Seven and Two!

Okay, after a long break, it seems time to get back to a blog post now and again. Today I want to take a minute to post some birthday pictures.  We have a seven-year-old and a two-year-old at our house now.  Hooray! 

Forrest celebrated his birthday with a small friends party at Detweiller Park.  We had treats, played, and made tie-dye shirts.  It was a hit.  At seven-years-old, Forrest loves anything Berenstain Bears.  He also continues to enjoy exploring the streets of Peoria both in the car and on Google maps.  He is working on making a gigantic paper street map.  It is so detailed!  His dream is to drive the Google car around town.  Forrest continues to excel at piano.  His musical ear and talent are constantly amazing us.  A recent change for our family has been the decision to begin homeschooling Forrest.  After many bumpy months at school, this really feels like the right decision.  What a joy it has already been to focus on his strengths and see him working and learning peacefully and happily. 

Our Jonathan celebrated his second birthday with a family party at Poppy and Gigi's.  Right now, Jonathan loves anything with wheels.  He has quite the collection of cars, trucks, and construction vehicles.  His favorite shirt has an excavator on it and is never left hanging in the closet for long.  Jonathan doesn't talk a ton but is learning more each week.  His favorite word is no, but he's so adorable and funny that we don't mind!  Jonathan loves keeping up with Forrest and Charlotte and is always ready for adventure. 

What a joy our two boys are! 

12-18 Months

Jonathan turned 18 months on my birthday last week, and with that, among other milestones, we certainly have moved from baby to toddler.  Here are a few pictures to remember the past six months. 

Oh, little Jonathan, we are having so much fun watching you grow but are so sad that you're getting so big so quickly!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Christmas has come and gone, and it's 2019.  Wow!  Time for a quick recap and few pictures!

The annual Gilbraith Christmas Eve party was moved to Sunday, the 23rd this year.  It's hard to break tradition, but it was nice to have a little more time to enjoy everything.  We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning at home.  All three children were excited and happy.  We did have a few tears from Charlotte.  Apparently through observation, she learned enough about Santa to expect him to come.  Well, Santa doesn't come to our house.  I thought I had another year to explain to her about Santa.  Well, she was quite disappointed that there was no Santa at our house.  When told he is pretend, she adamantly declared that he has reindeer!  So funny and so sweet!

After the morning of gifts, we made it to Orion for lunch, more gifts, and our inaugural Christmas recital.  What a fun day it was.  All five grandchildren are old enough to enjoy a party, which was great.  Mom made a delicious and enormous lunch.  I felt a little guilty about rolling in to such a great party and doing absolutely nothing to contribute (not too guilty)!  Our recital was small but fun.  Forrest began online piano lessons in September, and I wanted right away to give him the idea that playing for others is a way to spread joy.  I then roped the other family members into my scheme.  Forrest played Jingle Bell Rock, and I played It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.  Other instruments were shared including homemade drums, a trumpet, harmonica, and xylophone.  Thank you to everyone for joining in the recital.  (Don't put your instruments away; the spring recital is just around the corner!)

It was indeed a blessed and happy day.  After getting home, sickness cycled through our family for the next few days, unfortunately, but we were able to ring in the new year with fun times, too.  Polly and Grandma Letty visited from Florida.  We all had a great time at a hotel with lots of swimming and pizza. 

Now we're already six days into 2019, and I've been thinking more about resolutions this year than I usually do.  I'm not sure I'm ready to make any bold statements, but I do pray that 2019 continues to bless our family.  I hope that I can continue to mother my children as best I can; I hope that I can learn more about myself and what goals I have personally, now that my baby has grown into a less-needy toddler, and I hope that Joshua and I continue to work as an amazing team, facing whatever challenges come our way.  So, nothing too crazy, but I do pray that it will be a year of growth and learning for us all. 

Growth and learning is beginning in a big way tomorrow.  After a very bumpy past few months at school, Forrest will move to the elementary classroom tomorrow.  We are hopeful that this change,

which brings with it new teachers and a more challenging academic setting, along with self-regulation strategies we've been putting into place and practicing will result in more peaceful days.  Also tomorrow, Charlotte will begin school in the primary classroom that Forrest is leaving.  I seem to be having a harder time letting her go than I did with Forrest.  I'm chalking it up to having a lot on my mind when I sent Forrest (expecting a new baby and buying a house/moving).  I know Charlotte will thrive at school, but I will miss her at home.  Yes, any positive thoughts and prayers you could send our way over the next days and weeks as we settle into our new routine would be appreciated!

Okay, 2019, we're as ready as we're going to be!

Happy Birthday, Charlotte!

This week we've been celebrating our Lovie Lou.  She's three-years-old!

Rabbit ears for our Somebunny is Turning Three party.

 A giant dress from Tia Shaun, layered over a purple tutu from Poppy and Gigi.  

Yes, we are so happy to be celebrating with this little girl.  What can we say about our Charlotte Rose to capture how much we love her and how much joy she brings our family?  Over the past year, Charlotte has grown and learned so much.  She's our social butterfly who charms all with her smiles.  She can be stubborn and opinionated, but we don't usually mind.  Recently, she has declared her love of pink and green and all things glittery and sparkly.  She still snuggles her hoppies (stuffed rabbits) each night and often carries them throughout her day as well.  She enjoys riding her tricycle, painting, and sticking stickers.  She likes saying what Forrest says and doing what Forrest does.  She loves to be silly, especially with Gigi, and she is always happy to face time with family.    

We love you Charlotte.  Blessings to you during your next year!

Fall 2018

Now that our last little baby isn't such a baby anymore, I guess my blog doesn't need to be marked only by monthly milestones and major holidays.  Time to blog, well, whenever. 

Over the past two months since Jonathan's birthday, life has been humming along pretty smoothly.  Jonathan has turned into a toddler, walking everywhere.  He's also sleeping quite well these days.  Hooray!  What a difference that makes in my quality of life.  Charlotte continues to be our sweet, funny, and silly little girl.  She's looking forward with great anticipation to her third birthday next month, and with that, joining Forrest at school in the new year.  I can hardly believe it.  Right now Forrest is passionate about Berenstain Bears books.  Who knew there are over 300 of them?  We don't have quite that many, but our collection is growing. 

Things are going well for Joshua and me, too.  We're approaching our 11th anniversary this week.  Wow!  The years have flown by, yet it seems like we've been together forever, in a nice way.  We work so well together, and I think we both feel lucky. 

A few pictures from the past months:

Over the summer, we had Grandma Grogg's piano delivered from Uncle Ed's house.  Forrest has started piano lessons online.  Don't roll your eyes!  They are great!  He seems to have an ear for picking out melodies and is catching on quickly.  Since this picture was taken, we've had to replace Grandma's piano with a newer one.  Unfortunately, hers just wouldn't stay tuned.  We were sad to let go of the family piano but are enjoying a new-to-us Yamaha so much!  Right now we're practicing for a Christmas recital at Mom and Dad's.  

Happy Halloween!

We enjoyed trick-or-treating with good weather and good company last week!

What else has been happening?  Jonathan is walking everywhere!  He even has his first pair of shoes, so he's looking like quite the little boy.  I cut his hair for the first time.  There aren't any pictures because, well, he's the third :0)  We're enjoying this fall so much.  We've been able to be outside plenty.  We're a happy group!

Happy First Birthday!

We celebrated Jonathan's first birthday on Friday.  We were so happy to have family over for dinner on the driveway.  There was plenty of food and lots of smiles.  We love our little boy!

 

No thank you to the birthday cupcake.  Please pass another chicken tender!  Seriously, wouldn't do more than squish his cake.  What a goof.  

At one year old, Jonathan has taken his first steps.  He is so proud to walk short distances, usually from a piece of furniture to me or Joshua.  He has five teeth, with the sixth coming any day.  He is getting to be a better sleeper, usually just one fit during the night and up at 5:00 to eat.  We're getting there!  He's still the happiest boy you've ever met.  He loves to laugh and has a delightful sense of humor.  He and Forrest are buddies; hope that lasts!  He loves to be outside; coming in usually inspires some protests.  His favorite foods continue to be yogurt, ice cream, and toast.  Maybe some day he will eat fruit and vegetables?

Yes, it's been a year of growing and learning for all.  There's something about a baby's first year that makes some moments last an eternity, yet months pass by in a blink.  It's hard to understand how that works.  With that said, we're certainly a comfortable and happy group.  What a blessed family we are!