November has found us settling into our new family routine and getting to experience what our family of six is like. People have asked how transitioning to four kids has been going. We are very thankful to have our Au Pair, Maria, during this transition time. It has made things much smoother and has allowed Alicia to focus on Natalie and recovering while still allowing the other kids to continue their regular activities. Without her help it would certainly be a more stressful and chaotic transition. We finished the month with a full week together as Tim and the kids were both off for Thanksgiving week. We celebrated Thanksgiving Day with the Powers clan.
Cordelia completed her main Sparks handbook for the year and is half way through her review book. Cordelia loves school and learning. During the break week from school, we did “homeschooling” because she didn’t want to stop doing school.
Anthony had an up and down month. He also completed his main Sparks handbook and is half way through his review book. He and Tim were really looking forward to their first campout with Royal Rangers, but it ended up not going very well. Anthony is doing well in school and his teacher says he’s doing great with his works.
Lydia mellowed in her attitude this month, until Thanksgiving break when routine changed and everyone was home. But she’s still been pretty good. Maria and she are still going out to parks and museums.
Natalie is up to about 11 lbs now. She’s really good at tummy time and seems to enjoy it too. Overall, she’s a happy baby and has good awake time. She’s giving lots more smiles this month. Towards the end of the month she’s started learning hand control and is starting to intentionally tap her toys over her play mat. Her sleeping has been improving this month. We transitioned her to a new schedule at the beginning of the month. She likes her rocking bassinet that has a vibrating base on it. When the battery ran out that was a tough two days of bad sleep!
Alicia continues her maternity leave from work. Natalie’s new schedule has kept Alicia busier with less “free time” for sneaking in naps. But it’s been a good change overall since Natalie now goes to bed earlier. Alicia has appreciated the extra evening time to share with Tim. In the afternoons, Alicia continues to help Cordelia with her homework and enjoys getting to be part of the daily learning/teaching. Alicia also enjoys sitting with the kids when they do their daily piano practice. Since Alicia has mostly recovered physically, she’s been taking a more active role in the Sparks director role. She’s been showing up on club nights to help run the leader meetings and be around for the first half of club. She’s enjoying the opportunity to work alongside Tim and tag-team the director role. Alicia still has one full month off from work before she returns to her new position.
Tim has been keeping up with his new exercise regime and staying consistent at waking up early to go work out. Tim continues to act in the Sparks director role and has been teaching the weekly lessons. Tim’s work has been a bit of a roller coaster, with sudden urgent fires to put out and then calm with almost nothing to do. His team is preparing for another quick field test in the beginning of December. Tim spent a lot of time during his break week working on cleaning up his meat smoker. He got it all fixed up in time to smoke a delicious brisket for Thanksgiving dinner.
On the house front we had a set-back with our planned fence re-do along the side yard. Seems like we will not be able to move forward with that due to city building requirements. We are rethinking what other home improvements would be the most beneficial and valued added for our family.
In December we’re reducing our kids’ activities by taking Cordelia and Anthony out of gymnastics. When Alicia returns to work in January, Cordelia and Anthony will stay at school for extended care. Hopefully these changes will make our family life smoother as we continue adjusting to our changing family needs. We pray that we will make the most of this final month together before Alicia goes back to work. Plus, with the holiday break at the end of the month we will have more family time together.
