Evan - 8 and a little bit..

I can't believe it's time for another post! Evan is now 8 and growing up way too fast. :) He is still our sweet boy, but is definitely becoming more grown up and independent each day. 

All about Evan at 8...

- Evan and Doug have become "board game geeks". (I like to play as well.) The games that they play are mostly complex strategy games. Evan has a great attention span and is very good! (He wins at least half the time. :))

- The ipad has quickly become Evan's favorite free time activity. He would pick that any day over TV or Wii. His favorite apps are Minecraft, Dragonvale and he loved facetiming with his friends. 

- Evan still loves Cub Scouts and it's been keeping him busy. This fall, he sold lots of popcorn, made a Rain Gutter Regatta boat (which won his den), participated in the Fishing Derby, had fun camping in the rain with Doug, and just recently completed his second Pinewood Derby. (He came in 5th in the pack.) Most of all, he has a great group of boys that he gets to spend time with! 

- Evan played soccer again in the fall and plans to keep playing in the spring as well. He got to play with one of this best friends, and had a blast. He also starting taking archery, which he also loves! 

- We are continuing eschooling and doing co-op for second grade. (Evan wanted to keep doing this, so we did!) He loves math (already in 4th grade) and science, but is also really progressing in Language Arts. He's even doing gifted and talented Language Arts, which has been awesome for him. He gets to write and discuss books with his classmates once a week. He also loves doing science each week with Poppy, which is a great way for him to learn from someone else.

-Evan and I recently finished reading Harry Potter, which we both really enjoyed. Now, Doug and Evan are reading through the Chronicles or Narnia, which he is loving as well! It's been great to have that special time reading with him, especially as he gets more independent reading on his own. 

- He has his two best friends, who he loves to play with. He loves to play with other kids as well and pretty much gets along with everyone. He has also really come out of his shell and is quick to make friends in any situation. Of course, he is the best big brother! He is really patient with Ainsley and is loving and inclusive. He is also the sweetest big cousin and such a caring boy. 

- We celebrated Evan's birthday with a sleepover/outing to Skyzone with his two best friends, as well as family dodge ball birthday party at home. 

We love you Evan! We hope 8 is great!!

Ainsley - 4 and 3/4th

Ainsley has really come into her own these past few months and we've had the pleasure of watching her grow up before our eyes. She's always had a shy disposition around new people and situations, but she's becoming more comfortable and more willing to try out new things. Of course, at home, it's a different story. If she don't want to do something, it's really hard to convince her otherwise. :) She's still easy most of the time, and is always making up smile with those big dimples. 

- She LOVES dancing and dress-up! Those are her two favorite things. Anything girly and fancy, and she's game.  

- Ainsley besties are Mya and Angel. The girls love to play dress up (of course) and have tea parties. There is such a difference with boys and girls playing. 

- Ainsley and Evan also still play so nicely together. We love to see their brother/sister relationship so strong. They have their moments, but they are always game for running around in the bounce house or being silly together. 

- We tried out soccer this year. Doug coached Ainsley and we thought that she'd really like it. She was excited going in, but it turns out that her favorite part of soccer is waving to her fans. :) It was cute to watch, and she did get to play with 3 of our neighbors, which was great. We may try again ... in a few years.

-She's back at preschool this year, now 4 days a week. She really likes to take her time and do a good job, and loves to go with Mya. She is learning so much and she loves to spell things out. ("Mom, how do you spell ...") Her printing is really improving and she also loves to pretend to read. 

                                             

- Over the summer, Ainsley become quite the swimmer and was very brave - going down the huge waterslide at KI!

- I took Ainsley to see Annie Jr and the Nutcracker. I think she's going to be my theater buddy!! She loved both, and loves to sing along to the songs. Speaking of singing along, our favorite movie/songs are from Frozen!! Ainsley loved the movie, and loves the songs!! It's been fun to see her so into something. Of course, Ariel is still her favorite princess. 

- We have found one activity that Ainsley loves.. no surprise, it's dance class. She is taking ballet and tap, and is loving every minute of it! Her favorite part is free dance, where she gets to dance around and show off her moves!

We love you Miss A!!