Our weather has been so hot lately. It's great for drying laundry outside (which, I just remembered, I need to hang sheets and put another load in!) but other than that I've been staying indoors! It was getting a little discouraging how much we've been running the air conditioner. But I guess not running the dryer more than twice in the last 2 weeks helps offset that. I certainly have not done as much cooking and baking as I'd normally like to do...and don't enjoy having the oven on for the things I have baked. It looks like we're finally going to get a break with some cooler weather though! I love being able to open up doors and windows in the morning and get fresh, cooler air in the house.
Anastasia is growing and maturing so fast! This morning she figured out how to clap, and then all the other kids started clapping at her to try to get her to do it again. She just stared at them, like, what's all the fuss about? She says "dada" for Daddy (sometimes) and "nahm" for food (often while she has food in her mouth). She's eating solids and loves potatoes, likes rice cereal, is excited about anything with sweetness but unsure about the acidity of fruit. She goes for the dog's food all the time, so the poor dog has his dish put out of reach half the time. She doesn't seem to mind the taste of dog food either! She loves her daddy, and when he gets home she is not satisfied until he holds her. Even if I've been holding her. She is crawling all over the place and pulling herself to a standing position. The last time I weighed myself with and without her on the scale, she was 25 pounds. I don't think any of my other kids were this big at a year!
Noelle is loving being a big sister. She is starting to talk more "grown-up"ish and loves playing with her brothers and being a big helper to me. A typical girl, she changes her clothes often, not because her former outfit was necessarily dirty, but just because she felt like wearing something else. She likes to help me make food, and she likes going outside to swing when I "hang laundwy on the laundwy line". She likes playing with her baby dolls and is very mothering, and probably her favorite thing to play is "Mom and Dad."
David likes to play "Mom and Dad" too, and gets along really well with Noelle (most of the time). He's very creative, often building things with Duplo or drawing pictures. His pictures usually have a story behind them that is quite imaginative too. He totally gets into his own little world, which is probably why it's sometimes a challenge to get him to finish a job without me reminding him several times. But he's getting better at doing his chores. He really enjoys helping me in the kitchen, as do all the older 3 kids. He also is most likely of my kids to just come up and give me a hug and say "I love you." He's endearingly tenderhearted.
Timothy is still great at gymnastics. We were going to put him in a class again this fall, but as we cannot afford to have both him and David in classes, we are foregoing it this year. As much as I'd like to be able to put them in gymnastics, I don't regret this because I figure God provides everything we need, and He knows what's best for us, so apparently this is not something we need, and possibly wouldn't be best for our family at this time.
Anyway...back to Timothy. I'm glad he got the year of gymnastics that he did, because he's kept in practice as much as he can and is great at what he does! He is an ambitious kid, not only in that but in other things: he helps me out sometimes voluntarily, in order to be a big helper. He is smart, and also has an easy time learning things, which makes me just pray that in his education through the coming years, I can keep him challenged enough! He's excited to start second grade, and already started his Arithmetic 2 book. It's a great blessing that he has learned to read so well, because he is already beginning to self-teach himself just by reading books that interest him. He also enjoys playing, of course...I'd be lying if I made you think he's all ambition and hard work. He likes playing in the pool, playing "Mom and Dad" with David and Noelle (his part is "John," their teenage son)...he also likes watching movies, especially superhero ones, and playing games (both board and video)...and he loves to draw. He's getting quite good at drawing too.
I've been enjoying the summer this year. For the first time ever, we've had a great garden. We've gotten lots of zucchini and summer squash, some radishes, strawberries, fresh herbs, and thanks to my mom, tons of peppers and tomatoes. I made some fresh salsa a week or so ago, and it turned out great, so I'll need to can a batch of it! Homemade salsa is so superior to store-bought! I love the summer-long harvests...we went and picked some strawberries the end of June, cherries the end of July; my mom let me pick some of her raspberries, and I'm looking forward to peach and apple harvests also! I think I'll try to get some cucumbers as well from Greenbluff, and make homemade pickles.
Well, I should probably get off of here for now and take care of that laundry. But I'll leave you with some pictures. :-)
