It's been a while but I'm back (couldn't blog all these months without some decent pictures!) and it's time to do some updates on the kids. We'll start with the oldest.
Evan has been busy since October! He's doing really well in school and has a fun time being there. He and I finished going through the reading lessons we were doing probably two months ago. It took us a little over a year to get through 100 lessons. Ha! We weren't very dedicated. He's a natural. In the last three months or so he has amazed me at how quickly he picks up on new rules to reading and new exceptions to the rules that I hadn't gotten a chance to let him know about yet. He now can pick up pretty much anything and figure it out really quickly and fluidly. It really is amazing to me how easily it seems to come to him. But he sure loves to read.
Not only does he love to read, he also loves to write...and illustrate. When asked what he wants to be when he grows up lately, it is most often an author and illustrator. He creates at least four books a week and we are absolutely busting at the seams with his creations. I recently bought two reams of printer paper that I'm hoping lasts a month. Yikes! But it's fun to see how much more detail and creativity is going into his books now than just a month or two ago. Things sure change quickly when kids are this age.In December he lost his very first tooth...with his siblings and cousins surrounding him at the bathroom sink. Ha! That thing was loose for weeks and weeks and it was a blissful event when it finally pretty much popped out. He has since lost his other bottom tooth and looks pretty dang cute, if I do say so myself.
Evan is participating in the chess club at school (started by two stellar dads from church - thank you!). Even though it starts at 7:00 in the morning, which is before he's usually even awake, he's really enjoying it. Just to prove it, here's a picture from the paper of him on the first day. Ha ha! This is typical Evan. Even if you're having fun, pretend you're not. I don't know why he's like that. Anyway...
Evan and I enjoyed applying for a couple of private schools in the area. Well, okay, Evan enjoyed going to the schools, visiting, having a mock school day and playing on their ridiculously huge and fun playgrounds and I loved the thought of sending him somewhere that doesn't have budget trouble and where he could start a second language and have a well-rounded education better tailored to his needs...but it was stressful with TONS of paperwork, questionnaires, etc. Anyway, the application process for these two schools (Catlin Gabel and Oregon Episcopal School, for my remembrance) took up the better part of my life for two months and Evan came along for the ride with me. Although we didn't get into either two (they had between ZERO and four available slots for 1st grade with a ridiculous number of applicants!), we enjoyed some one-on-one time together during the process. I'm not sure what we're going to do about next year because I'm ridiculously unhappy with our school district and all the things that are going to fall off next year due to budget cuts (less teachers, less special classes like music, PE, etc., less of the good stuff, more of the bad...). I have never been so conflicted about anything. We'll see what September brings.
Evan is a great brother to Parker all the time and a great brother to Maren when he's not focused on being the mean older brother. Ha! He's been praying lately for me to have another baby...a brother who is just like Parker. Yep, not surprised. He loves his parents like crazy and wants to cuddle in our bed every night. This is nothing new as we've always had a hard time keeping him out of our bed. The challenge is getting him to go to bed in his own bed and stay there. Sometimes we jokingly ask him if he's still going to be climbing into our bed when he's 17 and he says, "Yeah, probably." I actually wouldn't be surprised, buddy.
Although he won't admit to liking girls, on his class picture he put hearts around a certain girl's face which gave me quite the jolt back into the reality that I have kids who are going to grow up to be teenagers and want to kiss members of the opposite sex - who aren't their parents! TERRIFYING!
In less stressful news, Evan loves Star Wars although he's never seen it. I don't know how boys just learn about Star Wars by osmosis. He's always asking to see it and I'm always telling him he'll be at least 12 before he does but Michael likes to humor him with things like this to keep him excited.
Evan rarely likes what we're having for dinner, always wants to eat breakfast burritos, pizza or macaroni & cheese (NOT homemade!), and expects dessert every night even though we have dessert only about once a week. He's a good helper...uh...when he wants to be. And he still loves playing with Play-Doh.
Not only does he love to read, he also loves to write...and illustrate. When asked what he wants to be when he grows up lately, it is most often an author and illustrator. He creates at least four books a week and we are absolutely busting at the seams with his creations. I recently bought two reams of printer paper that I'm hoping lasts a month. Yikes! But it's fun to see how much more detail and creativity is going into his books now than just a month or two ago. Things sure change quickly when kids are this age.In December he lost his very first tooth...with his siblings and cousins surrounding him at the bathroom sink. Ha! That thing was loose for weeks and weeks and it was a blissful event when it finally pretty much popped out. He has since lost his other bottom tooth and looks pretty dang cute, if I do say so myself.
Evan is participating in the chess club at school (started by two stellar dads from church - thank you!). Even though it starts at 7:00 in the morning, which is before he's usually even awake, he's really enjoying it. Just to prove it, here's a picture from the paper of him on the first day. Ha ha! This is typical Evan. Even if you're having fun, pretend you're not. I don't know why he's like that. Anyway...
Evan and I enjoyed applying for a couple of private schools in the area. Well, okay, Evan enjoyed going to the schools, visiting, having a mock school day and playing on their ridiculously huge and fun playgrounds and I loved the thought of sending him somewhere that doesn't have budget trouble and where he could start a second language and have a well-rounded education better tailored to his needs...but it was stressful with TONS of paperwork, questionnaires, etc. Anyway, the application process for these two schools (Catlin Gabel and Oregon Episcopal School, for my remembrance) took up the better part of my life for two months and Evan came along for the ride with me. Although we didn't get into either two (they had between ZERO and four available slots for 1st grade with a ridiculous number of applicants!), we enjoyed some one-on-one time together during the process. I'm not sure what we're going to do about next year because I'm ridiculously unhappy with our school district and all the things that are going to fall off next year due to budget cuts (less teachers, less special classes like music, PE, etc., less of the good stuff, more of the bad...). I have never been so conflicted about anything. We'll see what September brings.
Evan is a great brother to Parker all the time and a great brother to Maren when he's not focused on being the mean older brother. Ha! He's been praying lately for me to have another baby...a brother who is just like Parker. Yep, not surprised. He loves his parents like crazy and wants to cuddle in our bed every night. This is nothing new as we've always had a hard time keeping him out of our bed. The challenge is getting him to go to bed in his own bed and stay there. Sometimes we jokingly ask him if he's still going to be climbing into our bed when he's 17 and he says, "Yeah, probably." I actually wouldn't be surprised, buddy.
Although he won't admit to liking girls, on his class picture he put hearts around a certain girl's face which gave me quite the jolt back into the reality that I have kids who are going to grow up to be teenagers and want to kiss members of the opposite sex - who aren't their parents! TERRIFYING!In less stressful news, Evan loves Star Wars although he's never seen it. I don't know how boys just learn about Star Wars by osmosis. He's always asking to see it and I'm always telling him he'll be at least 12 before he does but Michael likes to humor him with things like this to keep him excited.
Evan rarely likes what we're having for dinner, always wants to eat breakfast burritos, pizza or macaroni & cheese (NOT homemade!), and expects dessert every night even though we have dessert only about once a week. He's a good helper...uh...when he wants to be. And he still loves playing with Play-Doh.
3 comments:
Fun to see you posting again mem! Too bad about the schools, I was wondering about that. I am sure you have good reasons, but in case you didn't know Star Wars is rated PG, and has no swearing or blood. There are certainly some disturbing scenes though so I get your discretion!
great post! Love ya
Man, he likes girls NOW, I guess he was more mature then I was at that age HAHAHA!!!
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