First Parent/Teacher Conference, family pictures and getting ready for the Holidays!

I had Brody's first parent/teacher conference a few weeks ago and it went GREAT!!  I am proud to say that our little boy is doing very well in school!  The teacher preforms certain assessments at the beginning of the year to see where the kids are at and what things need to be worked on.  Brody scored a perfect score on all of them, highest in his class!  This is very exciting for us and we couldn't be happier.  The only area he needs to work on is listening (haha, this is at home too for sure!!) like cleaning up the first time he is told or walking in line instead of running.  All little things that will come with maturity.  But overall an excellent report! I gave him a choice of where he would like to go for having such a great conference and he picked Chuck E. Cheese.  We have only been there twice so it was a lot of fun for both the kids.  Such a proud moment for all of us!

The holidays are sneaking up on us fast!  Thanksgiving is in a few days and before we know it Christmas will be here!  I am usually done with my Christmas shopping by now but am running a little behind this year. Both kids seem to have a better understanding of Santa this year and are excited for him to come.  Brody wants a fish tank and an Innotab or Leap Pad Ultra (educational tablet) and Briana wants a Leap Pad and a Minnie Mouse Vanity.  We have been to see Santa at the mall and both kids sat with him and told him what they would like.  The hardest part was getting both of them to look at the camera at the same time!

We went to see Disney on Ice a week and a half ago and both kids loved it!!!  We had front row seats and the kids enjoyed the whole thing.  Brody and I went just the two of us last year but I wanted to take Briana this year as well as she is very into Disney Princesses and she did very well at the Jake and Sofia Pirate and Princess Adventure back in October.  This past Sunday we took the kids to see Polar Express which was Briana's first movie and Brody's third (I took just Brody to Polar Express last Christmas and we went and saw Monster's University this summer).  Both kids really enjoyed the movie and sat and watched the whole thing.  We went with Aunt Melissa, the girls and Grandma Barb.

Briana continues to do well and is learning new things everyday.  Her speech is amazing and I get complements from complete strangers on how well she speaks for only being 2 years 3 months old.  It is funny though because she repeats almost EVERYTHING Brody says or does!  Not that she does not have her own words and language but she repeats after him all the time.  She is very silly and does many things to get a reaction or will often just crack up at herself.  She continues to do so well in music class, I am truly amazed by how well she has caught on and how well she listens and behaves there.  Monday is our last class for the year but we will pick it up again in January.  She is very smart is can already recognize many colors, counts to 10 and can recognize many animals and their sounds.  We continue to go to the library every other Wednesday while Brody is at school.  She doesn't sit as well there as at music class but enjoys the singing and dancing parts.  There are also a lot more children at the library story time that are wandering around during the stories which I think has a lot to do with it! :)

The kids and I continue to keep busy.  On Brody's days off from school we go to the museum, go to art class, swimming, run errands,play outside,  feed the ducks, etc.  We seem to always be on the go.  Both of our kids love art right now and work really well at the table on projects, etc.  Brody loves to write and is making a variety of letters, asking how to spell words and writing his name.  Briana loves to draw and copy what her brother does.  They also love to paint and do play do.  Briana is becoming more independent and can be trusted a little more with art supplies but she still needs reminders from time to time.  Tim continues to be busy with work.  He spent a week in Denver last month and will be heading to Florida next month.  He is always on the go as well.

We hope that every has a very Happy and Safe Thanksgiving!!  I have also included a few pictures from our holiday photo shoot taken by my friend Michelle.  Lucky for us it was a gorgeous November day!!