What’s up with the Kings? | May 2020 family update

Here’s our May 2020 family update – another whole month of coronavirus quarantining in the books!  Other than Michael going out to get groceries we didn’t get out of the house this month.  So enjoy a billiondy pictures taken at our house ;)

Disclaimer: this post is a hot mess express.  The pictures uploaded in a crazy order and I tried to straighten them out but finally gave up and here we are.  So things are a bit scrambled up but it is what it is.  Better scrambled and done than not done at all!

First up, Everly turned 18 months on April 30 but I didn’t actually take her picture until after her 18 month check up which was on May 1 so it’s included in this month’s post.

Everly – 18 months

Here are some things I want to remember about Everly at this age!

Communication:
– She clearly says mama, daddy, Bible, bubbles, ball, fuff, “where are you?”, yep
– She also has other sounds/grunts that we recognize for various things but they aren’t clear words yet
– She signs: more, sleep, eat, all done, please, help, milk; she also will imitate us when we sign other words but hasn’t consistently added them into her “vocabulary”
– Her favorite animal sounds to make are cow, dog, and lion
– The way she says “yep” is so cute! I really need to get it on video!

Some pictures from Everly’s 18 month check up – this was my first time going anywhere since the covid quarantining started!
It was so weird to see all the signs and things taped off at the doctor’s office.  I took several pictures just for my memories later on down the road.
Sewing more masks

I am loving all this extra family time.  Big home-cooked breakfasts on Saturdays and Sundays because we’re not in a rush to go anywhere, eating lunch together as a family every day since Michael is working from home, playing outside for hours every afternoon…it’s been great. We already lived a pretty slow-paced life but this has slowed it down even more and I’m not mad about it.

“Peek a boo!”
The boys do such a good folding our cloth napkins, rags, and towels!
Our congregation started drive in church services.  We own some land where eventually our new church building will be built so in May we started doing drive in church on that land.  Everyone stayed in their cars and church was broadcast over the radio.  It was so wonderful to see everyone, even from a distance!
These shoes are so stinking cute!  I bought them for Everly intending for them to be her Easter shoes but then of course Easter was spent at home social distancing so this was the first time she got to wear them.

Drive in church  Thankful for innovation and technology that let us meet together yet distanced.

P.S. Carseats should be installed in church pews for containing small children…and I’m only partially kidding about that 

Kiwi Crate box time!
Young Living came out with two new mascaras and I am in love!!
Poor Parker was having a little freak out over a splinter so I put some CBD Calm and some Stress Away on him and in less than a minute he fell asleep
Everly is getting so good at feeding herself with a spoon!  She’s still messy of course but most of it gets in her mouth now.
Hudson flying his kite from his Kiwi Crate box
Everly got her teeth brushed for the first time!  Yes, I know she’s 18 months old and that’s probably appalling to some people but that’s how we roll.
Hudson brings all sorts of things outside with him to play pretend – I love his creative imagination!
This cracked me up!  The kids love to play with this old digital camera of Michael’s – I found Hudson taking pictures of some of the YL Vitality drops.  Such a blogger’s kid lol!
We’re very well protected around here ;)

I needed to change Everly’s diaper during school time so I asked Hudson to read his book to Parker. This was the scene I came back in to .

He has come so far this year! From only knowing his letter names (not what sounds they make) and only able to recognize a handful of words to easily reading these books. When we started school he wanted so badly to be able to read and now he can!

Super Lego Man
Our old blender was on it’s last leg (literally leaking rusty sludge – yikes!) so we upgraded to a Vitamix.  It’s amazing plus it fits under the cabinet!!
Hudson found a dead snake in the yard *shudder*
Walking around the neighborhood and holding hands
We’ve been on a biscuit making kick recently!  The boys love to help me cut them out.
More masks cut and prepped
Flowers from my sweet boys for Mother’s Day
We read Charlotte’s Web – everyone loved it!
Hudson started folding the napkins in bunches – at first I thought he was just being lazy and trying to get done faster but he was actually folding four together at a time because we get four out at each meal.  Smart!
Total masks made and donated: 120!  Whew!
Drive in church again!
I’ve never had to put bug repellent on for church before lol!  Like I said, our drive in church is out in a big field.  I was delivering masks to people who’d asked me for some and got a ton of bug bites the first week while traipsing through the grass so I came prepared this week!
We made a huge batch of banana bread to send/deliver to people!
Bread delivery!
Like a big klutz I injured my shoulder working out.  No, not lifting a heavy weight or do something challenging…I was doing an inchworm (bend down, walk your hands out into a plank, walk them back in, stand up) and my left arm slid out from under me – my shoulder did this horrible pop/buckle/nasty feeling thing and it HURT.

I lost a large part of the mobility in that arm and was in so much pain.  I haven’t gone to a doctor to get it x-rayed or evaluated but I have been to the chiropractor since then and his guess is that I had some muscle tearing.  It was super frustrating because I’d finally healed my back and core enough to work out again, I was feeling so much stronger and could definitely see improvements, and then this happened and set me back.  So annoying.

At the time I’m writing this update it’s been over a month and I’m still not back to normal.  So, so much better now thankfully but not 100%.  I have not done any upper body exercise in the last month to let it rest and heal (still exercising, just not anything that involves weights, planks, push ups, or anything else with my arm).  Hopefully not much longer before it’s better!
May was a month of appointments!  I’d had them all scheduled pre-Covid and decided to go ahead and keep them since things began to open back up.  One of the appointments was the boys’ dental check up.  I wasn’t crazy about some of the policies (they wanted me to send one boy in by themselves while I waited in the car with the other, which I obviously flat out refused) but overall it was fine.
Working on some workbooks during quiet time
Playing dentist with their playdoh
Silly girl always has to have two pacis – one is not enough, she needs one for her mouth and a second to hold in her hand!
More bread deliveries!
Greasy haired girl getting another cradle cap treatment
Hudson finished his kindergarten math curriculum!
We decided to plant a small garden this year.  We turned a little patch of dirt/weeds behind our house into our garden spot.
My Mother’s Day gift – the boys picked out what they wanted the cup to say and I love it so, so much!
So independent!!
I tried making my mom’s chicken and dumplings (one of my most favorite meals ever) for Mother’s Day weekend but it was kind of a flop.  I had to toss the first batch of dumplings because they completely dissolved.  The second batch was better but still nothing near how my mom’s tastes.
Plants are planted!  We’ve got strawberries, chives, cilantro, basil, rosemary, jalapenos, bell peppers, several kinds of tomatoes, and cucumbers
Officer Everly and bad guy Parker
The boys found a bird’s nest in one of our trees
I also started a sourdough starter!  I took daily photos to document the progress but that may be a separate post for another time.  Here’s day 1 though!
No joke, the day we started the starter Hudson learned the phonograms “ou” and “ough” and was able to read the word “sourdough”.  Great timing!
Parker has started to show interest in learning his letters so we’ve been working on that a bit.
The boys write notes and draw pictures all the time and I love it!  I can’t keep all of them so I try to take a lot of pictures so I’ll still have them documented.  This one says “I love you Mommy, you are the best mommy” (with a picture of an oil bottle)
Something super exciting we did this month was buy the boys their first bikes!  That’s Michael’s wheelhouse, not mine, so he did all the training.  When we first got them he took the pedals off and had them use them like balance bikes.  Once they could roll and balance he put the pedals back on.  Hudson was riding (with no training wheels, mind you) in less than 4 days.  Parker took a little bit longer (between a week and two weeks) but then he was riding the bike with no training wheels too!  I am completely impressed, especially since I didn’t learn how to ride until I was 22!
So proud of their new bikes!
Everly loves helping put silverware away

My eye doctor gave me some transition contacts to try – they turn darker when you’re outside.  They were cool but soooo freaky to see my blue eyes look dark!

(for those who are wondering, I didn’t decide to get any after using the trial pair – I still had to wear my sunglasses even with the transition lenses so they didn’t work all that well for me)
Holding Everly for her nap – we quit doing that this month and I’ll share more about that in a bit
Everly loves wearing the boys shoes!

It’s hard to practice reading your words when your sister keeps stealing them!  Ha!  Oh the struggles of homeschooling.
My curly boys!  Their hair has gotten longer during quarantine that it has been since they were babies and I love it!
Look at him writing!  So big!!!
Washing the van
While Everly hates (I mean, screams and cries the whole time) the bathtub, she loves to play in water outside!  This is her favorite thing to do right now while we’re outside.
Snack time
Bible class at home with a lap full of babies!  I’m so thankful for the other moms who did live stream BIble class videos every week for us to follow along with at home.
Eating peanuts outside for snack
More car washing
More Kiwi Crate boxes!  Also – check out Michael’s hair!  So long!
Deja vu.  When Parker was still napping Hudson would have quiet time.  I would sit in this chair and work while he often would “work” (practice his letters, color, do a sticker book, etc) next to me.  Now that Parker is wanting to work on his letters he’s the one next to me while I work asking me to help him how to spell or write things.
“Don’t let Satan *blow* it out, I’m gonna let it shine!”
Why yes that’s a nest made out of pencils and tape on the kitchen table…
And Hudson finished his language arts curriculum!
And that wrapped up his kindergarten year!
Everly wanted me to keep taking pictures after I did their group picture.  What a cheeser!
First day of homeschool vs. last day!  Look how much they’ve all grown!
I have held Everly for her naps since she was born.  I love that snuggle time – she naps and I usually do some work.  But holding her like that was horrible for my shoulder and I realized that I needed to transition her to napping without being held.  Now I nurse her and lay with her in the bed until she falls asleep.  I miss holding her but it’s definitely better for my shoulder and it is nice to be able to get up and move around while she naps (sometimes…she wakes up several times and I have to lay back down with her)
Check ups for the boys!
Michael took this picture one day – it’s definitely been an adventure with him working at home!  He gets interrupted by the boys so many times a day.  They bring him notes and pictures, ask for help fixing their legos, and a million other things.
Everly’s first Ningxia Red.  She loved it!!
Officer Hudson hard at work on his laptop (that he made out of cardboard…I love his creativity!)

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