We’ve been doing lots of livin’ and learnin’ around these parts lately. I got to hang out with some girlfriends this weekend, do some more knitting, though I realized that my anemia was very likely the reason I was so (SO!) tired and foggy this passed week. I had started taking my prenatals (finally) for the iron in them when my last midwife visit reported me low on iron. But little did I know, I was not getting much of the iron because I was drinking the supplement down with kefir (calcium). Anyhoo, when I noticed my nails and skin were really pale and other strange symptoms, I did a bit of searching and figured out the big mystery. I’ve been doing the prenatals with EmergenC infused water now instead, and eating more iron rich foods like edamame, etc. I’m happy to report I am feeling much better this last day or two, though, so hopefully it’s all good!

Let’s see, I just did a rough draft of our tax forms and it looks like, low and behold, we won’t owe anything! A very small return, actually, which is better than I expected. I’m also in the process of seeing if the state is going to be willing to help us cover the cost of the birth, because with Hubby’s reduced income we are in the income limits for state health coverage. I should know more in about two weeks, so keep your fingers crossed!

Lil’ E made use of a camera his nana sent him and took some pretty cool little pictures this week. It was funny to watch him take over his camera so seriously, learn to zoom in and out, flip through modes, and turn it off safely when he wasn’t using it. When we went on a walk, he would say, “Wow, look at that beautiful house, let me have my camera now!” lol Below are a few of my personal favorites. I love his perspective, he really took ownership of this experience. (I am NOT showing you the dozens of my big red face that he took )

As I have shared, the books I have been reading are SO interesting and I am really feeling passionate about Lil’ E’s natural learning process. I’ve been keeping a journal of what he’s learning and interested in through out the day, without any special curriculum or coercion from an adult. He asks questions all.day.long. Questions like, “Why does the kitty have brown gums but we have pink gums?” or “Why do sidewalks break?” And he makes fascinating statements like, “When I grow up, then I will like onions like you and dada. And I will also know how to find my way home by myself!”

He gets into all kinds of things and I make observations of what he’s “learning” as he does them. From the last few days, here’s a handful of the dozens of learning activities he has accomplished:

• Arranged domino’s into letter shapes to spell his name. Pointed out imaginary characteristics of each letter, saying “E is looking at the T. T is looking in the mirror. H is running. A is dancing. N is jumping rope.”
• Used scrabble game pieces to make up words and ask us if he has spelled something.
• flipped through a grown up book of mine to count pages in the corner. Recognized numbers 1-30 almost seamlessly.
• Learned that orange juice is made from squeezing oranges.
• Read two books about Valentine’s Day
• Looked at illustrations of a 30 week old fetus and counted how many week’s until his little sister is born
• Sang many songs, but mostly repeated “This Old Man” and “Do a Deer”
• Listened to oldies on the radio with mama and danced. One began with lots of bongo sounds and he recognized it and went to get his bongos to play along, with decent rhythm!
• Learned about heat from candles and fire safety
• Sorted his sea shell collection according to shape
• Valentine crafts – drew distinct facial features on hearts, recognized every other red/pink pattern in paper loop garland, wrote out by himself the letters/words “Ethan loves Dada” and “Ethan loves nana betsy and papa” and “Ethan loves pawpaw and mawmaw” in his valentine cards
• Out of nowhere, asked why the letters “T” and “V” spell “TV” but the letter “Y” doesn’t spell “WHY”
• Helped with chickens, observed that chickens are birds like in the trees but they don’t fly as well and they are bigger. Discussed that some animals have feathers/fur/scales/hair.

It’s really amazing to just be present with him and observe all that he takes in. Such a variety of topics are included in his curious little world, without me having to do much of anything except facilitate an environment in which he can learn. So cool! I love that he has a desire to learn new things (as we all do, inherently!) and that when I step back, he can really TAKE OFF!

So yeah, like I said, livin’ and learnin’, not a lot new that other than this. Hopefully I’ll have some interesting things happen and smack ya with a really cool post soon