Making the most of free time. . .

One thing I have learned is that keeping a schedule and making an attempt to stick to it is very necessary with three + children. The girls have school in the morning with breaks to "do school" with Judah, do laundry, outside chores, exercise etc. They are great about knowing the routine and sticking with it - Manon is much better at it than I am and keeps me in check! Here are some pictures of what they have been doing with their free time and "Judah School."

Judah is making a break for it! We have a fence around our yard with a gate that he cannot open. I forgot and left the gate open and Judah was sneaking down the hill. He is quite good at the steps - Henna has taken it upon herself to teach him to safely climb stairs. So far, no major falls. I love the sneaky face he is making.

This was during a 15 minute morning break. As you can see the girls have their babies wrapped up - Manon has mongoose and Henna has her tiger. They decided Judah needed something and wrapped up a baby for him as well. He was very sweet with it and carried it carefully. Monty was not impressed when he came to see his son playing babies! I think it means he will be a gentle, sweet big brother.

Monty was even less impressed when he saw what Henna initiated for "Judah School." I was outside working on reading with Manon when Henna asked if she and Judah could come in and listen to a book on CD (Henna has taught herself how to work the CD player and keeps music and stories going around the clock). I thought they would be okay in the house alone for 20 minutes while Manon and I finished up (at least I could hear if there was a major scream) - little did I know what Henna had planned. Monty came home and we entered together to find Mozart playing at full blast and Henna and Judah doing ballet together (she has taught him some interesting moves) in their dress up clothes. The only thing is that Henna loaned Judah some of her outfits. She said he was her prince and she was trying to make him look like a real prince but something about the pink velvet puffy selves underneath did not seem quite right.

Here is Henna's little bottom as she was lying on her bed drawing on her magna-doodle.

In this picture the kiddo's are with their favorite baby sitter - Miss Holly. Holly just had her 15th birthday last week, so we got to celebrate together. When she has some free time from school she will help us with babysitting. We usually get to see her about once a week which the girls think is hardly enough. They just asked Monty and I if we would go on a long trip and leave them with Holly. Holly is like a real live "Mary Poppins!" She always comes prepared - on this occasion they made home-made play dough and a volcano. In the picture below you can see them setting up the volcano (vinegar and baking soda mixture). Holly is such a blessing to have around and someone Manon and Henna admire immensely.