Spelling boy

Well, Mr. Alphabet has struck again: No longer content to just read, Isaac surprised us this evening by starting to spell! I was busy getting the other kids ready for bed when I came around the corner and saw him arranging letters next to a picture book. See what he did here?

So proud of himself!

I have a feeling that the days of spelling things so that the c-h-i-l-d-r-e-n don't u-n-d-e-r-s-t-a-n-d are numbered!

Getting schooled

Today Ted and I loaded the kids into the van and took them to school to meet their teachers. That's right, I said their teachers. Believe it or not, the Fab Four are starting preschool tomorrow!

Couldn't be more excited about walking into school!

We never thought we'd be able to pay for four kids to attend preschool, but we started considering our options last year when we realized that Isaac would benefit from participating in our school district's early childhood education program. As we expected, he did qualify for free placement and, because we feel it's so important for our kids to have a shared school experience, our parents are making it possible for Lucy, Jude, and Dahlia to attend this semester as "typical peers."

This means that, four afternoons a week, Isaac will work on his kindergarten-readiness and social skills (as well as receive speech and occupational therapy) in the "developmental" classroom, while his siblings attend the "community" classroom next door (where half of the kids are on target with their development and half of the kids need a little extra help). Win-win!

Look at these big kids!

Many people have been asking me what I'll do with all my free time now. Unfortunately, I won't actually be getting that much of a break since school time is just replacing nap time. Still, I know that the structured time apart will be good for all of us, and I can't wait to see the kids, especially Isaac, flourish in their new environment. It's going to be a whole new world!

Table for six

Notice anything missing in this picture?

Yep, a few days ago we had our last supper at the feeding table:

And started eating together at the "big" table!

Ted and I are thrilled to have our pre-quads dining table back in place, and the kids love the new arrangement, too. Life feels just a little more normal now!

As for the feeding table, it's gone to a good home. We hope you make as many memories around that table as we did, Hamer quads!