Anne's Newest Word

Tonight I was sitting on the couch while Nathaniel was reading to me. Anne came and sat on my lap. I guess she was ready for her prayer. She sat, looked behind me at our picture of the Last Supper hanging there, and she pointed and said, "Jesus." I was amazed. I have never myself said that to her in front of that picture. We applauded & cheered, she continued to point and say, "Jesus" several more times. Definitely my wow moment of the day. I love you sweet baby girl!

Nativity Video

Here's a link to answer any burning questions about the kids' days at school:
Day at Nativity

"If you're happy and you know it..."

...you know how the song goes. And so does Leah when she sings with Grandma Sally. She says: "If you're happy and you know it...stretch your nose!"

(Hmm, how do you do that?)

"If you're happy and you know it...wiggle your belly!"



Perfect.

Recent Picture Update

I realize not the most exciting picture of Jacob, but it's the main one I had recently & I had some of everyone else...couldn't leave him out?!

Leah modeling one of her new spring dresses. I love this one. She happens to have a ribbon tied around her waist for kicks - not really part of the dress, obviously.

Anne sporting a barrette. She's really starting to get used to having her hair up. I love it! I shouldn't though - as I've pretty much always had short hair?!

Just a great morning picture. She loves to wear sunglasses.

The big boys after their last basketball game. They really had a lot of fun. I think it's been their favorite sport so far. They've really had great coaches, too. It was a three-on-three league which worked great for them. Sometimes it was hard to watch, though, as I can't help but have a little bit of competitiveness in me. You can only press at half court (not a big deal), but there are also no steals & you have to pass at least once before shooting. All great fundamentals for their age, but sometimes you just wanted them to grab that ball right out of the opponents hands as it sat there so openly, just waiting to be taken. Lots of fun.

Addendum to the Vocabulary

Grandma Donna pointed out I didn't include what she says for Grandma...

Good one...sorry I didn't put that in there. "Ma-maw" (it's the same for both Grandma & Grandpa. Handy, don't you think?

Dad's Breakfast Business Meeting

Patrick had a early meeting for breakfast recently. I was heading to school with the kids and Jacob and Leah were discussing Dad's meeting. They were wondering what Patrick was eating for breakfast. They decided..."I think Dad's eating Froot Loops. Yeah, because those are good." And then, "Do you think Dad is having dessert with breakfast? I do. I think he's having candy. Yeah, he's having candy."


Cute, cute. Even more cute would be to picture Patrick in his suit eating Froot Loops & candy for breakfast!

Anne's Growing Vocabulary

Anne is really starting to say a lot of words. It is pretty enjoyable. She definitely knows the word "no" and knows just when to use it to contradict what Mom & Dad are trying to get her to do.

"Bubba": Jacob's nickname she hears often from us
"o-l-d j-o-o": aka "hold you" - she wants to be held; she says that as when you ask her, "Anne, do you want me to hold you?" - you'll get a big nod. When she REALLY wants to be held, the length of the "old" part lasts longer & longer.
"chez": cheese
"peez": please
"da doo": not a good spelling to give the clue, but she'll say thank you.
"baby"
"NO"
"dots": her favorite candy that Grandma Sally brings for all the kids often
"shoes"
"apple"
"gook": (when she's standing by the stove & I'm cooking)
"ot": aka hot

Hmm, there's probably more, but that's a good list for starters. Hard to believe she'll be 20 months on Saturday! She's growing too fast!

Great Progress for the Five-year-old

I mentioned how the big boys were reading well, and I failed to mention that Jacob has taken up reading as well! He's started on some short little books, but has done great and really has a cute grin to show his pride. I have to say that I'm proud of how much he wants to learn. He likes doing math and with the reading, it's clicking with him about sounding words out. It's really fun to work with him.

His other big step is that we've taken off the training wheels on his bike. Today was about day two of practicing and he's definitely got the straight away figured out. He can ride down the street to the cul-de-sac and almost turn around without stopping. I'm also excited that he's wanting to do this. A bit more practice and I think he'll have it all down. Way to go!

Jacob & Chris Tomlin

The kids have really been enjoying music by Chris Tomlin. I got his newest CD for Christmas and it is very often playing in the car. The kids all have their favorite tunes and often we have them on repeat, etc. I enjoyed Jacob's commentary yesterday: "Mom, I think Chris Tomlin goes to church three times a day." I inquired further to see what made him say that. He said, "I think he goes three times a day because he knows a lot about God." Hmm, good answer I thought. Then he asked, "Can we go three days a day?" "Three days a day? Do you mean three times a week?" "Yes, can we go three times a week?" I told him that we could sure work on that (we go on Sundays & then go to the All School Masses on Tuesdays currently). I just enjoyed his thought process & wanting to to that.

On the Go

Well, the month of February flew by. I am not sure where it went?! But I guess it was a good month. I know there are things that happened with the kids that I wish I had kept better track of, but maybe this month will be better! We've had plenty of snow this winter. The kids have had 4-5 days off for snow days, and they've already made up two. They were supposed to have two days off during the week before President's Day, but they decided to have school instead. That was fine with me as I would rather make it up now that at the end of May when everyone is tired!

Leyton & Nathaniel are doing great with 1st grade. I think they really like it. Nathaniel is really taking off with his reading and he really seems to enjoy it. I am happy for him; I never felt I was a strong reader growing up. Leyton is doing well also. His new favorite read - each day he asks Dad for the Sports page of the newspaper. It's cute.

We're gearing up for March Madness! It's a fun time of year to watch lots of basketball. Definitely a KU household, though. The boys are all getting to know a lot of the names of the players. Jacob's favorite, of course, is his namesake - i.e. Jacob THOMAS ROBINSON. He gets a kick out of that. Leyton likes a lot of players, but thinks it's pretty neat that the twins play together - Marcus & Markieff Morris. They are fun to watch. Yesterday Leah said she was being Tyshawn Taylor. They are funny.

Spring has peaked out the last couple days and it's wonderful to see the sun. We have been playing a lot of basketball outside and the kids are all enjoying that. Anne likes to let the ball roll down the driveway...and right into the street. So, we have to keep a good eye on her.

Hopefully I'll keep things updated better this month so I don't forget the little daily joys.