Finley's 4th Birthday

We had Finley's 4th birthday party on Sunday, March 16th!  I was so relieved we were able to have it before Cooper was born.  I was afraid he'd come early and her birthday party would be cancelled because we were at the hospital or that he would come on her birthday.  How lame would that be if they had the same birthday?  I let her invite one friend from school and she chose her BFF, Livy.  The cousins and Grandmas & Papas came so it was nice and low key.  I kept it real simple and basic and let her pick out a princess cake at the grocery store.  She chose Belle.  She only ate 2 bites of it so I think it must have looked better than it tasted, but oh well.  She got lots of fun things and she told me 2 or 3 times the next day "I loved my party".  I'm so glad it all worked out and she had a great time.  Happy 4th birthday Finley girl!  We love you so much and are so blessed to have you in our family.  You are the tiniest, cutest little button and you bring us all such joy!

Student of the Semester

Shaking his principal's hand

Here are all the students chosen to be on the wall of respect

Here is his student of the semester award (I cropped it so you can't see the name of the school)


Mrs. Pringle chose Oliver as 1st semester's student of the semester and on Feb 27th we got to go to the assembly and see him shake his principal's hand and hear why Mrs. Pringle chose him.  Mrs. Pringle wrote "Oliver is exceptional.  He is very conscientious, always on task, helpful and kind to others.  Congratulations Oliver."  He was so proud of himself and so excited to get up on the risers with his award.  I was so worried about him being in Kindergarten all day and wondered how on earth he'd sit for 7 hours and stay focused while keeping his hands and feet to himself.  When we had fall conferences, I asked Mrs. Pringle if he had trouble sitting still and keeping all his parts to himself and she looked at me with a surprised look on her face and said "Yes, in fact, I have him sitting at a table with 3 kids who have trouble sitting still quietly and staying focused because Oliver is the only one I can put there since he keeps them all calm and on task".  I was a little shocked since he has not been still for 6 years!  I asked if he raised his hand often to give answers in class and she said he did.  She said she loves it when he raises his hand because when she calls on him he'll give random compliments like "Mrs. Pringle, you're the best teacher."  Or "Mrs. Pringle, you are so much fun."  She emailed me one day with one of her favorites when he raised his hand and said "Mrs. Pringle, how do you come up with such good ideas and fun stuff to do?"  She said "I love that kid and his random compliments.  He always makes my day."  At the most recent parent/teacher conferences, she showed us his work and how far he has come since the beginning.  She said she has "Never had a Kindergartner like him and that he was going to grow up to be some kind of pastor or leader".  We were very proud and a little blown away to hear a public school teacher say that!

The school recently had an assembly about showing kindness and respect and teachers got to choose one or two students in their class who showed kindness/respect and Oliver was chosen to have his picture up on the "Wall of Respect".  We are so proud of you Oliver.  You have absolutely thrived this year.  You are at a 3rd/4th grade level in Math and are becoming an amazing reader.  You have worked so hard and all your effort has paid off.  Nice job buddy, keep it up!  We love you!

Christmas 2013

We had another great Christmas.  Spent Christmas Eve at Chris & Laura's house and then Christmas Day with the Potts.  I'm not sure how Christmas rolled around so fast again.  Seems like we had just had it 6 months ago and it was here again.  Oliver lost his very first tooth on Christmas night.  I told him it was pretty awesome that he lost his first tooth on Christmas.  He got so excited, his whole body started wiggling around and he waved his arms in the air and said "Well, I kind of thought I would lose my first one on Christmas since Christmas is for miracles."  He lost his second one about 6 nights later.  Between Santa and the tooth fairy the kids made out pretty well this year.

Berk's Horse Show

On November 16, Berkeley had her 3rd horse show.  She signed up for the "walk" category and won 3rd place.  It was freezing cold and windy that day and we were all frozen solid and completely numb when it was over.  She groomed Ellie, (a retired race horse) and spent all kinds of time giving her treats and preparing her for the show.  Ellie accidentally stepped on Berk's foot and Berkeley pushed and pinched her till she finally moved.  Berkeley never cried...I kept asking her if her foot was ok and if it was painful to walk on.  I was scared to take her boot off to see if it was broken.  Berkeley kept insisting it was fine and never made a peep about it.  Another little girl got stepped on by a smaller horse a couple of months ago and cried so hard we figured it was broken and has not been back to lessons since.  Not Berk, since she has been stepped on, she has fallen off Ellie twice while jumping her.  All she has done is silently cried for a minute and then Miss Sarah, her instructor, has gotten her right back up there riding again.  I can't believe it...I can't hardly watch anymore for fear it's going to send me into labor, but Berk is a hard core rider.  I think she has figured out that if she gets hurt I won't be able to handle it and won't let her ride anymore.  I think she's right :)  It's really nerve wracking to watch your 8 yr old fall off an enormous horse.  It must be in her blood though, because she can't seem to get enough!  Nice job Berkeley-you have a way with the horses and they seem to really love you.  You are one BRAVE little girl!