Innocents Abroad: 2012

Friday, September 28, 2012

Grandma and Grandpa Wagler took out crew to Brickworld. It's kind of like Legoland coming to you! We all loved it...I just love miniature anything and Phil did some secret Christmas shopping. Shhhhh....

Micah is mesmerized!

A Wall-E robot made of Legos! Micah loves Wall-E.

Mommy and Bevin

So many fabulous Lego creations!

Star Wars Legos

More Star Wars Legos. Lot's of "Geeks" and little boys at this one!

3 Kids in a Tub - August 2012

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Big Brother Luke - July 2012

I am humbled by how GROWN UP he looks! When did this happen? I guess I forgot that in the trenches of our daily life at the end of the day we ALL are getting older. Time seems to be moving sooooo sloooow for me right now. I look forward to putting the kids to bed every night only to go to bed myself and wake up the next day and do it all again. I do like it but it is HARD work!

It is also hard to believe that Luke still has another whole year before he starts school. He seems so mature in some ways and not in others. We don't always get along. Luke and I are very alike. We look the same, have similar personalities, enjoy the same "creative" activities, have VERY strong wills and even like the same sports! I think this is why we get frustrated with each other. I am excited to have another year with him at home as we decide what direction his schooling will head in the future. I have always considered every education option for him, including home schooling, private, public, and charter. Because of what I mentioned earlier about him and I getting frustrated with each other, I am not as confident that home schooling will be the best option for us? I sometimes wonder if I would be a BETTER mother if he had a teacher (separate from Phil and I) that could really bring out the best in him. But on the other hand I don't know if teachers these days, especially in the public school system, even have the opportunities to give the proper amount of attention to each child according to their educational needs. Anyways, I am praying that the Lord will guide and direct our decisions in the coming year as to what to do. It's hard to be the mom and be the one to make the decisions good or bad!

No matter what we decide, this guy has a bright future ahead and I can't wait to share it with him! In the meantime some of the things that Luke likes to do are:

Building things with blocks and Legos. He likes to follow the instruction pictures in the Lego set and then he takes it all apart and puts it away only to build it again the next day.
Riding his bike with training wheels on. (although he would really like to take them off!)
He likes to watch the movie "Toy Story" (the original, 2 and 3 are too scarey) and "Whinnie the Pooh The Movie"
He likes to make "projects" and does so at his own prompting almost every day! This can include cardboard boxes, finger paint, markers, crayons, pencils, pens, glue, scissors, and his favorite scotch tape!
Luke is a storyteller! He tells me all kinds of made up stories ALL DAY LONG. It can get annoying to me (that whole 2 creative minds clashing thing) but I KNOW his story telling is a HUGE part of his learning and development right now so I try to listen or at least act like I am listening. I am excited for him to learn to write so that he can write his stories down. He certainly likes to illustrate his stories! I think he will be thrilled with himself when he can write it all down and come back and read it again. Which brings me to his next trick...
He is starting to read simple words. He randomly reads signs when we are driving around town which leads to lines and lines of questioning. I am confident that reading and writing will make him less frustrated with expressing himself.
He is in the middle of his Suzuki violin summer session. So far he has mastered holding the violin properly, a correct bow hold, all 5 "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" variations, can name all of the parts of the violin and bow as well as name all 4 strings, can pluck a few different rhythms and has started some fingering on the fingerboard. He really has come a long way and he has grown so much that we traded his 1/16 violin in for the larger 1/8! He is very proud of this!
He is growing and growing and growing. I fear that his pants will not fit him in the fall? He has a skinny waist and loooong legs. We recently measured the boys on their growth chart and Luke was at least 2 inches taller than Micah when Luke was Micah's age. Kind of crazy huh? He is already noticeably taller than his best friend 5 year old neighbor. Most people are shocked when I tell them he is only 4 and in fact still a whole year away from kindergarten. He's just a tall kid!
He also is playing in a handful of golf tournaments this summer. He tried soccer in the spring and it took almost the whole season for him to really "get" the purpose of running around after a ball and kicking it away from you. And he REALLY liked soccer at the last game when he was presented with a medal!!! The golf tournaments have awards as well and he is determined to win some. Each tournament involves 3 holes and they tee off about 90 yards from the hole. His first tournament went fairly well. He shot a 46. The winner shot a 17! I think he will get the hang of it eventually. He really loves golf and he wants to win one of those trophies!!! He has a competitive spirit for sure!
Luke loves to play "computer programs" as he calls them on the computer. I usually set him up with Nick Jr.com, Disney Jr.com or PBS.org. He has really learned a lot about using the computer by doing this as well as playing educational games. He really likes the math ones like Team Umizoomi. I highly recommend the Team Umizoomi Math games!
He is fascinated by the whole good guy bad guy thing and he likes to pretend to be both. It sometimes worries me as a mother to watch him jump at the chance to be a bad guy but again I know that he is just learning and I try to correct and direct him in the "right" direction but also I just let him play. Imaginary play is wonderfully good for his age.
Luke has a "best friend" that lives right across the street from us. He is 5 and almost exactly 1 year older than Luke and they LOVE each other. If Luke is not playing with this friend then he is talking about him! He even includes this friend into his own future plans. The other day he said that he wanted to be a carpenter when he grows up and that Kian (his friend) is going to be his helper. He is always including Kian in his everyday plans and he worries about what would happen to Kian if we ever move away? I didn't know that friendships could be so strong even at 4!!!!!!!
Usually when Luke talks about what he wants to be when he grows up he really means what he wants to dress up as for Halloween. I never thought that we would even celebrate Halloween (I don't like spooky stuff) but again this is another part of his learning process that I do not want to interfere with. Kids love to dress up. He did tell me recently in a very serious voice that he was going to be an artist when her grows up. I'm not sure where he came up with that one (did someone tell him that) but I don't doubt it. Today he drew a very detailed (for 4) picture of Donkey Kong from memory which brings me to his final trick...
Luke asks to play the Wii at least once a day! I try to ignore the request most days and act like I don't know how to set it up but HE knows how to set it up himself so I have no excuse. His favorite games are Donkey Kong, Mario Kart Wii (although it is currently broken because Micah loved it too:/) and Super Mario Bros. He is actually pretty good at all of these games and he gets pretty intense while playing. As a mom I used to cringe at the idea that he is playing video games at 4 but I have been better at cutting myself some slack these days. When Luke and Micah (just holding the controller pretending to play) are playing the Wii I can actually get some things done and it makes them happy. That's a win/win right???????????!!!!!!!!!!!!! Haha.

Phew! His list of "can do's" is getting longer and longer. Above all I am TRYING my best to be encouraging to him. Being the mom is hard work!

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Mothers Day 2012

That's me, mother of 3!

Lucas and Micah made me a bracelet.

Phil made me breakfast in bed.

Such a sweet day!


B and me!

So thankful!

Pokagon Summer 2011

Luke with the "pirate booty"

Mom and Dad treated us all to a weekend at Pokagon State Park in honor of their Wedding Anniversary. Dad planned an itinerary for the entire weekend complete with a treasure hunt, scavenger hunt, "free time", family trail exploration, beach day, whiskey tasting competition, fireworks, and meal times. He even emailed the itinerary out to all of us ahead of time for input! Drew even got to stay in what we all affectionately referred to as "The Presidential Suite." Yes. From his description he could touch all four walls from standing in the middle of the room! We did have the luxury of staying in the Lodge though! Glorified camping. Maybe we will be brave enough to try the cabins next time?

A chest of childlike delights!

As you can imagine, the treasure hunt was a HUGE highlight!

Unearthing the buried treasure.

A chest full of dominoes, legos, tiny bowling pins, a 30 year old matchbox car that still blasts a siren and flashes a light, shells and other misc. treasures that delight your inner 3 year old!