The kids are doing great and we just met the other day with Tre's teacher Mrs. Curtis. He is doing wonderfully in her class. He has moved from proficient to advanced in almost every area and has a great connection to her. He really responds to her and she understands him. She has worked with him and has given us great tools to help Tre make this progress this year. He made the Honor Roll (yes they have an Honor Roll for 1st Graders) and received an award for great citizenship but we have little worries about him socially - he makes friends effortlessly.
Nani has her conference tomorrow and I'll make sure to report on her progress in the next blog for April. She is really I think getting her stride at school. While she still seems less than challenged academically but she does seem to be making progress in making and maintaining relationships with her peers. She has been very keen on spending more time with all of us together as a family which I think bodes well for the move to the new house. I think all the kids are going to enjoy (on average) living together - we see some standard sibling friction but nothing that gives us pause or undue concern.
Nani had her birthday this month and it was a great hit. Grandma Graham let us use the community pool and recreation area of her housing community. Lisa had the fabulous idea to set up a drink and juice bar so people could order their own fruit concoctions in fancy plastic ware with little umbrellas and the kids loved it as well as a few parents. There was swimming though not as much since the water was freezing but everyone made ample use of the hot tub. The Dads rented a jumpie with a built in slide and we had a piñata as well. Top it off with great party favors and colorful decorations - that was the fete we hosted. Grammy Jo was still in town on her visit, along with all the parents, helping to make the party a roaring success.
Siddha is on the track to having a bedtime routine that mirrors the older kids. We have been altering her routine slowly like phasing out the bottle and reading more books before bedtime. Larry has started laying her down in bed rather than rocking her in the rocker in the nursery and that seems to be working as well. The hope is to have her on a routine that she can join in with the older kids. Reading a book, calming down and settling into bed then sleep. Wish us luck.
I meet tomorrow with the Upstaged Design team to finalize the last few details of the remodel. Paint colors, wood stains and fixtures. We have gotten all the things rolling that didn't require a permit and it's nice to see the end of it in sight. They built an awesome cubby for the second refrigerator in the kitchen, the enclosed patio, the fence to section off the pool and a list of small changes to the house. I have been very happy with their work and really look forward to be done and moved in.
Next month is my birthday and all the adults in the household are going to see the newest Cirque du Soliel tour Totem. My dad has offered to babysit the kids while we all go out for dinner followed by the show. It should be a wonderful night of hopefully good food, great conversation and a spectacular performance. It will be one of the rare times all the adults in the family get to socialize without the kids since usually one set of parents is watching the kids so the other set can go out.
That's all from us this month - like I put in the title it was sort of busy but nothing too crazy overall. I hope to report a move in date in the next month's post so keep your fingers crossed. As always we welcome any and all guests to come over and visit.
Love to you all!
