Adam had an orthodontist appointment this morning.

After we took him back to school, Annie and I made a trip to the library to return some books and pick out new ones (Maggie has been a reading machine lately).

Annie played with the legos for a while and I love how she grouped them by color (all on her own!).

She also spent a while coloring. She made me close my eyes while she worked so I could be surprised.

As she colored, she named who liked the color she was using – orange for Daddy, green for Adam, blue for Luke, pink for Maggie, purple for JoJo, and I think I was assigned yellow this time.

And of course, a picture with the beaver on the way out. This is Annie’s current favorite outfit – purple shirt and purple pants.

Monday was a busy day for us. There was an awards assembly at the kids’ school in the morning. My pictures didn’t turn out that great, but Maggie was called up twice for the school’s reading program and Luke was called up once for a character award.

Then Annie and I went to the library for story time. Annie loves the songs and dancing and is hit or miss with the stories. She spends a good chunk of time pretending to sleep – which was fitting with this week’s hibernation theme. Every time we leave, she makes me take her photo in front of this beaver.

When the older kids got home, I took pictures of Maggie and Luke with their awards. Each month the school focuses on a specific character trait. One student from each class, that exemplifies that trait, is picked to received the award. This month’s trait was “caring” and that describes our Luke perfectly. He has such a big heart.

Maggie hit the first big milestone in the school’s reading program. She received certificate and a pin for reading 500 books and another certificate for hitting the 550 book mark.

Then Maggie and I went to her dance class. It’s parent observation week so I got to watch.

Maggie’s class is an hour long and the first half of the class is ballet and the second half focuses on tap.

It was a lot of fun and Maggie did so well listening to her teacher and following directions.

Maggie’s class had their 100th day of school last Thursday. She asked me to make her a special 100th day shirt. So I narrowed it down to three choices and then asked my mom to pick. Maggie was thrilled with the glittery, unicorn outcome.

Adam and Luke’s classes didn’t do anything special for the 100th day. They did let me take a picture before school.

Annie thought the whole thing was exhausting.

Maggie had a great day and couldn’t wait to show me the crown she made to celebrate the day.

Maggie spent a lot of time planning her project for the 100th day of school.

She decided on a beehive with 100 bees.

She enlisted in Denny’s help when it came to sticking all of the bees on the paper.

They did a great job and Maggie was so proud of the finished product.

The kids had a two hour delay today due to fog. I was surprised when I got the call, but it made for a nice, relaxing morning.

There was a Paw Patrol event at a toy store near our house today, so we snuck over in between basketball games.

Annie was super excited when she realized why we were there.

The kids had a ball exploring the store and Maggie and Luke were able to get rid of some Christmas money that was burning holes in their pockets.

Adam, Luke, and Maggie brought home their second quarter report cards today and they all did so well.

First graders don’t get actual grades. They get N (needs improvement), P (progressing toward expectations), M (meeting expectations), or E (exceeding expectations). Maggie had all Ms – which is awesome for it only being halfway through the year. Her teacher wrote, “Maggie had a terrific second quarter. Her reading has grown by leaps and bounds. I am very proud of her.”

Luke’s teacher said, “Luke is a hardworking student. He gets his work completed in a timely manner. He is organized and conscientious. He is considerate and respectful. I enjoy having him in my class.”

Third graders do get actual number grades, and Luke knocked it out of the park:

• Math – 97
• Social Studies – 100
• English – 98
• Science – 106

The fifth grade teachers didn’t leave any comments on his report card, but Adam had straight As as well.

• 6th Grade Math – 93
• Social Studies – 107
• English – 95
• Science – 98

Saying we’re proud feels like a total understatement – but I’ll say it anyway. We’re so proud of these kids!

Annie insisted on wearing her Fancy Nancy nightgown today.

Toss in a pair of pants and a long-sleeved onesie and we both were happy.

She added the dinosaur rain boots all on her own.

Annie is a big fan of her new bunny slippers. She insists on hopping when she wears them. It’s pretty adorable.