Family pictures

 This fall we decided to update our family pictures. Here are some of my favorites:

Lucy at 4

 Our Lucy turned 4 in November and she had a great day! Since it was a Saturday we really got to stretch out her celebration. With the pandemic still going on and going strong we decided to forgo a family party. Evan still put streamers up and Caroline and Liam also really got into the party atmosphere and ran around trying to put a birthday hat on everyone, including Archie. 

The Sanckens came over to play outside in the afternoon and Grandpa and Grandma Fink came over the next day to celebrate. Lucy definitely felt the love. 

Lucy, at age 4, is still our very social girl. She loves to be around people and talk to them. Being unable to go to church and play with her friends in the nursery has been hard on her during the pandemic. Thankfully, she still goes to daycare/prek and enjoys it very much. 

Lucy is 3 feet 4 1/2 inches tall and 31 pounds. She is still our tallest kid, already within a 1/2 inch of her big brother at age 5! She wears 4T shirts and pants. 

Lucy loves to make others laugh. She is constantly trying to get her big brother and sister to laugh at her during meal times and at times has to be removed from the table for not settling down. She really enjoys running around with the bigger kids in the neighborhood who come over to hang out. Many times they encourage her to be a monster and chase them around the trampoline, she is very good at roaring and has no problem being loud. 

Lucy loves to watch TV. Her favorite movies are Frozen, Frozen 2, Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the Beast. She loves to watch Teen Titans Go and Gravity Falls as well. 

She enjoys singing and really doesn't mind if she doesn't know the words. With Christmas around the corner she is very good at singing, "Santa Claus is coming to Town". 

Lucy still enjoys wearing dresses. She really loves to steal her sisters fancy dresses and wear those around the house. She is a girly girl. 

For the last three months or so she has not needed a pull-up at night. She now wears undies to bed and will even wake up and tell us in the middle of the night that she needs to use the potty. She is doing great with that! Sometimes she will wake up just to snuggle in our bed. Sometimes we let her stay and other times we try to get up and take her back to her bed. Most of the time she doesn't fall back asleep when she is with us and squirms quite a bit. When we put her to bed at night we encourage her to stay in her own bed through the night and Caroline tells her that if she is lonely she can sleep with her. (while I do think Caroline means it, I don't think at 3 am she would be at all happy sharing her bed)

Lucy enjoys playing by herself and with others. She loves her toys; Shopkins, Barbies, Princess figurines, Stuffed animals, playing with the kitchen and food and MagnaTiles. She also enjoys playing with Liam's Hot Wheels cars and his legos. 

Lucy no longer naps at home. It is difficult for her to fall asleep at night with many trips downstairs to check on her parents and talking and singing loudly. She has many books that she hides under her pillow that she likes to read aloud to herself and usually has anywhere from 10-15 dolls and stuffed animals in bed with her. On occasion we have had to move Caroline into the playroom so she can get to sleep since Lucy doesn't quite understand the concept of being quiet. At the daycare she does take a nap. So far that has worked fine and we have not noticed it keeping her up anymore than usual. We usually leave the house at 7 am which means she has to wake up around 6:40. I'm sure those days are a bit more exhausting with all of her friends running around, her wearing a mask all day and so nap time at school is ok for now. 

Lucy still enjoys peanut butter and honey sandwiches, macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets. She does not eat a lot during meal times which we are trying to fix. She often says she is done eating and then an hour later wants a snack. 

She recently has told us that "we are breaking her heart" when she gets sent to timeout or in trouble. It's very cute. 

We can't imagine our family without our Lucy and thank God for her every day!

The "start" of in person school

 I am so thankful that the kids school has decided to let them come back to school. While we are still just doing a hybrid schedule;  it is something. And I will take something over nothing any day. 

Currently the kids schedule is going to school two days a week and doing remote learning at home three days a week. The classes are split so only half the kids are there on each day to allow for distance in the classroom. Lunch is assigned seating and spaced further apart than usual as well. 

The only downfall so far is that Caroline's teacher decided to retire early with the decision the district made to go back. She unfortunately had some health issues and didn't feel comfortable with the COVID guidelines. Mrs. Wagner was a fantastic teacher and really tried to make Caroline's remote learning days as close to a real day of school as possible. Most teachers were not meeting with their kids multiple times a day to read books and do lessons with their class like she did. We will really miss her smile and laugh. 

Caroline has a new first grade teacher, Miss Harms. She seems very good as well and we actually know her from church so we feel very blessed and excited about the rest of the year. 

Liam will have the same teacher that he has had since August, Mrs. Edwards. I am interested in how this year will go for him as so far with all of the remote learning we haven't seen quite the same effort from him as we usually do during a regular school year. We are constantly working with him on understanding the importance of double checking your work and answering all of the questions asked before turning the assignment in. We are hoping that he starts listening soon. 

The main question is, "How long will the kids stay in school?" and "If they are successful in two days a week, will we ever move back to the original plan of a four day school week?"

I am hoping and praying every day.

Hooray

 When Caroline was born we learned that she had Congenital Hip Dysplasia.  While it was a  surprise to us, we did learn that it is a fairly easy thing to treat. As an infant she wore a fun looking parachute-type strap to keep her legs up and pushed into the hip sockets 24/7. Then, as things improved,  it was just when she was asleep for naps and bedtime. And at around 18 months we were told she no longer needed to wear any appliance and the orthopedic surgeon who was treating her out of Peoria thought that while her X-rays were still not completely in the clear she most likely would be fine. We went again when she was 3 and again we still were not out of the woods but she most likely would not need any further treatment; but to please bring her back when she turns 6. 

So while Caroline was a little nervous getting her X-ray she did indeed pass this time. The doctor said that each hip angulation was under 25 degrees which is exactly where she needed to be. He then showed us a comparison of her hips when she was 6 months old to present day. The difference between the two was shocking. She really has come a long way! 

When we left the office and got to the car Caroline told me she had a funny joke to tell me: "Hip, Hip, Hooray Mom!"

***The doctor said that she should be fine for the rest of her life and should have no other issues with this however if she wants to have children of her own they will be at a higher risk for developing the same issue. 

The beginning of the school year

 As it is the theme of 2020, the beginning of the school year was an overwhelming time for everyone. Parents were asked whether or not they would even send their children to school if administrators allowed them into the building. Administrators decided they would allow the children into the building. Teachers were upset over this decision as many felt their safety was being compromised. Some parents felt all children needed to be in school. Other parents felt there was no way they would be sending their children to school. In the end, our district decided that all children would be starting the school year remotely. 

Our whole family was crushed. The kids wanted to be back in school. I felt that the kids needed to be back in school as the remote learning in the spring did not offer any new learning opportunities. The kids were no longer excited about learning or school. Evan, while I believe was also disappointed, was our saving grace. He allowed us to be sad and then immediately began the process of making remote learning work for our family. He assured me that he would be able to help the kids while I went to work. So after some husband and wife brainstorming, some Pinterest finds and a list of things to get for each child he created these work spaces for Liam and Caroline. 

And even though the first day of school was different than it has ever been; we were still able to smile and tackle our day. Even though the kids met their teachers through the car window in the school parking lot with masks on; they were still excited about starting a new school year. 

Caroline working very hard on her assignment of writing her numbers on the white board

Lucy working hard on her preschool book while her siblings are having their first day of school. 

The next week Lucy was off to preschool. She was more than excited to be back with her teachers and friends. The last time she was in the building was in March so while she was a little nervous in the morning, by the end of the day she was thrilled. 

Doesn't everyone eat their ice cream like this?

 

My sisters wedding

 I have realized that I never posted about my sister, Emily, getting married in June. While it wasn't the occasion she was hoping for with 200+ guests to help her and Jeff celebrate their special day it was still beautiful. 

It was a special day and I'm so happy that Jeff is now a part of our family!

We can officially call him Uncle Jeff!!!

Kid date night

 There's nothing quite like one of your children asking you to go get ice cream. She even brought her wallet. Just the two of us. And it was perfect.

Even her mask matched the occasion. 

Summer

 Our summer may not have looked exactly like years before but we still were able to cross off many things off our checklist before school beginning. 

Going to the Miller Park Zoo to see the animals. The kids did great wearing their masks and we even got to see the animal handlers feeding the crocodiles which was fascinating!

We also drove over to Peoria's Zoo. 

Uncle Jeff and Aunt Bonnie were gracious enough to let us come swimming a few times this summer.

Many days we just got the sprinkler and our small pool out and the kids had a blast running around.

Our VBS was virtual this year but the kids were still excited every night to watch our pastor present the lesson for the night and sing their VBS songs.

Pentwater, Michigan is a family tradition that not even a pandemic can wipe away. 

Time away with family was much needed and we all always love spending time at the beach. 

One of those stories

One fine day, in June, all three kids were playing on the playset after dinner. Evan and I were talking and all was right in the world. 

Then we heard a scream. We looked over to see Liam at the top of the slide with Lucy and Caroline attempting to climb up the slide. Caroline then came over to show us that her mouth was bleeding and informed us her brother had kicked her in the mouth. 

I took her inside to assess the damage. For many weeks her left front tooth had been very loose and I had been begging her to let me help her get it out. Her right front tooth had been just slightly loose. Now they were both blowing in the wind. With Caroline's ok we pulled them both out. After the bleeding and crying stopped she decided it wasn't so bad to be without her two front teeth. Eating corn on the cob is a bit trickier than normal but my girl isn't a quitter. 

Sisters

"Sisters, Sisters, never were there such devoted sisters...."

I absolutely love how well Caroline and Lucy play together. Sure they have their moments of disagreement but it is very rare. They love to play with one another and its fun to listen to them and how creative they are in their playtime. 

I'm sure one day when they are teenagers they will have many more disagreements but for right now we are going to live in the moment. And we are loving these moments. 

Caroline at six years old

This is our long and lengthy post about who Caroline is at the age of six. It is more so we can look back and see who our girl is at this age.

Caroline at 6 years old is 3 feet 8 inches tall (58th percentile) and 38 pounds (10th percentile). She wears her 5/6 and 6T clothes. She mainly wears  t-shirts and shorts but occasionally will wear a dress.

Caroline did a great job in kindergarten this past school year. She can count over 100, understands the concept of addition and subtraction, knows her shapes and is a good beginner reader. She needs help remembering her reading techniques but we are working with her this summer to help her get more confidant.

Caroline finished her first Sparks book in AWANA and enjoyed her Wednesday nights there. She would have loved to take swimming lessons again but with COVID we have decided to wait on that for now. She is really not interested in baseball and changed her mind about taking dance but she told me she may be interested in gymnastics.

Caroline is still a stubborn and feisty girl when she wants to be. Most of the time she is very quiet and sweet but if she has made up her mind that she will or will not do something there is little to persuade her differently. The most recent example was at Aunt Emily's wedding where she refused to have her picture taken by the wedding photographer for the family photo. She had her back facing the photographer and would not turn around and smile even with the threat of losing wedding cake.

Caroline still loves to draw and write some of the words that she knows. She is very creative.

She loves to play with bows, play zoo, Mommy and honey with Lucy and swinging on our new playset. Again she is very creative with her play and she and Lucy can entertain themselves for hours together. Once in awhile Liam checks in with them and when they all can get along its a lot of fun to watch.

Caroline goes to bed around 8:30 or 9, depending on how loud Lucy is, and wakes up between 7:30-8:30. Honestly it's been such a long time since we have had to be anywhere in the morning with the kids it's hard to say, but I'm sure she is still my slow riser in the morning.

Caroline is still very adventurous with her food. She likes many foods with her favorites still being pasta, squash, black bean burgers and watermelon

Caroline is very good with animals. The dogs that live behind us love to come to the fence when the girls are out swinging and absolutely love when Caroline goes to pet them. She is also good with Archie however he is still a crazy puppy as well.

We absolutely love our Caroline and any time we get to spend with her is such a joy. We can't wait to see how her personality will continue to blossom!