Introducing...
Emilia Agnes Cruz
Born January 18, 2020
6 pounds, 12 ounces
19.5 inches
Despite the long wait for her arrival (she was 11 days overdue, my second latest) and the loooooong days of mild and sporadic contractions that dominated last week for me, labor itself was fast and unlike any of my others (which all followed roughly the same pattern). I actually went into active labor right when we arrived for my scheduled induction at 9pm. Baby arrived in a whirlwind just after midnight. There were some scary moments but in the end, all went well!
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| just a couple hours old -- look at that hair! LOL |
I had a couple setbacks in the hours following but was still able to go home by bedtime that night, which I think was God's hand at work. Getting home to my own shower and bed -- and my kids! -- is always one of the BEST feelings.
Baby's patrons are St. Emilia of Caesarea and St. Agnes of Rome. St. Emilia had five sons and five daughters like we now do. Isn't that just perfect? She is known as Mother of Saints because several of her children became saints also, including St. Basil and St. Gregory of Nyssa.
St. Agnes is a family favorite. And since little Emilia was so late, her baptismal date providentially fell on St. Agnes' feast day! (We always baptize three or four days after the birth.)
The siblings are all so very smitten. I have to get in line to hold her.
Besides the baptismal day, I have been parked on the sofa resting, reading, working, and just gazing at this sweet bundle.
I don't plan on going anywhere at all for at least a couple weeks. When I was a young mama, I used to jump right back into life as soon as I was able. I do it differently now. :)
Grateful for the chance to rest, for a safe delivery, for a healthy baby, and for the many prayers prayed for our family over this past month.
Last week while we were waiting on Emilia, we finished up term exams and had a little celebration to cap off the week!
And then the kids each get a 4x6 set of the term's artist study selections for their Books of Masterpieces. These are just simple photo albums they receive when they begin formal schooling and add to year by year. I was actually a few terms behind (oops! LOL), so I played catch up with a big order of penny prints from Snapfish. The kids spent over an hour going through their albums, discussing their favorites. A great way to spend an afternoon!
We are all set to start Term 3 the first week of February, as long as my recovery goes smoothly from here on out. In the meantime, the kids are playing lots and lots of board games. Some favorites from this Christmas are Even Steven's Odd (a real winner! the 5yo and up play daily) and Apples to Apples Junior, but chess, Stratego, and Quixx are still in heavy rotation. And the littles have been enjoying Tiny Polka Dot.
We have also been working through a bunch of RightStart Math games as they solidify some facts and concepts. Vincent has pulled out the geometric paper tiles from RightStart Level G to play around with too.
They are pretty fun and he always has an audience. :)
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We are getting ready to send out a Save the Date for the 2020 CMEC Summer Retreat as well as information about registering for the CMEC for the 2020-2021 School Year, which will open in the next couple months. If you are interested and aren't yet on our mailing list, please head over and sign up so you don't miss these upcoming announcements!
I will be back in this space when I'm able!
Congratulations on your adorable little bundle! How richly you are blessed. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Laura! She is such a little dear. We are all smitten.
DeleteCongratulations on your gorgeous baby! (I don't think I've commented before, hello!) I found your blog a few months ago and have really enjoyed your posts. You're an inspiration!
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you, LeighAnna! And thank you! :)
DeleteCongratulations! I can't get over how much hair the sweet baby has!! So cute!!
ReplyDeleteAll of mine have had so much hair at birth! I think it is my husband's genes. :)
DeleteCan I just say how impressive it is that you got that many kids (and yourself!) perfectly dressed and groomed for church that soon after giving birth? :)
ReplyDeleteJessica/ourhappygoldenyears
Well, luckily I only had to get myself ready for church -- but even that was a challenge! LOL The big kids all manage themselves, and each manages a little kid too. :)
DeleteAhh! Congrats! I haven't been on IG so this is exciting news to me. She is precious.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: How do you use your exam books? I searched your blog and didn't find any specifics. I use AO and have end of term exams too (I modify the AO questions and it's mainly an oral exam). Do you just have your writers write our their exam questions like narration? Thanks for any info!
Hi Alana! Yes, my writers just write their answers in these instead of on loose pages. My Form 3 students are now at the point where they need two books! LOL It feels very formal too, which is a nice touch. :) Even my Year 2 student used an exam book this time since she did many drawn narrations and some writing also. My Year 1 student just works on blank paper since most of hers are oral. Hope that helps!
DeleteCongratulations :-) Welcome to the world little one. and now you've joined the mamas of ten club, welcome ;-) xx
ReplyDeleteAh, thank you so much, Erin! What a great club to be part of!! :)
DeleteCongratulations! What a beautiful family! Would you mind telling about how you print out the artist prints? And you add to it continuously, whomever you're studying? I love that idea!
ReplyDeleteHi there! I find the file on wikiart or a similar site, crop to fit a 4x6 print, then print them at Snapfish and have them mailed to me. I print one of each of the six paintings we study per term for each of my kids, and they just add them into their notebook at the end of each term. :) I would love to have full-sized copies for each of my kids, but I have seven students this year, so that gets expensive VERY quickly! So I just have one full-sized one for our actual study, and then these smaller ones for the kids to keep. :)
DeleteThank you! I love that idea. You are amazingly organized!
DeleteCeleste, I had a question about how you do this as well. I love this idea of each child having their own personal Book of Masterpieces. Since you give these out to each student at the end of the year, are you printing one full size copy of each picture, for each artist, for everyone to look at throughout the year? Thanks
DeleteHi Celeste! Somewhere, deep in this site, I posted a query on your 2020/2021 paper plans - especially since you are using CMEC now (as are we!). I thought I put my question in this post, but it's hidden away somewhere in the bowels of JoyousLessons, and I can't find it again! If you answer me there, I won't see it, and I apologize if you did and I didn't reply with a big thanks :)
ReplyDeleteHello! Yes, I did change the way I keep my paper plans after having switched to the CMEC. I now keep a logbook and log as we go! I talked about it on our recent video in the CMEC Summer Planning Mini-Retreat. I also have some photos up on the Timetables and Logbooks recsources page on the CMEC website -- mine are the notebook spreads with green lettering and then the timetables that are color-coded. ;) Those are my examples from this year. I did use more of a checklist system for the first few weeks postpartum rather than returning to our timetable. But I do prefer the timetable to the checklists on regular days -- it feels more peaceful once we have it arranged, and I know what everyone is supposed to be doing at any given time during our school block. :)
DeleteI actually squealed with delight when I got the CMEC email this morning with the planning retreat. I was like, "you ladies GET me." My Saturday morning is cleared for coffee and planning videos and reading! :)
ReplyDeleteI keep a digital logbook with LessonTrek. You can plan in it too, but I just use it to log what we did, and make notes. If you think it would be helpful to share some screenshots, or to write up how I keep a digital logbook, I'm happy to do it for the tech-loving CMECers.
Oh, I'm so glad you think the retreat will be helpful. We had fun putting it together. :) And your logbook with LessonTrek sounds really interesting -- I would love to add some screenshots to the collection of timetables and logbooks I am adding to the website page. Can you email me with some photos to share? Thanks!
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