A Little about the Bigs and the Littles

I realized I haven't really given much fun stuff about the kids since the Christmas break began, so here is a little update, oldest to youngest for a change!

Pepper is back in the full swing of school and has first semester finals this week   She is a mostly "A" student and is very well liked by the whole faculty.  She has a lot of work but is taking a little time to enjoy her Christmas gifts.  She has drawn some very beautiful vegetables with her Prismacolor colored pencils.  She also cooked us lots of wonderful food over the break and I very much enjoyed some respite from the kitchen.

Sunshine was very, very sick Christmas Eve and recovered quite a bit Christmas day.  She spent most of her school break practicing for her America's Got Talent audition coming up this weekend and playing with her new recording mic (of which I do not really "get" the coolness!). On the academic front, she is very worried about the mandated state tests which begin in March;  there is little I can do to alleviate her worrying (and frankly mine).  I am not sure what we will do if she does not pass; it is possible I will have to withdraw her before the end of the year and start schooling her myself again (as opposed to a formal program) to avoid her being held back.  She is getting A's and B's with very little help from me, but the tests are very hard for her with her memory issues.  It seems very unfair to me.

The Captain took charge of his speaking over the break.  I got a big shock on the last day of school when I realized that he is now actually capable of using all the words ("I want a drink of water, please") instead of the caveman speak ("Water please.")  On the way home from school I told him how proud I was that he is now able to use all the words and from now on, he would be using all the words at home, too.  He looked a little bummed, yet he has totally risen to the challenge and is talking up a storm.  It is still very babyish in some ways; he is not innovative in his speaking very often but he is making huge progress.  We saw the developmental pediatrician over the break.  We will have more information on that after the next tests and visits.

Tinker has been a total card lately.  She has realized how funny she is and is playing her little tricks a lot to get a laugh.  She loved Christmas and adores Christmas music.  She and I sing several songs every day.  She is into a quick learning phase; she is counting to 14 now, knows most letters on sight and is starting to think phonemically.  She truly loved the New Year's Eve party we went to and now that she has tasted the limelight, is grabbing it every chance she gets.  Less mischief is being caused by her these days for which I am very, very grateful.

Finally, the Blitz.  What can I say?  Sunshine pointed out that he is still the major cause of most of the messes in the house, and as he is growing, can now reach more to get into.  He has finally gotten tall enough to open the back door so all the grandmothers can relax; he's not going out the doggy door any more!  He has accelerated his talking to an amazing degree; much of what he says sounds very grown up.  He reminds me of Pepper at the same age.

He has a funny new affectation.  Apparently, he has royal lineage because he now very consistently refers to himself in the third person.  "Bennie need to go potty now."  "Bennie will stay up late because Bennie is not tired to bed." "Bennie is very thirsty!  Bennie needs peanut milk." 

'Peanut milk,' in case you are wondering, is Almond milk.  His wheat free, milk free diet has totally changed his constitution and he is doing great now. He is potty training and making good progress, I'll spare you the grizzly details.

Whew!  That's the run-down;  we are looking forward to a lazy January and then a very busy spring.  Stay tuned!