Sing Along

So a few months ago, Candace told Claire that she could earn a date night with mommy and daddy if she learned the primary songs for an upcoming program in Spanish and in English. Well, she did it. She sings them with might, and they're not the short one-versed versions. One of the songs was two verses of Praise to the Man. She belts them out in English or Spanish whenever she wants.

So last night was the date reward. She chose one of the few restaurants near our house that is open before 8pm and went. She was so pleased... talking incessantly about how much fun she was having. It was a night all about her. After her Cheeseburger and chocolate milk and hot fudge sundae, we came home to watch a movie of her choice: The Air Buddies. Do you remember Air Bud the basketball dog.. then there was one about baseball, volleyball, and football (no, I have not seen them all). Well, the Air Buddies are about Air Bud's puppies. Let's just say it was Claire's choice.

Two weeks ago, we were able to take Sam with us as we cruised around downtown BA seeing some of the more common tourist sites... so both have had special time. It's a reminder that it's really easy to do and both activities were a blast.

This coming week is the last week of Kinder 4 for Claire at her school. They did a year-book that they give to everyone and we got a call from the Elementary School Principal advising us that they had elected to dedicate a page to Lily and he wanted to be the one to tell us before we saw the book. As it turns out, when you open the book, the first page is the welcome letter from the principal. Once you turn the page, there are a few pictures of Lily with a short tribute. It was very thoughtful and we have received some personal messages from other parents at the school talking about Lily.

Candace's addition:

Dinnertime

I don’t know how dinnertime is at your house, but I imagine it’s a challenge in most families with young children. I decided long ago that only one thing would be served for dinner. I love to cook and rarely take into account what my children will think when I plan my menus. I figure if they are exposed to a large variety of foods they will learn to like them. That has mostly proven to be true. It’s funny to watch the different kids at dinner. Claire is a good eater. She tries so hard to like what I make and is always willing to try new things. She will almost always say that she likes what I made even if it isn’t her favorite thing. She does her best to eat it. Sam asks what we are having and then declares he doesn’t like it before he even sees it or tries it. He has come a long way in his willingness to try new foods and eat vegetables, but we have a long way to go. He always makes me laugh when he puts a bite of dinner in his mouth and then quickly tries to wash it down with tons of milk. Caroline is my star dinner eater. She loves whatever I cook. She always makes me feel so good as she shovels the food into her mouth as quickly as she can and often eats more than the other kids. I get so much pleasure out of serving a healthy, homemade meal to my family. I have a wonderful husband who loves anything I cook and is always grateful. He’s probably the reason I love to cook.