25 March 2009

Progress Reports



Corey received his 2nd Trimester progress report this weekend so I thought I'd do a quick progress report on all the kids:

Corey: As stated by his teacher: "Corey continues to enter our Kindergarten community each day with a smile and eager attitude towards his learning. I am impressed by Corey's work ethic and his willingness to help those around him. Corey frequently demonstrates higher-level thinking during cognitively guided instruction...I am impressed by the creativity and thought that Corey infuses into his daily journal writing. Corey is an exceptional and confident reader. Corey will turn in nothing but his best work and I am continually impressed by Corey's attention to detail and fabulous penmanship. Way to go!" Enough said...we're very proud of him.

Lilly: She's very social and has loads of girls that she considers great friends. She's also an excellent big sister and can play so well with Clare. They're really terrific buddies and I think it's going to be quite a tough transition for Clare next year when Lilly is gone to school all day! Lilly is doing a great job with learning her letters. She doesn't have the same confidence that Corey has to take risks with guessing at words or showing how much she knows but she's definitely retaining a lot so hopefully she'll start sharing more. We're in the process of signing up for Summer School (which is really like camp with fun electives to choose from) and she pretty much wanted to do whatever Corey wanted to do. It'll be interesting to see how she does next year in Kindergarten. I think it'll be really great for her!!

Clare: Clare's language has changed leaps and bounds in the past few months. We always knew she was "getting it" but now she's also able to communicate and it's SO fun! She has a very playful personality and rarely gets a bad attitude. Even when she does, she's just a couple minutes away from a big smile. Such a joy to be around. She's still quite shy around new people if she thinks there's a chance she'll be left with them (which of course never happens) but she's becoming more social when we run into people at a store or restaurant...frequently wanting to tell the people working there about her new shoes or introduce Emma to them, etc. The best part is that they're actually starting to understand her which she LOVES! She has a bad habit of hitting which seems to come on stronger when she's tired but we started "time outs" with her and that seems to really be helping.

Emma: As you'd expect a 4th child to be, she's just fitting right in. She's very laid back, smiley, and adaptable. She's really enjoying eating solids although it hasn't really impacted her nighttime routines. She still wakes a couple of times in her 12-13 hours of nighttime sleep. Not too out of the norm although it would be nice if we could eliminate one of those! The kids are really great with her and she lights up when they pay attention to her. Very sweet.

Rob & Kelly: We're doing fine. We've had a couple of nice, mild weekends and a few chances to get out and visit with some friends so that's been a nice change! We're so ready for spring and summer to arrive! Other than that, Rob still has a job so we're both very grateful! Not much more we could ask for right now....a great family and security (at least for the moment).

17 March 2009

Spring Is In The Air


Lilly's decided to have an Ariel birthday party. We're going for the Under The Sea theme vs. the princess aspect since she prefers Ariel with a fin instead of legs. Usually I start planning much earlier than this but it was a last minute choice for her (we were originally planning a trip to Build-A-Bear). Anyway, I'm getting there. I made Message in a Bottle invitations that turned out cute. It's been pretty consuming but I always enjoy birthday party planning so I'm not complaining!

We had green toilet water today so apparently a leprechaun visited us during the night! We also had a family celebration this afternoon. Rob came home early and we had a nice dinner on the deck. It was 70 degrees today...so gorgeous...and got us all in the mood for nice days ahead (we hope!). This was our St Patrick's Day celebration but also my early bday celebration bc Rob is going to a Buck's game tomorrow night as a work celebration (lots of celebrating...at least for him).

After dinner, Rob brought Clare in and I asked her what she was doing and she said "potty". I kinda shrugged it off as she walked by but she came back about a minute later, took my hand, and led me to the bathroom. So, I took her diaper off, sat her on the potty and (drum roll, please), she went potty!!!! Totally couldn't believe it! What a gal! :-)

09 March 2009

Photos of Nora



Well, I did my first follow-up photo session of a little girl that I photographed when she was 3 months old. Now, 9 months old, little Nora is just adorable! I really enjoyed seeing her again and having a chance to photograph her.

I cleared the furniture and rug from the great room and tried to use the big window as my only light source but unfortunately it was very gray and rainy out so not ideal conditions. This is why I'm still doing free sessions...lots to learn! I'm still working on the photos but here's one - what a cutie!

06 March 2009

Clare's Comfort Item


None of the kids have had blankies and only Corey and Emma have had dummies (Nuk's) but Clare has her own "comfort item". Actually, she has 2....Minnie Mouse and one that's always easy to take along...her belly button. She's been fascinated with her belly button since she was old enough to find it and she still rubs it any time she's tired or pretty much any other time. Given that, I thought I should try to capture the experience....

Practice Pictures






Just a quick post to get some more kid photos up. We're all doing well. Clare is finally over her week of having a bad stomach. She's still more tired than usual and waking early so not completely over jetlag, but we're getting there! She's talking up a storm these days...she went from hardly any words to 3-word sentences in about a month! Very cute. The other kids are all doing well. Corey and Lilly are enjoying our break from the winter this week...it's been in the 50's. Rain ahead for this weekend, though....

I'm doing a photo shoot at home tomorrow for a friend's sister and her 9 month old. I photographed her when she was 3 months and she's just adorable so I'm looking forward to seeing how she's grown. Should be fun...