Back Online!

Well, it is Mar. 23 and I am connected to the internet at home and ready to begin blogging again. This will mostly be updates on the kids. It will be good for me to keep a record of the fun things that happen around here.
A quick overview would be good, I think, since it has been so long. JJ is 6 (7 in May) and in first grade. He loves school, is reading great now, and is still an energetic boy. He even chooses to go to bed early some nights to wake up early and go into the computer lab to play math games. He had a Knowledge-A-Thon last week. It is a fundraiser for school where the kids get asked 100 questions of things they should have learned this year in school. They collect pledges for the number of questions they answer correctly. JJ got all his questions correct for the second year in a row! We are so proud of him. He starts swimming lessons again tomorrow.
Elise is 5 1/2 and is in preschool. She is pretty much ahead of the game at school with an older brother at home teaching her everything he learns. Elise continues to be an even-keeled kid, who likes to use lots of big words, correctly most of the time. The other day she was eating cucumbers and I remembered how last year we had zucchini in the garden and she kept making me promise that she wouldn't have to eat the "zucumbers." She loves cucumbers, hates zucchini. Elise lost her first tooth last Thursday after her violin recital. She got a dollar from Jonathan and I under her pillow, and Aunt Judy gave her a dollar also. She used it toward buying the book Purplicious at the school book fair today. Puppies continue to be her favorite thing. She has many stuffed animal puppies that she plays with every day at home. She has leashes and such, and also uses all her baby doll stuff with them. Let's see if I can remember all of them - Skippy, Julie, Sargie, Stella, Bumpy, Hearts, Jack. Elise starts swimming on Friday.
Seth is now 11 months. He did so many new things in the last month when he was 10 months. He learned to crawl. His style looks like a kind of inchworm movement, or reminiscent of the butterfly swim stroke. He also butt-scoots, much faster than his crawl. He learned to say "uh-oh" all on his own. One Saturday he just started saying it and says it all the time. He also started whistling about the same time. He would have his lips in an O from saying uh-oh, and then would blow in and out and get a real whistle out of it. JJ and Elise were amazed! They both have been trying to learn to whistle. Unfortunately, he whistles no longer. Must have been a phase. Seth is 18 pounds now, as far as I can figure with my scale. That means he gained 1 1/2 pounds in 2 months. That is pretty on-target for him. He is a little guy, but seems just right. We just put him into his crib last week. He had been sleeping in a large cradle, and after the first night in the crib, he rolled over from back to front and has been doing it ever since. I guess he just needed more room to maneuver.
Seth can eat all sorts of things now. He doesn't gag on chunks of food anymore, so it is really easy to feed him. He can pretty much eat whatever the family is eating. He loves tomato-y things, like pizza, chili and spaghetti. I can't wait until next month when he can have peanut butter. It just seems so much easier to me when they can have a pb and j for lunch. He also just started eating graham crackers, and holding them himself. He does pretty good at not biting off too much. Just gotta keep the sippy cup handy! Seth continues to avoid bananas like the plague. This took me by surprise since the other two liked bananas. I have tried chunks, puree, mooshed and jarred babyfood. No go! One bite gets a shudder and a gag, and two gets me a big mess to clean up! No kidding. Two bites! So his fruit of choice right now is chunks of peach.
I guess I can update on the adults in this house, too! Jonathan continues to like his job at the tribe, working with his brothers and sister-in-law. He travels some for his WTCTC, and various trainings/meetings. It is a lot less travel than his job in Ashland, but lately it seems like a lot to Megan! Next week he will be gone all week to Phoenix. This weekend he took JJ and Elise ice fishing for the last time this year. Now that ice fishing is over, the turkeys and beavers better watch out! Jonathan put beaver traps out yesterday and hopes to bag a few over the next few days. There is good money to be had with those guys. Turkey season starts soon, and Jonathan's friend Karl is going to hunt with him. Sounds like they're pretty excited. Turkey season means donut season for Megan and the kids! Turkeys have to be hunted in the early morning or at dusk, so when Jonathan goes out early on a Saturday, Megan and the kids walk to the donut shop downtown for a morning treat. The rule is if you walk there and back, you can enjoy the donut with no guilt!
I am still staying home with Seth for the remainder of this school year/summer. I will probably start subbing part time again in the fall. Seth and I keep busy with storytime at the library now, and a playgroup that some of our friends just started. I've been involved with PTA, fundraising and teacher appreciation. I like being in the school when I can and helping out. I used to go into JJ's class for an hour on Tuesdays and help kids catch up on math, when Seth was very little and would just sleep in his car seat. Now that he's older, he won't do that, so I help Miss Stuber out by doing things at home that she needs help with. I still love my monthly book club, and monthly stamping workshop.
I will try to blog when interesting things happen. Maybe not every day, but hopefully several times a week.