GraceWatch

We're way overdue to post here; life has been exceedingly busy. (What's new?) Thankfully, for my birthday, Starling bought me a retreat -- two nights at the Villa St. Joseph hermitages in St. Jospeh, Wisconsin. I leave tomorrow afternoon.

One last picnic

The kids continue to be a source of delight. Bear is getting ever better at the violin -- and growing up in so many ways, although his nutty upper elementary humor is on full display. He LOVES to tell a joke or to laugh at anything. Laughter or silliness are really his default modes. Mouse continues to read voraciously, and draw (she is a better artist than me!), and create elaborate imaginary play scenarios. She is also working on learning all her math facts, and was bursting with pride at having passed one of the benchmark math tests at school (100 math facts in under five minutes). We practice with flash cards for fifteen minutes every night, plus she is getting extra help at school through Title I. Jaybird continues to be a firecracker, and is also making leaps and bounds at school. She is so proud of her maps of the USA and the world, and her ability to write very simple words and to read a few words. But most of all, she is good at math. She will write out math problems for herself in very crude numbering and then solve them, too -- all of them addition problems that she can do on her fingers. And little Mudpuppy . . . what can we say about him? He continues to be the smilingest baby yet, a real charmer. And curious! He loves manipulating things and testing things out. Locomotion -- um, not so much. We are working very diligently, with the help of Early Childhood Intervention, to "move" him along. He loves to play catch with a ball, and to imitate you with hand motions; he just recently began waving "bye bye." He thinks it's the most hilarious thing. I'd really love to capture his giggles on video -- they won't last forever!

Well, this post is nowhere as good as my sister's regularly are, but there you go. It's the best you're going to get, unless I blog during my retreat!

Jaybird with her maps

Jaybird and one of her Twin Cities cousins

Who is cuter? (I vote for the baby!)