Madelyn Skiing

We were on vacation last week.  We went with JD's family and rented a house in Lake Anna.  I took some pictures;  I wish I had taken more.  But, I haven't had time to sort through the ones I did take, so it's just as well.  I did want to post this little nugget.  Madelyn worked on a new skill last week, and she did pretty well for only working on it for two days.

Julia "Singing" part of Old McDonald

Julia is 11 months old

 Julia is 11 months old today.  She is a fast crawler; she is pulling up and cruising around the furniture. When she isn't thinking about it, she'll let go of whatever she's holding on to and stay balanced for several seconds.  She actually took a tiny step yesterday, but I think that was quite accidental, and she hasn't done it again.  We think she has her first word, more, but it sounds more like mna, mna, ma, ma.  She says it, though, when she sees food that she really wants.  She's quite chatty at times and makes all kinds of noises and sometimes it sounds like she completes a sentence even though we have no idea what she says.

I tried to get a few pictures of her today.  These were the best ones:

 Rain, rain, go away.  I want to go outside to play.

Typical Isabel Photo Shoot

 Mostly uncooperative and completely full of sass:

 

Mother's Day Tea and Mother's Day

Every kindergarten class hosts a Mother's Day Tea.  It is a really sweet time where the kids serve the mothers, perform some songs they've learned throughout the year, and give a short presentation to their mothers.  They were told they could not eat anything-that the food was for the moms- and Pierce was so nervous when I offered him food from my plate.  He kept saying, "Mrs. Booth said we couldn't."  So, I stopped asking.  Here are some pictures from the morning:

Pierce serving me food.  He was so serious about this, and it was hard to get him to smile:

 The sweet boy and me:

Pierce reading "My Mom is Special":

 

 "My mom is speciel be cos she helps wehn I am hrt."

This was on the other side of his booklet:

We had a very nice Mother's Day.  The girls gave me their gifts (Pierce gave me the booklet and a flower pot with lady bugs painted on it.  The body of the lady bugs were his thumb prints.) -a sweet hand print on a tile from Isabel and a canvas with a painted butterfly made with Madelyn's foot prints.  We went to church and my in-laws came for dinner, which JD mostly prepared.  We took some pictures after church.  The kids were somewhat cooperative.

 

Madelyn Events

 Madelyn has had a busy May with several events at school.  She was chosen to be a reader at the school's fundraiser.  Here she is getting ready to read a story authored by an older student in the school:

She did a great job and handled her nerves quite well. Here she is reading the two stories:

 The second grade class "raises" butterflies every spring.  They receive them as caterpillars and study and record their development.  After a few weeks, they emerge from their chrysalises, and they have a Butterfly Release Party.  Here are a few pictures from the party:

Getting ready for the release in her butterfly mask:

 Fly away:

 You can do it:

 

As part of the party, they give each student a character award.  Madelyn's award was for understanding:

Here's a video of her receiving the award.  She seems so shy:

Last weekend, she had her piano recital. Here she is with a friend just before the recital:

Getting ready to play:

 Playing her piece:

In March, Madelyn participated in a piano festival, where she memorized and played two different pieces.  She performed one of those pieces for the recital.  She received a "Superior" rating (the highest) for the second year in a row.  She works hard at piano, and we are glad she has been rewarded for her efforts.

Pierce's Field Trip to Hidden Pond

Pierce went on a field trip to a local park and nature center, Hidden Pond.  Here are some pictures from the trip that a fellow kindergarten parent shared with me.  It looks like he had a great time!

They're learning about frogs:

Getting ready to learn outside:

Pierce with a couple of friends:

  Okay, seriously?  Pretty brave, buddy!