El Primero Dia de Escuela

So summer is over.  Part of me is sad, part of me is relieved.  It's the summer of roadrunners (we've seen like a million, I think the drought is making them look afar for food) and of Joaquin's discovery of swimming.  Of course it's also been insanely hot and I've been schlepping two children everywhere while very tired, but still!  Yet now it's officially over as Joaquin just started school. Here he is on his first day, grinning like a crazy person.  It's very exciting because three of his buddies from church are in his class along with a friend from Little Gym.  He's already been in time out for talking, but at least he's having a good time! Such a big boy, I was a little emotional about his first day this year, must be the pregnancy hormones.  He of course thought it was business as normal and didn't understand the whole hullabaloo.  

Proyectos

With the summer almost over and a new semester of class looming, Daniel took a few days off to try and get some projects done.  Hard to do with a little helper (even a cute one), but we did make significant progress.  Joaquin actually was much better at helping this time.  He stayed with Daddy for most of the day. Of course he was cutting random pieces of scrap wood (he's getting very good at cutting), painting old masonite with leftover paint, wandering the front yard in search of seed pods and cool rocks, or cleaning up.  Yes, this Joaquin vacuuming up the dust Daniel made.  It was very loud to let him play with the vacuum for a long time, but very entertaining and in the long run clean!  Some day when the bunk bed actually finishes, I'll post pics but as Daniel's class begins on Mon, don't hold your breath.

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Las Cuerdas, Los Bichos y Las Rosas

This looks a little like Joaquin is in Hawaii, but actually it's just a rope we made with yarn.  For some reason Joaquin got interested in making ropes (he found some extra yarn and started playing with it, that must of started it) so I've been doing a lot of braiding.  Unaided for the most part, because Joaquin gets bored.  Oh well, he's jazzed about the end product.  His other current interests are bugs and picking up bits of stuff outside (seriously).  We have to check out multiple books on bugs everytime we go to the library and then we actually read them, over and over.  What Joaquin can't tell you about bug life cycles is not worth knowing, at least not for the average person.  And I bet you didn't know that the pupa stage is actually pronounced 'poo-pa', at least that's what Joaquin claims.  His other interest, random bits of nature, is very entertaining.  We were at some friends' house the other night and he spent all this time in the back yard picking up seed pods and stuffing them with fallen flowers and pieces of grass.  He notices little pieces everywhere and wants to know what they are!  I'm pretty good with botany but he challenges me.  Anybody else know what every little seed pod is from?  Well that's what he expects.  So tonight he and Daddy were cleaning up the yard and they found some rosehips.  Or as Joaquin likes to call them, 'rose apples'.  So I told Joaquin that people used to make tea out of rosehips and he got a little confused.  He kept talking about making letters and then told me he wanted to make an H.  I finally figured out he thought I meant the letter T, not the drink!  Oh kidlet.  So he and Daddy actually looked up a recipe online and made rosehip tea.  Surprisingly tasty.

Jamie

And now a post dedicated to our foster daughter, "Jamie".  We can't post her face on the internet so these photos almost show her, but not quite.  She will leave to join her grandparents (supposedly soon, but bureaucracy moves quite slowly) and unfortunately Joaquin will be quite sad.  He actually hid in his room when her grandparents came this weekend because he thought they were taking her.  He's always know she's leaving but she been here so long that he's fallen in love, as we all have.  So here he is playing with her.  First, reading to her.  He loves seeing the old books from his babyhood and reading them again.  He especially loves 'reading' them to Jamie.  This other picture is him wrapping her in his comforter.  He's actually very good about playing with her.  I have to keep shouting 'gentle' at him, but he will roll around on her floor mat with her just tickling her and making noises at her.  He brings her new toys and grabs her toys when she throws them some place.  It's helpful to me when I'm trying to make dinner or something else.  Plus it's just cute.  His other favorite thing is to wake her up, especially in the morning.  He wants to get in there to say hi, before mommy.  The last picture is to show that Chita is also enjoying the perks of having a baby in the house.  She thinks the bouncy seat is very comfortable and as Jamie has become more energetic she's in it less so there's plenty of time for Chita to enjoy it.  Won't she miss her throne when Jamie leaves us.   

Graduación

We've been blessed with the best sunday school teachers ever this year!  Technically Joaquin is still in the 3 year old class since he went into the class while 3.  And he moves to the 4 year old class this fall.  Which is kind of funny since he's already 4 and a half.  Still I'm grateful he was in this class because Ms. Valinda and Mr. Keith are awesome.  They send home pictures of what the kids do every so often (here's a picture of the pictures).  Joaquin is dressed as some biblical character (old testament obviously since he sporting the bedouin look).  I love that she has the kids dress up and act out the stories.  No wonder he always remembers what story they talked about that day!  She also had little stations for them to play at, and usually a science play area (which of course Joaquin loved!).  Amazing.  They also taught him the cutest little song, "Red is the color of my favorite rose, etc."  Soon we will have to leave them (out of the frying pan into the fire, the 4 year old teachers are pretty awesome as well), so they had a graduation ceremony.  Seriously.  It was so cute.  They even got little certificates saying they had learned their verses, stories and songs.  Plus a framed picture of each kid in a graduation cap and gown.  Joaquin looks really old in his actually, made me a little scared.  Oh we will miss you.  Okay, a few random Joaquin funny moments lately.  First, Joaquin is starting to write things by asking me how to spell stuff.  He gave me a card for my birthday that said, 'I love you Mom' written all by himself (spelled by daddy).  My favorite was actually an evening he was writing with chalk on the bricks outside.  He was very proud of himself because he knew how to spell Jesus all by himself (from a song).  So he wrote Jesus and then he comes up to me and asks, "How do you spell never sleeps?"  When I asked why he said he wanted to write Jesus never sleeps.  Of all the characteristics of God to pick on.....  Secondly, he's very into life cycles.  Currently his drawings frequently focus on the life cycle of a ladybug or a drawing of marigolds, showing the seed pods and then the seeds in the ground and the growing flowers.  I did not teach him this, honestly.  Thirdly, he's also into drawing his 'minical' or 'myffical' creatures.  That's Joaquin speak for mythical creatures.  They usually have multiple heads and eyes on the tummy.  Go figure. Fourthly, my current favorite quote.  He hands me a leaf and says, "here's a solar panel for you mommy."

Camiones y Manzanas

We sold the old truck!  To Shiloh of all people.  It seems like a win-win, we get rid of the truck and he gets a vehicle with air-conditioning.  Yeah for all concerned.  Plus Daniel always gets worried about selling an old vehicle and doesn't want it to break down quickly on the recipient.  If it breaks down on Shiloh we'll know about it and we can help if necessary.  Appeases Daniel's conscience.  Anyway he and the girls came over for dinner and then Daniel and he replaced some belts, etc. on the truck.  Since Kara had to leave for rehearsal I 'babysat' which was easy since the big kids were actually beautifully behaved.  Allie and Joaquin had a great time playing with all the fallen apples in our front yard (yes we have a random apple tree, not one with good apples, but it is prolific!  I spend all summer picking up the suckers).  Allie was bowling them and tossing them.  Plus they were dressed to potentially 'help' the daddies in old t-shirts of Daniel's so they looked pretty adorable.  To make up for this, I managed to mortally offend Bella by accidentally squirting her directly in the face while bathing Jamie.  She appears to have forgiven me now, but it took a while. 

Un Día en La Fuente

So I haven't been blogging as much as I should have about our adventures with Allie and Tia Lina this summer.  Partly because I keep letting Kara take the pictures and then I don't get them from her!  But here's a nice moment where we took the kidlets to the California Pizza  Kitchen and then splashed in the Uptown Fountain.  (We also attempted to shop beforehand which meant by the time we had food the pregnant lady was crabby and HUNGRY!  Sometimes I'm harder to deal with than the kiddos)  While waiting for the Carrolls, Joaquin and I discovered a farmer's market in the Uptown parking lot on Saturday morning.  We saw African baskets (Ghanaian made and I totally recognized them), rainbow chard and a whole stand of New Mexico bee products.  We had some straws of clover honey, bought some New Mexico honey and bought a cute little bear candle made out of beeswax.  Joaquin was delighted to show off his knowledge of bees and tell the stall manager how beeswax was honeycombs melted down.  Joaquin and Allie had a great time in the fountain, here's Joaquin standing on one of the jets waiting for water.  I like this next picture since Allie joins him.  Only a good friend will stand there looking like and idiot with you. :)