I can not believe March is here already. I am amazed at how fast this first part of 2012 has gone. I have many things to update. First, school is going well for both kids. Grace ended last semester with all A's!! Caleb did well too (2nd grade gets numbers not grades). According to their teachers, they are good students who work hard and are nice kids to have in class. Grace also played in her second band concert and I was shocked at how grown up she looked and the other 6th graders compared to back in November. She still enjoys playing clarinet and is seriously considering playing in 7th grade. Caleb still holds the police officer job in his classroom and is great at passing out fines to his fellow classmates who break the rules.
We celebrated Chinese New Year with our tradition.......chinese food from Blue Ginger and a pinata! I have no idea where Caleb got this idea. Many years ago when we decided to celebrate CNY, we asked him what he wanted to do and that was his answer. So every year, I buy a pinata and fill it with gold coins, coupons and candy. For dessert we have oranges and fortune cookies. When we were in China, I purchased a few articles of clothing for us to wear for this celebration but haven't used them in the past few years. This year, Caleb found the box and immediately undressed to put on his "china clothes." He looked so cute, even though the shirt was way too small.
Both kids played basketball this winter. Caleb played in Upward again and he was awesome this year! He was on fire. I couldn't believe how much he has improved since last year. It was really cool to watch. Grace backed out of AAU, it was not a good fit for her. She went to back playing on a Courthouse league with classmates and is having a ton of fun. She is also improving and thinks she will try out for the 7th grade team next year. She will continue to play at a few tournaments this summer and camps. She continues to workout at the Y with Doug on non basketball days while Caleb does Karate. He started that in January and loves it. He is punching and kicking air around the house all the time. I hear "yah, kiyah" everyday. He tests for his first belt next week, the yellow belt. It has helped him with his paying attention and being more aware. The instructor has several rules the class must follow: stand still and look people in the eye when they are talking to you, always do things the first time and is big on using manners such as answering with "no sir, yes sir, no mam, yes mam." I love it!!!!!
We have had hardly any snow this winter and the kids really missed playing outside making forts, throwing and eating snow. A few weeks ago we had snow storm and headed to the local hill for family sledding and it was a a ton of fun. I thought about putting away all snow gear because this week is suppose to be 50/60 but thought again, we live in Michigan and it could change on a dime.
We are headed to Florida for spring break this year with many families we know. The kids are excited because we are staying on the beach in a condo. I am excited because it means sunshine, warmer weather and lots of reading time. I have a ton of books by my bed that keep calling my name and a lot of M&M's to melt in the sun. Believe me, we will be inhaling them considering the whole family gave up candy for lent.
In two weeks, Grace will be in her last church musical! It is hard to believe 3 years ago she didn't even want to get up on stage to sing with the choir and now she is one of the lead roles. She has a ton of lines and has to wear a dress for her costume!!!! I can't wait!!!!!!!!!! We are so proud of her and can't wait to see perform. Oh, Doug and I have cameo appearances with 4 lines too. I could flip on a beam and twist in the air without feeling nervous. However, 4 lines is already making my tummy do flips. By the way, I took Grace to see our High School performance of Honk (ugly duckling) last week and she loved it! She definitely sees herself doing something like that in the future. Caleb on the other hand told me at Christmas he does not want to do musicals anymore, not even sing mom!
Health wise, the kids are growing like weeds. Grace is is almost my height and wearing my shoes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She is definitely in a teenager mode. I know, she will only be 12 this year but everything about her (including attitude) screams "I am a teenager." Caleb has his big surgery in May, a bone graph using hip bone and inserting it into the jaw. He continues to ask me questions daily. I don't think he is nervous, I think it is like everything else in his world, he likes to understand every detail and make sense of it. He still has braces because the ortho is waiting for surgery, so we are in a "holding pattern.". Dr. H was ecstatic with the progress the head gear and braces made on Caleb's teeth. He said it was like hitting a grand slam!
Both have birthdays coming up and Caleb's Family Forever Day next week. Not sure how we are going to celebrate the birthdays this year. Last year we turned our basement into a theater. They invited a ton of friends, no presents, just had snacks and watched Star Wars and Harry Potter. Caleb gets to pick dinner and dessert for his FFD (our tradition) for Wednesday. WOW...6 years ago we were in China meeting our little man for the first time. Anyway, his selection.........these nasty tasting SPICY chicken wings that he and Doug love with oreo balls. He is so geeked!!!!! I think Grace and my reaction to his choice only fueled his desire even more. You gotta love little brothers!
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