Aiden is in First Grade

Aiden has finished his first week of first grade.  He is so amazing.  He has had homework every night which consists of the following:

1. Reading University: Reading for at least 15 minutes every night from a list of approved books.  My favorite so far is "Click Clack Moo, Cows that type".  I usually read this book to him, it was fun to have Aiden read it to me.
2. Reading Fluency:  He has the same paragraph he has to read each night.  The purpose is to try and read is faster and with less mistakes.  Last night he was reading at 70 words per minute. The goal is 47 words per minute.  I am very proud of my big guy.
3. Math worksheets
4. English worksheets
5. And various other worksheets from one of the 7 subjects he is currently learning.

While attending back to school night for the parents I saw a paper on Aiden's favorite subject.  To my surprise it is Art.

An Evening at the Park

Last night we rode our bikes to the park.  Since it was a school night we did not stay long.  However, we did learn that Austin loves going down the slide with his big brother or big sister.  All my kids are so lucky to have such amazing siblings.

My Funny Sleeper

Last night Thad checked on the Aiden and Taylor to make sure they were asleep.  As I was checking on Austin, he called me into Aiden's room to see Taylor and this is what I found.

She was hungry after we read books, so I got her some apples.  I guess she was too tired to finish eating her apple and fell asleep with it in her mouth.  I love my funny little sleeper!

Photos Galore

We wanted to get some pictures of Austin for his first birthday. I had it all planned out and decided we could get some family photos as well.  I had seen quite a few people post pictures on Facebook from Foto Fly so we decided to give it a try.  We absolutely loved it.  The pictures are great and it was so easy to get all different kids of pictures.

 I had no idea what to have everyone wear, so an hour before our pictures we ransacked Old Navy and came up with this cute combination.  Unfortunately Old Navy did not have a black or pink shirt for Austin. 

 Aiden was amazing. he did everything the photographer asked and absolutely loved it.  He could live in front of a camera.

 Taylor is my princess.  She was a little nervous at first and smiled the whole time, but would not talk to the photographer.  She is getting so big, what happened to my baby?

 Austin refused to take much of a nap today, so this was not the perfect day for his pictures.  He was so scared of the flash.  He would start crying during every picture.  We did get a few cute ones.

 Austin is wearing his superman shirt and cape.  I am trying to make 23 capes for all his friends coming to his first birthday party.  The party is tomorrow and I only have two complete. 

 This is the only way we could get him to smile.  He is my adventurous boy.

 Thad had to spend a good 20 mins to get Austin to smile for this picture.  He is an amazing little boy.  I can't believe he is one.  Where did the last year go?  He has made such an amazing difference to our family.  We all adore him.

We have been married for over 12 years, know each other for 13 1/2 years.  We have three beautiful children.  We are so truly blessed. 

I Read My First Sentence

Taylor has been working on learning all of her sounds and starting to read. She has been able to read quite a few 3-4 letter words.

Last night she read her first sentence. "See me eat." She is doing so amazing and learning so much. We have been using the book Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. We practice every night before bed and she just finished lesson 13.

We found out about this book from Aiden and Taylor's school.  It is the way both the preschool and kindergarten teach the kids to read.  It has been easy for me and Taylor has picked it up so well.  By the end of the summer she is probably going to be readying books. 

I am so proud of my little girl!!

The Joy of Being a Mom

 I absolutely love being a mom. It has been my greatest achievements. My children bring so much joy and excitement to my life. I would not change my life for anything in the world.

I can't even put into words how amazing life is with my children.  We laugh over silly things, can spend hours playing with chalk on the driveway, and cuddle up to watch movies.

There is no manual to being a mom, and it is fun trying to figure out what works best for each child and our family.  I love my children with all my heart and miss them every moment we are apart.

Ice Skating

My niece, Samantha loves ice skating.  She has been in several competitions and has been in the top three every time.  For her birthday, she had an ice skating lesson for the kids.  Here are some pictures from this fun event.