Monet & Friends Art Exhibit at Biltmore Estate

Ellie's artist study of the last term of her homeschool year was Claude Monet. We have countless wonderful children's books about Monet, biographies, and guides to his works. Ellie has been doing her own renditions of his masterpieces. It has been a really fun study!

When we can, with homeschooling, we take a field trip relevant to our current area of study or interests. How perfect that an immersive Claude Monet exhibit came to Biltmore Estate! This was a double win for us because I also got to show her a wonderful piece of history that I grew up visiting as we toured the estate. I got to teach her about architecture, art, pulley systems, way of life in the late 1800's - early 1900's,  how estates functioned then and now, their purpose, etc. 

When time came for us to visit the Monet & Friends (other impressionist artists) exhibit, Ellie became deeply excited! She wanted to know where her camera was so she could capture the experience for herself. She immersed herself in the moving images and we were able to discuss and recall information from our studies as the pictues displayed around us. She gasped endlessly with enthralling passionate excitement and pure joy. She hopped from wall to wall. "Mommy! Come here!" "Mommy, look!" "Mommy! It's the water lilies!" These were just some of her comments. I had several people come up to me over and over again to tell me that watching her was just as beautiful as watching the art. They thanked me for bringing her. They expressed how delightful and refreshing it was to watch her take joy in his work and to be so excited. She evoked joy in those around her and they clearly got a small taste of what Eric and I get daily from her! This - this joy of learning and experiencing - getting to be the first witness to that on a daily basis - is only ONE reason why I homeschool her. I LOVE being the one to see her first experience, her first reaction, and her first "I've got it!" moments. And I love the opportunity to do things like this field trip and have adventures!

Going to Biltmore and seeing the Monet & Friends exhibit was amidst mine and Eric's 7th wedding anniversary. We had an amazing, fun, and hilarious time with our two precious babies. 7 years - and doing this life together with these kinds of moments is what makes me so happy! 

Our entire trip was filled with Sierra Nevada for lunch one day, lunch at Biltmore another day, playing, swimming, touring, experiencing, learning, tasting, and lots and lots of deep belly laughs as a family, and just as a couple once the kids were in bed. Take all the trips. Take the kids, do all the things, make the memories! 

Elias - Two Months Old

Baby boy is really growing fast! He is such a joy! He is still a calm, chill, easy baby who really just loves to eat and nap. As long as his belly is full and his diaper is clean, he is as laid back as can be. 

Elias smiles all the time!! It is the best thing! He coos, and smiles, and just loves his family! He definitely recognizes his mama, daddy, and sister when he sees and hears us and thankfully, we bring him lots of joy and in return he does the same for us! 

Elias LOVES his bath. Oh my word. He just is so happy to be in a warm bath and listen to running water, have songs sung to him, and get his soapy massage. But he hates getting out of the tub. Poor cold baby. We hurry to get him dry, give him naked tummy time, then cozy pajamas all before a bedtime bottle. Elias sleeps very well. Most nights he sleeps through the night. If he wakes, it is only once at night, usually around 1 or 2. He is in a solid routine and that helps so much! We do the same thing every night in order and keep it dark and quiet and that clicks with him, "Oh it's bed time!" In the morning, when the sun is up and he wakes, Mommy is loud, the curtains are opened and the lights come on, he gets un-swaddled and lots of play time, bouncing, and songs. That makes the biggest difference. He sleep trained himself. He doesn't even have to be fully asleep when I lay him down - he just wants snuggles and a full belly and he loves his bed. He basically already begs for his crib. (That is like how I always was). So he has been a much more chill and easy baby and considering all the change we have encountered lately, that is a huge blessing. I don't think I'd survive if I weren't sleeping. Ha!

He has gotten to go swimming at the pool and he likes that better than I imagined. He loves a warm bath but I worried he would detest the cold pool water. He seemed to find it soothing - or maybe just different and interesting. But either way, he was chill. 

He's rolling over, starting to sit just a wee bit with lots of monitoring to slowly build up that strength so he can sit up tall and strong for a long time. He holds his head up higher and longer now too which makes him happier because he wants to see what's going on.

Elias is such a joy and every passing week gets better and better with him as he shows more of his sweet and calm personality (like his sweet Daddy).