barrett: 76 months old

Barrett is back with his wonky grins - not sure why only one half of his smile hit his face, but it's really the luck of the draw when I ask either of my kids to smile for a photo.  Barrett is enjoying first grade, and it seems like half his kindergarten class followed him into his new class this year.  His reading has blown me away - he will sit down with his library books and practice reading them, then want to show me a dozen times!  I love it, because I want him to love reading as much as I do!

This year Barrett is taking hip hop dance classes!  My coworker's son is also in the class, and there's 5 kids total, so they make great strides in every class.  Barrett loves dancing, just goofing off and moving his body, and the songs might be his favorite part of class.  There's a constant stream of "Old Town Road" going on in my house at the moment!  We're also looking at doing soccer again for the fall season.

Likes:  buying school lunch, playing with trucks in his sand pile, walking Ruby

Dislikes:  picking up his Legos

121 months old

Now that the kids are officially back in school (since August 14th), we're of course right on track for Britton to be battling a head cold for the past week.  It never fails, and honestly, I completely understand why my sister was sick for the first two YEARS of teaching - these kids are crawling with germs.  But it hasn't stopped Britton from diving head-first into 5th grade, and she is loving it!!  Her teachers are incredible - I know it seems like every year we love her teachers even more than the year before - but really, she lucks out on the best teachers.  

Side note - Britton and her friend Olivia were eating lunch today and were talking about the "My Hero Academia" books they love, and mentioned how some have bad words, and then Britton says, "Ms. T (teacher from last year) had this book - "Blubber" by Judy Blume - have you read it, Mom?" And of course I reply YES because I read every Judy Blume book 100 times, and Britton says that Ms. T said the book had a bad word in it, but (and I love this) "that's just how it is."  And she's right, we can't throw every book out the window just because it has a "bad" word, which is really just what I call an "adult" word.  Though Barrett did point out a "big ass rock" the other day, and admitted that he heard Daddy use that descriptor often......

But I digress.  So Britton is reading some books with "adult" words, and loves anime and manga, and draws her own characters too.  She's also taking dance this year again - ballet, tap, lyrical, and jazz - and is joining chorus at school.  And she now tentatively ventures wanting to try things out that other kids talk about - so we went to Starbucks for some fancy frappucino drinks, and she also wants to see "Stranger Things" (which the hubs and I watch and love), so I've been re-watching the first season with her.  And I maybe caution too much that the scary parts are coming up, and we can turn it off anytime she likes, but no, she wants to see it and I get that.  I'm just happy she lets me watch with her, you know?

Likes:  chicken patties (she gets it from her mom), science, dance class with her teacher from last year

Dislikes:  being sick, it being too hot to have recess outside since school started back up