the boone kids {january}

I love how my sister Jody does a monthly update on her kiddos--I decided to give it a try!

Caedon is such a crazy, wonderful joy to have. He loves to race his cars around (and himself, he's very energetic!) and to play light sabers with daddy. He also loves playing MarioKart and Angry Birds, both of which he is very, very good at! He likes drawing pictures and it's so fun to see what he comes up with! He went through a phase last year where he would only draw volcanoes, yet since the fall he has really grown as a little artist. I absolutely love the age of 5--his creativity and understanding are just growing in leaps and bounds. Danny and I genuinely enjoy talking to him and hanging out with him.

 He has been learning so much this year in our Kindergarten homeschool. In math we have been learning shapes and patterns, place value, counting by 10's, and lately we have been doing simple addition. We have been learning to read this year, and the Bob Books he got for Christmas have been so helpful. He can read the simple stories all by himself, which makes reading fun for him. We have sprouted beans to learn about seeds, played with a compass to learn about directions, and played fun games to encourage learning. For instance, card games and dice games are a great way to reinforce numbers. Caedon's favorite card game is "War" and he also likes the game Skipbo. Recently I taught him how to play checkers. I love when he learns new things!

Alayna adds so much fun and laughter to my life. She is goofy, spunky, loud, energetic, and just a tad independent. She is in the "I do it!" stage of toddlerhood. She can easily keep up with her big brother and is quick to stand up for herself if things get rough--she usually does this by screaming. Did I mention that she's loud? She is also very dramatic. When she's happy or surprised or excited, it just emanates from her and she is so animated in showing it. When she's upset or being stubborn, well, let's say, she makes that clear to us pretty quick, too :-) Her being two and having such a strong personality can be challenging at times, yet I love who she is. I love her confidence and zest for life.

She loves doing "school" with Caedon. Usually while I work with Caedon on his schoolwork, I try to keep Alayna busy with homemade playdough, paint-with-water sheets, lacing string and shapes, coloring, basically any hands-on activity I can think of in the moment. It's amazing how much she picks up from Caedon without me having to formally teach her. She has memorized many of the fingerplays and rhymes that Caedon learns, and she loves to sing, dance, and play instruments. She is close to being potty-trained and has even started going to the restroom on her own (sometimes). Yay!
   

Legend just turned 5 months old. I also saw yesterday that his first tooth is ready to come through! Even though this has made him a little fussy, he really is the happiest, easiest baby I've had. He is so sweet and is always smiling. He can roll from his belly to his back. He loves to reach and play with his toys (and chew them) and he is always being entertained by his older siblings. They love him so much and try to show him love often. Caedon is always making him laugh, and Alayna loves to pray for Legend before bedtime. They can seem overbearing a little at times in playing with him, but he takes it all in stride. He's pretty laid back about it all :-)

I am so thankful for Legend and how healthy he has been. He was born with Vesicoureteral reflux (Grade IV), a condition where urine goes back up to his kidneys instead of totally emptying out the bladder.  Because of this, he has a big risk of infection and has been on antibiotics since he was born. Praise God, Legend hasn't had any infections, his kidneys have been functioning normally, and he has been so healthy! His doctors are wonderful and keep a close eye on him. Time will tell what will need to be done in the future to correct his condition, but for the time being he will periodically get blood tests and ultrasounds done to follow his progress. He is a trooper!