Of Late

So we've become newspaper readers now that we don't have TV. Grace wanted to read the newspaper the other day when Daddy sat her on the potty. What a studious look on her face! Her discerning looks are a hoot especially in this shot. We didn't stage it! She sat here for awhile and then surprised herself as well as us when she actually went pee pee. We were pretty excited and she got M&M's for her triumph in the potty world, but we haven't seen any more progress since. Love those pudgy little thighs of hers.

This is Twinkle Toes in her ballet outfit. She is learning a lot and seems to really like it so far.

I'm teaching the 15 year olds this year at church and we're studying the New Testament. It's a humbling calling and probably the hardest I have ever had. But it keeps me in the Scriptures every night so I am enjoying that, but it's nerve wracking to grasp the attention span of 10 young men and women and get them excited about the Word. Love this video about Apostles: http://lds.org/pages/the-role-of-an-apostle?lang=eng

Five on the 5th

My Sweet Boy celebrated his 5th birthday on the 5th! He had 5 boys over for a playdate with cake and ice cream and we all survived very well! It was a lot of fun. He was super excited about his birthday this year and well, it's a big deal turning 5. So even though I am never motivated to throw a party right after Christmas, I bit the bullet and did. I am really proud of him. He is just beginning to read for the first time and I am hoping he will just take off with it soon. Four friends from church came over and his best friend from preschool, Jaxon.

Twinkle Toes dropped into a ballet class last week. We stopped in and they wanted her to try it out so in jeans and a T-shirt, no shoes, she did ballet. She loved it. The teacher said she was a natural, probably because she has done a lot of gymnastics. We tried gymnastics last semester and she did not like the gym in our new town. (It's not as fancy as the one in Redmond). So we are trying out dance now and maybe it will be a fit for her. I think she is more in love with the dance clothes and shoes than anything else! I'll post some pics later.

We started a new chart for the new year to hopefully give the kids some incentive to do some chores. They get a mark for getting up, getting dressed, making their bed, brushing their teeth, and clearing their dishes off the table. They get a penny for each mark! Boy, it's amazing how great incentive works.