Gabriella is 3 months!

Here she is. She is healthy, big, beautiful, and a fun baby overall. We all just love her to pieces!

Our Stay at Home Crew

Here is our home everyday during the school week crew: Gideon, Gabriella, and Emma.

It's Not So Bad

Well, we have finished a week and a half. We have all of our materials and things are going pretty good. Emma has her days where she is so excited and some days where she doesn't want to work so much, but we are making our way thorugh. We are doing the Wyoming Vitual School with the K12 curriculum which I have to say is FABULOUS. I love it. It is challenging Emma in all the ways I was wanting her to be challenged. She is doing History, Math, Science, Music, Language Arts, and Art. She is actually writing! It is a lot of work for me, but we seem to be doing okay. Dan is even gone this week and I'm able to get everything done I need to. We'll see how everything goes as time goes on. I'm not making any decisions about next year for a few months.

Homeschooling Day 1

Okay, I am sitting here after a day of homeschooling, wondering "What was I thinking?" We are waiting for materials to arrive, but the principal of the Virtual School assured me we would find plenty to do. We found a lot to do, but all of it required adult help. So today I sat and helped Emma through everything while trying to entertain Gideon and take care of Gabby. Needless to say I'm a bit overwhelmed (and exhausted). I felt like Emma was wanting me to entertain her all day long. I think (hopefully) it will be better after her materials arrive (3-10 days) and we don't have to print everything off of the computer. The curriculum seems very well put together and once we have the hang of it, I think we will really like it. It just takes time to get used to new things. Emma is still really excited about homeschooling and she likes everything being tailored to her.

Emma's Schooling

After careful consideration, thought and prayer, we decided we would apply to the Virtual Academy for Emma a couple of weeks ago. We found out that the district approved her yesterday. The Virtual Academy is a home-schooling online program that the district pays for. They provide all of the curriculum and a teacher that will evaluate and work with Emma over the internet/phone. Emma took placement tests and they will work with her on her level. We have been frustrated with the school here, as Emma doesn't seem to be challenged enough. We decided we would try this program for a semester and see how it goes. It is a new program for the district as well and they aren't sure they want to approve it in the future. We are considered a pilot program, and so after the semester, we will have to meet with some people from the school district and evaluate the program. It is exciting to try something new, but I have to admit I'm a little nervous about how everything will work. Benjamin and Eliza are staying in public school. We will see how the program works before we make any decisions for next year.

Gabby is 2 months

Sorry, I'm not posting a picture. I just got back from the doctor. Gabriella is 11 lbs 10 oz. She is 24 inches. she is around the 75th percentile. I honestly thought she would rank higher because she seems so big to me. Gideon and Eliza were pretty small, so maybe it is more of a comparison thing. Anyway, she is healthy, beautiful and growing well. She also survived her shots.

Fun in the Sun

We went to California after Christmas to enjoy some warm weather. We went to Santa Monica Peir and the original "muscle beach" where Emma showed her muscles by climbing a rope. We enjoyed playing on the playgrounds there as well. We also went to Apollo Park in the Antelope Valley.