Picture updates

 

 I was excited to post pictures from Nicholas' birthday party and Halloween, but when I downloaded pictures from our camera, I found a bunch of other things to post first.  So here is a quick update from random events in August, September, and October...:-)

August 31, 2014 - first day of 2nd grade and Kindergarten
The boys had PE on their first day of school ... so off they went in their PE uniforms!  :-)

Recent picture of Maps ... after our summer away I'm afraid she became more shy around people and less cuddly.  :-(

Jaden & Nicholas with friends George, Ben & Henry ... playing capture the flag in the clubhouse at our compound before heading back to our house for a sleepover ... awaiting their baby sister's arrival.  We had a blast with them that night and Ken & I even got them all to bed at a reasonable hour for school the following morning. 

First "Minecraft" lesson from the Guidry family.  Jaden and Nicholas only just learned about the game Minecraft.  Ben, Savannah, and Vivian came over one afternoon to give them some tips on how to play.  It's a whole new language and I was dying listening in on the conversations about regenerating, spawning, and the nether portal.  But my favorite quote for the evening was when the game was going into night time mode and Ben shouts out ... "Everybody just go to bed!"  Apparently this is how you survive the night time.  All I know is I need to try that strategy at bed time ...



This would be Jaden's reaction to finding iron for the first time in the game.  He was a little excited.  :-)

 

Nicholas birthday was the same day as the EID party at school, so we had quite the celebration in his class.  I brought Minecraft Creeper cookies for his birthday as well as several baby pictures of him.  I had fun sharing stories with his class about what he was like as a baby.  Then another mom shared a story about the meaning of EID (a muslim holiday in which they sacrifice a lamb for atonement for sin) and then we enjoyed quite a feast for the class.

Happy little man on his 6th birthday!

Another mom brought in these treats for the EID Party ... very pinterst worthy!  Cutest little lady bug crackers!

For dessert, I brought in the minecraft creeper cookies and we also had lamb cupcakes for EID.

Jaden's class EID party was combined with a writer's celebration and each child was able to showcase their most recent book.  Jaden wrote a book about the life cycle of a butterfly and garnished quite a few compliments from his teacher.  She mentioned again in the parent teacher conferences this past week.  She seems to think he is a very good little writer.

October 13, 2014 - Jaden breaks the pinky finger on his left hand playing basketball during recess.  He went all day without telling or showing any of his teachers.  He even when to computers that day!  No one noticed his swollen, black & blue, crooked pinky finger!!!  He came off the bus holding his hand all funny and bursts into tears.  I guess he couldn't hold back any longer.  I wasn't sure if it was broken or just badly jammed, so we played with friends for a while before heading home to wrap it up.  When I tried to tape it to the finger next to the pinky, I couldn't get them to move together so we headed to the doctor to take a look.  X-rays were ordered, but it TOOK FOREVER!!  I didn't have his passport and resident's permit on me and it caused quite a stir!  We finally got the paperwork squared away and the X-ray taken, but by that time, our doctor had headed home.  We came in the following morning to find out that it was in fact broken and they taped it all up with a piece of plaster running down alongside his pinky finger to keep it stable.  We were told to return in 3-4 weeks, but after 2 weeks he forgot about the cast and jumped into a fountain to retrieve a lost soccer ball only to end up with a soaking wet cast.  The pediatric orthopedic doctor was back in the country (he wasn't in the country when Jaden broke his finger) and he said 2 weeks was enough time at this age, so the cast came off!!  Yippee!!!



Jaden and Nicholas with US Astronaut that came to speak at their school last week.  Unfortunately I missed most of the presentation, but Jaden had a great time!  He still loves all things related to space!  And the astronaut was very gracious to take pictures with many of the kids afterwards.