Goodbye, February

I figured that since the last time I posted on this blog was the first of the month, it might be fun to round out February with one last post. This is just my little way of celebrating the end of what is always a trying month. Spring is truly around the corner now. I need warm sunshine on my face, no doubt.

So what happened in February that might be of interest to you? Well, for starters, I did two cake orders and received another order for April. I hope this is the beginning of a side business. At this point I'm really still learning and discovering what I can do, but getting an order here and there is lots of fun. It keeps me motivated to keep developing my skills and learning new techniques.



Also in February, Devon turned seven.




He is growing up so quickly. He continues to be bright and funny and organized. We implemented "Special Nights" this month. Each child gets an evening once a week where they get to stay up half an hour after the other kids and spend time with Mom and Dad. They get to choose the activity (it has to be at home, free, and able to be completed in the 1/2 hour time slot) with Mom and Dad holding veto power (no Monopoly). For Devon's special night last week, we spent half the time moving a set of drawers into his room and organizing and cleaning up. Lincoln thought he was crazy to use his special time for that, and maybe a little too much like his mother. Devon loves Legos and is currently on an Indiana Jones kick. Which is why he requested this birthday cake.


Renie, and the rest of the kindergarten, had their mid-winter program. It's always a treat to watch kindergartners sing and dance.



We held our annual Valentine's Party on February 11th. We kept with the format of desserts and a poetry contest. It is so much fun to hear the poems that everyone comes up with each year. I also had a lot of fun making these pom-poms for decorations this year.




On the last Saturday in February, Lincoln took the Young Men from church to Madison for a basketball tournament. They won one game, which was their goal. It was the first time a team from our branch had ever won a game in a Stake Tournament. Lincoln really enjoyed coaching the boys and I'd love to see him with a regular coaching gig. He's really good at it and derives a lot of joy from it.

That same Saturday Julia had her dance/cheerleading recital. She's been taking a class at Lands End and continues to love dancing.


We also had parent teacher conferences this month. We got great reports on all the kids and I'll spare you the details, other than to say I was so pleased to hear how well Julia is doing. When we first moved here, her teacher was concerned about her reading level. They put her in a special reading group and kept a close eye on her progress in first grade. Fast forward to fourth grade and she's a top reader in her class. Her test scores- in all areas- are well above the average. She seems a bit more motivated lately, (maybe because of the monetary incentive we give our kids. But does it really matter what motivates her if it encourages her to be more responsible and make the extra effort to keep her grades up?), and this helps her to be a bit more organized and responsible.

February is pretty busy around here, but I like it that way. It keeps me distracted and helps the month to fly by so we can get on to March and springtime.

Kindergarten Program

It's always amusing to watch Kindergartners perform. Case in point: Check out the following picture, randomly snapped during the program. I was watching Devon and his shy, barely there motions. But look at the treasures I managed to capture. First of all, the boy in the front with his finger up his nose. Predictable? Yes. But still funny. Then there is the kid yawning in the back. And the kid in the front staring off into space. The girl to the right of Devon was quite a little performer, not that you can tell in this picture, but take my word for it.






Renie got to come watch the program with her class.


Here are some of those shy dance moves I referred to.

Devon told me that sometimes he likes to just mouth sing (aka lipsinc). I told him I didn't think he was singing very loudly and he told me he didn't need to because everyone else was singing loud. Wow, a 6 year old concerned about overkill. Who woulda thunk? This did give me a little insight into his music grade. On his report his music teacher put down that his voice was "not meeting grade level expectations". This really surprised me because he is really a pretty good singer. He has a good ear and can carry a tune well. But I guess if he's just not singing at school, it would be kind of difficult for his teacher to know that. Devon has had some minor anxiety issues for a while and is pretty shy at first. Recently, however, I think he has really started to overcome some of this and do some things that would have been very difficult for him a year ago. My boy is growing up. Birthday post to come soon!