Tae Kwon Do

We found an amazing TKD instructor for Ryan, affiliated with the same Tiger Rock Martial Arts national program he was in in Houston. That means that the forms are the same, and he's not starting from scratch. He's been attending classes with Mr. Asay since July, and had his first testing at the new school in October. Ryan passed, and earned his Level 3 blue belt!  You can see the stress on his face in this first picture. Testing is a tense time, and we are so proud of him for working hard and believing in himself and continuing despite nervousness.

Ryan breaking a board

Back to School. Kindergarten & 3rd Grade

Lauren started Kindergarten and Ryan started 3rd Grade! It's one of those moments that really stops you and makes you think about the last five and a half years. It seems so short, and yet I can hardly remember life without Lauren, like she's been here forever! Lauren is so very ready for Kindergarten and so excited that I can only feel excitement for her. I think it helps that she has watched Ryan go to school for 3 years and she's comfortable with the school. Then we were so fortunate for Lauren to have the same Kindergarten teacher that Ryan had. She is amazing, loving, enthusiastic and very nice, and Lauren is familiar with her. Lauren is very excited about having her.

We went to "meet the teacher" Friday night and she asked me why it was so short...she wanted to stay longer. Then she came downstairs Saturday morning announcing..."Only 1 more day until school!"

Ryan is in 3rd Grade, and also seems very relaxed and a little excited about school! He was very positive after "meet the teacher" Friday night! He has 2 teachers...one for math and science and another for reading and social studies.


Here's a picture of Lauren going to the "meet the teacher" night. She wore her new soccer uniform (she starts soccer in 2 weeks) and her new "light up" Kindergarten shoes!

Kindergarten at David Elementary

Yesterday my mom and I had a girl's lunch while Mark took Ryan to a Cub Scout Astros game. We went to a tea house and made a big deal out of celebrating her going to Kindergarten. Last night she picked out her clothes for the whole week.

Ryan enjoyed an Astros game with friends and even got to run the bases! He had such a great time and it helped make him excited for seeing his friends at school. I think we learned a good lesson....to do something really fun with the kids the day before school starts. It really helped Ryan to be excited and not to have all day to worry about the first day of school!

Here the kids and Mark are before we rode bikes to school.

1st day of Kindergarten and 3rd grade

From a practical standpoint, it will be nice to have both kids at the same school! I think we've only had that one time....when Lauren was 2 and Ryan 4-5, they were at the same preschool. They'll be together for 2 years in elementary school, and then not again until high school when Ryan is a Senior and Lauren a Freshman. That makes me a little sad, but what can you do.

So, we've had a fun start to the year!

Ryan's Taekwondo

Ryan received his Yellow belt in Taekwondo Monday! He’s been studying for about 3 months and loves it. He has been interested for some time, but we wanted to let other activities wrap up, and make sure he was serious. He seems to be! It's the first activity we've had where I only have to ask him to get dressed once! You can see how proud he was in these pictures! We're very proud of him, and excited to see where this takes him!

Mr. Hoffman

2 Weeks Later

Lauren has recuperated wonderfully from her surgery to insert tubes in her ears and have her adenoids removed. We had her post-op appointment yesterday (2 weeks), and she can now bathe and swim with no restrictions! And she attended gymnastics class yesterday. (see photo below)

Our focus now will be to try to keep everyone healthy! I hope to get the kids the Flumist next week, and avoid the shots. I'm not sure what the recommendation for the Swine Flu shot will be, and I'm not sure I'm comfortable giving my kids such a new vaccine, so we'll see.

Ryan is doing great in 1st grade. He has his first spelling test this Friday, and today dressed up as a Ninja for a Storybook parade, carrying the Magic Treehouse book, Nights at the Ninjas. He was very excited. He loves these books, and they mark an important corner we turned....when he realized that books without pictures could be exciting! Mark, Lauren and I went to the school and took pictures. He was clearly happy we were there! (Not!)

 

One more note about the Magic Treehouse Books. The kids love the songs from the Magic Treehouse Musical. I play the CD in my car and they especially like the sweet song, "What Would I Do Without You." They would belt it out together!

 

Lauren's princess leotard for gymnastics

Ninja Ryan in the Storybook Parade