Endangered Species

We have some endangered species around our home.  Some things that used to be abundant but are now on the brink of extinction are: clean laundry, leftovers, the absence of crying, quiet, clean dishes, time, brain cells (of the mother), and wits (of the mother).

Most of the time I don't think too much about 8 kids being a lot, this is our normal after all.  Other times, 8 feels like a whole lot.  Like the time a whole gallon of milk was consumed at one meal.  Usually the kids are restricted to one glass at breakfast only.  One day I thought, "Why not? Let them have as much milk as they want."  So they were given an "all access" pass.  Uh, yeah, great idea Mom.

I didn't know exactly what to blog about, so I thought I'd give an update on each kiddo along with their "yearbook picture."  Our homeschooling group puts out a yearbook each year and includes  kids at every stage, including the "up and comers."  Here is the rundown beginning from oldest to youngest:



Here is my first-born, now 14 years old.  He loves all things military and wants to serve and go to college (no influence by his mother there, sarcasm, sarcasm).  He is a very good oldest brother who is a rock star in the eyes of the littles.  He's taller than his mom, which his mom enjoys because she doesn't have to get the stepladder nearly as often.



This guy goes by the name "Bob."  His current obsession is with hair combs.  Other than that, he likes superheroes and Legos.  He is also a great helper and is adored by the littles as well.  He may take over his mom's job someday of writing the yearly wrap-up poem that gets sent with Christmas cards. He has quite the gift of rhyming.  Also taller than his mom.

 

This is our "mom in training" as she likes to put it.  She has recently volunteered to change diapers, as long as they are not "stinky."  She is going to be an excellent babysitter as she genuinely loves playing with the middles and littles.  She is friendly and very chatty.  We're still trying to figure out which parent she takes after.  That's a joke.



Behold the oldest of the "Furious Five."  Notice that I didn't say "leader" of the FF, that kid comes next.  Little Miss Kimiko loves to draw, especially dragons.  She would much rather do that than her school work, hence little dragons scrawled around her numbers and letters.  She loves music and loves to dance.  She does this very interesting dance that looks kind of like a horse rearing up on its hind legs and kicking its front legs vigorously.  I've asked her not to do that in public.



This guy never ceases to amaze us.  He is the perfect blend of smartness and naughtiness.  Okay, I guess I would appreciate less of the naughtiness, but the smartness trumps it every time.  The other day our friends, the Ronans, came to get something.  Monkey boy here didn't see them and asked who had come over.  When I said that the Ronans had come he asked, "Was Caesar with them?"  Thinking that Caesar was one of their animals I asked, "Who is Caesar?"  The reply was "You know, Caesar and the Ronans."  And then it dawned on me.  I said, "You mean Caesar and the Romans!" Score one for homeschooling.  When he doodles, he likes to write Greek letters.  When I asked him what kind of cereal he wanted one day, he responded, "I presume Life cereal."



This guy can't take a bad picture.  Life with him still presents lots of challenges, but he amazes us at times with the things that he remembers.  At breakfast we have "calendar time" during which we go over the day of the week, letter/number of the week, weather, etc.  For the older kids, we are going through landmarks, Greek letters, Roman numerals, Presidents, etc.  The middles love to participate as well.  For some reason, Malachi remembers certain presidents and gets them right every time (we use flashcards).  He doesn't remember where he put his pajamas (which are always on his bed), but he pulls out "James Madison, James Knox Polk, and Franklin Pierce."  He has all the letters of the alphabet memorized too along with their sounds, but can't write any of them yet.  He has come a long way in learning how to be a big brother and seems to enjoy helping the littles, when they aren't threatening him.  Here is a shot of him helping Lydia:



Now for the littles.



This girl amazes us with her language acquisition.  She has increased her vocabulary by leaps and bounds.  She is so smart and I go to her if I have a question regarding what belongs to which little.  I tried to do that with Lydia the other day to no avail.  I held up two sippy cups and asked her which one was hers.  She said, "Deh" and nodded her head.  I said, "Can you take the one that is yours?"  She said, "Blexoinbeo" and pointed to her tray.  Thinking third time's the charm, I asked again holding both cups out, "Can you put your water on your tray?"  To which she smiled, said, "egoeheojtge" enthusiastically and clapped her hands together.  Sighing, I walked over to Naomi and asked, "Which one is yours?"  She pointed to hers, pointed to the other one and said, "Lydia."

I've lost track of all the things Naomi can say.  Some of her more helpful phrases are:  "Escuse?" (when she is finished with her meal and wants to be excused), "Help", and "I'm stinky,"

Not so helpful are her attempts to still boycott vegetation.  We've gotten to the point where we will serve her her fruits and veggies first, so she has to finish them before she gets the rest of her meal.  Wow, you would not believe how long that girl can take to eat a few pieces of orange (grimacing with each bite I might add).  Then when she gets the main part of her meal, she plays the part of the magician and makes it magically disappear.  I have seriously asked the kids to watch her to see how she does it. 



Last, but certainly not least, is child #8.  This little one is full of life and energy and spunk.  Before I left for China to get the girls, I bought two blankets, one with woodland animals and one with a cute monkey on it.  I decided that Lydia would have the monkey blanket.  Wow, was I spot on as she is the female version of her brother, the monkey boy.  She still has her bow legs and trips over her feet, but I think she is going to be an athlete.  She kicks balls well and has quite the throwing arm.  Her language, well, it is not nearly as advanced as Naomi's.  Still, you'd better believe she makes herself known.  If she wants to sit on your lap, she'll make one of her utterances and turn her back to you while looking over her shoulder at you with great expectation.

Here's proof of her mischievous side...



That little stinker was preventing her sister from exiting the office. 

And here she is after attempting to give herself a tattoo or two or three...



And just to finish off this blog entry...some outtakes of our yearbook photo session.

I love love love this picture of these two.  Out of all my kids, they look the most alike.



And of course these two insisted on taking pictures together.  Micah looks like he's doing an impersonation of a mafia boss.





And finally...hang loose everyone until next time!