We Did It!

We're ringing in a new month with new milestones. Calen completed his kindergarten curriculum and his first year of homeschooling- two weeks early. He is now officially in first grade. Over the "summer vacation" we will continue to read everyday and do math and phonics two or three times a week to keep his skills fresh.

We have had a wonderful time learning together. I asked Calen what he thought of our first year of homeschooling and he said, "I think it was a success." I agree. Before we began our year, I asked Calen what he wanted to accomplish during that time. He said, "To learn to read better, to learn more about numbers, and to learn more about Jesus." He is reading chapter books. He can count money, add, subtract, and can tell time just to mention a few. In November,Calen accepted Jesus into his life as his personal Savior and was baptized. Yes, I agree, it was a success-more than I can have ever imagined when we began. I can't wait to begin our next curriculum and am looking forward to doing it for many, many years to come.

Jax is now 21 months. He is an adorable ball of fire with a killer smile. He loves all things boys: cars, trucks, trains, tractors, blocks, balls, animals, mud, puddles, dirt, sand, climbing, swinging, running, wrestling. He is quite the problem solver and has the "where there's a will there's a way" attitude. Jax as a taste for all things red meat, sugary sweet and starchy. He's the ultimate meat and potatoes, sweet tea and homemade pies man's man type of boy. You can't turn your back on him for a second and he'll keep you on your toes.

He is climbing the rock wall on the playset and getting faster everyday. He insists on walking down the stairs like everyone else. The other day he climbed out of the shopping cart at K-Mart. He'll lock or unlock the doors, and he loves to climb in the car before anyone else and get behind the wheel. At the table his plate and fork has to be just like ours. Everyday his speech is improving and his vocabulary is growing. He loves to "...go outside, play." He loves to draw, just the other day he discovered the joy of murals. Thank goodness for Magic Erasers. We are also in the beginning stages of potty training.

Riley is now 7 months. I can't believe we are in the second half of her first year. She has grown by leaps and bounds this past week and a half. Up until then she was still exclusively nursing every three hours. She refused a bottle and any type of food in her mouth. She loved to watch you eat and drink, would try to grab your cup or plate, but as soon as it hit her tongue- out it would come. When we had to get her a new pacifier a few weeks ago she wouldn't take it for a few hours. The only difference was that it had a silicone nipple, whereas the old one was latex.

As of today, she will take a bottle at night and is eating a full serving of cereal and fruit for breakfast and a serving of cereal and vegetable at dinner. She may not be petite for long at this rate. She is still wearing 3-6 month clothes. Also, in the past week she has begun to sit up independently and is trying to get into crawling position. It won't be long until I'm chasing another one.