Clayton is Eight Months Old

 

 Wow, I can't believe he is already 8 months old.  Clayton is doing great.  We won't have another doctor's appointment until next month, but from how fast he is out growing his clothes, I can only assume he is getting bigger and healthier everyday.  We have a pretty good routine going.  He is up around 7 (Clara usually joins us around 8) we then get dressed, make beds and have breakfast.  Around 10 we head to the gym where I get an hour workout and a shower (oh, how I love taking a shower without worrying about who is making a mess).  The gym has a lovely children's room that is usually staffed with the same two ladies everyday.  Both of them seem to really take good care of my kiddos.  After gym we come home and have lunch.  Clay usually falls asleep around 1 until about 2.  Clara and I start our at home preschool work during his nap time.  When he wakes the kids play together and we continue working in school activities as attention spans allow.  Then usually around 5 Clay goes down for another 30min to hour nap.  When he wakes we start dinner, then the kids have their bath, followed by jammies.  I've been getting Clay to bed around 9 and Clara starts story time as soon as I have Clay down, and she too is asleep by 10.

Clay has been sleeping the night through on about 85% of the nights.  The other 15% I contribute to teething pains that wake him, but even then he usually doesn't wake up until about 5am and I'm able to nurse him down for another few hours.  As for teeth he has been holding at the two bottom ones for a while now, but from the chewing and drooling I have to assume the number 3 will be making an appearance soon.

Activity wise, he is very mobile.  He crawls fast and hard, pulls up and cruises on anything, even my own legs when I'm trying to walk.  He likes to explore my cabinets and draws, put anything he finds into his mouth (his latest chew toys have been the rubber ends off the doorstops...that's one none of the babyproofing manuals mention, but Clay loves them.), and bite chins.  I'm not sure if the chin biting is his way of kissing, but with those 2 little razor teeth of his, it hurts.

As for his diet, he is still breastfeeding on demand, but he also loves table foods.  His favorite is pizza crust, but any roll or bread stick will do.  He'll eat baby foods, especially fruits, but prefers table foods that he can finger and feed himself.  Today we celebrated Uncle Mason's 22nd birthday and Grandma Dayna let him have a little cake (not a mom-approved table food mind you, but when I saw him I had to grab the camera, becuase...Surprise - he loved it).

Start of Preschool week 2

Our first week of preschool went great.  Clara loves it and kept asking all weekend if we could 'do school'.  This week our theme is "All About Me".  And we will also focus on the letter B, number 2, Color White, Shape Square, and sight word 'We'.

 Clara loved our first craft this week.  We made a 'B'utterfly out of a toilet paper tube.  And she was pretty proud of her activity sheets for the day.

Clayton hasn't been missing out on the fun either.  He has been busy making messes wherever he goes.  His uncle Mason has been calling him the WarChild because there is no peace when he is around.  Clay has been a little grumpier than usual.  I think he may be cutting his third tooth.  But despite the grumpier attitude I was still able to get some giggles at dinner last night.

Clara's First Day of Home Preschool

For those of you who don't know I have been wanting to try homeschooling with Clara for a long time.  Our local public school system is known for its poor quality, and private schools in our area are quite expensive.  Plus I just want to be involved when the light bulbs of knowledge go off in her little head.  So to that end we have offically started our year of home preschool.  I figure we'll start now and that way if it blows up in my face there is still time to look into other options before kindergarten.

The Plan:  Each week we will focus on one letter, one color, one shape, one number, one sight word, and one theme.  For our first week I have chosen: A, Black, Circle, 1, 'the', and seasons.

 Luckily for me there is a ton of lesson plan ideas available on the internet.  We are doing worksheets, art projects, story time, songs, and games.  Basically I am trying to keep it fun, but a little more focused than our regular play.  Above and below our two of Clara's 'A' art projects.

 And here she is coloring a sorting worksheet that let her glue big, bigger, and biggest objects.  She loves gluing!

 We took a little break mid-lesson today for some tower building.

Perhaps you've noticed that her cheeks are chapped red.  As it would turn out, my great plan of a glorious first day of school was brought down a peg when Clara came down with a cold yesterday.  She is a runny-nosed mess, but at least since we are having school at home she didn't have to miss her first day.  Also, you may have noticed that she is doing her lessons in a pink leotard.  That is because today we signed her up for a year of ballet/tumbling lessons at the local dance studio.  Class doesn't start until September 6th, but I have a feeling she will be wanting to wear her hand-me-down leotard (thanks Marian) every day until then. 

The dance class is one of my two regular social activities I have planned for her since that is the one key area that home school will fall short on when compared to normal preschool.  The other social activity is an hour and a half each morning at my gym.  They have a great kids room and staff that Clara just loves... unfortunately we missed today because of the sniffles.