The First Adventures of 2010

Branden:

The 4 year old mommy's boy...

This has got to be one of the most affectionate kids I have ever met. He tells me about a 100 times a day that he loves me. His new thing is this: "Mom, you're the best, best, best,bestest, bestest. bestest, bestest, bestest, bestest, bestest mom I ever,ever, ever, ever,ever. ever, ever, ever, ever, ever had!!!"

Of course, I love to hear it, but I have to admit, I love hearing his sister's disgruntled reply as well: "Branden, she's the ONLY mom you've ever had...DUH!!!!" (as she shakes her head). I have decided to start writing his "Brandenisms" in this blog. This dude is funny. He says some crazy stuff! Two things he's said this year so far is this:

• He told a man that goes to our church, Arthur, who was teasing him for hurting his sister, "When I get big, you better watch out because I am coming after you and I'm gonna beat you up!" He was pointing his finger and all!
• As I was fixing my hair the other day, he tells me this: "mom, I know how to make your hair fabulous." I ask, "how's that Branden?" "You can get one of those bump-its like on the commercial and it will make your hair fabulous." Then proceeds to tell me that his Auntie Katie is going to get one too so she can be fabulous.

So, yeah, he's just funny. He tells his dad yesterday that the guy came in the house to fix our satellite dish took a shower while he was here - imagine the questions that raised, hehe! All the while he was watching him like a hawk in our backyard. Then later on he says, "Mom, the refrigerator told me I had to drink this juice right now (those who know him know he's ADDICTED to juice).

On a serious note...he is doing amazingly well in school. He's in pre-K at a Christian private school. He's taken over our dinner prayer before we eat, and NEVER goes to bed without reminding me to pray for him. I am so glad tho because he's realizing, whether he knows it or not that prayer works! His teacher says he is the most well-behaved child in his class...surprising, I know! He's learning to write his letters and can spell his name. I'm so proud of my baby.

Lastly...the ONE THING I love the most in Branden's new changes...HE IS A SAINTS FAN!!! Someone at church corrupted him last year into rooting for the Cowboys, so this year it was my goal to groom him into a little Saint's fan like his sister and I. "WHO DAT!!!"

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Catalina:

The 7 year old drama queen...

This year so far, Catalina has been working on not whining as much. We had a talk with her explaining the importance of respecting when people say "no" and to learn to obey without asking "why?" for every single little thing. However, we added a little incentive: Tae Kwon Do. Although she started out in ballet, and she will return this year, she has recently taken an interest in Martial Arts. She worked hard with no whining for 2 weeks beginning the year so that she would be able to join the Tae Kwon Do group at our church. So far, so good!

I am still awed by how smart she is in Math; in fact her teacher told me the other day that when other children don't get a concept in class, she often calls on Catalina to help clarify. She's actually working on multiplication at the moment, which is really impressive for a second-grader. A chip off the old block? I hope!! :)

We are working on her reading because her teacher says she needs to be a lot higher up than she is. I think what's really going on is that she is used to watching TV so much that the respect of reading just isn't there. So, we reduced her viewing time to 1 hour a day. I think once she builds confidence that she is a good reader, she'll be ok. Another thing she takes after her mother with is art. She is becoming quite the little artist. I'm so proud...*sniff, sniff*

I have been home the past couple weeks, so I've had a lot more time with her. I have observed the same bratty, bullying behavior in her towards Branden that I used to display to my brother, Ralph. It is actually funny and I often crack up when she's not looking. I see myself in her...majorly! However, Branden isn't too happy about it. He often fights back...and boy do they go at it. Physical? YES!!!!

She's been singing a lot on her new Karaoke machine and has also been playing her new Hannah Montana guitar (the one that her Uncle Joe wants to play at church, lol) and I think she might really start to learn some things. That's awesome. You know I gotta raise up some future worship leaders, so why not start now? Although I have to admit, the song "Party in the USA" is the most frequently played song in the house...