Letters To Santa

The kids wrote their letters to Santa today. Here are pictures from their endeavor:

Yoga Queen

This evening while Charlie was doing his homework Amelia asked me to put a yoga program on the upstairs tv for her. Since I am used to her strange requests I didn't think much of it. I put the program on for her and went back downstairs thinking she'd get bored in two seconds and come down asking for something else.

I finished Charlie's homework and went back upstairs to find Amelia doing downward dogs, planks and upward dogs right along with the video -- the picture doesn't do it justice at all, I wish I had thought to switch to video quick enough!!

Home!

We came home this afternoon to a wintry mix, which is expected to transition to snow tonight, giving us 2 to 3 inches. Here is Amelia, prepared for the snow!

Cow Fish

We took the kids to Cow Fish for lunch where Charlie enjoyed his first taste of sushi. Here he is, very proud of himself after eating his first spicy tuna roll.

The More The Merrier

Dress Up

Ray's Splash Planet

We took the kids to an indoor splash park today. Everyone had a blast but as you can tell from the pictures, the younger kids tired out faster than the older kids!

Mommy & Baby Caroline

The Aftermath...

... Of taking 5 kids out to lunch.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Ok, I didn't actually get a picture of Thanksgiving dinner, but here is Charlie with Thanksgiving dessert:

The Secret To A Successful Plane Ride

Hello Kitty headphones, cookies, and the DVD player.

Heading To Charlotte!

And We're Headed For A Life of Crime

I've successfully taught my daughter how to pick locks.

Getting Ready To Go To Charlotte!

We don't leave until Thursday but as you can tell we are super excited to see the Kaplan cousins!

Class Picture 2012

Ok maybe I should have gotten his hair cut before his picture was taken...

Thankful

Today was Amelia's Thanksgiving party at daycare. If you can't read her Indian hat it says "I am thankful for my bananas!"

The Apple Store

Better than the playground

Face Of A Sick Kid

Amelia spiked a fever last night so we are home today. So far she is still pretty miserable and refusing to eat. Hoping my poor pumpkin feels better soon!!

First Report Card of First Grade

Today was Charlie's parent/teacher conference and first report card. Overall he got a good report card; they use a number system from 1 to 4 for each subject. Charlie got 4s in social studies and science, with his teacher commenting on his "wealth of knowledge" in science. He got 3s in Reading, Math and Oral Language and a 2 in Written Language/Composition, which is definitely the thing he struggles with the most.

In terms of standardized testing they administered a reading assessment, math assessment and an oral comprehension assessment at the beginning of the year. Charlie got 100% on the reading and 100% on the math. The oral comprehension he got a 70% on but his teacher said that this was because the test involved listening to a story about a girl playing dress up and then answering questions about it, and he totally tuned her out. If it was about lizards, she said, he would have aced it.

He thankfully continues to be well behaved and considerate in class, and gets along well with his classmates.

Good job Charlie!

Lollipops Make Every Playdate Better

Rocking Fish

Since Mike & Charlie had off for Veterans Day we headed up to New Hampshire for the day and enjoyed what is surely the last of some gorgeous weather! Here is Amelia on Cousin Cheryl's rocking fish.

Charlie's First Love Note

For those of you who don't speak with a Boston accent that is "Charlie you're smart".

Before & After

Over the past several weeks I have been working on making up for the half assed bedroom that Amelia has had since she was born, coinciding with the transition into her big girl bed, which we got last week. We finally got it finished tonight (thanks to Mike and Charlie, who put together Amelia's new bookshelf) so here are the "before" and "after" pictures that I have been patiently waiting to post!
Before:

After:

Keeping Our Fingers Crossed....

... For another 4 years :-)

Children's Museum

Since Charlie was off for Election Day we met my friend Sophia and her daughter Susannah at the Children's Museum downtown. As usual the kids had a blast, so I finally gave in and bought a membership, so now we can go for free whenever we want and take guests for free as well.

Here is Amelia in one of the bubble rooms, and Charlie in front of --yup, a display of lots of different kinds of animal poop, in one of the family bathrooms!

Yard Work