Anthony - Seven

Anthony turned seven today!  He requested waffles for breakfast and Teresa made him a modified giraffe snack for lunch from a Big Backyard magazine because his favorite animal is (still) a giraffe.  His favorite colors are green and orange now instead of just green.  He played Mario (we have an old-school Nintendo), set up the western set (Playmobil) and rode his bike outside before it started raining.  We went out to eat  with his godparents at a place where he got a sticky birthday dessert.  Aunt A asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up and he's decided to be a Kindergarten teacher.  I picked up chocolate chips and a quart of Rocky Road ice-cream on our way home so that I could make chocolate chip cookies for him to share with his class tomorrow and because we needed a birthday dessert to share as a family.  Adam had picked up the waffle comes on a whim a few weeks ago and the kids have been begging for ice-cream cones.  Here's a few pictures that turned out decent:

School Pictures 2011

Catherine - 3rd Grade

Teresa - 2nd Grade

Anthony - 1st Grade

first day of school

Anthony dropped off all his supplies before school started and was able to hang his backpack in the closet, so he didn't have to bring anything on his first day of first grade.  Catherine and Teresa did not get to meet their teachers on the day we dropped off supplies.  Teresa has the same teacher that Catherine did last year, though, and was excited about her first day of second grade.  Catherine is in the 3rd grade classroom that is UPSTAIRS and since she had not met her teacher, she was anxious...if you couldn't tell from the picture.

airplane

It is a good day when the crop duster flies over.  The boys were excited every time he flew over a different part of our property and after the first unexpected pass, Michaela enjoyed gasping and pointing at the ah-plane (I wasn't sure if she was saying "airplane" or "a plane").

love that kid

I haven't written much about him lately, but Anthony is still good for a laugh.  We're getting ready to watch a family movie and when we turn on the TV BBQ-University on Create is playing.  He's just finishing up some thick steaks and tells us he's going to show us how to properly cook a brisket next.  Well, brisket is on sale and Adam is going to pick some up tomorrow, so we tell the kids we're going to wath him cook this meat so we can cook ours correctly.  We're sitting there watching and learning about the seasoning paste, rub and then he gets to the mop sauce.  All of a sudden Anthony blurts out, "Who is that guy talkin' to?"  We missed the rest of the show, laughing, but the recipe is on the web.  ;)

looking back - Anthony's birthday

Anthony's birthday fell on a Friday of Lent this year.

The weather was beautiful and rather unseasonably warm for early March, so we spent some time outside.


I can usually get better pictures outside in natural light, but my subject was being a goofball and I had butchered his hair a day or two earlier.  (It was so long - I just couldn't stand it - and I knew if I messed it up, Adam would fix it...eventually).

This is his signature "stinky face".

He tried really hard to convince me that dad had taught him how to drive the cart and that he was allowed to do it by himself.

This was the best picture I was able to get.

This was not a great picture, but it reminds me that Anthony made himself a tuna sandwich for his birthday lunch. He opened the can by himself and everything...now that I think of it, this must have been on a Saturday.  I dont' know why he'd have been home from school otherwise.

Here he is with his birthday cake (chocolate/chocolate) and siblings.  See Michaela's  had on the table at the bottom of the picture?  I made a two layer, which I thought would be a disaster as pretty much every birthday cake, cookie, or pie I've made has been, but it actually looked and tasted pretty good.



Uncle David, Anthony's godfather, came over to celebrate. It was the Sunday after his birthday, which is why the birthday boy is still in his church clothes.

Happy 6th Birthday, Anthony

more presents

Oh the JOY of Christmas!

Catherine was thrilled with BARBIE stuff from her aunt and uncle; and a Disney Princess digital watch and Fisher Price Loving Family dollhouse Dad & Sister from us.  The car is for both of the girls, but you can guess who is more excited about it and will be playing with it more.

Teresa had a GIANT Christmas. We bought her this 36" Shamu aka orca aka killer whale because she has been asking for a big stuffed animal forever and actually requested an orca, or "anything that lives in the ocean" AND she gave away ALL her other stuffed animals before Christmas TRUSTING that she was going to get her hearts' desire.  She got it.  I also got her books about "Dolphins and Whales" and the "Ocean".  The giant lolipop came from the family gift exchange.  It broke, so I haven't really been able to document the disappearance of the giant sucker, but I'd say she's eaten about 2/3 of it.

Anthony got this from his aunt and uncle who are also his godparents and love to spoil him at Christmas.  I missed capturing the excitement when he opened it up.  He loves it.  We had to buy a new battery charger and rechargeable batteries with some of our Christmas money to keep the fun going.  Daddy bought him a toolbox with some real tools in it that he can use to help.  He is always ready with his 4-in-1 screwdriver!

Stephen got this fun little noise maker from his aunt and uncle.  His big present from us was more TRIO blocks - the big box - though I don't have a picture of him playing with them.  He's been making more and bigger boomers and has branched out and started building houses and towers.  Anthony has also been building things from the new idea booklet. 

 

Michaela got mostly practical stuff like bibs and clothes, but she also scored a fun toy for her carseat:  Sir Prance-a-lot.  (She plays with it in the van.  I'm usually driving, so I don't have a picture of her with it), She also got some nubby balls, a new board book, and a Fisher-Price chatter phone, which she's not too interested in.  She'd rather sneak up to the girls' room and take their baby dolls.

We got a great stack of DVDs from my parents - thank you, thank you!  The kids just can't get enough Frosty the Snowman.  The Veggie Tales triple features are awesome and Toy Story 3 is so good.  I actually requested those but the rest were surprises.

The kids got a Leapfrog TAG Reader with an assortment of TAG books from my Aunt Becky, God bless her.  Anthony is reading The Cat In The Hat here, which is a Dr. Seuss book that we actually didn't have our own copy of yet...although we do have The Cat In The Hat Comes Back.  They are enjoying this new 'toy' and I have to set a timer because each book is full of games and activities and then you can use the rewards you earn from those to play more games on-line .  (They're all educational, of course!)

ornaments: 2010

Here are the ornaments that the kids made at school this year.  We have to buy them at a craft fair that the school sponsors for $1.50/each.  We couldn't find Anthony's second ornament, a craft-stick snowflake.

Teresa made the lightbulb reindeer head and craft stick snowman.  Catherine made the cinnamon dough bell and the milkweed pod santa face.  Anthony made the glitter pinecone.

He used a lot of glitter.  I love it!

This was an ornament Anthony made in class as a gift for us.  His teacher is very into the sappy memorable stuff, but I really do love this handprint snowman ornament.  The tag reads:

These aren't just five snowmen

As anyone can see.

I made them with my hand

Which is a part of me.

Now each year when you trim the tree

You'll look back and recall

Christmas of 2010

When my hand was just this small. 

If you can't tell from this 2-dimensional photo, his hand was painted white and teacher put the ornament in his hand - so the palm is on the bottom of the ornament and the fingers wrap up and around.  Obviously, she painted on the snowman features.  Anthony thinks it's cool that it is filled with glitter snow.

He also made the clever Vulcan handprint reindeer in the center and the shiny purple angel.  Teresa's handprint (upside down) made a Santa.  I think she decorated the pre-cut craft foam snowflake with pre-cut foam glitter stickers, too.  The doily angel is Catherine's from 2008.  Her other two ornaments from Kindergarten were a picture of her cut out in a circle and pasted to a shiny doily; and a white handprint on a piece of square red felt, so I was pleased with the creativity of this year's ornaments.

Oh, Anthony

I have a hard time getting this kid to smile for the camera.  After several failed attempts to get a good picture, I said "Anthony aren't you happy?"  He said yes and I said, "Show me how happy you are."  *CLICK*

Anthony was the child of the week at school.  He answered the following questions:

My favorite place to go is:  Malmo

I am really good at: playing baseball

My favorite food is: pizza

My favorite color is: green

When I grow up I want to be: janitor

Dad is always going to Malmo - to help David on his house or to eat/drink at the Malmo bar...and Anthony always wants to be with his dad + it's where his favorite aunt & uncle (who are his godparents) live, now.  I'm not sure about the baseball thing.  He has been interested in it; he got some equipment from his godparents last year and the big kid (8yo) across the street plays all summer, but I'm not sure about him being "really good" at it since he's never really played.  Pizza is a pretty typical favorite kid food and if you follow the links, you will remember why the rest is no big surprise.

this and that

School pictures are in!



Michaela found a yummy piece of blue chalk on the floor.

The kittens have been entertaining us at mealtimes.

funnies

After Stephen's shower the other night I told him to go get on his underwear and pajamas. When I went into his bedroom, he had on his pajama top and was playing. "Stephen! I thought I told you to put on your underwear." Without looking up he said, "It is." I replied, "Really? What color is it?" He looked down and said, "Skin color."

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Things I never thought I'd say: (to Stephen) "Don't pee on the chickens!"
We had taken out fruit and vegetable scraps and they came running, as usual. He took the opportunity to do some target practice.

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Anthony checked out a book from the school library, Edwina, The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct by Mo Willems. He was telling grandma about it: "I got the book about the dinosaur that stinks."

high hopes

Anthony drew this picture for me (that's why he wrote 'Mom' on it) He was so excited when he told me, "Mom, I got to see the JANITOR today!" Really? Did everyone draw a picture of the janitor? "No. They want to be other things when they grow up." (here, I had to suppress a laugh and fortunately, he was looking at the picture he was coloring). So, you want to be a janitor when you grow up? "YES! I can work at the school and help at the school." He has always been a great helper around the house. Remember this?

So, in addition to mopping the kitchen floor, I think I'm going to add "take out the trash" and "scrub the toilets" to his chore list. It's career training!

curriculum night

Anthony was pretty mad after the first day of school because I picked him up at the bus stop and he wanted to ride ALL THE WAY HOME on the bus. I'd love it if the bus brought him all the way home, but it doesn't. Kindergarten is a long day and he's just tired. His best friend is still Thomas V. and every day he tells me that he "didn't make any new friends" and when I ask him if he likes school he gives my a grumpy, "NO!" Mrs. Greenfield assured me that he is very happy at school but she knows what I'm talking about because her own kids are pretty crabby at the end of the day and they take it out on her.

Teresa told her teacher on the first day of school that she didn't need to take home the reading sheet to practice because she already knew all the words on it. I asked Mrs. Turman if she really did that and she said, "yes" with a laugh. "Teresa is a delight to have in our class." She had filled her ME bag with a crucifix because she loves Jesus; a paintbrush, because she loves art; a little book because she loves reading; a doll because she likes playing with her dollhouse; and a Colorado refrigerator magnet because she likes going on vacation in Colorado and visiting her grandparents there. FYI: she doesn't think Thomas G. is too bad anymore - he's being nice to her, like everyone else, "because the teacher told everyone I'm new."

Catherine is having a blast as far as I can tell. She is the one who knows how everything works at school. Unfortunately, the "school" part is going to be pretty tough for her. There will be bugs to work out along the way, but I feel much better after talking to Mrs. Dailey and Sister Loretta (yes - there is one SISTER at our school - the resource teacher!) Catherine will be spending an hour a day with Sister (rather than the typical 1/2 hour) working through the Sonday System. This is a program based on the Orton-Gillingham method which is EXACTLY what I was looking into to teach Catherine how to read. I haven't read specifically how Sonday compares to Barton, but they're both OG based; I don't have to invest in an entire program; and Catherine will be learning from a religious sister who's trained in special education rather than her mom who doesn't know anything. Woo-hoo!

Sorry this is so visually dry - but the kids are at school all day! I'll have plenty of Stephen and Michaela to make up for it...soon.

first day of school

Catherine is in 2nd grade and will be preparing for her first communion this year. It is unfortunate that by seating the kids in alphabetical order (until the teacher learns their names) Catherine got stuck in the back corner, surrounded by boys. She is otherwise excited to have so many old friends in her class.

Teresa is in 1st Grade and today is also her 7th birthday! She is hoping to make friends with some of the girls in her class. All her "best" friends are in the other first grade classrom and she's not sure that playing with them at recess will be enough, especially since she has to sit next to the one kid she knows - and doesn't particularly like* - in her class. (*because he's ALL boy).

Anthony is in Kindergarten and this is his first day of "real" school and he's at the GREEN table in the same class as his best friend, Thomas. I'm not worried about him at all. When we met the kids' teachers yesterday, we were going back and forth between a few of the rooms. He asked, before we left, if he could say goodbye to his teacher and gave her a hug. This morning, he went right in and took care of his things without even looking back. I watched him from the doorway thinking - "ummmm...good-bye?" My mom says I was the same way.

pictures from the week...

Catherine's birthday cake was an ice-cream cake. The lighting in my birthday pictures always turns out terrible...sorry kids. The cake was a little rough around the edges, but delicious. Catherine made a point to thank me for it at the end of the day during our night prayers (so I know she really did like it) and Teresa added, "Yeah. It was stupendous!" Not to detract from Catherine, though...she has been a very good BIG sister who loves her baby sister, Michaela. She is happiest and smiles the biggest for the camera with this baby in her arms.

Michaela is cute as ever. She got her second tooth and had her second food today: pears. She loved it! She didn't play around with it, either - just slurped it right down. I didn't get any pictures this time, but I couldn't resist taking a picture of her sitting there in all her soft chubby glory with just her diaper on. (But not just any diaper - it's a Bummis Super Whisper Wrap. I love this flower print!)

In other news, the winter boots were finally put away and I found these Sunny Patch rain/mud boots for the boys on clearance at Toys R Us. I went in looking for bibs and came out with these. Both boys got their favorite colors. They wear them all the time, whether they're feeding chickens or chasing ducks (or riding bikes or going to the park...)

Quack-ack-ack-ack-ack...

While I'm dealing with pictures - this is my favorite kitten. I always wanted a soft gray one like Teresa's Shadow, but I love this one's soft, sleek fur. He's Anthony's and was named Zac, but now his name is Diamond because he has a white diamond on his back just above those two skunk stripes. Of course you can't see it. He also has beautiful distinct stripes on his front legs, which you can't see, either. Guess I need to try to get another picture...