Iain is Five!

The long-awaited, now-I-can-chew-gum birthday is here. Yesterday was the big day, and Iain opened his cards, his present from Grammy and Papa (a Playmobil castle or fort which he and Cory have played with non-stop since--who needs school?) and his present from Cory (a piggy bank. "Just what I always wanted!" shrieked the birthday boy in delight).

Watching a video from Grammy and Papa:

Not sure which boy likes the present better:

(Last day as a four--exciting for him, a bit sad for me!)

(First day as a five! Taken on the way to bed--I almost forgot.)

Today, we had a birthday breakfast for him with the Stephens, the Burtons, and the Whatleys at "the House of Waffles" before our science co-op. The eleven (!!) children eight and under behaved remarkably well up until the very end (well, except for the ketchup in the hair incident) and Iain declared Waffle House bacon the best bacon he's had in his whole life. (See why we keep the parties coming for this guy? He's so enthusiastic and easy to please!)

The gang:

The boys (minus Isaiah):

The girls (minus Laina and Hannah):

Sticky, noisy, tasty fun:

So cute:

Later this month, we're going camping with the cousins--the thing Iain requested above all. That will (finally) wrap up the birthday festivities.

The big moment: gum! He was so darn excited about this. He wanted me to do it with him. That's how he says it: do gum. :)

In case you want to look back, here are the former Iain birthday posts:

Iain is born!

Iain turns one.

Iain turns two.

Iain turns three.

Iain turns four.

Iain, you are a joy. You are hilarious, smart, empathetic, and generous. You gave Cory three of your birthday dollars yesterday just to be sweet. You have a long fuse, and you laugh a lot. You love to play and sing and be silly. You love books, and you really love math. You are a wonderful big brother to Cory and Laina.

You have a sense of justice and a love for Jesus. You are a true follower of Jesus and you really want to obey Him. We are so happy that you belong to Jesus.

You are a wonderful, sweet, fun boy and we love you so much.

Sometimes...

...a morning of school starts out with me thinking about how fun it is that we can spend half an hour talking about Brazil and independence and flags and George Washington, and ends with me letting the boys watch a movie just so I can have a second of quiet after fighting to get through just one simple reading lesson with Iain.

Wow, that was a long sentence.

Rewind: Laina's Birthday Party

Okay, this post might be just a little (ahem, almost two months) late. What can I say? We've been busy.

But not too busy to party down for Laina's first birthday! Lindy and Liz, and Aunt Donis, along with most of my family came to get the party ready. Lindy found some adorable pink lemonade party ideas on Pinterest (where else?) and the party was beautiful and so fun. We were so glad to be able to celebrate our dear girl's first birthday with her!

(hanging the Happy Birthday Laina banner)

(we had lemonade in cute glass bottles, pink cupcakes in jars, cookies with sprinkles, pink and yellow pinwheels, and lemons everywhere)

(LOVE this picture!)

The boys found Princess Laina this crown. They love playing princess and knights with her. She did not love her cupcake. In fact, she gagged on it.

She was much happier in her headband and chewing on a lemon. :)

Opening presents...

The turtle thing was hilarious: Mom got Laina this stuffed turtle and when she opened it, she started growling and attacking it. Over and over. We were laughing so hard--she'd stop and look at it, and then attack it again.

Party guests (minus a few):

(Laina and Uncle Chris)

(with Sarah and Hannah Joy)

(with Aunt Lindy)

(with Aunt Jen)

(Cassie, Haylee, Jess, Micah)

(cousin Addie)

(devoted brothers)

(Penny and Liz)

Happy birthday, dear girl! We love you so!

First Two Weeks of School

Well the Brannon homeschooling has begun! We are ending our second week today. On the first day of school, we took school pictures. Fun! Iain is starting Kindergarten, and Cory is in Preschool. Laina is in Cute, and doing it well. :)

School pics:

Here's our fall curriculum:

Bible:

One Year Bible Storybook

Language Arts:

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons

Handwriting Without Tears

Victory Drills

Iain: Specific Skills Series

Math:

Iain: Singapore Math A and B

Cory: manipulative play, counting, games, etc. Although he really wants to do Singapore.

Social Studies:

US Famous Americans

Science:

Some friends and I are putting together unit studies and taking turns leading and hosting them. This week was my week and we did states of matter, including root beer floats (root beer=liquid, ice cream = solid, carbonation=gas). It was fun!

Other:

--The boys both go to Timothy School on Tuesdays for enrichment classes. Iain is in art, and Cory in music.

It's been tricky finding a good rhythm, especially with a one-year-old who does NOT like being left out and a three-year-old who has been rather cranky lately. Iain's loving it though. He likes "pacific skills" best because "I like the A and B part." Cory likes "when we got those root beer things." Cory's pretty much saying every day that he doesn't like school, but when Iain and I start in, somehow he finds his way over and starts participating. :)

We like Handwriting Without Tears (HWT) especially. It's a fun program that has hands-on activities, music, and silly pictures and words.

Teach Your Child to Read is what I used with Iain last year. We are on lesson 76 now and he's doing great. This past Tuesday he just really got it and started taking off. Not the first big reading jump he's had (I love those lightbulb moments), but certainly one of the best. Cory is on lesson 8 (I think?) and knows the sounds for the long e, m, s, t, and short a.

(opening prayer with Dad our first day)

The first week of school I was so sick. Our first day, I was sicker than I had been in a long time. I thought about putting off the first day, but the boys were so excited. I had no voice for the first week, which made things really hard. But somehow we got through it and now we have a story to tell. Remember how on our very first week of home schooling you couldn't talk? :)

We started Five in a Row, but it's not working for me. Iain likes it, but it's just not my style. I tried it once before with Before Five in a Row and didn't like it. I thought this one would fit us better. But I don't care for reading the same book five days in a row. So I think we might have to drop that.

They're loving Timothy. I basically drop Cory off in music, sit in the hall with Iain and Laina until it's time to pick Cory up and drop Iain off, and then Cory, Laina and I eat lunch until it's time to pick up Iain. Lots of logistics, but it works. Iain came home last week telling me about an artist named Phil whose work they copied. And he won a sticker. Cory told me about singing the "music alphabet that's not like the ordinary alphabet because there's no H in it."

I had a good teacher moment last night when Iain correctly explained to Jeremy the three states of matter and how you tell which one a given thing is, and this hours after science class. Score!

We still haven't found the best way to structure the day, or even where we like to work in the house. And honestly I have spent more time this week disciplining a particular boy than I have teaching anything (I guess that counts as teaching character, right? Right??). But we'll get it.

Two weeks down. Twenty-some-odd years to go. Yikes.

This and That

When we found a new home for our dog Posey (did I mention we gave her away?), we promised the boys a fish instead. I love that that was an acceptable trade. The boys named him Frank. (Look at Cory the ham in these pictures!)

Right after we got Frank, we were driving somewhere when Iain said thoughtfully, "I wonder what Frank is thinking right now..."

(Some of these quotes are recycled from Facebook. Just didn't want to lose them.)

Cory: You are the boss of us, and Jesus is the boss of you.

Me: That's right.

Cory: That's because Jesus is a grown-up.

Me: Actually, it's because He's God.

Cory: And God is a grown-up. Just a really big one.

Iain: I've figured out some'kin. If I just do whatever Mama and Daddy ask right away, it takes less time and I can get back to my playing.

Me: (finally!!)

Cory: I know how to be wise in a pleasant way. Bring band-aids with you.

The boys both got new bikes! (Thanks Aunt Sam!)

(Iain with old bike and new)

(Cory cracks me up!)

(Laina watches her brothers ride.)

Iain, at the park, to me: I'm going to go make a new friend.

(to a seven-year-old boy): What are you doing?

Boy: (keeps digging in the sand, no answer)

Iain: My name is Iain Mark B. What's yours?

Boy: Andrew.

Iain: Oh! I have a cousin named Andrew as well.

Kelly, to me: Did he just say, "as well"?

(and then Iain and Andrew played for the rest of the time at the park. My boy made me proud with his friend-making skills. He's so great.)

Cory, looking at Laina: Mama, why is she brown?

Me: Because God made her that way.

Cory: I think being brown makes her cuter.

Me: Me too.

Cory: Having a baby is hard because then you have to be really not whiney if she does something wrong.

Speaking of the little lady, here she is:

Oh my word, is she ever cute. And funny. And smart. She's soo close to walking. I give her a month and she'll be off. She mimics sounds and words. She says night-night and hi. (She says "haaaaa" and waves to Jeremy every time she sees him--so cute!!) She mimics me saying shhh, and p-p-p, and other sounds. She regularly says uh-oh when she drops something. She gives hugs now, too, which is the sweetest thing ever. Love that girl.

If you go to church with us, you saw this one. We had a graduation thing for the pre-k kids who are moving up into Kids' Church. Of course, Iain is one of them, and is so very excited. So at church, the kids are all up on stage singing their VBS songs, and doing motions. Well, Iain was not doing the motions. More on that in a minute.

After the songs, all the kids are told to sit down on stage. Stephen B, one of the elders, gets the mic and says something like, "Now we're going to do a graduation for the kids who are moving up into Kindergarten." And my dear Iain stands up and says loudly, "That's me!"

Everyone: (laughing)

Stephen: Yes, you are moving up, aren't you? And--

Iain: This is my last week to be in preschool. After this I get to be in Kindergarten.

Everyone: (laughing)

Stephen: Okay, would you like to tell everyone what will happen next week?

Iain: (taking the mic and speaking loudly and slowly into it): I am going to be in kindergarten because I am almost five.

Everyone: (more laughing)

Me: (afraid of what he might say next!)

Stephen: (goes on with the program)

Iain: (still standing, calls out) I think it's going to be more funner!

After the service, several people commented on what a--ahem--confident young man we're raising. And when I asked him later why he didn't do the motions, he replied: "I was too embarrassed." Riiight.

check it out

FYI: I added a few pictures if the Lucy Museum to the Ethiopia post. Also, I will blog again someday. Honest.