Family Update

Rueben –
He has finished half of his eleventh grade work. We started the school year a bit late so he will be working on school fulltime this summer. I will be doing some with the twins as well, since they start asking for school when I try to take a break. We took the month of May off, and Rueben got to work with Dad – a great father-son time, and a nice break for me.

Abby –
She is mommy’s little helper, very willing to help with baby sister. She is reading very well for her age. She surprises me with how much she knows and can read. She is constantly asking questions and trying to learn more. The other day I asked the kids what they wanted to do, and she replied, “Something fun, like school!”
Grandpa hung a swing for the kids and she spends hours on it. She has learned how to swing herself. She will also help push the boys, when she takes a break.
She thinks she doesn’t need to nap anymore. Instead she spends quiet time reading, but later in the day she falls asleep doing whatever. I have several funny photos of her sleeping due to this.

Robert –
He has not needed to nap as much as Abby – partly because he sleeps later in the morning. He also is very good at entertaining himself. He will lie on the floor playing with his cars, trucks, or his blocks for hours, if no one disturbs him. I have found that he works better on school work while the house is quiet. It makes me wonder if I should teach Abby and him separately.

Robert is wearing Dad's work boots and is trying to put on his belt.

Josiah –
He is working on potty training. It is going easier than the twins. I started getting him used to the idea of sitting on the potty before he could walk, and have slowly increased the number of times I take him to the bathroom. He doesn’t resist going like the twins did.
He is recognizing colors and shapes. He will often point out colors that match and tell me the shape of something we build. He is also making sounds for letters, but we have not started working on them yet. Abby started at 2 1/2 , so I plan on waiting a little longer to really start letters with him. Elisabeth –

She is all smiles when she sees people. She has started teething – chewing on everything and drooling. The kids fight for her attention. They all adore her and love to make her laugh. The first laugh is an important event to the Navajo. We often are asked, “Did she laugh, yet? Who made her laugh?” She has started rolling over, so now we need to be careful about her sleeping on our bed. I continue to “wear” her when she is fussy and needs to go to sleep. She is heavy so I don’t carry her quite as much as I did. She like sitting in the walker and watching what all is going on around her.