Bi-Annual Blog

It's three days before Thanksgiving and I am in bed with strep throat.  This stuff is brutal.  Jeremy was sick all last week, but he tested negative for strep.  I however, am not so lucky.  It hit me like a freight train late yesterday afternoon, and I have been miserable.  Currently, thanks to medication, my fever has broke and I no longer have eight blankets on top of me.  Since we are supposed to leave for a Picker Family Reunion tomorrow after school, Jeremy has instructed me to stay away from the kids, in hopes my germs won't spread.  We'll see if we're that lucky.  I'm extremely bored, and although I've been reading some on and off today, I decided to get on my computer and my blog was staring me in the face.  I'll take a hint and update.

This girl is 7 going on 17.  She is enjoying second grade although the excitement of school has definitely worn off for her.  She is involved with Brownies, and just finished another soccer season coached by her dad.  She loves church, Justin Bieber, her brother and sister (most of the time), and reading.  She's still pretty quiet at school, but not nearly as shy as she used to be.  I spend the first Friday of the month at her school popping popcorn for all of the classes, and I often have kids ask me why she never talks when she's not supposed to.  My reply, "Well, I guess because she knows she's not supposed to!"  She's quite the rule follower.  She participates in Math Fact Scholars at school and is one test away from getting a silver medal for knowing her multiplication/division problems up to 12.

This little lady is 4.  She started preschool this year, and although we never thought she was as shy as Kennedy, she acts very much like Kennedy did in preschool.  She definitely talks to her teachers way more than Kennedy ever did, but I found out at Parent Teacher Conferences that she prefers to stand next to the teachers at recess and chat with them rather than play with other kids.  We are working on that.  Who knows what all they know about our family!  I think I'll prefer to remain ignorant though as to what kinds of things she is telling them!  Her current loves are Barbie Princess and the Popstar, Lalaloopsies, her brother and sister (again, most of the time) and playing Nick Jr. and PBS Kids games on my computer.  She loves to sing and dance, but not if she realizes people are watching her.  She loves to make people laugh, and is quite goofy.

And this big guy is a week and a half away from being 2.  He is fairly laid back, yet he manages to keep me on my toes.  He talks a ton, and in full sentences for the most part, much like Kennedy did when she was his age.  He loves Dora, Yo Gabba Gabba, the Cardinals, his big sisters, playing on our iphones (in which he can fully navigate his way around), playing with any type of ball, and all forms of transportation.  I'm so excited to give him a real basketball hoop (Little Tikes) for his birthday, so he can stop "playing basketball" by shooting a ball into the bottom of one of our bar stools.  Jeremy's parents are also giving him a t-ball set, which will be fantastic, as he currently uses a spatula as a bat to hit balls around our house.  We recently changed his room into a big boy room, and he now sleeps in Jeremy's old bed from when he was a kid.  It's decorated in all things Cardinals/sports.  He loves it and has done great!  He's even started using the potty on occasion.  I'm not really pushing that though, as we are traveling for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, and I feel like diapers may be an easier route for our trips. We'll see though.  He's also our first child that actually likes soda, which has thrown us for a loop.  Our girls despise it, so we've never had to deal with whether or not they can have it.  Ian, however, has soda radar.  He can hear a can pop open across the room, and he'll immediately bring his cute little self to whomever is drinking it, and say "Soda please?"  Hard to resist.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving, a Merry Christmas, a happy Valentine's Day, and a great Easter, because lets be realistic, it's unlikely I'll update again before then.