What is going on here? No fair!!

I know, I know it's going to happen.  He's going to grow.  But really, does it have to be so quickly?  And why does it seem like he's going to be taller than I am before he's 10.  NO FAIR.  

Notice -- He's slouching!

It seems that over the past few months Jeff has just grown and grown.  Not only physically, but in so many other ways as well.  But yes, he's that tall.

He lost his first tooth! He lost it at school, but was able to tell his teacher was able to have him put it in a bag to bring home.  The tooth fairy brought him some fairy dust with a $5 bill and a nickel.  

Mom!  I Lost My Tooth!!

He's also made huge strides in his swimming lessons.  He can now swim the length of the gym pool in 3 different strokes (freestyle, back and breast).

Working on Dives

Catch his little dance before his dive.  Everything has to be J.U.S.T right.

He's reading to me now and his thirst for reading is infectious.  He loves to sound out new words and looks for ones he recognizes in all sorts of places.

Like I said -- No Fair.  Poor sister has given up on being the "big" sister any more.  She realizes that idea is long past.  BUT it doesn't keep her from taking care of him, because that's what a "big" sister is going to do anyway.

But  . . . I can still carry my baby boy around.  He's still my snuggle-bunny.  No matter how tall he gets.  How many stories he reads to me.  How many laps he swims.  How many teeth he loses.  Mr. Jeffrey (and Miss Erin) will always be my baby.

2nd Grade Concert

The 2nd grade at the kids' school has been working on a special concert for several months.  It was originally scheduled for December, then moved to January and finally they held it last night.  It was very clear that all the kids had worked really hard on the concert.  They did a great job.

Erin was one of 3 students asked to do a reading at the concert.  She had to introduce the final selection of songs and invite the crowd to sing along at the end.  It was adorably cute.  Of course, speaking in front of the group of parents was no big deal for Erin.  She only got mad at herself because she stumbled over the word "introduction".  I tried to tell her that no one noticed.  It was also very cute that she said "Renaissance Festival" instead of Renaissance song.  The cute song got upgraded to an entire festival.  Wonder why Renaissance Festival came to the fore-front?

Several of the songs had hand movements, and one was actual ASL.  That was her favorite song, and the managed the ASL very well.

We had great seats, and ended up right in front of Erin, who smiled at us through most of the concert.  Just a super fun night.  So proud of all the kids!!  Here's one final clip of the "Donkey Song" (not sure what the real title is, but in our house it's the Donkey Song).

Our Special Valentine

Here is our special Valentine, especially for our family.  Mommy's horrible about sending out cards, and making that random phone call, but we wanted everyone to know . . .

We Love You

The Freedom of Childhood

OK, let me set the stage for some amazingly adorable (yet slightly disturbing) events here at the household this evening.  Due to some unexpected snow and ice last night, school was closed today.  We had a total of 1/4" but since we're at the base of the mountains, and part of the county runs into the mountains -- better safe than sorry I guess.  Mr. Jeffrey had been a major grumpus all day.  By afternoon, things had cleared and we were able to get out to his swimming lesson.

When we got home, Tom was cooking and listening to some bluesy-rock.  We all chatted for a few minutes, kids went to their rooms to play, I went to the basement to check something on the computer.

Jeff comes down the stairs to the basement.  He's moving and grooving.  First off, this boy HATES to dance, unless it's on his own terms.  But apparently he was feeling the blues.  I look up from computer.

M - "Jeff, why aren't you wearing any pants?"
J - "Because I'm dancing.  And my pants are dancing with me."  He proceeded to dance his way back upstairs.

I follow him in a few minutes.  I find him in the middle of the living room, gyrating his hips -- wearing only his underwear.  Clearly he was really feeling it.  I sneak into the kitchen and point it out to Tom who simply shakes his head.  I watch for a few seconds and then do what all mom's would do.

I whip out the iPhone and start videoing the most adorable Buzz Lightyear-clad tooshie in the universe.  Jeff continues to dance and swing his hips around.  He's really putting on a show now.  It's taking me a lot NOT to post this adorable video, but for the sake of all our sanity I think I'll keep it secured here for blackmail use later.  If you ever visit, I can certainly show you though ;)

I turn my back to show Tom the video and hear Jeff shout -- "Look I'm naked!!"

And he was.  I simply fell onto the floor laughing.  He's swaying his hips and his little nakedness is just flowing in the wind.  There were literally tears in my eyes.  Butt naked.  Dancing to the blues. Happy as can be.  Happiest he's been all day (except maybe the hour he was in the pool).

Sure my reaction egged him on.  And we'll definitely have to talk before school tomorrow to ensure that all clothing remains on his body.  Still the pure joy of his being naked and dancing will be a moment I'll savor forever.

Sporting A New "Look"

At least at school.  And for homework.  And for her DS.

Erin's following along mommy and daddy's path and has her first pair of glasses.  We've been taking her annually to the eye doctor for a few years because there's a history of vision issues on both sides of the family.  Also, we're trying to track the headaches still.  Her issues are not actually distance vision, but up close.  Her brain is working extra hard when reading and doing school work.  So -- school glasses it is.

She was so amazingly excited to pick out her frames.  And so sad when I had to explain that she wasn't going to get to take her new glasses home for another week.  They're adorable red/pink metal frames with little hearts on the sides.  If you look closely you'll also notice that then end of the ear-piece is a princess shoe -- yep Disney marketing at it's best.  BUT they don't look too young, so I don't think she'll grow out of them mentally before she does physically.

She's been very good about wearing them.  I ask her if it's easier to read/write and she says yes.  Hopefully it will help her from getting more tired at the end of the school days.  Her friends at school were also very excited to see her sporting her new glasses.

So, in the week we've had them she's not complained about any headaches.  Might we have found an answer?  Here's hoping.

Back In The Pool

So Excited To Be Back In The Pool

Back in January, we had the chance to get Jeffrey back in the pool for some more swimming lessons.  He still LOVES swimming.  It has been quite a while since Jeff's had lessons so I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that he seems really ready to focus during his lessons.  He's got his favorite instructor again which is a big help since that means Jeff doesn't have to learn someone else's method of "Ice Cream Scoops" or "Pizza Pulls".  At 5, he's also able to pay a bit more attention and understand more of what his instructor is asking.  

We'll keep swimming through this month, and maybe next month.  He really does love it so much.  

Working With Flippers

Having So Much Fun

Thanks Mom!