She is a huge Harry Potter fan right now. We decided to let her read the first three books and she flew through them and is now a huge fan. We have also been letting her stay up on the weekends to watch the movies with us as she finishes the book. It has been so fun to have this time with her, doing something we all enjoy.
Speaking of books, this girl is a major reader. She loves to read and is burning through chapter books quicker than I can keep her stocked. It's a great hobby and I've seen her comprehension, her writing, and her vocabulary increase a ton this year.
She is still in piano and is such a good student. She is really good about practicing and is learning so quickly. She has yet to do a piano recital because we have been out of town both times they were scheduled, but she is looking forward to playing some prelude music for the primary program coming up in a few months.
Her baptism is coming up this summer and she is so excited! I still can't believe she will be 8 soon.
Bentley has had such a fun year in preschool. He says he didn't learn a lot of new things, but he had fun with his friends. ha ha He has a few boys in the ward that he also went to preschool with and he says those guys are his best buddies. Sometimes Bentley says, "mom I just need another boy around to play with" so we will get him together with these guys often so he can escape from all the girls once in a while.
He has figured out the reading thing too and loves to sit by me and read some of the level 1 books we have. He also loves to do "homework" and worksheets so I'd say he is definitely a self motivated learner. He will for sure be ready for kindergarten this fall. My heart breaks a little every time I think about it though.
He is a still very much into playing games any chance he can get. Brad is training him up quite nicely and he is already out strategizing me in some of the games. It's crazy to watch him go. He can never get enough. I will play a couple with him in the afternoons most days, and then as soon as Brad gets home Bentley begins lining up their games for the night. It's very cute.
He is my homebody kid. He likes to go out and do things, but he is always the first one ready to go home and would be totally fine if we never left the house. He is good about playing solo with his Star Wars guys, or Transformers, and he also likes to be outside on the trampoline or climbing the tree.
Not a day goes by that this boy doesn't tell me I look beautiful, or just randomly come and give me a hug and a kiss. It is the sweetest thing, and he melts me with it every time. The other day at the park, I was visiting with a couple friends while we watched the kids play and Bentley came running over with a dandelion he had picked for each of the moms. It was so sweet. He is definitely learning quickly what works with the ladies! :)
I was getting Bentley some fruit snacks from the pantry and was trying to be very secretive about it so I didn't have to get them for everyone, but then he said, "Mom I need to share these with my little sisters because that would be a gentleman of me." Cutie.
Olive is our social butterfly. She asks me every day who she will get to play with, or where we will be going. She is the opposite of Bentley and is not content to be at home unless she has a friend (or me) to entertain her. A day at home with her will drive us all crazy because she gets so bored and then starts to stir up trouble. So it's a good thing we have lots of girls around who love to play with Olive!
She is still very much into dress ups. She loves that she has lots of ballerina and princess dresses to choose from, and plenty to share with her friends too. She also loves to wears skirts and anything sparkly when she gets herself dressed for the day.
Olive loves her baby sister, a little too much sometimes because no matter how much we warn her, she really can't keep her hands to herself most the time. Though she does get smothered sometimes, Karly really does love Olive and is very entertained by her too. Just this morning I was watching Olive as she was squeezing Karly's hand and she was starting to pinch her a little bit. She was being soft, but I thought I should step in before it went downhill:
Me: Olive don't pinch Karly.
Olive: Mom I wasn't. My fingers were just giving her a soft hug.
Olive really is so much fun, and she is constantly making us laugh. She has a sparkle in her eye that is just so endearing. She makes friends wherever she goes, and she loves to entertain and chat away about the most random things.
The other day, while eating breakfast we laughed over this little exchange:
Olive: "Hey guys, I dreamed about myself last night!"
Dad: "you did?"
Olive: "Yeah! And I was SOOOOO funny!"
She really adds a whole new personality and dynamic to our family that really livens things up.
Karly Rose, this girl.... she is my little snuggle bug. She is just growing and changing so fast and it is so bittersweet! I have really loved every stage with her and have just soaked it in. Her personality is growing and changing so fast and we are definitely seeing a little toddler now, and not so much a little baby anymore. She is climbing everything, helping herself to snacks from the pantry, singing tons of songs, and talking in sentences sometimes already.
Karly is also starting to get very demanding about things and she will throw some pretty good tantrums if I don't give in. She thinks my phone belongs to her, and anytime she sees it she wants me to put on "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and she takes the phone and runs. If I don't give it to her, she throws herself down and has a tantrum. She's also really good at saying "no" and "mine". She's a toddler!
With all that being said though, she is the sweetest. She still lets me roll her up in a little ball and snuggle her up close to my neck. I love it. I will rock her and we will sing together. She is really good at singing "I am a child of God." It's precious.
She has the best laugh! She squeals and gets really excited about a lot, and then when we get her laughing, it is good and loud belly laughs. It's the best. She also really loves it when everyone watches her and laughs at her.
She likes to act like the big kids. If they sit on the couch, she wants to sit by them. If they get on the trampoline, she wants to jump too. Anything they have, she wants too. It's cute, and it definitely is helping her to mature and grow up very quickly. She has a tiny little body so she surprises people with how she talks and acts much older than she looks.
Anytime Eden or Bentley come home from school, she runs to them and gives them a lingering hug as she lays her head on their bellies. It's precious.
She is so much fun. We all adore her.
I am so grateful to be home with my babies. I can't imagine being away from them, and can't picture myself doing anything else that would be as meaningful. I absolutely adore the stage we are in right now, and the pure magic in their eyes as we go on adventures and play together. It really is a blessed life I live with my kids and my amazing husband.
No comments:
Post a Comment