They Had a Good Year

Today was the last day of school for Daniel and Nathan. They were both a little sorry that the year was over. They both loved their teachers and had a really fun year. Nathan in particular was a bit sad. He had a really emotionally difficult year in second grade and this year was a million times better. Having a teacher whose personality and teaching style doesn’t cause tons of grief makes such a difference.  We all have our fingers crossed that next year will be successful as well.

Fifth Grade is Fun

As we near the end of the school year, Daniel has had some fun things going on. Last week was his DARE graduation. For those who don’t know DARE stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. It is taught by a police officer and teaches kids about the effects of abusing drugs, how to resist peer pressure, the legal ramifications of illegal drugs, etc. In order to graduate from the program the kids must participate in the lessons as well as complete a workbook and write an essay. The teachers choose the top six essays from each class and then the DARE officer passed those essays around to some of his fellow officers who chose the top two (one boy and one girl) from each class. Daniel was one of the winners for his class so he got to read his essay at graduation. He was presented with a medal, a water bottle, a pencil, and eraser, and a stuffed lion for being one of the winners. He had no idea that he would receive anything, so he was pleasantly surprised!

Today was Daniel’s Young American Program. The fifth grade in our school has an award that the kids can earn called the Young American. In order to receive the award they must know all fifty states and capitols, the Gettysburg Address, the Preamble to the Constitution, all forty-four Presidents of the U.S. in order, the first and fourth verses of the Star Spangled Banner, and get at least 90% correct on 100 questions about U.S. history. It takes them all year to earn the award. I don’t know about all of you, but I most certainly don’t remember all that stuff. As part of their state reports, the kids had to make a float that showed off some of the things they had learned about their assigned states. Each float was required to be equipped with wheels of some sort. Before the program they had a parade of floats around the outside of the school. It was really fun! During the program the kids get to show off what they have learned as well as receive their awards. I think it is a really great way to get the kids excited about their country and while I don’t know about the other kids, I know that Daniel is pretty darn proud of himself for earning his award. 

I Wish I Could Tell Him to Slow Down

I just finished reading Matthew a book called, “NO DAVID!” It is all about the different occasions when David’s mom must tell him no. As we read the book, we both laughed because every one of them (except for the running down the street naked page) occurs in our home. At the end the mom tells David she loves him anyway. I told Matthew that I love him because he is my Doodle-roni (long story, but it is one of the things I call him). He rolled his eyes at me so I asked, “You’re not my Doodle-roni?” His reply: “Yes, but I hate when you call me that.”

He’s growing up way too fast.

Creativity

I saw a cardboard box. Matthew saw something completely different. Yesterday Kev helped him shape it and Daniel helped him decorate it. Allow me to introduce...

...Iron Matthew.

He wore his helmet to the Walmart this morning.

He sent a drawing of Lego Iron Man to work with Kev.

I wonder if I'm going to need to create an Iron Man costume for Halloween.

She's On the Move...

...until she gets stuck.

About a week and a half ago Malia figured out how to army crawl. She has been spinning around in circles on her belly for awhile, but was mightily pleased when she discovered that she could go forward.  A day or two after the initial discovery, she was screaming because her burp rag (her security item) was just out of reach. After a couple of minutes, she suddenly stopped crying. I saw the little light bulb go on and she scooted herself forward until she could reach the burp tag. Since realizing the benefits of forward motion, she has worked to increase her agility and speed. Watch out world. Here she comes.

Good News

The latest updates from the hospital tell us that Kev's dad is doing well. The surgery went smoothly and he is on the road to recovery. Everyone is relieved.

Definitely Not the Best Way to Spend a Birthday

Last night we celebrated Nathan's birthday with my family. Nathan wanted a Kermit cake, but one that was different from the Kermit cake I made for Matthew's second birthday. So we perused the web and found one that Nathan liked. Luckily for me, he chose one that is easy to assemble. We used Skittles instead of the M&M's of the original so that it would be Matthew friendly. I didn't have enough frosting for the lettering so I used some decorating gel that I found hanging out in the cupboard. I always think the gel is a great idea until I use it and remember how much I hate the stuff! It runs and makes a mess and then I get all frustrated and scrape it off and have to re-do things. But then I forget how awful it is and a few years later the entire event is repeated. I just need to remember that I always get frustrated, especially when the gel is old!

Since the frosting was just white and Nathan wanted the cake to be more “Muppety,” we colored the inside green and added sprinkles. It was my favorite thing about the cake!

Today was Nathan's actual birthday. He decided he wanted to go to the aviary today so we got up bright and early to see the birds. There have been a lot of improvements to the aviary since the last time we were there. We bought tickets to feed the pelicans since it was so fun last time. Nathan was just as gung ho as he was before. Daniel actually touched the fish this time. And Matthew, in spite of observing that the dead fish were “actually really slimy,” did a great job chucking them out to the pelicans and seemed to really enjoy himself.

Although these pictures of Matthew have nothing to do with Nathan’s birthday, they just made me laugh! They are proof that he has learned to work around his lack of stature. When he wasn’t tall enough to look through the owl binoculars (for lack of a better word-they were two tubes that when you looked through them you could see a colorful metal owl mounted to a tree across the path from where we were), he just did a pull-up to get to them. And while I knew that he rolled up onto the very tips of his shoes to use the drinking fountain, I’ve never seen him use one where I could actually see his face. I had no idea that he gets a drink with his eyes closed so that they don’t get water in them!  

Unfortunately, once we fed the pelicans our plans for the day took a left turn. Kev received a phone call from Connie (his sister) telling him that his dad was in an ambulance on the way to a nearby hospital for emergency heart surgery. We spent a few more minutes looking at birds while he made and took more calls. Once we had all the info we needed, we were off to the hospital. The boys were disappointed that our trip had to be cut short, but they understood that Grandpa is more important. Matthew was especially disappointed that we didn’t have time to visit the gift shop because he really likes to find new stuffed animals on trips like these. At a point later in the day, Daniel, in one of those moments that reminds me that he is growing up too fast, told me that he had kind of wanted a new animal as well but hadn’t wanted it anymore once he heard about Grandpa. Sounds to me like he is getting mature enough to be able to put his priorities in the right places. It makes me proud of him. Anyway, it only took us a few minutes to get to the hospital. Kev and Arrin (Connie’s husband) gave Kev’s dad a blessing. We got the latest updates and then headed home since there was nothing more we could do. The boys were pretty stressed and although they were concerned because they didn’t get to see Grandpa (he was in ICU and no one under the age of 14 was allowed in to see him), I’m actually kind of glad they couldn’t go back to his room. I think it would have freaked them out even more to see Grandpa in distress.

Although the festivities were somewhat subdued, Nathan opened his presents after we got home and ate lunch. He got a new soccer ball (he wore out the last one) and a jump rope (one of the ones with plastic links on it like the kind at school)  which was exactly what he wanted. He also got an angry birds Frisbee and Daniel got him a book called "The Magician," the second book in a series called "The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel."  Nathan received the first book in the series for his birthday last year. His cousin Ella gave him the fifth book in the series at his birthday party last week. Daniel had already purchased the second book when Nathan asked if he could read it on Daniel's kindle. Daniel told him no, knowing that the exact book in question was already wrapped and waiting!  Way to choose the perfect gift!

After lunch, Nathan got out the new ladder ball set he got from Kev's mom. She brought it out to him on Saturday, before everything got all crazy. Nathan was so excited about it that he began building it immediately even though it was raining like crazy outside.

So it wasn't Nathan's greatest birthday ever, but he made the best of it!

She Just Hurts All Over

A few hours ago Malia started running a fever. Having a fever start now, after four days of cold symptoms, is a classic indicator of a secondary infection so I took her to the instacare. Sure enough, she has an ear infection. I don't normally believe that commandments include exclusionary clauses, but I have to believe that the Lord will forgive us for breaking the Sabbath by making a Walgreens run at 9:30 on a Sunday night to get her prescription.

To top...or bottom...it all off, Malia has also developed a diaper rash.

I know the bruise is kind of hard to see in the pictures, but trust me. It is impressive. And if you look really closely you can see her brand spanking new tooth just peeking up. And her nose is getting all red and sore from being so runny. I won't show you pictures of the diaper rash. :-).