Nick does not lose his baby teeth on his own. All except for the front 8 incisors have had to be pulled by the dentist. His top eye teeth were no exception to this rule. The only difference is that these hurt a lot more than the others. His adult eye teeth were already growing in, underneath and in front of the two baby teeth. The dentist had a tough time getting them out. He had to dig out the root that was refusing to let go. Nick was a champ through the whole process although he was really sore afterwards. Hopefully these are the last teeth that have to be pulled.
Naomi finished up another fun season of soccer. She has typically played in defensive positions and has loved it - especially being goalie!! This season the coaches really relied on her offensive skills. She was the most seasoned player on the team and had the strongest kick. Although she still prefers to play defense, she learned to enjoy playing up front and getting goals. Her favorite part is getting the trophy at the end of the season.
Next step is Eagle!!!
Nick has been working really hard. He is only 2 and a half months into scouts and has already earned his Tenderfoot!! Way to go, Nick!
The whole suspension thing came to a resolution with great results. Jeremy's records do not show any absences since he attended the in-school suspension program thanks to an amazing registrar who had all the right answers and advice. His grades are still sitting at all A's (his teachers were incredible in helping me keep him up to date on his assignments!) He is back in school and is showing the teachers what he can really do when he puts his mind to it. He still has moments of apathy and belligerence but he quickly turns it around once the behavior is brought to his attention. I am proud of him for not backing down and for taking the rest of the school year in stride. He will finish up strong.
On a funnier note, if you can look at it that way, Nicholas
has been very upset about what happened to his brother. He keeps telling
me that would never happen at his school. I guess he decided to test it
out and said a curse word at recess. He promptly got an after school detention.
When he handed me the paper to sign he was upset about the ASD but was relieved
to know the system worked. He has promised not to do it again. :)
May 7th we went to an art exhibit at the Wells Fargo Art Hall in Spirit Square. Each school in the district was allowed one entry per grade. Naomi's was chosen from the first grade for Highland Creek Elementary. She was so excited. She can now say that she has had her art on display at an official, sponsored art exhibit
Here she is proudly pointing out her artwork.
Close-up.
Receiving her award from the district art director.
Mr. Maranchello (the most amazing art teacher EVER!!!), Naomi and three other winners from Highland Creek Elementary.
Naomi wanted a picture with Mr. Maranchello and her brothers.
Mother's Day was really fun. We went to church, Steve and the kids fixed dinner and did dishes, and I got to read my book and relax. AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!
I couldn't have said it any better myself!
Naomi made me this book at school.
There is never a serious moment with Nick around!
May 14-16 Nicholas took the EOGs for the first time and felt really good about them. A couple of months ago he was invited to join a study group that focused on HOW to take the EOGs rather than the content of the test. He was confident that he would remember the information, but taking the actual test was terrifying to him. This class made all the difference for him. I love that his teacher was insightful enough to realize that the content was not going to be the problem for several of her students, but rather the actual taking of the test. She designed a tutoring course that helped the kids gain confidence in their test-taking skills. Every night he told me he "aced" the day. For a kid who couldn't sleep the night before the first test, this is saying a lot.
Friday, May 17th, I spent the morning at Ridge Road Middle School helping decorate for the dance that night and then spent the rest of the day getting Nicholas to the doctor to have some tests done to find out why he is having joint pain. For months, the pain changed location every few days, but has recently settled into his left knee. So far the x-ray, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and rheumatoid factor are all normal. We are just waiting on one more allergy test to see if that might be the culprit. We will get to the bottom of this soon.
Friday night I got to chaperon the 8th Grade Prom. It was so much fun. Jeremy got all dressed up in his finest clothes. We picked up two of his friends on the way to the dance and had a great time. The front entry way was all done up like the red carpet at a Hollywood event. Jeremy came walking down the carpet with Justice and Kaycee and his friends gave him high-fives for coming with two girls. They weren't his dates, but they were with him on the carpet and that is all it took. It was a typical middle-school dance and the kids had a blast. The decorations, refreshments, everyone dressed in their best and friends made the night complete. It was fun to see Jeremy hanging out with kids he went to kindergarten with only now they are all grown up. It happened WAAAY too fast.
Kaycee, Jeremy and Justice
Jeremy, Kaycee, Justice, Abby and Nassan
Now that Jeremy is 14 he can go to the Stake dances as well. Apparently he didn't get enough dancing in on Friday night because he went to the stake dance in Hickory on Saturday night. He said that of the two dances, the stake dance was more fun because everybody danced with each other and he felt more a part of the group.
That about wraps it up. The countdown to summer has begun in earnest. Nicholas only has 7 days left and Naomi and Jeremy have 12 days until summer vacation. The school year has flown by and I will be so excited to have the kids at home for the summer. More adventures are in our future!!!
