Matthew:
He is a bright kid who is full of energy. He loves to learn, and is fantastic at reading. It's such a pleasure to sit with him and listen to him read. It has also made me think twice before spelling something aloud to Jon because Matthew can now figure out what we are trying to keep secret.
Matthew can be in an extremely good mood or an extremely bad mood. When he is happy, everyone knows it because he has a huge smile and talks so excitedly. When he is unhappy, everyone knows it because he is crying and screaming and pumping his fists down. He likes to sulk. Luckily for us, so long as he is getting enough rest at night his tantrums can be kept to a minimum.
Matthew started soccer this past week and loves it. The whole time he was on the field he was beaming, running as fast as he could (with his poke-shoes on) to keep up with the play. I hope his enthusiasm continues since he'll be on the field twice a week, rain or shine.
He has recently found great joy in using our screwdrivers to open up our battery-dead toys and figure out which batteries they need.
He is the only one that ever laughs at Kayla. He's always rolling on the floor with tears streaming down his face over some comment she has made or action she has done. Funny thing is though that it's not even funny! She just has some effect on him. It's pretty funny to see.
Matthew is great with younger kids.
He is still our messiest eater. I'm constantly washing his chair or vacuuming under his spot. He is generally a much better eater than he used to be. He's very expressive when it comes to letting us know when he does or does not like a meal. His favourite meals are: soup, green mashed potatoes (boerekool), anything with broccoli. He does not like anything that is a little bit on the spicy side.
Kayla:
At 6.5, Kayla is 51.6 lb and is 48 1/8" tall.
Kayla is still our easiest child. She is very consistent with her moods; seldom is she overly happy or overly upset. It's easy to tell when she is tired, because then she is quick to get emotional over something that usually does not bug her. A good night's rest always brings her back to her usual self.
She is the second set of hands that I wish I had myself. If I ask her to help me with anything, she typically listens right away and does it, no questions asked.
Her reading has really come along, thanks do to the summer reading program at our public library. Being "forced" to read every day really helped. She is my most willing to write stories or notes, but is also very hesitant when she does it because she absolutely hates to make spelling mistakes. I often refuse to tell her what letters are next because I want her to just try her best. I feel like she will make great strides with her writing in grade one because of the confidence she will gain.
I was worried for Kayla starting grade one that she would struggle socially, but within the first week of school she made a good friend and has already initiated us going there for a play date. She is confident at recess and will run around by herself or will play with a variety of different kids at different times.
Since school began in September, she has really started to be silly. She gets in these really annoying moods where she acts silly...and Matthew loves it. I don't know if it's her way of adjusting to having to be on her best behaviour six hours every day (as opposed to only going to school on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays) or if it's a developmental stage she's in, but it's annoying!
Kayla started soccer this past week and claims that she hates it. She never complains while there and she is expressionless while playing. I don't think she hates it as much as she claims, she's just not comfortable and confident enough playing because it's so new to her and she does not like change.
She still continues to love crafting, and is always the first to pull out the colouring materials.
Kayla eats really well. She's fast, neat/clean, and has a good appetite. She loves chicken cordon blues.
