Ok, now we are teetering on ridiculousness over here. I have not abandoned you, but after realizing how very long it has been since I’ve written anything substantial, I decided to use my extra hour today to catch everyone up on the ENTIRE. MONTH. OF. OCTOBER.
Wow – where did it go? I can’t believe it is already November. I guess most of our October was spent in a soccer-induced frenzy. With a little bit of a lot of other stuff thrown in.
Emma Update:
Em continues to be a paradox. One minute she acts like she is 14 years old and heading off to high school, confident and self-assured as she bosses her sister and friends around; and the next minute she grabs my hand for comfort and gives me a little squeeze for courage as we walk into her class, and I am gently reminded that she is a mere eight years old. Just my sweet girl.
Her conference with her teacher went very well, as we fully expected. She is pretty much on autopilot, chugging through her classes, loving all there is to love about school. She was class president the first month of school and Mrs. J. said she took her position very seriously and did very well. She was awarded Super Cougar for October when they were celebrating the character trait honesty.
She is still swimming, and although she has “cooled off” on the whole swim team thing, she is sticking with it for a bit longer until we see how it all shakes out. At least until after soccer season is done so she can have some sort of physical activity to be involved in.
And soccer! She and the Terrible Teal soccer team have already made the playoffs with a week left to go in the regular season. I don’t know that she will become a stellar soccer player, she doesn’t seem to love the game but she has made big improvements this season. And the Teal are a really exciting team to watch! After years of U6 and U8 soccer – once you get to U10 they have real goals, goalies, offsides rule – it is like real soccer! They won their game yesterday 7-3 and have only one game left before playoffs. Em’s fave positions are still on defense and as goalie. (Goalie mostly because she doesn’t have to run ;-). But at any rate, we will be on the soccer field until December now, so we are bracing prepping ourselves for that.
When she isn’t at school or soccer…she is in front of the piano. Sports might not be her thing, but I think she has a God-given talent at the piano. A lot of times she is practicing when she is supposed to be doing something else…but…she is really quite good, I think. I sit in on her and Ad’s piano lessons hoping to soak some of it in and learn at the same time. And we all sort of started at the same point, in the same book, but Addie and I have found ourselves miles behind Em. She has literally left us in the dust. I got a Christmas book for her on Friday…and I think she can already play all of the songs in it. It is amazing and fun to watch her sit down and just play.
Addison Update:
As for our little Addie. What can I say about that child – except she is one big ball of hilarious energy. She has two speeds: (1) all-out-high-octane-sugar-buzz-non-stop-on-the-go! and (2) asleep. Not a day goes by that J. and I don’t look at each other and crack up over something she says or does.
Her conference went well too, and not that we are comparing here (!), buuuuttt…Ad is not nearly as focused as her older sister. Mrs. K. said that Ad has a lot of energy and she needs to “gently remind her” to stop talking pretty often. And at home it is a struggle to get her to finish her homework, she just doesn’t “want to do it, Mama!”
So imagine our surprise (and extreme delight) to the string of perfect spelling tests and timed math tests she has going right now. Every week her tests come home as proof that she is s.m.a.r.t. So I’ve given up fighting her on her homework. When she starts slipping maybe I’ll have to crack down on her again. But very much like the reading, when she was ready…she figured it out. And apparently she is ready. I think there is nothing better for a Mom to hear than, “No, I want to read to you tonight.” And her cute, little scratchy voice sounding out all of those glorious words…that is priceless.
When she is not trying to read or avoid homework she has also been trying out soccer. Yes….again….might not be her sport. She seems to…well, she runs like a ballerina and is a little afraid of the ball still.
But she loves her friends on the team and is having fun, so that is what really matters.
She and her BFF, Emma P. have joined their big sisters, Emma Grace and Avery, in the church choir this year.
They sang in the choir last week and I have video but the audio isn’t syncing with the picture! It is so frustrating because they are adorable, but they are singing in church again next Sunday so I’ll try to capture it with my other camera. We’ll see how that one does.
Addie also became an official Brownie Girl Scout last Friday! Her sister actually got to “twist me turn me,” help pin her and welcome her into the troop. Since I was up doing my troop leader duty I don’t have a single photo of it. My friend did video it with my camera so I’ll work on getting that video up soon, too. She is super excited about it and keeps telling me, “I just did a good Brownie deed, Mama!”
I know there are a million other things that have been happening around here. Cuteness like pumpkin patches…
And Nena and Bill visits and Disney trips…
…but this post has already gone on far too long as it is. It is, as I said, a bit ridiculous.
I promise I’ll be much better in November!
