Julia's Open House

The Open House for Julia's school was a few weeks ago. Wally was unable to get away from work (it was at 1pm) so I went by myself. Her teacher, Mrs. Weight, went over the curriculum and rules. She mentioned that since Kindergarten is optional here, some of the kids have never even been in a classroom environment before now. She said she only has three readers, and I felt very proud because I knew Julia was one of them. Mrs. Weight sends home a paper with a paragraph on it, along with some word family words and a few fill in the blank sentences. Julia is to practice reading it to us every night, and then on Mondays and Wednesdays she reads whichever paper she's on to Mrs. Weight...if she "passes" the reading with 80% accuracy, she gets the next paper in the series. I like that she's not forced to stay on the same level as the class or even as a reading group. She's working at her own pace and moving along pretty fast!

Wally went to lunch with Julia on Friday and stopped in to see the teacher. It was the first chance we'd had to touch base with her since this reading program began (it began at the time of the Open House) and she assured Wally that Julia is one of her top three readers and is doing very well. She told him that she has papers in this reading program up to the 3rd grade level and she expects Julia to be reading at that level by the end of the school year. We're so proud of her! She's already reading anything she can get her hands on. I'm teaching her how to break bigger words down into smaller words and how to sound them out piece by piece. She read the word "crunching" the other day by sounding out "crun" then "ch" and adding "ing" to the end. Otherwise when she sees the "ch" in the middle and starts making the "c" (hard c) sound instead of recognizing "ch" as a blend. I give her reminders when she's sounding out unfamiliar words like "What sound does 'ou' make?" and then she can sound out "loud." She's doing really well.

Here are a few pics of her work that was hanging around her classroom that day.

Lexie

...is starting to walk! Video to come! YAY!

Prague

Here are some photos of our two trips to Prague. So far we've been twice and love it. It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.

Lexie's 1st Birthday

Ok, so this is a little late, but here are some pics from Lexie's birthday. She had a good time opening her gifts....thank you to everyone! The kids and I made her cupcakes and then we invited our neighbor Avery (and her mom Anna) over to decorate them. We had several types of sprinkles and mini chocolate chips. The girls and Aiden decorated cupcakes for themselves then one for Lexie. She really liked it, but by the end she was so tired she ended up bursting into tears.

Now that she's been one for a few weeks, her top two teeth have finally broken through (they're still working their way down though). She's walking all around the house with her walker, and has taken 2-3 steps at a time, all by herself.

She is becoming a Daddy's girl. Finally, after months and months of only wanting Mommy!! It's both a relief and makes me a little sad. :( She says "Dada! Dada!" constantly! If I ask her to "Say Mama!" she'll do it, but then she goes right back to "Dada! Dada!" It's very sweet. I love that she's so happy with her Daddy.

I've uploaded a lot of pics today, so I'll be posting more within the next day or so. :)

Ummm....

It's September. It's 1pm. It has only made it up to 47 degrees. It. Is. Cold. And it's not a "dry" cold like it was in Mannheim. We're in a very rainy area, so it's wet AND cold. I had to send the kids to school in hats and coats. At this rate we'll be in snow pants by November! Ok, gotta go buy Aiden a new heavy coat. His is getting too small. I thought I had some time, but apparently not.
PS: Did I mention that it's SEPTEMBER?!

More Videos

Here is Aiden...he hasn't quite figured out to ride a bike yet! LOL





Here is Lexie, clapping away. Mealtime is time for clapping as far as she is concerned.




Here is Julia cheering at her first game! She is in the back row.





And here she is again with her friends....the doorbell rang, I answered it, and this is what I saw! :)

Julia as Hannah Montana

For some reason, it would only let me upload these into two separate posts. This is Julia singing "The Best of Both Worlds" by Hannah Montana. She is wearing her wig that we got for her Hannah Montana halloween costume! She's so funny!

Lexie and Aiden

This video was taken on moving day. It's a shot of Lexie dancing (to the "Hairspray" soundtrack!) while the movers were bring boxes into the house. Aiden was stoked to see his toys coming out of those boxes, as you'll see!

Another first!

Today was Aiden and Lexie's first day of school at the CDC. They did really well. Lexie did not cry at all, and Aiden only cried for a second. When I went back a few minutes later to check on him, he had already stopped. I'm hoping that they eat and nap okay, we'll have to see how they do. I couldn't take pictures, since I had to take them alone (Wally had to be in early today) but later today I will post some pictures of our trip to Prague over the weekend. We had a great time, saw the castle and church, and explored more of the city. We went out to eat for my early birthday dinner on Saturday night, and I had my favorite Czech dish...beef goulash. It's not goulash like we think of in the states though. It's very tender beef, kind of like stewed beff, with a nice sauce. Wally's not crazy about it, but I could eat it three meals a day! They serve it with these "dumplings" but it's really a bread.

After dinner, the kids and Wally were excited to give me birthday gifts. Wally got me a Coach purse I'd been eyeing...cracks me up that he had to bring Julia with him so she could pick it out....Wally couldn't remember which one I liked! The kids gave me a gift certificate to the Spa here on base! I am SO excited! It's for a hot stone massage and a facial. I think I'm going to see if I can get an appointment on my actual birthday....I need to relax on the day I turn 30!

Since the kids are at school right now, do you know what that means? Can you hear it? Aaahhh, silence! I'm alone right now! I'm alone in the house! Until my paperwork gets through Human Resources, I can't start subbing, so I will be using this time to unpack the house. Books need to go on shelves, there are still clothes not yet in drawers/closets, Aiden's room still has a few boxes. There's a lot to do. The kitchen is very over-crowded....I've got to re-organize and figure things out. The dining room is not done by any means. It's going to be much easier to get this type of stuff done with the kids all out for a bit everyday. I miss them though. I've been home with them since June, it's strange not to be with them today.

Okay, gotta go be productive. I hope everyone is doing well, and I will add some Prague pics later today.