ants, a bed, and yogurt

So...here is the ant progress as of yesterday (day 5). It doesn't look much different today. It's been neat to watch them and guess where they might go next. I hope that they will eventually fill in the other side with some tunnels. To answer a question from a comment...the ants are supposed to live one to three months. The blue stuff should be more than enough for them to live on for that long. We could order some more ants after that if we want...but I don't know if it would be as much fun without watching them make new tunnels.


On Saturday, we finally bought a mattress for Nathan's top bunk. He's not allowed to sleep on it yet, but at least it could be used. At the very least, it looks nicer to have an actual mattress on top. Plus, he's enjoying climbing up and down. I just hope he doesn't break his arm. He's already fallen a couple times. I'm not exactly sure how high he was since he did it during his down time. I heard the bang, but he didn't cry. It must not have hurt too bad.


As for Caroline, she is getting pretty good at eating with a spoon...at least sticky things. Below is a video from yesterday. Also, make sure to enjoy Nathan's playing noises in the background. It's a taste of "normal" life around here.

meet Pentamagna

Here is Pentamagna. She is one of the 23 ants in the ant farm. Now, you may be thinking "how do you name an ant?" or "how do you know which one she is?" or maybe "how do you know 'she' is a 'she'?" Well, here are your answers. We know that "she" is a "she" because all worker ants are female. Male ants only live long enough to mate. We know which particular ant is Pentamagna because she only has five legs. Now, that should give you a clue about the name. When we decided to name her, I suggested to Nathan that we name her "Penta". He agreed and quickly added "magna". He actually wanted to give her a middle and last name as well, but I thought her name was already plenty big for a little ant. So, there you have it. The story of Pentamagna.

ant progress - day 2

Here is the progress that our ants have made in about 24 hours. (We know you want to enjoy the ant farm experience vicariously.)

we have ants!

all of the sudden

There are some changes that happen slowly over time and there are others that seem to appear all of the sudden. About two weeks ago, Caroline seemed to hit a couple of those "all of the sudden" changes. She suddenly seemed to understand instructions and follow them. It's always a guess at how much a baby understands until they can respond in some way. Caroline has begun to do things like "go play with Nathan" or "leave your cup in the kitchen" or "don't touch the trashcan". Previously, she would cry if we told her "no" about something, but she didn't necessarily follow positive instructions. Along with this seeming leap in understanding has come some added independence. The most evident example of this (to me) is Caroline heading for bed on her own. When she starts acting tired, I will ask her if she wants to go to bed. Often, she will stand up, gather a blanket, and head down the hall to her room. It's very cute. She does a similar thing when I tell her that it's time to brush her teeth at night.

Another change that has happened in the last couple days is a sudden halt to unending eating. For months, Caroline has eaten like she may never get another meal. Many times, she would keep eating until we just didn't give her anything else. She could have seriously kept pace with many adults! We were beginning to wonder if she was ever going to get over the growth spurt that we thought she was having when she started eating like this. Well, a couple days ago, she stopped eating like mad. Just like that. I guess she's slowing down for a while. I don't know if it is directly related or not, but Caroline is also sleeping more. For a while, she wouldn't take a morning nap most times and her afternoon nap was often short. However, she has begun taking a morning nap again, and her afternoon nap has been rather long several times. This is a nice change for me!

Word Girl Book

Presenting...the first book written and illustrated by our very own Nathan Eli Moseley! (make sure your sound is turned up)



The story behind the story: One of the shows on PBS that Nathan really likes is Word Girl. Unfortunately, it doesn't come on around here very often. Well, he decided a while back that he would like to read a Word Girl book. We asked at the library, but they didn't have one. I looked online, but it doesn't look like they make any. Well, fast forward a bit...for Christmas (I think...could have been birthday) the Murrays gave Nathan a book making kit. Nathan decided that he would write his own Word Girl book. We finally made the time to get it out this week. The video above is the resulting book.

a few pictures

time changes things

All dressed up for church - and having to look into the sun - how do we deal with this camera happy Mommy?

We have a few new happenings around here. First off, last Wednesday was the last day that Caroline nursed. We had passed the one year mark, so it was about time. I actually thought that we may stop several weeks back because I was having some problems, but I just wasn't ready. This time, however, I was. I was motivated to go ahead and stop because I am taking prednisone (a steroid) for my poison ivy/oak/whatever. I didn't really want to feed that to my child. Anyway, Caroline has seemed to adjust pretty well.

On Nathan's side, for a very long time he has slept with two blankets and William. The blankets are not specific (though there are favorites - the ones with the "right" kind of tags), but there have always been two. Several times lately, he has decided to leave either his blankets or William in the playroom. As parents, it's kinda sad to see him begin to leave this stage. However, we also don't want him to still be sleeping with them when he's 15!

As the kids grow up and we leave certain stages, we feel a sense of sadness. Our little ones will never be this little again. We remember, though, that we are grooming them to be adults. We have to keep them moving toward being the people that God created them to be. It's such a huge task - overwhelming at times. But it is a calling most great!

a few pictures

I haven't gotten many pictures of the kids together lately. This one isn't the best, but it is the best I have at the moment.


They have fun playing together.


Look at Caroline's new tutu! It's a late birthday present from Uncle Jason and Aunt Jenn.


Nathan has always thought it was fun to hang out in boxes. Those diaper boxes used to fit a little better, though!

a carpet spot and a climbing tree

Caroline has a new favorite spot to sit. I have not figured out what the draw is, but she seems to really like to sit on the carpet remnant that we use for a door mat at our side door. She will often come into the computer room with a toy or two and head to that piece and take up residence. Oh the funny things that little ones do! If only we could get into their heads on occasion.


While cleaning up some very overgrown bushes in our backyard on Saturday, we discovered that we have a tree worthy of climbing. Nathan and I have looked around the yard for something with good climbing branches, but we couldn't find anything. Well, this weekend he was very happy with our find. As soon as I pointed it out to him, he was ready to head up. He's a boy after my own heart! (I have to say, though, this mother's heart was a little nervous at my child climbing on up a tree on his own.)



An afterthought...

On Friday, Matt and I took both of the kids to the doctor. They are both healthy and growing. Nathan is now 41 inches tall and weighs 37 pounds. Caroline is 29 inches tall and weighs 22 pounds. That puts Nathan at around 50% for height and weight and Caroline at about 55% for height and 70% for weight. They both had lots of shots to get. Nathan got five and Caroline got four. In addition, they both had to have a TB test. Apparently, it's more common around here. Nathan also had his hemoglobin checked. It was not a pleasant trip to the doctor. Previously, both kids have done as well as can be expected with the shots. This time, however, Nathan pretty much flipped out and Caroline took forever to calm down because she was tired. Luckily for Nathan, he only has one more shot to get before he is 11. (It's hard to even imagine him being 11.) Maybe Caroline will be in a better frame of mind next time she has shots!