tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5912257312994214889.post-63112561174852508422008-03-08T16:12:00.006-06:002008-03-08T17:41:35.863-06:00Baby Matthew is growing and doing great! He does not have to return to the cardiologist - woo hoo! His physical therapy and occupational therapy appointments are great, they tell me that he's right on track. I don't think I've watched a baby's development so closely since our first one. His eyes are fine, they track grwat, he's not nearsighted and the Retinopathy Of Prematurity has completely regressed. He is a miracle baby!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/KimBrenneman/IMG_0245.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/KimBrenneman/IMG_0245.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Mom and Matthew<br /><br /><br /></span></div><br />We're having baby calves here left and right. Bridgette's goat had her kid and now we are in goat milk production!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/KimBrenneman/IMG_0098.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/KimBrenneman/IMG_0098.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Tiffany (our nanny), Annie, and Bridgette<br /><br /><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span>Matthew is learning to read. Well, not really, but Annie (9) has really taken off in the last year. Brooke and Brian have learned how to read and are reading everything in print (Thank You Tiffany!).<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/KimBrenneman/IMG_0088-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/KimBrenneman/IMG_0088-1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">So Studious!<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;">We have had record snows here and the kids have had enormous amounts of fun in it. So much that they are tired of it and want it all to melt and "be spring".<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/KimBrenneman/IMG_0119.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/KimBrenneman/IMG_0119.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">King of the Mountain</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/KimBrenneman/IMG_0133.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/KimBrenneman/IMG_0133.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">It's not exactly calving weather is it? The pasture is under there somewhere...<br /><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;">We started a new weekly ritual. Every Thursday at 4pm we have a tea party. Sometimes we make a feast and lay out table clothes and sometimes we just have scones or biscotti but we <span style="font-style: italic;">always </span>use our pretty tea cups. Aunt Heather often comes wearing one of her 11 bridesmaid dresses. We have also had Colonial dresses, Pioneer dresses, 1900 costumes, Regency dresses, princess dresses and more. We make our hair beautiful in twists, buns, curls, and more. Sometimes, depending on the crowd, we read a chapter out of <span style="font-style: italic;">Raising Maidens of Virtue </span>and discuss it. Often we talk about current events. It's not uncommon to have one to four of the menfolk at our tea party. Supper on these nights is a really simple soup. Nobody is hungry and there's lots of hand washing to do. It is so worth it though! We all look forward to "Tea Party Day".<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_2aSZy-Ee6DU/R9MTXxvbbTI/AAAAAAAAAFM/fqofA7J2hc0/s1600-h/IMG_0052.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_2aSZy-Ee6DU/R9MTXxvbbTI/AAAAAAAAAFM/fqofA7J2hc0/s320/IMG_0052.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175501695989017906" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Aunty Heather wearing one of her eleven bridesmaid dresses.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></div></div>Last fall, the girls went to an auction with Aunt Heather and bought an antique sewing machine for $25. It looked like it had sat in an attic for over fifty years. It had all the parts and even "grandma's" eyeglasses. We cleaned and oiled it. Tiffany took the girls to the Amish fabric store and bought a belt for it. Then they started sewing. They had two skirts done the third day after buying it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/KimBrenneman/IMG_2177.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/KimBrenneman/IMG_2177.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Bridgette treadling away!<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;">This is what we look like every morning. The boys do their work in their rooms. Tiffany sits between the 6 and 7 year old and assists everyone. I sit on the other side with Matthew or am off feeding Matthew. I spent the winter nursing Matthew. He was a slow sleepy eater. Now, though he's gotten stronger and is more efficient and fast. Just in time since Tiff is leaving us. <br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_2aSZy-Ee6DU/R9MTYhvbbUI/AAAAAAAAAFU/zahzAwWDH74/s1600-h/IMG_0148.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_2aSZy-Ee6DU/R9MTYhvbbUI/AAAAAAAAAFU/zahzAwWDH74/s320/IMG_0148.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175501708873919810" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Here Tiffany has Ellie in the Ergo while she reads a lesson to someone.</span><br /></div><br /><br />The girls are getting older and more helpful.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/KimBrenneman/IMG_0170.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/KimBrenneman/IMG_0170.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Clean enough to eat off of - or kiss!<br /></span></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The boys wrestled from November through February and had a very hard time focusing on anything else! Their mother was not impressed with the amount of schoolwork they did over the winter. Grrr... But as soon as wrestling was over they have kicked it into high gear and are making up for it. I did not get to see them wrestle except for one night because of Matthew. I was there for all the weight cutting but none of the glory.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/KimBrenneman/142X0117.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/KimBrenneman/142X0117.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Brandt pinning some poor boy at districts. ouch!<br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span>We'll be coming up with a new routine now that Tiff is gone. Maybe it will include writing, maybe not. First things first.<br /></div><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></div></div>The Brenneman'snoreply@blogger.com