Jackson is 10 months old!

Dear Jackson,

You are now 10 months old! I know I am late writing this month's letter. We have been busy, busy! You are learning so much and continue to grow and develop beautifully. On July 2, 2016, you said, "Mama" for the first time! I was so proud of you and excited to hear you say my name! You had been calling me "Nana." Words that start with "d" are easy for you to say. "Dad," "dog," "dada," etc. You also make a lot of other sounds and noises and can squeal very high like your older brother used to do.

You continue to love to cruise holding onto something or someone's hand. You can stand a few seconds without holding onto anything. 

You are a super fast crawler. You love crawling and pushing a ball around the house.

You enjoy feeding yourself and recently started grabbing the pouch of baby food to feed yourself with it. You can also pick up little pieces of food and put them in your mouth. 

You still don't like going to the nursery at church, but we're working on it. I'm not attending a ladies' Bible study again, so you get to go twice a week to the nursery. 

You love playing with Caden and Grace. You enjoy short books that have texture.

Sleep: You sleep 11-12 hours at night and have been taking 1 nap a day that averages between 1.5-2.5 hours. 

You don't like laying down to get your diaper changed and constantly want to roll over.

You like climbing and can now climb up our stairs. 

You love swinging and being outside.

You enjoy music and tend to dance and "sing" to the rhythm of the beats.

You love the water and enjoy taking baths and going swimming.

You like the sandbox and have no problem getting covered in sand. :)

Jackson, we love you so much! This year is going by too fast!

Love,
Mom

At a German Biergarten

You enjoyed going to the lake

Caden made you a hat!

Having fun with your siblings

You really do love the water, it doesn't look like you do here, though.

Church VBS

10 months old today!

Climbing the stairs

He loves playing in the sandbox and sometimes eating the sand. :0

Caden is 7!!

Dear Caden,

You are now 7 years old! These past 7 years have gone by way too fast! I am enjoying watching you grow, learn, and change. You had a wonderful 1st grade year and we're looking forward to starting 2nd grade. 

This year you wanted to have a tennis birthday party. The club had never done a tennis birthday party before and thankfully we were able to have one for you. You and your friends had a great time! On your actual birthday we met one of your best friends, Patrick, at Chuck E Cheese for lunch. Then in the afternoon, we had two of your other best friends, Olivia and Neil, over to play. You are excited to be 7!

So far this summer you have enjoyed going to tennis camp, basketball camp, VBS, swimming, and playing with friends. We've gone to the zoo once and will go many more times. You've also had several birthday parties to attend, which is always fun. We're also planning a visit to see our good friends in Austin and maybe head to the coast for a few days. 

Your 7 year check-up went great. Here are your stats!

57.5 lbs (80%) - weight

51.5 inches (90%) - height

We got your test scores back from this past year. To be honest, I don't think they should test young kids. You scored on age level for reading and scored 5th grade in math! Math is definitely one of your strengths and you love it. You scored 99% out of the whole nation in 1st graders. The tests were done through Abeka, which is known to be a rigorous curriculum. The really cool thing is, is that you taught yourself division and fractions. We'll practice them but your actual math work this past year was grade level. You are smart and gifted. 

Some other things about you that I love include, your willingness to include others. You don't like to see anyone left out. Your friends appreciate how kind you are and giving. You want to please God and do what the Bible says. I can see your faith forming and it makes Dad and I happy. You say really nice prayers before meals and bed. You are kind to your siblings and they both look up to you. You are helpful around the house and are learning and growing great.  

Favorite Things:

Age: 7

Color: red

Book: Charlie and the Glass Elevator

Song: Whom Shall I Fear? (God of Angel Armies)

Best Friend: Patrick (you also love many of your other friends, including Olivia and Neil)

Subject: Math

Game: Angry Birds Fight

Restaurant: Chuck E Cheese (I think you like Texas de Brazil more, but we decided to take you to Chuck E Cheese for lunch, we don't go often)

Food: Cheese Pizza

Dessert: Chocolate Cake

Toy: Zoobs

TV Show: Jake and the Neverland Pirates

Movie: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Animal: Bird

Sport: Tennis

What do you want to be when you grow up? Chef (you mentioned a few months ago that you really wanted to be a video game maker as well)

Here are some pictures from your birthday and party. I might do another post with just pictures from your party. 

We love you, Caden! Happy Birthday!!

Love,
Mom

Eating lunch

Your grandparents and Uncle Shawn and Avery came as well

Sweet friends

We had VBS one night on your birthday

 

 

Playing Bloxels

Last Day of 1st Grade!

Caden and Mrs. Ball

Today was Caden's last day of 1st grade. It's been a great year. He's gone through more changes than most kids I know. He started at a new part-time school, we changed churches, he joined Trail Life, and took some classes at a fine arts school this past Spring. He's also played tennis this year and started taking karate a few weeks ago. This kid goes through more social changes than most I know. Thankfully he rolls with it and tends to make friends easily.

This week has been busy, especially Tuesday night. First we needed to be at Caden's school for his awards ceremony. His teacher recognized him for his loyalty and being a caring friend. She said he's always quick to include others and ensure that none are left out. We couldn't agree more! He's a great friend and is always wanting to make sure kids are included. Sounds a lot like his mom and dad. 

 

After his class was recognized, we had to dart off to our church where his Trail Life did their end of the year awards ceremony. Caden has really enjoyed Trail Life this year. He's moving up from being a Fox to a Hawk. Two new things he's done this year include going camping and fishing. Both, which he loved. Collin is also now registered as a Trail Guide so he'll be helping lead Caden's group next year.

Caden has grown so much this year. I got to talk with his teacher for about 30 minutes today and loved hearing what she had to say. She said she loved having him in class. He was kind, considerate, funny, and smart. She said that he always knew his memory verse and was eager to tell her on Tuesday mornings right when he came in the door. The other kids looked to him to say it because sadly, most didn't know it and hoped to learn from Caden. She also said he has a love of numbers and is very good at math, which we knew. She said he was a delight to have in class and she'll miss seeing him next year. Not returning to Mosaic was a difficult decision. However, he's really looking forward to rejoining a co-op with some of his best friends. I'm also looking forward to teaching him full time again and having him home more. The door to Mosaic will remain open for the future if we decide to send him there again. Collin and I have mixed emotions about it. We love the school but we've had a lot of financial burdens come up this year and not spending so much on school and being able to do other things will be nice. Also we live in a wonderful city full of lots of homeschool families and activities. We seriously could join a group of friends most days of the week for something fun if we wanted.

I'm so glad Caden had such a wonderful year this year. Thanks to his computer class he was introduced to computer games. Thanks to some older kids at church, for better or worse, he was introduced to Angry Birds. At the beginning of the year, his favorite game was chess and checkers. Now he prefers Angry Birds. He made an About Me picture and page. This is what it says:

I am 6 years old.

I like video games.

I like angry birds Go.

I like angry birds Star Wars.

I am good.

I like my sister.

I love my brother.

I love my family. 

Here are a few more of his favorites:

Best Friends from school: Patrick and Gideon 

Favorite Class: computer (but he also liked PE, recess and lunch)

Favorite subject: math 

Favorite TV Show: Jake and the Neverland Pirates (he just stared watching this a few weeks ago)

Favorite Book we read this year: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Favorite Movie: Rio

Favorite Colors: blue, white, yellow, and pink

Favorite Game: Angry Birds Go

Favorite Food: pizza

What he wants to be when he grows up: make video games and be a chef

Music performance from AFA

Rocket he made from his engineering class

We're going to take a few weeks off of school before diving into 2nd grade. He's signed up for a few camps this summer and I want to wait until he's 7 before starting 2nd. We love you, Caden, you bring so much love and joy to our family!!