in Chattanooga. We went to the water steps near the Tennessee Aquarium with them and let the kids play in the water. Afterwards, Crickett treated us all to ice cream and you can see the cute pic of all the kids walking down the street hand-in-hand (they even lined themselves up by height on their accord).

The weekend was filled with both a Treehouse birthday party for Benjamin who turned 4 and a TuTu birthday party for Caroline who turned 2. At Benjamin's party, they celebrated at the Chattanooga Nature Center in the "Treehouse". The kids had fun swinging at a pinata, coloring leaf pictures and learning about the owl. After the birthday fun, we headed out through the nature center walk to see the exhibits. The kids got to see how their armspan compared to the wingspan of different birds. We also saw a bald eagle, bobcats, and wolves (we got to hear them howl as well). The kids also got to try their hand at sitting in a HUGE nest!

Well, it's official- Sept. 22nd marks the first day of fall which means summer is officially over! Enjoy the pics and stay tuned for more posts this week.

The mom.

Camping and the Frantic Frog

Scott did a triathlon in Scottsboro, AL on September 11th. The kids and I drove out to camp with him and some of the Tinney's and to cheer him on. When we arrived the kids helped Scott set up the tent. Catherine was really cute as she helped! The race was Saturday morning and the weather was a bit hotter than I remember last year being.

Harbin wsa excited to catch a grasshopper on his finger and Lydia cracked us all up as she went to get her own food. Harbin had asked if he could have a snack and we told him to go up and ask the lady nicely if she's hand him something. He said he wanted us to go with him and Lydia said "I'll go"--and that's precisely what she did. She walked over and stood at the table (you can hardly see her in the pic because she is so short) and waited and waited for the lady to ask her what she wanted. Finally, Judy walked over and helped her to get "noticed" and she was able to get a snack! Catherine was adorable as she "took pictures of daddy". She had her play princess camera and was serious about capturing a good shot!

Scott did great as usual and placed 3rd in his age division and 40th overall. He improved his time from last year and I think all in all was happy with his performance.

The kids and I left shortly after the race so we could make it home in time for my nephew's 3rd birthday party.

The mom.

First Day of School

Can you believe my baby boy is in Kindergarten? It seems like only yesterday he was this long skinny baby who had eyes as big as can be taking in the world around him. Well, now he's still long and skinny and is usually wide-eyed reading any book he can get his hands on.

Since we're homeschooling, we are calling our official "first day of school" the day we started our homeschool co-op. The co-op is at a local church and is a wonderful way for Harbin to meet other homeschool kids and learn in a group setting. The structure is a bit different for the older kids (they have 3 periods, 2 classes and 1 PE). Harbin stays in the same class the whole time, but does have a PE time and unit-style lessons. The girls didn't go this week because they are in Chattanooga, but they will have a class of their own as well. The co-op requires that at least one parent serve in some form each period, so I do nursery for 2 periods and am teaching ELEMENTary Chemistry to 2nd and 3rd graders. It's a really cool curriuculum by Pandia Press that utilizes easy hands on experiments to demonstrate complicated chemical principles. I am also using this at home with Harbin and he loves it so far!

At home we are using a curriculum that uses the Bible as it's center. Each unit is devised around a Biblical story or principle and all subjects work around that. For example, in the first unit we are studying buildings and cities. In the Bible we have looked at The Tower of Babel, the parable of building your house on the rock, and the concept of the city on the hill. In science we've been studying soil, rocks, and electricity (letting your light shine!). In geography we have studied the location of Jerusalem and the location of friends and family in relation to us. The focus in Social Studies is on how a city functions- Harbin has had to write a fictional story of how Suwanee came to be, we've looked at important jobs within the city, and we've studied how each person in the city depends on others to keep it running smoothly. Spelling is going well and Harbin doesn't seem to hate handwriting too much. I have found that he enjoys writing letters to people (especially his best friend, Sam, who recently just moved to Missouri). We wil start Math in the next week or so when the book gets here, and I am sure he will enjoy the workbook style and the ability to do it without "waiting for me."

We are working on "decorating" the basement walls with school related posters and projects. I hope to get pics of that soon and will post them when I can!

The mom.

Labor Day

I have FINALLY UPDATED OUR FAMILY PICTURE! We are now all in it and Ella can feel like she is included in the Tinney Family!

We had a great Labor Day weekend and spend lots of time with both mine and Scott's families! We left for the lakehouse on Friday and met up with Scott's parents and brothers, Skylar and Alex. Saturday, JonJon, Grandma, Christina, Matthew, Aunt Kristen, Wesley and Mo joined us for some fun boating, swimming and fishing! The kids had a blast jumping off the dock, although Lydia wasn't so sure about her lifejacket- she likes to be in control and this jacket is designed to flip her immediately up on her back so her head is out of the water. She wasn't so sure about that, but did seem to enjoy riding on the boat. She said it was "like a merry-go-round" and proceeded by singing "Ring Around the Rosie". Catherine and Harbin had no problem swimming around in their life jackets and Harbin even ventured out and rode the "Triple Dog" behind the boat. He often seemed unsure when they would flip off and into the lake, but usually got back on with a smile! Catherine never got comfortable enough to ride the tube or the Triple Dog, but she enjoyed hours on the boat watching the bigger kids (and mommy) ride!

Saturday evening we watched the first Tennessee football game of the season (GO VOLS!) on our new couch- a much anticipated leather sectional that we ordered just after Ella was born!

Sunday morning we went to church and lunch and then headed to see Bo and Sarah's potential new house. They are under contract and just awaiting home inspections and closing.

We all went to Crickett and Adam's house Sunday evening for a Hot Dog Campfire Cookout. The kids enjoyed getting to roast hot dogs on the campfire and we all enjoyed the Smores they made for us. The weather was just gorgeous and we all had a great time spending time with family and enjoying the "almost" fall weather.

Check back this week for more posts and pictures.

Ella's 1st Tea Party

With Catherine, my sister-in-law Crickett started a tradition (I guess you can say that after three girls) of throwing them their very first tea party as a way to let friends and family meet the new baby. For Ella, both my sister-in-laws, Crickett and Sarah threw a lovely "First Tea Party". Last weekend we had a wonderful time at Crickett's new house celebrating with our Chattanooga family and friends.

The little girls all wore tutu's made by Crickett and looked adorable. Ella just put hers on for a few pictures, which as you can see was not the easiest "photo shoot" ever.

Sarah made a very creative teapot watermelon sculpture that fit the theme perfectly. Ella had a banner (made by Crickett) with her name on it and the tables were adorned with teapots and teacups everywhere. The food was delicious, the fellowship was fun, and most importantly Ella never cried! So, thanks Crickett and Sarah for a wonderful Tea Party--- I can't wait to throw them for your little girls one day!

The mom.

Falcons Scrimmage

So a few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to see the Atlanta Falcons do their pre-season scrimmage at the high school football field next to our house. We walked to the game, along with the MANY others who parked in our driveway. The kids got a lot of cool free stuff and got to play a few of the games and bouncies, but all-in-all could care less about the actual scrimmage!

We decided to leave just after the 3rd quarter and waited out in the yard for other people to come back to their cars. They did a fireworks extravaganza after the game and we could see it perfectly from the backyard. We pulled out the leftover sparklers and had fun with some of our high school friends in the driveway!

Check back soon for new posts!
The mom.