Falling Behind

There is just too much catching up to do!  I'm falling behind with blogging -- which is clearly not crucial for life's existence -- but it certainly makes me sad.  I think that life just gets busier as kids get older, and this pregnancy is definitely leaving me more tired than I would typically be.  Not to mention, last night was another busy, late night.  Ethan's 6th Grade Recognition Night took place at the school yesterday from 7-8PM, and by the time we got home it was already 8:30 -- way too late for the little ones -- once everyone was finally in bed and falling asleep it was almost 9.  Rather than recap the graduation, however, I thought I'd back track today to catch up on child number 2.

Grace is growing up.  And just to make that more official, she has now delved into the realm of peep-toed heels for her church footwear.  Hahahaha.  Seriously, though.  Shoe shopping with this one a couple of weeks ago was one of the more exasperating experiences of my life over the last little bit.  For whatever reason, she got it into her head that the shoes she needed for church had to be: 1.) Peep-toed 2.) Sparkly and 3.) High heels.  NONE of which seem to reconcile with the personal dressing style and attitude of this particular 10 year old.  Hahaha.  Nevertheless, I tried my best (within reason) to help her find the perfect pair -- that I could live with also.  We went from DSW to Target and finally to Famous Footwear before we found the sought after shoes which hit 2 out of 3 of her criteria.  Winning!  Hahaha.

 Meet Grace's new shoes.

And here she is photo bombing me in her outfit for church that first Sunday wearing her new shoes.  I like how she went all out in dressing the part of a fashion-conscious pre-teen.   It's hard to see in the picture, but she's wearing a jean jacket with her outfit and she even did a side braid in her hair.  {Which she took out before we even got to church, but still.  Hahahaha.}

On the school front, MATH has become her thing {apparently}, and she has spent the last several days working on board games for school.  This one is called "Time for Math Conversions"  {smiley face}.  And since I always love it when the kids are totally engrossed in a school project, I just had to snap some pictures for the record's sake.  :)

And finally, our girl Grace got it into her brain on Monday after school that she really wanted to learn how to ride a bike.  So, in an effort to convince me that I should take her to Goodwill after the little ones were in bed, she went all out in her after dinner clean up efforts and cooperative behavior during Family Home Evening to really seal the deal.  And since I'm MORE than happy to reward such delightful behavior, I willingly set off on the hunt after Alex and Jane were in bed to help Grace find a cheap, used bike for her purposes.  And find one we did!  And learn how to ride it she did!  By the end of Tuesday evening, she had really gotten the hang of it, and is now a full-fledged bike rider.  :)  And an inspirational example to all.  Hahahaha.  J/K.  Although she has certainly inspired Sophie to get a bike now herself and learn to ride.  Perhaps once school is out we will get to work on that.

In the meantime, I'm off to the school for Jane's Kindergarten Sing and picnic {which is basically the equivalent of a Kindergarten graduation} and then it's off to the ultrasound to find out whether Team Lily or Team Isaac will be triumphant.  :)  Until next time...