Deeanne’s Blog

Esther’s Milestone

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 21:44:39 -0500

Esther finished the book “Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons” last week. I don’t remember when we first started it, but it was sometime early in the year I think. She was showing a lot of reading readiness, and that combined with the fact that she is always eager to try whatever Isaac is doing gave her the motivation to do it. She has done really well when she puts her mind to it, and especially towards the end was very excited about completing the book. We celebrated by making cupcakes and decorating them. We also went out to Backyard Burger as a family, and Jason bought a flower of her choice at Walmart. She asked if she could please NOT put it in a vase, so we went with a fake flower. =) The quality of the pictures is not great because these were taken with our camcorder. But, we got word that our camera is being repaired by Canon free of charge and should be mailed back to us in another week or so! Yahoo!

Jason’s Mom’s Wedding

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:05:38 -0500

Jason’s mom, Bonnie, married Bill McCance on Friday, Nov 7th. We have known Bill for many years and are glad to have him join our family. We are happy for both of them!

Jason’s sister, Britta, came for the occasion (from Alaska!), as well as her fiance, Ian. We were all glad to witness the wedding ceremony and celebrate together afterwards at The Carnegie House - very fancy! These are pictures that Ian and Britta took. Our camera broke the day before Halloween, so we have been getting our pictures from family! We are hoping to have it repaired and back in our hands in a next few weeks. Here is a picture of our family with Bonnie and Bill, and then a picture of Ian and Britta with them. We did get a whole group picture too, but that is on Mom’s camera, so we’ll have to save that for later!

Sibling Sweetness

Thu, 6 Nov 2008 21:04:41 -0500

I don’t normally get to post two nights back to back, but Isaac said something so sweet today that I just had to write about it. =) He and Esther have been very much enjoying looking through toy catalogs that come in the mail. Esther showed me something that she would like for her birthday, and Isaac overheard her talking to me about it. He rushed over and said, “Esther, I know a way that you could get it sooner. I’ll ask for it for my birthday, and after I open it, I’ll let you play with it right away.” Isn’t that sweet? He is right that his birthday is sooner than Esther’s... by a month. Too cute! I’m glad the Lord allows me to witness such precious moments such as these to help me survive the not-so-precious moments that are inevitable between siblings!

Funny Kid Quotes

Wed, 5 Nov 2008 20:45:26 -0500

It has been fun to watch Isaac start reading things on his own now... he will occasionally get a book out and read to Seth and/or Esther. He also is reading signs, labels on food items at the table, etc. Tonight while he was taking his bath, he read “Head and Shoulders” on Jason’s shampoo bottle. He said, “Head and Shoulders. Why is it called ‘Head and Shoulders’? Maybe it’s named after ‘Head, Shoulders Knees and Toes, Knees and Toes...’!” Things all of a sudden sound strange and funny when you stop to ask “why?” Pay no attention to Isaac’s ragamuffin hair in this picture!

Esther declared to me tonight, “When I get to be a grown-up, I’ll get to wear your clothes, right?!” She seemed excited about the idea. All I could do was laugh and say, “You probably won’t want to wear my clothes when you are a grown-up!”

Here is Esther dressed up while doing her school work. Whatever makes it more enjoyable! =) Dressing up is one of her favorite things to do!

We’ve been enjoying a lot of time outside this week since the temperature has been around 60. There have been more leaves to rake everyday, and Isaac has proved to be very helpful. One afternoon I let each of the big kids come out and help me rake while Seth napped. Esther lasted about 20 minutes then opted to go back inside. Isaac stuck with me until we were done... about 40 minutes for him! The picture below is of the kids with Meredith and Clayton Brown, some friends of ours who always have us over to their house to play in the leaves!

Isaac

Mon, 3 Nov 2008 22:16:13 -0500

Isaac said something pretty cute today. He was telling me about something he saw on Grandma’s piano. He said, “Grandma has this decoration on her piano, and it’s a basket full of things, I think it’s called a unicorn.” I realized that he was trying to remember the word “cornucopia.” Too funny!

In other news about Isaac, he is continuing to do great with eating different foods after the allergist recently gave the green light for trying some dairy. He has eaten pizza, lasagna, grilled cheese sandwiches, and even some brownies! He is enjoying trying all these foods and has tolerated everything fine so far. It is really nice not to have to make a separate dish for him most of the time! We are praising the Lord for this blessing!

Seth

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 23:03:26 -0400

The other day I was working on Seth’s baby album, and I realized that I have done what most moms do (though not my mom!) and have neglected to keep track of Seth’s milestones, accomplishments, stories, etc., mostly because he is the third child. I was doing a pretty job of it until he was about 16 months old, but from then until now, I have almost nothing recorded. I was able to remember a few things by looking through pictures, and thankfully he will still at least have a complete baby album as Isaac and Esther do, it’s just a little more sparse on details for his second year of life! I was inspired to write a quick blog about him now, to try to make up for lost time, and because he is doing and saying a lot of cute things these days!

As you can see from the picture above, he is quite the cutie with those bright blue eyes! Seth is very loud, boisterous and rough most of the time, sometimes in a good-natured way and sometimes not! In the morning, when he wakes up, he calls for me VERY loudly, as if I were not in the house but a few blocks down the road. I am always highly motivated to get to his room so that he doesn’t wake up the rest of the household. He is really talking a lot now, putting together sentences such as: “What you doing, Mommy?” “What’s that?” “What happened?” “What that mean?” “Read to me/us.” “Can I have some?” “This goes right here,” etc. I guess most of his sentences are questions. He loves to play outside, although he is not really interested in riding a tricycle or bike like Isaac was at his age. He prefers climbing, jumping, playing with balls, and running.

Seth is learning his shapes and colors (he knows almost all basic shapes but does not seem to know colors well yet), the ABC’s, and of course picks up on things that I am teaching Isaac and Esther. For example, the other day when I asked Isaac to tell me the months of the year, Seth started spouting them off, getting more than half of them correct! It’s amazing what his little mind absorbs.

Esther’s First Scrapbook

Sat, 4 Oct 2008 14:50:50 -0400

I helped Esther start her first scrapbook last night. Some friends gave her a scrapbook kit for her birthday back in March. She picked out some recent pictures, and I also printed some of her baby pictures to put in it. She was very excited about it and did a great job of cropping her pictures (with my help) and decorating her pages. It was a lot of fun to get Esther started and I am looking forward to many more scrapbooking nights together! Plus, it helped get me motivated to get caught up on my albums! I worked on Seth’s baby album after the kids were in bed. Jason and Isaac were out on a date together, and I kept Seth occupied by putting on a tractor video for him to watch.

Fun Sibling Game

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:49:21 -0400

Isaac and Esther have come up with a new game using Seth’s bigwheel tricycle. First, Isaac pushes Esther up the driveway. Then, they coast down the driveway, giggling all the way. Then, Isaac applies the “brakes” by putting his feet down. Lots more giggling. It’s great entertainment while I sit at my desk on my computer (my desk faces a window into the carport/backyard... perfect!).

Guess Who’s Eating Chocolate Animal Crackers?

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:19:18 -0400

As most of you know, Isaac was diagnosed with food allergies as a young toddler, confirming our suspicions after watching him break out in hives whenever he drank milk. He is allergic to all dairy products, eggs, and peanuts, with the peanut allergy being potentially dangerous and the least likely to outgrow. We saw the allergist back in July and had his follow-up appointment last week. The good news is that Isaac’s milk allergy did decrease, though the blood tests still showed that he is at “moderate level,” a “2” on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the highest (down from “3”). The doctor told us that we could start introducing milk products into his diet as an ingredient in foods. So, Isaac has had a handful of foods over the past week and so far has tolerated everything. He was very excited to have chocolate animal crackers, which have whey (a milk protein) in them, so we avoided them in the past. The doctor also gave us the OK to introduce egg as an ingredient, though this allergy was mostly unchanged . Now that he is 5 years old and his gut is matured, there is a chance that he can tolerate egg in foods. Isaac has always been a real trooper about his allergies. I often have to bring special foods for him when we travel or go out to eat, etc. And there are all sorts of things that he can’t have, like ice cream, for example. But, he very rarely complains, and will just occasionally say, “I wish I could have that too.”

Isaac’s overall allergy level is considered “high,” or a 3 on a scale of 1-5. He will likely develop respiratory allergies because of the extent of the food allergies that he has, so we will have to be on the look-out for that. He tested positive for a number of allergies that were unknown to us before now: pigweed, oak, elm, almonds, and walnuts. We are now armed with an epipen and an inhaler if he ever has a reaction that is serious.

School Days Have Begun

Tue, 9 Sep 2008 15:56:39 -0400

I started homeschooling Isaac (5 1/2) and Esther (4 1/2) last week after Labor Day. They were both pretty excited when it actually came time to start, especially since they each had a little present to open at the start of the day (their own pencil cases). It has been an adjustment, but so far it’s going pretty well. I trained Seth (during the summer) to play in his bedroom by himself (out of his crib), and he does that well for 45 minutes. I use this time to work with Isaac and Esther on math, writing, etc. at the table. Then I do a reading lesson with each of them, while the other one plays with Seth (sort of). Some days have gone better than others. =) Other than that, my goal is to be reading to them as much as I can (starting out with a goal of 1 hr, split into 2 half hour segments) to learn about all sorts of things and practice reading comprehension. I was delighted to find Esther reading some of her Bob Books to Isaac during their quiet reading time the other afternoon. So cute! If anyone has any encouragement or advice or tips for me as I begin this homeschooling journey, I welcome them!!! Jason and I are excited and humbled at the opportunity to teach our children, and consider it most important to be teaching them about who God is and showing them how and why their lives need to be centered on Him.

Isaac can tie his shoes!

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:07:14 -0400

I have been teaching Isaac and Esther how to tie their shoes this week. Isaac can do it independently after 3 days of practicing (for about 15 minutes each day). Esther is getting close too. Isaac has been wearing shoes with shoe laces for a while, and I have been meaning to teach him all summer and finally got around to it! He is very excited about his new skill, and always very eager to put his shoes on. I think he is glad he no longer has to depend on me in order to get out the door to play in the backyard!

Penn State Ag Progress Days

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:46:56 -0400

We went to Ag Progress Days as a family last night, Pennsylvania’s largest outdoor agricultural exposition sponsored by Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. There were workshops, interactive educational exhibits, demonstrations, and best of all (in the opinion of the Maas children), LOTS of huge farm equipment of all kinds on display, and some farm animals to see. Seth darted to and fro between all the big machines, exclaiming, “Look!” “Tractor!” “Vator!” (excavator), etc. I wonder if he imagines this is what heaven will be like. Can you find Isaac in the first picture below?

Celebrating 8 years of marriage

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:15:40 -0400

Jason and I had a wonderful wedding anniversary. Thanks to our friends James and Bethany Ringer, we had the opportunity for a little overnight get-away. We didn’t go very far... just a few blocks away actually. We stayed at the Atherton Hotel for one night, and enjoyed a night on the town going out to dinner, walking around, and ending at Cold Stone Creamery for some ice cream. This morning we went to the Corner Room for breakfast. When we told our waitress that we were celebrating our anniversary, she asked if it was our first anniversary! We said, “No, it’s our 8th!” Telling her we had 3 children shocked her even more. We are very thankful to the Lord for giving us 8 years together so far and look forward to many, many more! And a big thank you to James and Bethany for taking care of our children (the kids had just as much fun as we did I think!).

Family Vacation at Laurel Woods

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 09:16:32 -0400

We just returned home yesterday after spending 3 days at Laurel Woods, a beautiful home in the woods in Morris, PA. Some friends of some fellow DiscipleMakers staff very generously opened their home to us. They have equipped the house with everything you may need or want for a relaxing vacation. One of our favorite things is the library, filled with all sorts of good books to read. Jason and I enjoyed a lot of reading! The kids also had plenty to do... there is a big stash of toys inside for them to play with, not to mention riding toys and sports equipment in the basement, and lots more sports equipment for outside! We also had fun playing some board games and listening to some Chronicles of Narnia radio theater over meals. We enjoyed exploring in the woods a little, poking sticks in the little pond and watching the frogs, and we also went on a couple outings to the PA Grand Canyon and Animaland. It was raining when we went to the PA Grand Canyon, so we didn’t get any pictures, but it was fun to see what we could while shivering in the cold. Jason took the kids to Animaland so that I could have some time alone, and as he was driving away he realized that he didn’t take any pictures. So he went back and took some of the kids by the sign. He knew a picture would be important to me to document our vacation in our family scrapbook. =) One very fun highlight was getting to see a bear at the deer feeder (at 2 different times)! The quality of the pictures is not super because I was zoomed in to the max from the back deck of the house. All in all, we had a wonderful time, and feel refreshed and renewed from our time away.

Precious moment

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 22:30:29 -0400

I love moments like these. Thank you, Lord, for my 3 wonderful children.