Mason is 18 months!

Dear Mason,

I don't even know how to put into words the love that I have for you. You have brought so much joy into our family that it's hard to imagine our life before you. This past 1 1/2 year has been so much fun watching you grow and discover new things. Your personality is contagious and you make everyone around you smile and laugh. We definitely think you will be the class clown. Even though you may not say many words yet you make us laugh by your facial expressions and actions. You are a very adventurous little boy who is not afraid to try something new. I pray that you continue to stay in the Joyfulness that you have in Jesus and take your willingness to try new things throughout your entire life.

I Love You!
Mama


September 4th


October 3rd



November 2nd



November 20th


November 23rd

Thanksgiving Unit

It was fun to do schoolwork with Sawyer while also talking about what we are thankful for the things that Jesus blesses us with.

Sawyer really enjoyed showing Mie Mie and Papa how to trace lines!


We painted a toilet paper roll and attached strips of color swatches to the backside to make it look like a turkey. Sawyer wanted his turkey to be green! When Daddy came home I showed what Sawyer did in school and he thought it was an Indian chief; which after looking at it it does kind of look like that as well. So to Sawyer it's a turkey and to Tom and I it's an Indian chief!


Sawyer using markers to color a picture by coloring by numbers. I still identified the numbers for him but he definitely knows his colors. He is showing off his muscles because he made the marker cap click by himself!


Sawyer also learned a new memory verse at Rainbows which went right along with our unit; "Give thanks to the Lord." (Sawyer now knows three memory verses!) The corn with popcorn glued on he made at Mie Mie and Papa's house during the Schoessow Thanksgiving party.



Focus Books:
"Five Silly Turkeys" by Salina Yoon
"Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks" by Margaret Sutherland
"One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims" by B.G. Hennessy
"Turkey Bowl" by Phil Bildner
"Thanksgiving Day" by Anne Rockwell

Website:
www.overthebigmoon.com
www.a-heart4home.blogspot.com
www.homeschoolcreations.com

Thanksgiving Parties!

What a fun Thanksgiving weekend! Whenever we would go somewhere I would tell Sawyer that we were going to a Thanksgiving party; he loved the idea! On Thanksgiving day Daddy had to work all day but Warren and Marti Carter (my second cousin) invited us over to their house along with Mie Mie and Papa. We had a lot of fun watching the Green Bay Packers beat the Detroit Lions! Then it was eating a delicious meal that Marti made for us.

Marti knows how to win the hearts of little ones; she let Sawyer and Mason lick the beaters clean after she made homemade whip cream for our pies.


Mason, Sawyer, Cousin Joel and Aunt Kathryn relaxing after a big meal.


Sawyer had no problem making himself feel at home. Although I think Aunt Kathryn enjoyed the little snuggle time just as much as Sawyer did!


On Saturday we headed out for another Thanksgiving party at Mie Mie and Papa's house. Daddy was only there for a little bit right before the party started because was able to go to a Wisconsin Badger game who in the end beat Penn State. The kids all sat around one table; 8 kids under the age of 7 actually went really well.


Mie Mie had lots of crafts for everyone to do. They first made turkeys out of apples and candy. Then it was gluing popcorn on a picture of corn and there was also gingerbread and snowman to decorate. Sawyer was pretty proud of his finished turkey and made sure that we did not forget to take it home.



Mason thought it was a much better idea to eat his turkey than to decorate it with candy!



Amber showed me her new iPad and Sawyer and I fell in love right away! We ended up having to set the timer so that everyone could take turns. Here we are all playing the doctor game together; which was Sawyer, Lexie and Ava's favorite game.


It was a fun filled day then ended with having to say good bye to our cousins until next time!

10 Pointer!

Today was Tom's third and last day hunting for this season. At about 3:00pm he texted me and asked me to ask Sawyer if Daddy should shoot a deer; of course Sawyer said yes. Tom then asked if he should shoot a girl or boy deer; Sawyer said to shoot a boy deer. I was thinking that he had shot one but when Tom texted back saying that he had seen a lot of doe but now had to wait for a buck I figured he would not be getting a deer this year. I texted Tom telling him that he had gotten my hopes up but then he texted back and said "Buck down". While we were texting each other a buck had walked right out in front of him! Tom was pretty excited but I really think Sawyer was more excited. When Daddy brought the buck home that night Sawyer and Mason spent an hour outside in their jammies celebrating with their Daddy and the some of the neighbor guys.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever.~1Chronicles 16:34

This year we once again learned how much God loves us and carries us through each season of our lives. As a family we went through several ups and downs but God always reminded us of His love and faithfulness. We have also realized how fast our children are growing up and we wanted to make sure we cherish every moment with them. We now have “D5” (Deich Party of 5) days. Once a month we dedicate a Saturday to just our family; the memories made have been priceless! Some other highlights this year are:
•I completed my first two running events; Crazylegs (8K run) and Best Fest (5K run)!
•May 14th was a very exciting day. We went to a birthday party at the Brewer game in the luxury suite and that is where Mason took his first step! That evening when we came home we also discovered that I am pregnant!
•Sawyer turned “3” and Mason turned “1” this year. We celebrated by having Mason dedicated at church and then had a combined birthday party.
•Our family found a new hobby that we all enjoy – Camping!!! We are already making plans for next summer.
•Tom and Sawyer had fun this summer by going golfing together – Sawyer thinks he is a professional now!
•Tom was able to have a “Man Week” at home with Sawyer and Mason while I went to Maine!!!
•Sawyer is completely potty trained! We also started homeschooling him and he is LOVING it!
•Mason is running everywhere he goes! He is also sleeping in a big boy bed and shares a room with Sawyer.
Remember that no matter what you are going through God’s love is never ending!!!
We Love You!
Tom, Tami Jo, Sawyer, Mason & Baby Carter


Our Bloopers!

Rainforest Unit

We didn't get to do as much as we typically get to do in each unit just because we only had one week. We cut it shorter due to Thanksgiving coming up and wanting to spend enough time on that. Even though it was short and sweet we still had a lot of FUN!

Sawyer's main project was making a snake! He painted a row of empty egg carton to make his snake. This did get a little confusing though due to the fact that we do have snakes in our backyard even though we don't live in the Rain forest.




Our big event was during our D5 day when we went to Olbrich Gardens and explored their Rain forest! Sawyer and Mason also were able to make their very own Terrarium which was a lot of fun! (See our D5 post on November 12th for more about this fun day.)


Focus Books:
"Busy Day, Busy Night" by Sue Hendra
"Rain forest" by Penny Clarke
"Rain Forest" by Helen Cowcher
"A is for Anaconda" by Anthony D Fredericks

D5 #8

D5 day went right along with what Sawyer was learning in school! All week we focused on the Rain forest so when it came to our D5 day we headed out to Olbrich Gardens in Madison to check out their Rain forest! Sawyer really enjoyed the scavenger hunt. As we walked through the rain forest we had to find what was on his piece of paper (ie. bananas, coconuts, coffee (the plant that makes coffee), etc.).



Here the boys are in front of a Rubber tree which makes golf balls; all three of them were pretty impressed!




Sawyer and Mason also got to make their own Terrarium! Sawyer did awesome making his and needed very little help. He picked out a tan frog for his. Mason went right into his cup of dirt; handful by handful he put all his dirt in his container. Daddy picked out a bright yellow frog for his Terrarium.


For lunch we ate at Chili's. When we got there though Sawyer started saying he didn't feel good and just laid on the booth with his head on Daddy's lap. We hurried up and ate and had plenty of leftovers. When we got home Sawyer was back to his normal self and we ate Chili leftovers for supper. Mason decided to help Daddy eat his corn on the comb!


We also took a family break time (aka: nap) and then watched "Cars 2" after that.

Leaf Unit

During our leaf unit Sawyer learned to spot different colors of trees outside. Now when he sees a colorful tree he will say "That's Beautiful!". I found that this unit really help to identify the colors red and yellow; those are the only two colors he still has a little bit of difficulty identifying.


Sawyer is painting his tree trunk. We originally traced his arm and hand to make the trunk but by the time the paint got on the paper you couldn't really tell it was his hand. I guess Sawyer wanted a bigger tree than what his hand was!


Sawyer is gluing on colorful leaves to the tree. The pieces of paper are all pieces that he cut up in the previous weeks while he was practicing using scissors.


This is Sawyer's first time doing a lacing project. He had to weave the string in and out of the holes around the letter "L". He amazed me by how well he did.


We laminated leaves that I brought back from my trip to Maine. He thought it was pretty cool to help with the laminating. The painted leaves was a project that he did while at Mie Mie's house. The colored different leaves was a project he did with no problem at all. Underneath each leaf it said a color which I read to him and then he had to pick out that color crayon and color the leaf; he did great!


Focus Books:
"Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf" by Lois Ehlert
"Leaf Jumpers" by Carole Gerber
"It's Fall!" by Linda Glaser
"The Autumn Leaf" by Carl Emerson

Links:
www.a-heart4home.blogspot.com
www.2teachingmommies.com