KidBits February 2011

KidBits is my way of adding a blurb about the ladies and Jay; it's usually stuff that isn't big enough for a full post - grandparent's kind of news, but, all are welcome to read on...

Rachel has been asking for Taylor Swift hair for a while now. She's not too into Taylor Swift anymore, but, loves her hair. Who doesn't? We relented on the "side bangs" and this is Rae's new hair, when it's naturally curly. She straightens it for church and school, which changes her look entirely, but, I like the curls! ps - Don't you love our Minnesota Vikings shower curtain? We do! Rachel's school conference this semester went well. She has some work to do in math, her least favorite subject, but, she was invited to AP English starting next year, in eighth grade. Soccer try outs are next week, and she is a Counselor in the Beehive presidency. Add texting her friends, and you get one busy pre-teen!

Samantha wanted to play basketball this past winter, but, we just couldn't swing it at the time. Meanwhile, we were leaving the house the other day to drop somebody somewhere, when we saw a basketball goal with a FREE sign on it. Yeah! I had the ladies push it the three blocks to the house and voila - driveway basketball court! For her school conference, Samantha was nervous. Sam is an athlete, and school in general has never been her favorite thing. She walked into this conference not being able to tell me if she was doing well, or if she would leave there in trouble for her grades. What a great conference! Mrs. Hicks, her advisory teacher (she has five different teachers, since they switch classes, but, you have a conference with the homeroom, or advisory, teacher) is her math and writing teacher. She told me that Samantha's conference was one of just a few she was looking forward to, since Samantha is doing so well this year! You go, Samantha! She has three A's and two B's! Keep it up 'til report cards come out!
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This picture is of Codi, I mean Charlotte, but, mainly of Codi. He's a great Pyrenees mixed with lab or something. He's huge, but thinks he's a lap dog. The dogs have been coming inside to sleep in the kitchen at night, since the temperatures are dipping below freezing. In this picture, Codi is yawning, not being fierce. He's a big teddy bear. Charlotte's school conference went perfectly. Her teacher tells us she is attentive, focused and well mannered. Her teacher made it a point to tell us that she appreciates a student who says yes, ma'am, or thank you ma'am, and Charlotte is a great example of manners. Wow. I'm so proud of her for using her manners at school. Great job, Charlie!white

Josephine, at six years old, is becoming our resident artist. She loves nothing better than to sit at the kitchen table and color and draw. I found her some How-To-Draw books, which walk her through each step and let her learn some drawing basics. These are Josephine's creations: a fairy and a princess fairy. She writes her name in the squiggle letters, on the fairy drawing, so I was showing her real cursive writing on the princess drawing. She likes her squiggles better. Joey's conference was great. She's reading at first grade level and, not surprisingly, loves her art class the most. She's still really attached to me when I drop her off at school, but, at least now she will get out of the van without too much drama. Every day, though, she leaves me with this command - Mom, check me out today, if you can, please?! Every day, Joey.

Jay is potty trained! Wow. What a load off our minds and our budget. He still wears a diaper at night, but, he asks to go to the bathroom first thing, and he can go all through church and nursery on Sundays without an accident. He likes to ask to use the bathroom in new places, I think just to see bathrooms everywhere. Whatever it takes, he is potty trained! Yeah, Jay Michael! This creation of blocks was a group effort. We used every block we had and he was so excited to get his picture taken. He loves building towers. Then he loves knocking them down! Jay is talking a lot, eating a lot and his allergies are still going strong. He is healthy and busy and full of personality -

his birthday is next week, but he already says, I three!