Good little helpers

Last night while I was partying with the young women, Mark was home with the boys. He noticed that James and Andrew had made a mess (a very common occurrence). He asked them to clean up before mom got home. He was busy with Caleb, but he could hear some little grunts and could see them walking from the upstairs to the downstairs numerous times, but didn't think too much of it. A little while later, James and Andrew were so proud, they had to show Mark that they had "done the laundry." It turns out they had taken all the clothes from the clothes hamper (which was quite a lot) and had taken arm fulls of clothes downstairs and stuffed ALL the clothes in the washing machine. Laundry is DONE, right? Oh, if only it was that easy.

How do you spell......

James is learning to read. He is really making a lot of progress and is starting to sound out words. However, the English language is really messed up. First of all, James is now just getting the "r" sound down. Any word that has an "r" in it he really enunciates. For example, grrrreen....rrrrrrred....etc...(Andrew has also started to do this. It's helped him learn his "r" sound, plus it's pretty cute!). Before James learned the "r" sound, he pronounced it with the the typical "w" sound. For example, gween, wed. So, he has dropped the "w" sound to some words that are supposed to have a "w" in them. Yesterday he was telling Andrew he was going the wrong way. He pronounced it, wrong ray. So I had to remind him of the "w" sound, and that "way" is spelled with a "w." Then he asked me how to spell "wrong way." I thought about this for a minute and thought, oh no, they both start with a "w". I then proceeded to tell him (very badly I might add) about silent letters. Sheesh, who ever thought that up was messed up! James is always asking me how to spell words, and more and more I am realizing how much of it is memorization, because just when you think you have a letter sound down, it changes. He asked me how to spell "one." I asked him, "do you mean the number 1, or like, I won a race." He meant the number. So I told him, O-N-E. He replied, "shouldn't it start with a "w"? I said, "well, if you are talking about if you won a race, then yes, it starts with a "w," but the number 1 starts with a "o." Why????? Who knows????? I think I am doing more harm in trying to "teach" him to read. I think I am doing it wrong. And yes, that is WRRRRong, with a "w!"

UEA weekend in St. George and James' Birthday

Another St. George trip! We had a great time. The weather was beautiful, the company was wonderful, a lizard was caught, and the kids were good (mostly!!).

James also turned 6 years old! I'm so proud of him. He is a great kid. He loves school and is getting better at reading every day. He is an amazing big brother and his brothers and Mark and I just love him to pieces! Happy Birthday, James!

Steve and Wendy's Wedding