February Update

2009 is now well underway and we have been busy with many "firsts" already this year. So far we have had Jamison's first piano recital, Jamison's first (of now many) Reading Counts awards, Jamison's first experience being a lector at Mass (she did great!) and Jamison's first visit from the Tooth Fairy (yes, my baby lost her first tooth). Jamison and Grayson also attended their first Mardi Gras parade last weekend in Shreveport. While Grayson hasn't had nearly as many "firsts," he is as mischievous as ever and is always making me laugh or making my heart melt. He is really good at both! He knows he can get pretty much anything he wants when he comes up to me and says, "Mommy, I love you. You're my best Mommy ever." Montessori is teaching him to be quite the independent little boy and he insists on doing most things himself these days.

Jamison's piano recital

Jamison and her friend Rebekah receiving Reading Counts certificates

Grayson being Superman

Nick and Grayson at the Krewe of Centaur parade

Nick and Grayson posing in the matching robes they received for Christmas

Sweet Home, Louisiana

Jamison and Grayson always look forward to spending time with our family in Louisiana. I wish we lived a little closer so they could see them more often. Here are some pics of the family...

Jamison and Grayson with Papa (my dad)


At the Louisiana Boardwalk with cousins Celia and Bailey...


Singing karaoke with cousin Kenny at Meme's house...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

December in Enid has been COLD! We have had snow twice already and high temperatures in the teens at least a couple of days a week -- ugh! I am definitely hoping for some warmer weather when we arrive in Louisiana later this week.

Jamison and Grayson are thrilled about Christmas (as most kids are)...Jamison's list is never ending. Grayson, on the other hand, has only asked for a few things, one of which was a cat. As most of you know, poor Gray has had all kinds of allergies, most of them food related. I explained to him that he is allergic to cats so that he wouldn't be able to have one. Without hesitating, he replies, "No, Mommy, not to eat it...to pet it!" Good news on the food allergies though....he has finally outgrown all of his food allergies! Yea!

I am attaching a picture of Jamison and three of her best friends, Mikaela, Rebekah, and Emme. It was taken last week at our school's Christmas program. All are students in my 1st grade class. As usual, Grayson was much too busy for a picture, so I wasn't able to get any of him. Jamison's dress was made by Cyn-Cyn and I love it! She made Grayson a coordinating Christmas outfit as well, so I will post pics of that soon. Can't wait to see everyone! Love you guys!

Life is....busy!

It seems that we have been going nonstop since the school year began. Now that our school's annual fundraiser, The Taste of St. Joe's, is over for the year, I am hoping our pace will slow down for a little while! Jamison has become an excellent little reader...she has begun the Reading Counts program at school and will start reading at our school Mass in January. She is also doing great in her extra curricular activities (piano, dance, gymnastics). She is working on her third song book in piano -- Christmas music -- and has chosen to play "Silent Night" and "Away in a Manger" in her recital. Grayson is still loving his school. He can read and spell his name and loves to "write" stories. He dictates them and his teacher writes it down. My favorite so far is from the week after Thanksgiving. It was just one sentence, "I ate Lucky Charms for Thanksgiving." We are looking forward to a PLANNED trip home at Christmas. I think we had enough unplanned ones this year to last a while. I am including some updated pictures....Jamison and Grayson having fun at home and Nick and I at The Taste of St. Joe's.

I'm kinda liking this Montessori thing....

Grayson began attending a Montessori program in August. Last Thursday, we were watching an episode of Survivor and I pointed out the elephants that were on the show to Jamison and Grayson. Grayson responds, "Elephants live in Africa." Not sure I heard him right, I ask him to repeat what he just said and he again says that elephants live in Africa. I ask him what else he knows about Africa and he tells me that Africa is far away, across the ocean, and that you have to take an airplane to get there. I am very impressed by this point and I ask him if he knows any other continents. He spouts off Asia, Europe, North America and South America. Keep in mind that he just turned 3 in August! I asked him if he knew which continent we lived on and his reply was, "The yellow one." I guess North America is yellow on their map!

Fall is here!

Fall is in the air and with it comes all of the fall festivities. Last Sunday, we took a family fun trip to the corn field mazes with some family friends and today we ventured out again to go to the Pumpkin Patch. As usual, Grayson was way too busy having fun to have his picture taken, but we did manage to trick him into a couple of good ones! Always the cover girl, Jamison was more than happy to have her photo taken again, and again, and again....





Enid is always living up to the small town expectation of running into someone you know everywhere you go. Today, we saw one of Jamison's good friends, Emme, at the Pumpkin Patch. Emme is also one of my first grade students this year. I call these two my 1st grade fairies because they are the smallest two in their class. I love this pic, so I had to post it.

Life as the younger sibling...

For Grayson's 3rd birthday, he received a motorized jeep. He and Jamison drive it all the time. The other day, the grass was thick and damp and the jeep kept getting stuck. Jamison, being the dominant older sibling, tells Grayson to get out and push. Grayson, of course, does exactly as his sister says. Never mind the fact that the jeep belongs to him -- not her!