Primary Program 2011

Today, Lexi and Jordan had their primary performance at church. This ward (congregation) has an enormous primary (program for kids). I knew the kids wouldn’t be in the spotlight much, but Lexi like all the kids, had a line to say. She practiced saying, “I will obey my parents.” When she stepped up to the microphone to say it, the Primary President whispered something to her. She looked at her strangely and then said, “I will prepare for baptism.” Lexi whispered something to the lady as she was walking away. When she got back to her seat, she was motioning to me about the lady. I just shrugged & smiled. Later, she told me that the lady told her someone else’s line. I explained that Lexi handled it well and that the show must go on.

School Artwork

Lexi brought home her latest artwork from school today. She used crayons and paint to create this masterpiece.

Fashion Girl

Since the weather is a little cooler this week, I pulled this shirt out for Lexi to wear. I like it. She looks great in black and everyone loves Paris. Her best friend at school told her that she looks like a fashion girl.

Sunday in October

I took a few photos before church today. In the one below, Lexi is showing off her scratch that Jordan gave her last night. Lucky for him, the punch she gave him, before he did this, didn't leave marks. Fun times!

Halloween Shirt

Lexi wore her Halloween shirt today. I just love holiday shirts. I bought this one last November on clearance. It is nice to pull it out and be able to have her wear it.

First Report Card

Lexi brought home her first report card today. This year, it is all about getting + and -. Either the kids are understanding the lessons or they are not. Obviously, Lexi is doing well. In fact, her teacher sent home two more papers with his assessment of her reading and math skills and she is excelling at both. She is off the charts. A few weeks ago, she actually passed off the 50 sight words that need to be completed by the end of kindergarten.

More important than all of that, she is really enjoying kindergarten. Every day, she tells me about her best friend, Dominique. She talks about all of her classmates. I am glad that she is socializing and enjoying her school days.

Paper Jack-O-Lanterns

This year is flying by so fast that I hardly realized that we should be getting eager for Halloween. Of course the kids have mentioned costumes, but they do that all year.

This evening, I decided that it was time to do our annual paper jack-o-lanterns. I free-hand cut out the pumpkins and their pieces. Then the kids get to glue them on. Lexi was in a silly mood. She preferred to mimic their faces and add emotion to the event.

First Missing Tooth

Lexi's first tooth fell out this afternoon. When I picked her up from school, she showed me that she could wiggle it with her tongue. Once we got home, like she often does, she pulled out her left-over snacks. She was munching on carrots when I happened to look over at her and see that her tooth was missing. I had her spit out what was in her mouth, but it was too late. The tooth was gone. I guess she swallowed it.

She cried a little at first because she was surprised and because she wanted money from the tooth fairy. I told her that she might want to write a nice note for the tooth fairy. I am guessing that the tooth fairy would have sympathy for her and still give her a little money.

Jacket Weather?

This morning, it was actually cool enough to wear a jacket on our walk to school. I think the temp was in the upper 50s and it will get up to the upper 80s today. I didn't wear a jacket, but the kids did. Lexi was excited about wearing this jacket. We got it at the San Diego zoo on their clearance sale last year about this time.

This weather is exciting! I am just happy that the a/c isn't running non-stop. This is a little early for cooler weather in Houston. Sometimes, it is still hot at Halloween. I hope it continues.

Playing in Bins

This weekend was conference, which is when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints broad casts the messages from church leaders. There are four 2-hour sessions, two on Saturday and two on Sunday. It can be seen on the BYU channel or on the internet. I wanted to watch all of them, so that kept us near home both days.

We had a nice relaxing weekend and actually got a chance to enjoy the weather. The kids spent Friday night at their dad's house. I was able to do yard work and grocery shopping before they came back Saturday morning. We watched the first session and then headed to the park for a picnic, playing on the playground and a long walk around the lake. We watched the afternoon session and hung out at home and in the backyard that evening.

This morning, the kids got up and emptied their toy bins so they could play in them. We had breakfast and I took them for a LONG walk to a park. We were gone for about an hour and a half. We came back to watch the first session. Between sessions, I had planned a little bbq in our backyard with Steve cooking of course. We had steaks and veggie kabobs. What an easy Sunday for me.

Spirit Bling

Today marks the end of the first six weeks of school. There are 6 sets of 6 weeks in the year, so Lexi is exactly 1/6 of the way done with kindergarten. That is a lot of the number six. Incidentally, she likes to remind everyone that she'll be six on the 26th of January.

Another thing about today is that it is spirit day at her school. This happens every Friday, but the special thing about this one is that she was able to wear her school t-shirt. I ordered one of the special "bling" ones at the beginning of the year and it took longer to come in. She was thrilled to be part of the excitement even though she had early dismissal. She only ended up being spirited for half of the day. Guess, she can do it all over again next Friday.

Loose Tooth

Over a week ago (Sept 18th), Lexi discovered that she had a loose tooth. Loose as in it is not solidly grounded any more, but not really moving all over the place either. She cried and cried and cried because she doesn’t want it to fall out. She asked me a million questions like will it hurt, when will it fall out, and will it bleed. I calmly answered her questions and let her know that it happens to EVERYONE. I certainly have not made a big deal out of it.

A week has gone by and it is still barely loose, but it is crooked. Two girls in her class lost teeth this week and she did not think it was cool. She doesn’t like when it gets bumped or she feels it move. Since she doesn’t bother it at all, it might be a while before the lower tooth pushes it out. Unlike my mom, I have NO intention of pulling it.

School Picture Day

It is school picture day. I had Lexi wear her hair down for the first time. I thought it might end up a huge tangled mess by the end of the day, but she came back looking about the same. Hopefully, that means her pictures will turn out amazing.

Here is a picture I took on my phone on the way to school:

First Sick Day

Yesterday, Lexi woke up with a scratchy voice. I thought it would be nice for the teacher to spend one day with a quiet Lexi, so I sent her to school. Believe me, the girl can TALK! We've had several notices about it. Plus, Texas only allows 8 missed school days in the whole year. She came home still feeling bad and later that evening started running a fever and even puked up her dinner.

This morning, I called my mom to ask her if she thinks I should take her to the doctor. It had been such a long time since either of my kids were sick that I had to think about needs to be done about it. My mom usually chooses seeing the doctor, especially for sore throats. I called her pediatrician and got in right away. The initial strep test was negative, but they wanted to send another one out just in case. They gave me a prescription for an antibiotic and said if she seems to be getting worse over the weekend I could pick it up on Sunday.

She got to spend the afternoon watching movies and coloring with Jordan. He was happy to have his buddy home for the day.

New Hair Style

Lexi and I have seen a few hairstyles on the internet that she wants to try. This one is a fishbone braid made into a bun. I can't see it doing well through a whole day of school, so I thought church would be a better place to try it out. It looked pretty cute, but you can't see that it is a fishbone in these pictures.

Silly Day

Fridays at Lexi's school are called Spirit Days. It is the day when the students wear their official school shirts, bows, etc. They have LOTS of different shirts, flip flops, pencils, bows, and just about anything you can think of for their school. I ordered one of the "bling" t-shirts for Lexi but it hasn't come in yet. She decided it would be fun to wear something silly. She picked this funny shirt that Grandma Margie bought her and the skirt. She isn't allowed to wear a skirt without something underneath, so I suggested the stripped leggins. She got a kick out of laughing with everyone about her outfit.

Surprise Package

This afternoon, there was an unexpected package in the mail for Lexi and Jordan. It was from Steve's Aunt Angie. We opened the box to find two wrapped presents, one for each kid. They were thrilled. They both got banks. Lexi's was a yellow star.

Cali Fam Photo Drawing

Lexi drew the above picture and explained to me that Papa Malcolm is taking a picture of all of us and a dog just happen to stick his head in. The people in the photo include:

Grandma Margie - red hair
Paige - brown curly hair
Me - orange hair
Jordan - little blonde boy
Lexi - yellow pony tail

Scooter Weather

The temperatures have finally cooled off a little. Now the highs are in the 90s instead of the 100s. It was a perfect evening for a little scooter time.

Still Loving School

Lexi finished her second week of kindergarten and is loving it. She asked if she could buy lunch this week, so she did. She enjoyed telling me what she ate every day. I am hearing about more and more friends as well as kindergarten social dynamics (funny). They are learning how to tell time on a regular clock (with hands), practicing hand-writing, learning the alphabet in sign language, and lots of things.

They are also working on the 50 site words that she needs to know by the end of the year. She can read all of the words, but they need to be able to look at each one and say it without sounding it out and within three seconds. She has just a few that she doesn't recognize immediately. She'll have them down soon though. Then, she gets to move onto the 1st grade 100 site words. When she passes those off, she moves onto the computer accelerated reading program. Now, I KNOW that they will be able to keep her entertained without too much "baby stuff."