Ryan is 5!

Ryan turned 5 years old on April 6, 2010. His cousin, Lexi, was here from California to help celebrate his birthday; and he had a "Friend Party" at the park by his pre-school. They played tag in the sand, had relay races and then opened presents and chocolate cake that Ryan helped to decorate.

Ryan has loved attending pre-school the past year. He makes friends so easily, and he always has a big smile on his face. He still loves to tease, but he is also the most thoughtful, caring big brother Keira could ever ask for.

Ryan likes to play Wii sports - especially boxing, play spies and dress-up, play Bakugans, swim, help mom cook, and ride his two-wheeled bike. He asked me to also mention that he does NOT like to clean.

Ryan brings so much fun and laughter to our family - we are so grateful he is ours.

We love you Ry-Ry!

Lexi's Visit

My niece, Lexi, got to come and stay with us while her parents went to look for a new home in Kentucky. We had so much fun playing with her at the park, at the splash pad, and we were so glad that she was here to help celebrate Ryan's birthday.

We love you Lexi!

I Hate Homework!

One of Trent's assignments was to write 5 sentences, each one containing one of his spelling words. This is one of the mundane tasks that Trent dislikes. He decided instead to interview his younger brother, Ryan, and write a paragraph about him as well as illustrate what he wrote about. I submitted the homework at the end of the week and asked his teacher if she would accept that instead (as I thought it was much more innovative than simply writing 5 sentences). She happily accepted it and said that we could tailor Trent's assignments as needed to motivate him to complete it.

Happy Birthday Trent

Trent turned 7 years old on February 16, 2010. Since his birthday was during the 2010 Winter Olympics, we decided to have an Olypmic-themed birthday party. We had an Athlete check-in table where each athlete chose a country to represent. They colored their country's flag for the Parade of Nations. Then we had sack races, egg-in-the-spoon races, and a tug-of-war that was seriously intense!

Trent has grown up so much over the last year. He is an excellent reader, and tested into the Gifted and Talented program at school. He has worked hard to improve his penmanship and his teacher said his writing skills have improved immensely.

Trent likes to play with his friends, ride his bike, play Wii Sports, and said that he likes when I teach him to cook.

Trent is a wonderful, amazing boy, and we are so glad that he is in our family. We love you, Trent!

Snow Day!