The Things Kids Say

As I put Matthew to bed tonight I explained to him that I have to go back to work tomorrow so I might be gone before he wakes up. "No, I don't want you to," he said and then, "Why?" I told him that I had to make money and he quickly responded, "How about I give you a dollar?" Ah, my sweet little boy.

Kidisms

Today while we driving to Natalie's dance class I was reminding the kids of the room cleaning that had to happen before sleepover night. I told them that they could clean after school on Thursday and on Friday afternoon. Matthew said, "Mommy, I can't clean tomorrow. I have too many things to do." I asked him what he had to do, thinking he'd say that he had school. Instead he replied, "I have to draw and make some pictures and then color."

A little bit later we were talking about school and why it's important. Matthew asked, "Why do we have to go to school anyway." So, I fielded that question to Natalie. I said, "Natalie, tell your brother why do we have to go to school." She replied, "Well, at school the teacher tells you things and then you have to memorize them."

Progress

Here's a photo of Matthew's homework. He wrote his name all by himself in a fairly straight line with the letters about the same size and it was a reasonable size too.

Also, the other day I had two paperback books on our ottoman by the same author. He pointed to the author's name and said, "Mommy, these two books have the same word on them." I love to watch the flashes of learning and understanding that take place.

Way to go Little Buddy!

Why?

We were watching the Wizard of Oz this afternoon and Dorothy was singing. Matthew paused to watch a little of the movie and said, "Mommy, why does she keep singing?" Ah, gotta love little boys! No love for the musical!

Relief

I am happy to report that Matthew LOVES preschool. He started off a little rocky with some crying the first couple of days. There was that, "Mommy, don't leave me!" on the first day but now he looks forward to going and today he even went an extra day. They were having an apple festival and all the kids were invited whether it was their day or not. He tasted apples, made an Apple Jack necklace, had homemade applesauce, and made apple print art. He was so excited when I got home from school that he climbed up next to me on the couch and said, "Let me tell you about my day."

Priceless

Matthew saved two snails in our yard tonight. He dunked them in the dog's water to get them wet and left them by the wall. Later he went to check on them. He shouted, "Mommy, I saved them!." I replied, "Yes, you did. You saved those snails." He said, "Does that make me a superhero?"

Getting Ready for Preschool

Five pairs of shorts - $35.00
Five shirts - $25.00
One Star Wars lunch pail - $5.00
Matthew trying on four pairs of shoes and testing each one for perfect running, jumping and balancing ability - PRICELESS!

Hip, Hip Hurray! Guess Who's Turning Six Today?

Happy Birthday, baby girl!

Bragging Rights

I have been trying to teach Natalie to be humble when it comes to things that she's good at. She had been doing some bragging recently and would frequently say, "It's easy." I told her that might be considered bragging and my she could end it with it's easy for me. Today she told me another child in her class asked her why she always passed everything (ie math tests, AR tests, reading tests). Natalie said, "Mommy, I told her it's easy for me, but it may not be for you." Ah, kids!

I Do Believe in ...

Natalie and I were reading tonight a Magic Tree House book tonight. It mentioned monsters so she told me about one of the Junie B. Jones books she read the other day. It was Junie B. Jones has a Monster Under Her Bed. In the story Junie B. gives advice on how to avoid monsters under your bed. Natalie told me that jumps in the middle of the bed so the monster can't get her. I told her that I didn't believe in monsters. Then, wanting her to feel safe, I added, "Monsters aren't real." She looked at me and said, "Mom, I'll believe you when I'm older."

I Do Believe in Fairies

On Saturday we went to a Faery Hunt which was an interactive show at Griffith Park. It was great. The kids loved it and it was definitely worth the price and distance traveled. Later we went to the observatory too. As we were leaving the observatory I was recapping our day in the car. Natalie said, "I know they weren't really fairies. They were just humans." "Really?" I asked her, "How can you tell?" She replied, "They were too big to be real fairies. Fairies are small."

Natalie's Day to Shine

A friend took these photos of Natalie on stage during her recital. She did so well. What a natural dancer she is! This was a ballet number (if that's what you call it). And, honestly, she was the best one out of her group. She knew the routine and did it perfectly and with grace. She barely looked over at the side where her teacher was "dancing" along with them. And she probably only did that because they were there. What an awesome little girl she is!

Matthew said tonight as I was putting him to bed, "Ask me who I think the best dancer was." So I did and he replied, "Natalie!." Even he was proud of his sister today. The next number would start and it wouldn't be hers and he would look at me and say, "Awwww."

I often think she's growing so fast that I want time to slow down. But when I see her in moments like this or just stop to watch her, I am so proud of the person she is becoming. What an amazing little girl she is: always happy, always a smile on her face, always positive. She's a bright ray of sunshine (a far cry from the colicky infant she was!) There's not a day that goes by in which I don't count by blessings, my two beautiful children because of course, Mr. Matthew certainly lights up my life as well! His post will be next as he starts swimming in two weeks!

Proud moments, proud mommy.

Matthew Witticisms

Matthew (to me as I was leaving): "Goodbye, Adorable!"
Me: "You're Adorable too!"
Matthew: "Adorable means cute!."

Getting Ready for School

The first day of school is rapidly approaching! As soon as we got home from a birthday party today Natalie just had to get ready. She packed her own lunch and set it by her backpack. It was about 4:30 p.m. I had to tell her we needed to keep it in the fridge over night so it wouldn't spoil. For fear that we would forget it in the morning, I posted a note on the front door!

And what did she pack?
Yogurt, string cheese, a banana, orange slices, and juice. She also asked for some bread but she couldn't reach it so I added that and a few pretzel crisps just in case.

I can't believe my baby is going to first grade!

Matthew Shines

Of course we always talk about how bright Natalie is and what a natural learner she is. And I was never one to compare the two, knowing very well that boys differ than girls and that he Matthew would come into his own. Well, he seems to be blossoming right before my eyes.

Matthew has been very verbal from age ten months old so it's no surprise that he doesn't stop talking and singing and laughing. Also, from a very young age I began to see that he was incredibly artistic, drawing and coloring. That was something that always frustrated Natalie until probably right before Kindergarten. This past school year we set aside homework time for Natalie nightly. During this time Matthew also wanted to sit and do homework with us. At first it started out as coloring but soon he was working in his little workbooks and noticed that he took to the spatial concepts. He seemed to have a knack for numbers and early math concepts. He can easily count to 30 but he always skips 16!

Ever since he could hold objects, Matthew has had a love of books and reading. He prides himself on being able to read environmental print. He can "read" a Target sign from a mile away. Reading nightly is a must for him and he'll often grab a couple of books to read even after we've said goodnight. A couple of weeks ago Matthew picked up a repetitious book and used picture clues and the pattern to read it. Immediately pride took over his expression. It gave him the confidence to venture out and "read" more of this type of book. Today, while we were playing "Space Buddies" and sitting in our rockets. Natalie, Matthew, and I had reading time. We all silently read our books, Matthew quietly whispering a story about a mother seal who loses her pup. Hopefully this is just the beginning of more to come.

Oh, and the first book that Matthew read happens to be the very first book that Natalie read (Big and Little). While it's probably a level one on the Running Record scale, he's only three and I'm darn proud!

Big Steps

My little girl is growing up.

Kindergarten Promotion - She's all ready for first grade. This amazing little girl not only reads at a third grade level (at five!) received the Academic Excellence Award, Outstanding Attendance Award, and an Accelerated Reader trophy.
Here's a photo of her with the principal.
Natalie got her first library card. She proceeded to check out ten books and read them all in a day!

Matthew liked the library too. Natalie happily checked out a couple books for him.

Easter Readiness

This has been a crazy week. Matthew is still struggling with his cough and runny nose and I've been sick. Needless to say, Easter necessities have been put on the back burner. Yesterday the kids and I made a mad dash about town to get some sort of fresh and springy outfit for them to wear on Easter. We managed to do that in only one stop at Kohl's. Now Kohl's is not my favorite place to shop for Natalie but we managed to find her a pretty dress suitable to match her "Easter bonnet." Matthew didn't really care what I bought for him as long as he could look at the toys. After our jaunt to Kohl's we had to hit Albertson's for some much needed groceries. Unfortunately, Matthew had a coughing attack and we couldn't complete our shopping which means our pantry is still pretty bare.

Once we got home we looked through our Easter box that we had finally had the chance to get out. It it was dozens of plastic eggs. We'll just leave those out for the Bunny to fill. No since wasting them. We're green over here. As we were pulling out stuffed chicks, decorations, a singing rabbit or two, the kids picked up their baskets. Every year we put out the same bakset, a very nice and sturdy one from Pottery Barn Kids with monogramed liners. Natalie looked at hers and said, "I'm going to take this to Grandma's to collect eggs." I told her that was fine, but asked her what she was going to do with all the treats that the Easter Bunny would put in it. She looked at me and said, "I thought our baskets {that the E.B. fills} were bigger." I said, "No, you were just smaller." She thought about that for a moment and said, "Oh."

Now, that I think about it, they are kind of small baskets. But that will have to wait until next year, because I am done running around for the week.

As for Matthew, he could care less what size his basket is as long as the Easter Bunny brings toys because he really likes TOYS!

*I know why she remembers a bigger basket! See here:http://pricelessblue.blogspot.com/2007/04/easter-fun.html

Catching Up - March

My goodness time flies. I find it hard to keep up with day to day responsibilites, let alone blogging and preserving the memories of special happenings. Who knew that things would get so busy, hectic and tiring that I wouldn't have time or make the time to blog here. Here's a stab at my goal to update monthly.

In March we met up with the Graf's and attended a family symphony at the Alex Theater in Glendale. The kiddos enjoyed the preshow activities like looking at arachnids and making colorful paintings before the actual music began. The theme was Springtastic Strings with music by Vivaldi. Natalie happily recognized a song from a Little Einstein's episode. We sang along, "It's springtime. Oh yes, oh yes, it's sprintime!" As you can see, Matthew was a bit wiggly, but he did fine and enjoyed the show.

The Guilt

I feel so guilty for not updating my blog. Sadly, I blame my Facebook addiction. As part of my twelve steps to recovery, I plan to update monthly in order to document our fun times. However, that won't be right now! But at least the good intention is there.

A Little December

Kara is recovering from a hectic week at work and a busy and hectic December. The time spent blogging and updating has been spent spreading Christmas cheer, preparing for Matthew's birthday (and recovering), shopping online (or searching online) for the perfect gift, preparing for dance recitals, trips to Disneyland and tending my farm (on facebook). Of course, that's on top of working very hard.

She has just finished cleaning the bottom floor of the house (which is a good size) and must rest now to prepare for more holiday cheer.