Wednesday

Dad sent me a picture today of what he and mom are saving up for, to retire in. I think that far blue one is the guest suite for when any of us come to visit. There is plenty of room out front for Mom's pots, too. Good luck, guys!

Today was Max's parent-teacher conference. His teacher, Mrs. Shrag, said he is doing really well. He is the best in his class in phonics and at the top in math and reading. They bring home books every day to read for homework, and she said she might bump him up to the next level books, because he is flying through the 1st reader books. She told us the A Beka curriculum they use is really advanced, some of it 1st and 2nd grade stuff, but he is doing great with it. It's hard to believe this time last year, he could only recognise some letters, and only knew the sounds to about 5. Now he can read a 1st level reading book fluently, with no pauses or sounding out words. She said his behavior is good, and he is getting very social, but is still pretty quiet. She said he plays really well with everyone, but also plays on his own quite a bit. She told us he caught up really quickly after being gone so long last month, and even though he didn't go to preschool, you can't tell, he is really ahead.

We have been practicing with Mattie for her birthday, singing Happy Birthday and blowing out candles. Hopefully it will pay off Saturday and we'll get a good picture out of it. And she is getting portraits taken tomorrow, so cross your fingers she'll behave.