Shawn's Birthday

Shawn's birthday was really fun this year.  And when I say really fun I just mean that he was actually excited about it.  He's usually not one to giggle with excitement over his birthday but this year he showed some mild enthusiasm.  Usually I make a nice big cake for birthday's but I skipped that this year.  I know shock and awe people, but he told me not to make one.  I had a cake order to deliver on his birthday then teach preschool the day after and start getting ready for Thanksgiving as well so he asked me to make him a yummy dinner instead.  So I did and it was great and relaxing.  I even managed to surprise him with his gifts.  Well surprise him with the gifts from his parents I should say.  I was in charge of picking things out that he needed for his bike.  He needed just about everything so it was really fun picking things out and he was so excited, seeing as he can now go out on a ride when its colder outside.  It was a great day and I realized this is the 10th birthday we've been together, that's kind of a long time!  Happy birthday Shawn I promise to make you a cake next year!

Perent Teacher Conferences

Yesterday I was able to go meet with Devin and Caroline's teachers at school.  It was really nice to go in and talk with the teachers, especially Devin's.  I had never met Devin's teacher and I've had questions about his reading abilities, and Devin is a little terrified of her so I went in not really knowing what to expect.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Yes she is loud and really tall and with Devin being so quiet he gets nervous around her but she seems to know what going on with him.  She is concerned with his reading level.  He can read for his age group but he's not the greatest at the comprehension part, at least when he's reading.  When he listens to his teacher he can answer the comprehension question's so she thinks the trouble is with his eyes.  I'm not sure I agree with that but I'm glad she is doing everything she can for him so he doesn't fall behind.  So Devin is getting extra reading help in school to make sure he stays up with the rest of the class.  I have tried lots of things with him and he is not getting reading down like I feel like he should.  He's doing great in math.  So great he's getting extra math time to push him to excel even more.  This boy stresses me out.  He's such a sweetie though, his teacher asked if he ever gets in trouble at home.  Oh yes he does.

I have met Caroline's teacher a few times just because I was able to go to back to school night before George was born.  And I was in no way concerned about her but I figured if I'm already at school I may as well see her teacher.  Caroline is a star student apparently.  She sets a good example to others, is organized, and loves learning.  She does need help with spelling though.  It almost made me a little happy to see that her enrichment spelling wasn't going so well.  They are harder words than some other kids get but she relies so much on memory to do well and it hasn't worked with spelling. It'll be good for her to have to put more effort into her work.  She knows it too.  When I read over her student reflection worksheet that she filled out I started laughing.  Here are a few examples of what she wrote.  The underlined ones are what she chose.

When I think about the quality of my work, I can honestly say:
I did my very best
sometimes I could have added more effort
I rushed through it for the most part

If I know a test is coming I:
study for several days or more
just look it over the night before
rely on my memory from being in class
(she actually circled the middle one first then thought she better be honest)

One thing I need to work on is to: take my time more on things but not be too slow.

She is so funny and very aware of her abilities and what she needs to work on. She knows she's smart and can get by mostly from memory so hopefully we can help her understand that not everything will be easy for her and she needs to put more effort into things that she may not like and that's fine.  It was a good day and I'm so glad I went!

Graham's first soccer season

Remember when I used to post about soccer every few weeks?  Yeah that's not happening anymore but I thought I should at least post about the first time Graham played soccer.  It's funny how when we first moved here we were so excited about putting Caroline in soccer and couldn't wait for the games and I would seriously get nervous when she played.  That doesn't happen anymore either.  We thought that it was about time for us to let Graham play soccer since his older siblings have had lots of chances to play.  For some reason I thought Graham would be awesome and pick up the game really quickly and be really competitive.  That didn't happen.  He does really like soccer but after the first game where he did cartwheels down the field and spending lots of practices throwing his ball down the field and pouting when he didn't make a goal.  (That was a proud parenting moment, let me tell you.) I realized my children just are not super athletic. I"m ok with it.  It also doesn't help that Shawn and I have spent zero time practicing with him.  He did love playing with his friends Bryce and Ian and his coach was awesome.  It was a fun season but as usual I'm ok that its over.  Graham was so excited to show off his trophy, it was pretty cute.  So we'll see if we sign him up for spring, its up in the air.  He was always entertaining to watch though!

Here are the Superheroes!  They were a good little team.

Devin and Caroline entertained themselves by jumping off the stands with their friend.

And hiding under the blanket.  It was SO cold! And yes I'm pretty sure that is Graham walking around on the stands, as you can tell he was really into the game.