Saturday, October 22, 2011

Emmett turns 8

019 by megan bauer
019, a photo by megan bauer on Flickr.

I'm a little late, but Emmett turned 8.

His birthday was September 4. I can not believe my middle man is 8. He still is my least complicated, challenging kiddo. He's an absolute pleaser, and he rarely argues, complains, or disagrees with me.

For example, I just asked him what he wanted to be for Halloween this year, He's all what was Owen last year? I said, "He was a skeleton." He says, "Do we still have that costume?" When I tell him yes, he says "I'll just wear that then". See how good he is to me? He's quiet and content. And, I adore him.

8th year stats (for record keeping purposes):

51 inches (50th %)
69 3/4 pounds (80th %)

And, I just ordered him new shoes - size 5!!! (Owen - 3 years younger - wears a 5 1/2). They were $75 btw....add that to my list of reasons I need to work more than 8 hours a week...

And grandpa came to visit...

027 by megan bauer
027, a photo by megan bauer on Flickr.

Grandpa John came to visit for Emmett's 8th birthday - which fell on Labor Day. What a great weekend we all had. One of the days Grandpa, Emmett, Owen, and Eddie went to the baseball hall of fame. Emmett will tell you his favorite sport to play is soccer, but he's really enjoying baseball too. He played this spring and did a great job. He played a lot of shortstop and first base. But, also got a chance to pitch a handful of times.

On Emmett's birthday, we went to the State Fair. I seriously dislike the State Fair, but it's here in Syracuse, so we usually go once - if just to say we did it. With my dad there, I had a serious moment of weakness, and we came home with a rabbit (more on that later).

The evening of Emmett's birthday, Grandpa, Eddie, Owen, and Emmett went to the Syracuse Chiefs minor league baseball game. We went a couple times this year, and Emmett loves going.

To top it all off, he got a fishing pole for his birthday from the Spindler's. And, the only rainy day that my dad was with us, we went fishing. All of us. Emmett had been begging to go. We didn't catch anything. And, it was cold. And wet. But, we laughed aplenty.

017 by megan bauer
017, a photo by megan bauer on Flickr.

The baby - my social butterfly - does not want to be left out of the spotlight.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Emmett - school picture 2011

025 by megan bauer
025, a photo by megan bauer on Flickr.

Emmett on his way to school for school pictures - 2nd grade. I love this photo because you can see his small little dimple in his left cheek.

Owen school picture 2011

028 by megan bauer
028, a photo by megan bauer on Flickr.

This is Owen on the way to school for school pictures - 5th grade. Yes, his hair is WAY too long. But, he's almost 11 and I have to pick my battles, and there are lots of them. It was battle enough getting him out of his atheltic wear (you don't want to know what he's wearing on the bottom). Both of the boys have short sleeved t's under their nice shirt, so they can take this shirt off as soon as pictures are done.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

An honor for Emmett

020 by megan bauer
020, a photo by megan bauer on Flickr.

At the end of last year, when Emmett was still in first grade, he was chosen to participate with a group of 13 kids in a singing program. He was one of only 2 first graders chosen (out of 70 kids!), and one of 13 in the whole school. They were scheduled to sing at the teacher's kick off assembly the day before the first day of school. They practiced all summer. And, in September sang in front of every school teacher, teacher's assistant, and administrator in the district. It was the most beautiful performance. And, if I can figure out how to transfer some video that I took on the blog - I'll do that. They sounded so beautiful that I couldn't stop the tears from running down my face. And, I was SO proud of my quiet, shy Emmett.
They did such a good job that they were asked to sing in October at a school board meeting. And, they were recently videotaped to be shown to all the schools in the district. THese photos are blurry, because they were taken w/ my iphone from a distance away.

023 by megan bauer
023, a photo by megan bauer on Flickr.

017 by megan bauer
017, a photo by megan bauer on Flickr.

016 by megan bauer
016, a photo by megan bauer on Flickr.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Spell check anyone?

Wow! Things have changed. I am SHOCKED at the spelling words Owen and Emmett have in school this year.

A small sample:

Emmett (2nd grade): another, year, company, delighted, appreciate, thinning, wonderful, enjoyed, loyal fond

Owen (5th grade): pharmaceutical, divulge, phoenitician, rumba, intiated, imitate, ingenuity (not even sure if I spelled this one right - where's Owen when I need him?), and rumpus.

Can you believe this? A small explanation though - there is a pretest each week of 10 words for both kids. Both boys pass this pretest each week without missing one, so these are the words they are given. And, Owen gets all these crazy hard words right. Emmett gets most right. Unbelievable.

Emmett has a really tough teacher this year. He's had more homework than Owen ever has had. But, I'm sure he's going to learn TONS.

This is the first year that Owen really has ever had homework. He's not thrilled. He doesn't like doing work of any sort. But, thankfully, he's smart enough to do really well even doing the most minimal studying.