First Grade Checking In

 We are trucking right along with first grade.  Now that I have 4 kids, I often forget to take pictures of everyday stuff.

 Much of our school day now takes place in the living room while I'm nursing the baby.

 I never used math manipulatives before this year and it's amazing to me how quickly David grasps new concepts by using the blocks.  Elizabeth has even picked up some stuff by listening & watching us use the blocks!

 I don't know why it never occurred to me to let David type stuff on the computer until he asked one day.  He occupied himself a good while.  And when he asked how to spell things, I told him to sound it out.  English can be tricky, though, but I thought he did a good job spelling things the way they sound using what he has learned so far.

 He loves learning Spanish words, also, and has now declared himself bilingual.  We are going to step it up and get some better Spanish training very soon... for both of us.  I haven't been very good at teaching him that because I never had it myself!

Elizabeth's 4th Birthday Party!

 Beautiful Elizabeth turned 4 years old on January 9.  We waited until the following weekend to have her party.  For months she'd been talking about riding a carousel, so...

that's what we did!

 After a few spins, we had pink sprinkled chocolate cupcakes!

 There were no smokers present & I forgot to bring matches, so she just pretended to blow out her candles!

 Then it was back to the carousel for a few more rides!

 Then we took another break so she could open her presents. 

 Then, of course, we headed back to the carousel!!!

 Lauren & Rebekah are in the dark above.

 I think she rode almost every single animal on the carousel!

 Afterwards we went out for pizza and this birthday was a smashing success for this 4 year old!

Fall Show at The Little Gym, Part 2

Finally, the long awaited finale of Elizabeth's gymnastics/dance class!  I posted the gymnastics part already.  First, they tap dance!  Dad is thankful that she doesn't wear these shoes at home!

Their tap dance to "Weather Man":



Then they switched to their ballet shoes.  And this was Elizabeth's favorite part of the whole class!  First they did their ballet solo.

Then they all finished out the song together.



Next they performed "Hawaiian Rainbow"

 (she's got that move down!)

And finally, all the girls received a medal for completing the class!

Fall Show at The Little Gym, Part 1

Boy, I am behind!  We have a new baby and Elizabeth turned 4 and I have had very little computer time in the last 2 weeks!  Yesterday was Elizabeth's Fall Show for her gymnastics/dance class at The Little Gym.  It was just us and Grandpa able to attend, so here are some pictures/videos for all the other family that missed it.

First, the girls were introduced:



Then they did some noodle activities:

Then, she did some rolls before her high bar routine.  She's a bit afraid of heights, so this is an accomplishment for her to even do this much!

Finally in the gym side, she got to show her balance beam routine.  She had a little trouble getting on the beam in the first place because her skirt is so big!

Stay tuned for the dance part of the Fall Show...

January ONE: 2011 ONE

 We are now a family of 6 - 

FOUR KIDS!

 Better get used to it, Little One!

See my kids grow on the first day of each month:

month ONE