in september...

 we became unschoolers.

it was the battle of the wills.

 but i did read stories of squirrels and nuts and leaves with hardly a real sign of fall outside.

and i drew some squirrels on our chalkboard to welcome the fall season .

ezra drew jack-o-lanterns - his idea one day.  he is most excited about halloween.  we're going to follow his interests as unschoolers do.  it is so much more fun to learn side by side with a willing student rather than one that has been coerced into doing something they don't think they want to do.  (sometimes i think i know what ezra would like to do,

but somewhere between 4 and 5 years of age it seems i've lost this ability)

ezra enjoys drawing from the ed emberley drawing book of trucks and trains.  

he does not enjoy printing practice, letter practice, or any worksheets for that matter.

we have them.  they are there - waiting in case he ever wants them.

one day he decided to make a batman book.  notice how i snuck in the printing practice?  he laid out all the stickers and put the pages in order and very excitedly made up the story.

i took dictation as he told it - it's hard to keep up - he is a great storyteller.  i love how batman lives on an island.  my little island boy.  he has been known to ask, "what island does _____ live on?" in our everyday conversations. 

ezra learned to tell time to the hour and we're talking about money.  i want to start giving him my change every week so that we can work with money in a real way and i think that a watch would make a great birthday or christmas present this year.

indy is now crawling everywhere.  he's still commando crawling belly style and the tile floored rooms don't stop him.  i put him in long sleeves as often as i can to keep him from getting bumpy red callouses on his arms.  he is into everything and especially loves cords and dangly things like his high chair straps you see in the picture.  we are working on a bit of baby proofing the house by moving furniture, boxes, blankets, to make barriers and put some things out of reach.  this post has been days in the making - and since i started it he is now climbing up those barriers and standing at them.  we are getting very little sleep with all these new developments - he's active even in his sleep!

my childhood friend adrianna came for a visit with her baby solomon.  don't you love his bed head?  they spent the night and left early in the morning.

indy had minor surgery at children's hospital in los angeles.  thank you to all my family and friends who prayed and thought about him.  it went very smoothly and i felt like we were really cushioned by the prayers from our loved ones.  i believe in the power of prayer.  

gigi came along with her puppet frog - he never cried once before his surgery at the hospital.

and she and her puppets came home with us afterward!

kasper and prinzessin are very silly and they make indy and ezra laugh.

i've been wearing this warm, cozy, colorful cowl from my friend lisa - a homeschooling friend i met through blogging.  she sent me this and a couple of books from her children's library for the boys.  the blogging community of friends i have made are so loving, kind, and giving.

michael sent out applications for residency and started receiving invitations to interview.  all of his hard work is coming to a climax.  we will be able to call him doctor in just two months time!  he's very rarely in these pages because he's always working.  but luckily, he was able to be there at the hospital the day of indy's surgery.  he is finished with core rotations and only has a few electives left.  this will give us more time together and we love seeing so much of him when he's home.  indy now says dada too and can get his attention with that or even just by crawling over to him.  our boys love their dada.  

i received this message in a package from another friend made through this blog.  it is now on my fridge where i can be reminded everyday.  i think this is the most important element for a life well lived.  and in my daily life when a boy doesn't want to learn to read or a baby needs to be held when i'd rather do something else, i remember that love is what we all need most.  one of my worst traits is being critical.  and i worry.  and i find that love is the best way to break the spell of these niggling traits i think i may have been born with.  as soon as i feel these habits arise, i am going to breathe deep into my heart and remember to do all things with love.