Sunday Fun: Birthday Week Begins

The weather has finally warmed up again and we are loving it! Church was great and we had a fun lunch just the 4 of us and then did a little window shopping before we got home for naps.

Grandma Flora came to visit and spent most of the evening with us. She made us some soji ...actually J didn't her much choice. He took the ingredients out and said 'teach me. my wife doesn't make it often enough' ... so she did. She also brought a little birthday surprise for Ria

She loves it. Perfect gift for our little chef! So begins the birthday week celebrations!
~V

Kite Flying

Friday I got Ria her first kite and she was so excited about it for two reasons
1. it's pink
2. it's a princess one

She had no clue what a kite was but once we got it set and she saw what it does she had THE best time.

I got one for Javan too so most of Saturday morning and afternoon was spent flying kites. Hard to tell in this pic but his kite is pretty high up.

They love it. Pretty certain we will be doing lots of kite flying the minute it gets breezy outside:)
~V

Chattanooga Fun

Last night I had a bridal show at The Chattanoogan so J and the kids decided to hang out around the Riverfront area while I was meeting and greeting brides.

I loved this grey and yellow cake

pretty bouquets

just us ... photography by javan:)

 

and then they were off ... looks like they had a great time

I missed all the fun but it was nice to be at The Chattanoogan. The bridal show was a 'petite' one (the bigger ones are later in the year) but we got a lot of contacts. Wedding season is in full swing and as of now we have a wedding a month.Oh I have to mention this ... there were two cake makers there and both had really gorgeous looking cakes. One of them (they are located in Hixson actually) big thing was that his cakes were vegan and all natural etc. When Jermaine went to sample their cakes he said 'if it makes you feel any better about eating cake, these are all natural, vegan and are actually good for you so dont feel bad about eating it.' So of cos Jermaine tried it. He told me that was the worst tasting thing he has ever eaten! I'm all for healthy and eating good and what not but if I'm going to eat cake, I'm going to eat CAKE ... none of the vegan, all natural junk will matter:)

~V

Parent Teacher Conference

This morning we met with Javan's lead teacher, Mrs. LeeAna and his principal, Mrs. Brigitta for his parent teacher conference. It was a really great meeting. I was ask him how school was but I get the standard 'it was good' and barely any details from him so it was nice to hear from his teacher about how his day goes and what he does each day. Javan loves school, loves to learn and is doing so well.


Just wanted to have a record of some of what we talked about and learned from them today:


Reading
His reading is on the first grade level. They commented that most kids know the words they read, but Javan knows the words and has great comprehension about what he is reading. He writes out sentences from what he just read (doesn't always spell the words correctly) and can answer questions about the book he just read.


Math

He loves math and is also on a first grade level with this. Sometimes he still uses the beads to solve problems but he has moved on to solving them in his head and using beads only if he has to. He is good at division, can skip count (2's, 3's, 4's, 10's etc). I am glad he likes math.


Geography

This is one of his favourite subjects. He is really good at drawing country flags and writing out the names. We have a whole collection of flags he has done and I am sure a whole lot more will come home at the end of May.


Writing

It was pretty neat to see how much his writing has improved when she showed us a side by side comparison of when he first started writing sentences to his most recent one. She said he has really good penmanship for a kid his age. He can write straight without lines on the paper. He knows when to capitalize and knows when to do a period, question mark or exclamation point (doesnt always remember to do them when he is writing but he definitely understands how they need to be used).


Languages

They do German, Spanish and Russian. He loves languages and has a great grasp of them. He has just started writing in Spanish (he didn't tell us this!)

Socially

He is very social, has a lot of friends, plays really well, initiates as well as follows.


*He is really well balanced in all areas of his school work but he is stronger in math and reading.

Random things:
- he has great spacial awareness (the example she used when the kids are building most build straight up, but Javan tries to not only build up but outwards while making sure it doesnt fall)
- he is the expert in tying laces and all his friends want him to either tie their laces or teach them how to tie and he is very patient with them and helps out
- he gets invited to visit the lower elementary classroom and work lessons in there, sometimes he chooses not to, but most times he goes and he loves it
- he is a perfectionist


Area to improve

He has the tendency to say 'i already know that' when working on something he has mastered, so he is working on being nicer about how he responds when someone asks for help with something he already knows.We have definitely noticed this with Ria and we have to keep reminding him that she is younger than him and he will always know how to do something before she does, but she wants to learn from him, so he needs to help her.


We are considering moving him to another school so we talked quite extensively about that, even discussing middle and high schools. We are very conflicted/undecided about which direction to go (keep him in MK, move to North Lee where we are zoned or home school). They both say that academically he is ahead and well into first grade. If we do transfer him then we need to get him tested to possibly move him ahead. This might sound great but socially I think it would hurt him. There are pros and cons to everything and this has been weighing on my heart heavily for the last few months. And we thought the baby years were tough!

We are so proud of our 'big' little guy. He plays hard but he works even harder and he is very determined to accomplish his goals for the day. I love that he loves school and looks forward to it each day.
~V

Sunday Fun: A chilly spring day

It was COLD this past weekend. We turned our heat back on and I honestly wished I had not packed away our winter clothes. Javan was really cold and of cos protested what he had to wear to church. It was like pulling teeth to get him to wear this sweater vest.

It has not warmed up much at all this week.hopefully by this weekend it will.
~V

Goodbye Nursery :(

Last Saturday one of the things that sold in our yard sale was the glider and ottoman from the nursery. We bought it exactly 6yrs ago (2mths before Javan was due). I wanted to cry when I came back from the gym and it was gone. I didn't think it would sell and I felt like I didnt get to say goodbye to it. I didnt realize just how attached I would be to that thing. Its not like I use it every day now but just the Thursday before it sold Ria and I were sitting in it reading. I used it for hours and hours the first year of each of their lives and then we rocked in it every night while we read.

I'm feeling very sentimental so please indulge me as I go through memory lane with some pics:)

A week before Javan was born .... here's Jermaine writing him a letter in his baby book (may 2006)

and when my mum arrived, she wanted to test it out too (may 2006)

straight home from the hospital, looking a pitiful mess .. the first time I rocked my sweet newborn in this chair (june 2006).

Ma and Javan (17days old here)

7wk old little shark (july 2006)

and here he is at 6mths old (dec 2006)

7mths old with Thata (january 2007)

22mths old gliding like a pro (april 2008)

reading with Daddy 22mth old (april 2008)

Straight home from the hospital with Ria - the first time I got to feed her at home (may 2009)

the first of many of these pics - javan LOVED rocking his baby sister

Ria - 12 days old

Ria - 2mths old (july 2009)

Ria at 9mths old and Javan 3.5yrs old (feb 2010)

She loved climbing and standing up (10mths old march 2010)

reading to my babies - ria 11mths old (april 2010)

Ria and Ma snoozing (19mths - dec 2010)

21mths old (feb 2011)

As if that wasn't enough to get me all teary and mushy, Jermaine listed the crib and changing table on Craigslist and within a few hours we had several inquiries. Someone wanted to come see it Friday. I wanted to make sure to get some last pics of Ria in it, just in case they decided to buy it. 

I am so glad I got these pics, cos she went down for her nap and a little while later they showed up. Thirty minutes later both pieces were gone:( I was trying so hard to hold back the tears. It really seems so silly but I remember spending hours looking at baby furniture, agonizing over what colour and what kind and where to get it from. When these pieces all arrived, it was so exciting to watch Jermaine put them together and imagine our little baby in it. Every.single.time I walked into the nursery I would get so happy and just couldn't stop dreaming about the days I would get to hold my little baby in there. That room my special place and I loved it. I enjoyed putting together my babies nurseries. SO many wonderful memories in those little pieces of wood.

Here's the changing table all set up the first time around

 Ria's first time on it 3yrs later

and her last time!

And the crib waiting on sweet baby Javan to arrive

his very first time in it

1mth old (july 2006)

6mths old (dec 2006)

15mths old (sept 2007)

18mths old (dec 2007)

27mths old (sept 2008)

and then it became Ria's crib - her first time in it (may 2009)

both my babies in their first bed

Ria 3mths old (Aug 2009)

10mths old (march 2010)

11mths old (april 2010)

the night before her first birthday

16mths old (sept 2010)

a whole year later in sept 2011 putting her baby to sleep

sleeping on her 'big girl bed' (feb 2012)

When Ria woke up from her nap Friday and walked into her room, the first thing she said 'Uh oh. what happen here?' and then she asked me if we can get a pink bed for her!

My favourite room in the whole house no longer exists. It's a big mess in there. Jermaine moved the train table in there and now Javan is calling it a playroom. I am not thrilled by it but he and Jermaine are trying to talk me into bunk beds for his room and turning Ria's room into a playroom. I am not sold on the idea but I know Javan is going to keep on about that. I am going to have to figure something out until we I find the perfect furniture for Ria's big girl room.

The room looks really blah so my goal this week is to make it somewhat decent looking and I guess it can be a playroom until we get furniture in there. We still have the dresser and plan on keeping it for her.

I know the kids don't care about the fact that these pieces of furniture are gone but to us it was very special. I am glad we have all these pictures and sweet memories to treasure. I pray the little baby boy who will sleep in it come July will be healthy and very blessed.
~V