Check-Up: Baby Appointment & Homeschool Update

Baby #3 had a great check-up yesterday.  After a VERY stressful day I was anxious to hear that little heartbeat clip-clopping along, and God, in all His goodness, proved himself to us again.

Yesterday was the first time I had enough courage to ask our doctor if she would be open to some alternate birthing techniques...delayed cord clamping, no eye drops, etc., and I was pleased to hear her not only say, "OF COURSE" but also, "write up a birth plan so we (nurses, her, etc.) can stay on the same page."  She was pleased to hear we had Lauren, my baby sister (not such a baby but now growing into a terrific OB nurse at a nearby hospital), on board to be "our voice" and keep everyone in line during and after labor & delivery.  I have no doubt she can do it!

Speaking of Lauren, let me show you a pretty amazing product that she not only introduced to the hospital she is now employed at but got them to adopt into their baby nursery.  

No, it's not a bucket.  It's called the Tummy Tub and I'm hoping to have one to take to the hospital with us so keep our little one calm and serene through his/her first wash (and then for months and months at home after!).  You can read more about this terrific product and WHY it works wonders with baby on their USA website: http://www.tummytubusa.com/

In other news, I used a day at home last Saturday to get our diapers stripped well, washed well, dried and ready to store for a few months.  Seems silly to do it so early but I decided to do it while I felt well!  Love the pretty pretty colors. 

We'll likely use 7th Generation disposables for the first month or so until these fit well and we are "settled" into life.

In other news, Xavier has finished one Kumon cutting book and started a second.  For the first one he used loop scissors but for this one his teacher mama moved him to regular scissors.  He's working hard to conquer them!  

{I turned his scissors over right after this picture.  Oops!}

Natalee is chugging right along in school.  She LOVES her math curriculum from Math-U-See!

As suspected, the manipulative set is a huge seller for her...she loves to have busy hands!

She and I are both discouraged that her phonics/reading/spelling curriculum has been backordered for a second time, which puts us way behind where mom had planned to be at this point in the year.  After trying a different program that I already had, however, I am certain that the Sing-Spell-Read-Write is exactly what she needs, so we continue to patiently wait.

I used it when I taught at the public school with great success and Mike and I agree that we are willing to invest the money and time into using it with our children.  I'm glad that when it gets here we can dive right in since I'm already familiar with the program.

We are all in love with the Bible curriculum we are doing this year.  The daycare children are participating in it with us and it's so pleasing to me to hear them all be able to sing the names of the 12 sons of Jacob and retell the story of Joseph in great detail.  We are learning easy recall facts and enjoying how the lessons break down big details into little pieces so we can really grasp them.  I'm pleased to say that the teacher is learning as much as the students!

 I love that the children and I can continue this program for years to come by just promoting them into the book that suites their age but we will all continue to learn the same thing at the same time.  It's been a very rewarding program and I highly recommend it!

Here's a couple pictures of my beauties before church this Sunday...you know, just for good measure!