Karate Tests

Joe and Ryan Both tested for their next belt in Karate.

Joe was testing to become a full yellow belt. His group went first.

Joe loves taking Karate. He looks forward to going to class and he is always excited to learn the new techniques.



He has even learned to use his skills on the playground and has blocked a few punches headed his way. (This is another story, but we are hoping that said puncher has learned not to mess with Joe. Lucky for us Joe has just blocked and not punched back.)

When Sensei asked Joe what his goals are, he said he wants to be a black belt.

Sensei told him that he would have to work hard for about 5 years to earn that. Joe is fine with that.

Joe did really well on his test, and I could tell he was having a lot of fun.

Especially when they got to the sparring part of the test.

He did great and earned his yellow belt.

Ryan tested in the second group. He was testing for his orange belt.

Ryan is also really enjoying Karate. He and Joe both come home tired but happy.

He did really great too and received his orange belt. He hates it when I take pictures, but I think he looks great!

Karate is a lot of hard work. I didn't realize how much conditioning goes along with it.

Good job guys. I am proud of you. Keep up the good work.

Way To Go Josh

Yesterday at preschool, Josh earned his rocket crown. To earn this special crown he had to be able to recognize all of the letters and know what sounds they make.



Josh is usually my child who hates having his picture taken, but he was pretty proud of himself for earning this award. I am pretty proud of him too.

Way To Go Josh!

Big Girl Bed

I had planned on moving Valerie out of her crib around her second birthday this July. However her talent of climbing was developing too well, and the days of her waiting for us to get her out of her crib were over. She didn't cry when she woke up form her nap, or in the morning, she just climbed out and found us. So to hopefully prevent any trips to the ER from falling out of her crib, we decided it was time for the change.

She has been in her big girl bed for a week and a half now. The first week there was very little sleep for us as we tried to teach her about staying in her bed. She eventually caught on. The first time she slept through the night I figured she was just as tired as we were and couldn't wake up, but the next night she slept all night again, and I knew we had made it.

Valerie loves her new bed. Being the climber that she is, she loves using her step stool to climb onto and off of her bed. During the day she will climb on her bed and look at books. When we first set up her room, we put a small two shelf book case next to her bed. The first day we found her climbing on it and jumping onto her bed. She thought it was great fun and after jumping she would laugh and say "Ah Cool!" So the ER trip may be inevitable, but we are doing our best.

Emily was also excited for this change because she moved to the basement into her own room. It has been a fun change for all of us, and I am glad that it only took a week to train Valerie to stay in bed. Now if we can find a way to get her to stop climbing on everything else before she gets hurt. Any suggestions?

The Fire Station

A friend of mine called last Friday and invited us to go on a tour of the fire station. Knowing that Josh still loves the fire engines I told her we would love to come. Josh was excited to go, but when we got there he suddenly turned shy.



After one of the firemen got dressed in all of his gear he offered to let the kids try the coat and the pants on. The group of kids were all pretty young, but one of the older boys got all dressed up. Josh hid in the back. Valerie was interested in trying on the boots, but she ended up changing her mind too.



Touring the Fire Station was a great outing for a cold February afternoon. I can't wait for the weather to warm up a little so we can get out more.

The Zoo With Grandma

Grandma was here helping Jon and Jenny with their new baby for a few weeks. Due to unforeseen illnesses we didn't get to visit as much as we would have liked to, but the day before my mom left to go home she called and invited us to the zoo. Emily, Joe, and Josh were already at school, but Valerie and I were over our colds, and did not have any plans so we hopped in the car and headed to the Zoo.
This was Valerie's first trip to the zoo, and I was excited to see if she liked it. My Brother Jon and his son Jaxson came too. Valerie was excited to see Grandma and happy to follow Jaxson around.

It is still pretty cold so the Elephants and the Rhino were not outside. I was a little disappointed, but the rest of the animals made up for it. Some of them acted like they had not seen humans for days and were missing the attention. The Gorilla didn't like Jon taking a picture of him. When the flash went off he got really mad and started pounding on the glass.

These monkeys (I don't know what type it is so they are all monkeys) Came into their cage and started jumping around. Jaxson really liked it when this guy started hitting the glass, but Valerie wasn't sure.

The cats were also very active. When we got close to the Tiger exhibit we could hear it growling. It was pacing around it's cage. I think it must have been close to feeding time.

The peacocks were also happy to show off their stuff.

It was a great day at the zoo. Valerie loved getting to see all of the animals, and spend a little more time with Grandma. When the other kids heard about our exciting day, they were really sad they missed it. I will have to take them before the animals get hot and lazy again.