I feel like I have not blogged forever! I have been busy! I need to get back into blogging every day. I love going back and reading my blog(s) from the past few years. It needs to become a priority again–just so I can record all of those simple moments of our lives that end up being pretty significant after time passes and I take a glimpse back to remember when… Tomorrow is the first day of March, which always gets me very excited each year, so maybe that will be a good time to start blogging again every day.
Addie J.
Addie will be 4 years-old very soon! Her birthday is April 25. I think we may have a birthday party for her with family and a couple of her friends. I am trying to talk her into a monkey party. This kid seriously loves monkeys! She has monkey pajamas, books about monkeys, and when I took the girls to Build-A-Bear, Addie chose a stuffed monkey! Then she named *her* Angelina after her friend! So cute!
Addie has been in 3 year-old preschool this school year, and it has been a phenomenal experience for her. She LOVES her teacher so much! I feel very blessed by such special teachers in my children’s lives. Mrs. McGee makes every single day fun AND educational! Addie recently received a report card, and she has shown such improvement since the start of the school year. I was very excited!
Addie is not the studious, serious type. It has been much more challenging to get her to sit still and read books, learn her letters and numbers, etc. She would much rather be on-the-go! I think she has learned to find a little bit more of a balance between being a student and being a fun girl!
Outside of preschool, Addie participates in dance class on Saturday mornings and gymnastics class on Thursday evenings. She recently got moved to the next level in gymnastics (to the class that is a year above her age). We are very thankful for her God-given athletic ability. I think it will provide her with many awesome opportunities in her life. Her gymnastics teacher also said that when Addie gets ready for the kindergarten level of gymnastics that she can skip that class and move to the next level, which is down in the big gymnastics area–a year early. We started her in gymnastics at the beginning of last summer, and we plan to leave her in it all year-round. I do believe she will have the opportunity to compete (starting at Level 4) in the next 2-3 years. I will be taking her to the state gymnastics meet (Levels 4-6) at the end of April (it will be held in Holland) to expose her to a gymnastics meet.
Addie is a competitor. She loves to be active, and she loves to try her best at everything. Her gymnastics teacher said it all comes very naturally to her. We are thankful for that.
Reilly
Reilly is growing up so fast! We are still working on teaching her to read at home. In kindergarten, she is 1 of 3 kids who leaves during reading time (she goes to the library to work with a different reading group) for being one of the top readers in her class. We have been working on reading for a long time. Reilly is a motivated learner, and it comes easily to her. We are very grateful for that.
Reading is the basis for everything. Dave and I have made literacy a priority in our home. As a high school teacher, I have seen the struggles students undergo when reading is difficult for them. We will continue to work very hard with all of our children to help them be the best readers they can be.
We believe in phonics. In school, they focus on sight words. I think that is important after learning phonics. I do not think that just because a child can identify sight words that that means they are reading. Teaching Reilly how to read and following a top-rated reading program has taught me a great deal about the teaching of reading. I am thankful my child is motivated to be a good reader.
Reilly is reading, not merely identifying sight words. We have created many (and I do mean many!) supplementary reading activities for Reilly at home. Reading and writing are such important skills in this world. We have been doing both at home almost every night.
It is not a surprise to me that Reilly is one of the top readers in her kindergarten class. We are not making a big deal out of it. We expect her to work hard and to do well in school. My children will be taught to be thankful for the abilities they do have and to be mindful that certain skills such as reading may not come as naturally to other children. Dave and I want our children to be humble about their abilities. Everybody has strengths and weaknesses. It is my job to help my children be aware of both their strengths and weaknesses. Boasting is not our style. Teaching our children humility is a priority in this family.
Jo-Jo!
My big 5 month old! Just in the past week or so, I looked at Jolie, and I said to Dave, “She is getting so big!” It happens so quickly! I miss the fact that she’ll never be that little cuddly newborn baby ever again, but I rejoice in the fact that she is a big cuddly baby now!
I love this age! So many exciting things happen in the second half of a baby’s first year of life! Jolie is very close to sitting up. She can balance herself for several seconds before toppling over, but she is still a little unsure of this whole sitting up thing! It will be so much easier to take photos of her once she is sitting up!
In the past 1-2 weeks, she has started to grab objects like crazy! She has also discovered the existence of our cat Maisy. Jolie loves her cat! She reaches out for her and tries to play with her. Maisy has been a good sport, even when Jolie has pulled handfuls of fur off of her!
Our little girl still has (big) blue eyes! Her hair is starting to turn blond…and she does not have much of it! She had much more hair when she was born!
She looks a lot like Addie.
I have taken photos…but I have not found the time to edit any of them yet. My goal is to start getting caught up with my photos this week.
I hold this baby a ridiculous amount of time…and I love every second of it. She is my last one, and I am savoring every moment with her. I love holding her while she falls asleep in my arms. I love taking naps with her. I love playing with her and hearing her giggle every day!
She is the best baby!
I could use a little fuel myself…and we could all use a little CHANGE!
Hey, now! Big announcement: I did it! I finally ordered my first studio lighting set-up! I am moving forward with all of this! I am so tired of not having any light in this state for too many months out of the year. Plus, I am ready to learn all about studio lighting! I am so excited!
My photographer friends can come over and play once I get everything set up… I am excited about all of the new possibilities having a studio will offer! It will be right around the time that Jolie starts sitting up, too, so it will be nice to have consistent, reliable lighting whenever I want it!
I also have many ideas for all of the creative *sets* Dave and I will build/put together to (eventually) offer a variety of options to my clients. I will need the next few months…and maybe the summer…to figure everything out! I will be able to do so much more now!
I am also excited to be getting the Sekonic L-358 light meter for exposure in the studio setting. I think I will be amazed by this instrument!
All in all, I have invested right around a grand to get started with a studio. It is my first big photography investment in two years! The last one was my camera!
Cranking out the work!
I do not know where I have been getting all of my energy lately…maybe from going to bed early almost every night in the past week! I have been getting so much done in my personal life!
*My house just keeps getting cleaner and cleaner… Yes, I like it that way! We have plans for decorating, painting, and getting some new furniture this spring and summer. I think we will get back to hosting some summertime parties this year, too! I love a clean, happening house!
*I finished Jolie’s baby book of her birth photos and information.
*I am currently figuring out Blurb… I am putting together a book of Reilly and Addie, and I cannot wait to start turning my blog(s) into books for each of the years I have blogged, starting in 2006. THAT is why I need to sit down and blog every day of our lives!
Kicking it at PT!
My knee gets better after every physical therapy session 3 times a week, but it has not been a pain-free experience! I do not ever take pain killers, though! I am toughing it out! I know that it will all be worth it in the end. I have a long road ahead of me…but I am willing to work my hardest and give it my all so I can be very active again! I will be rehabbing this knee for at least a year…maybe forever!
***Well, this is all I have for now… I have got to keep on the early-to-bed schedule! Everything has been pretty positive in our lives lately! We are very thankful for that!
