Two Weeks Later later later later...LOL

Well, since I am making this new post on his big day I better say HAPPY BIRTHDAY GUMPA!!! I hope you had some good coffee and great cookies for breakfast! The picture you see before you is one that captures something I love about my husband and his dad, their sense of fun/humor and adventure. It was taken last summer in Garmisch, Germany on top of the Zugspitz (please forgive the spelling).

Today has special significance for Avery too... not only is tomorrow her 9 month birthday...today she cut her first tooth! I am not sure why as parents we mark this day, I really don't know why I get so excited about it. I mean for me it really only means a pain in the boob...lol. But still I always get excited when the first one peeks through. She is almost the youngest of my kids to get their first tooth. Tristan got his at 8 1/2 months, Sammi at 17 months (yes you read that right) and Keagan at 15 months. Well Avery welcome to the world of teeth, be happy you got some as I have a feeling I am reaching the point where they are gonna start falling out again...lol.

Avery has had other things a happenin' lately. I think she has the grasp on two words. I am not sure cause it is never quite clear when they cross over from babble to understanding. I can tell you this, she only says "Mamamamamamma" when she wants something, so either she is calling me, or she thinks it means "I want (fill in the blank)." Additionally, she will say "Dadadadadadada" and stop when I give her the Daddy doll. We always talk about Daddy, show her pictures, videos etc. so she may know "Dada" as Daddy, or she may think she is calling for her doll, either way she understands something. Also, when she is asked for a kiss most times she will kiss and she sometimes does it with out asking. It is the cute eyes-get-a-faraway-look-open-mouth-baby-kiss. AND she WALKS!!! Well, it isn't quite that exciting, she only does it in her playpen...lol. I guess she feels safe there. She lets go of one end...step, step... she gets to the other end. She also stands well...again only in the playpen...lol. Silly girl seems to have some confidence issues!

For those of you I have been talking to about Tristan's math problems they are getting better. for those of you that don't know, he was having some real trouble with math, but the more he does it the better he is getting, so he and I are both slightly relieved. He is a super big helper around the house and has been since Daddy left. Bless his heart he does awesome stuff without me even asking. While I load Avery in the car, he has been known to fold up and put the stroller in the car. Such a big boy!

Again for those of you that know, I am STILL having problems with Sammi's teacher. For those of you that don't, let's just say she is MEGGA holding her back. It is getting even worse! Look I am the mom so of course I think all my children are brilliant. I am sure many of you have heard me say they will all get full-rides to Harvard (and even though you think I am...I am SO not kidding...lol). But seriously Sammi reads REALLY well. I just bought her this HUGE chapter book, absolutely no pictures and she is loving it. She can read it and comprehend it cause she comes and tells me about it. Now even though her teacher KNOWS what she is reading at home, she is not allowing Sammi to read books of that level from the library! Sammi has to get books that are at the average level from last year. For example, she started on level 1.1 or something last year and ended on 4.1. So when school started this year the teacher took the average, 2.6 and made her start at that level reading. Now does this make any sense to you? I can understand not starting where she left off, the teacher doesn't know if she read during the summer, but come on, maybe average out the last term. So, Sammi can not advance to the next level (2.7) until she passes, 4 tests on 4 books, and they only test 1 book a week. She is now at 2.8. You do the math and see how long it will take for her to reach the level she ENDED on last year! Anyway, at home she is reading probably something like a 4.8 or more, I don't want to overestimate. It is so frustrating.

Keagan has quite improved. He had a tough time with school for several reasons, the big one I really think is that Daddy is deployed. He cried everyday several times a day, and even cried the nights before schools. Now he doesn't cry at all and happily goes into school. So, I am VERY pleased about that!!!! He learns really quickly too, coming home telling me all about his day. Oh and some of you may think it is a blessing, but others a curse...he is such a planner, like me. He will tell me the entire next days schedule!!! He really listens to what the teacher says they will do before/after lunch etc. and he will tell me the whole deal on our walk home. Too cute!

Well, I have gone on and on about my kids!!! Sorry for that.... just needed to get it all off my chest...lol.

http://www.msnusers.com/PilchFamilyPhotos

Oh a little more about the pictures I have added:

There are kids in different outfits. I had Tristan and Sammi's school picture outfit's picked out, but I couldn't figure out what to put on my other two kids. So I tried a few different things. the thing I ended up picking with Avery is the one she has on in the stroller, funky tights pink and brown outfit. It is plain, but I don't think pic outfits should be too busy and the colors look good with her coloring. For Keagan I picked the maroon and green outfit. Also, I bought a crown for Sammi, but it fit on Avery's head and even stayed there with her bouncing around. Oh and to My Mom-in-law, do you recognize the blue outfit on Avery with the pink bows??? It is one you gave to Sammi! Well enjoy the pictures all!

My hope for you is that I have not bored you to sleep with all my "kid-talk" and that you can still function the rest of the day... tee hee!!!