McGrath Moments

Cori, how cute are these pictures I found? But, don't let them fool you...none of them ever take naps!!

I am so thankful that I am married to someone who is such a great father to our children. He is so loving and would do ANYTHING for our family. He loves to make the kids smile. He plays with them when ever he can. He reads a book to Braeden EVERY night before bed (unless he is out of town) and he loves to cuddle with Brenna. He enjoys every moment with them.

He is also a good disciplinarian. He will do everything in his power to make sure that we raise respectful, obedient, responsible, kind, loving children. He never lets Braeden or Brenna see his face after he has to scold them, but he will look at me with this frown on his face. He HATES to see them upset, but he knows it is for their own good and that he has to do it.

Another thing I love about Ed is that he never hesitates to apologize to the kids if he feels like he yelled too loudly at them or if he over-reacted to what ever they did. I think it takes a special person to admit when they were wrong, especially to their children. Braeden and Brenna are so lucky to have such a good role model. Love you Ed.

Ok, I must be just completely ignorant as to what is expected these days from preschoolers. We decided to send Braeden to a Montessori school because of all the wonderful things we have heard about the program. So, regardless of the cost, we really wanted to make sure that we gave Braeden the best possible start to his education. Well this Monday was Parent/Teacher conferences. Parent/Teacher conferences in Preschool? What? Really? Braeden's report was mixed. He is incredibly well-behaved and I am so proud of him for that, but he still needs to work on his letter and number skills. Apparently he should be able to write his name, write all of his letters, recognize all of the letters- upper case and lower case, know all of the letter sounds, know his phone number, know his full address, etc. There were about 5 full pages of objectives he needs to have mastered before he is ready for Kindergarten. After I realized how behind he was, I started making him sit down every night and do "homework". We have letter sheets to practice our letters and we practice writing our name every night (and FYI it is extremely challenging to teach a lefty to write). I wish I had named him something easy to write, like ED or BOB!! Our pantry door is filled with number flashcards, posters that have our phone number and address, and all of our shapes. I want him to be surrounded all of the time with what he should be learning, but I don't want to push him too hard so that he starts to hate schoolwork and resent me. When do kids have time to be kids w/o all of this pressure? I know my mom thinks I'm crazy for being so worried about Braeden at this stage. Am I? What is a mom to do?

Attention Ladies!! My sister and I have started going to a new exercise class at Carol Byrd's Dance Studio on Saturday mornings. It is called Zumba and we dance while exercising for a full hour. It is exhausting, but in a good way. I think it is a class that many women would love. We look pretty silly doing some of the dance moves, but it is all in fun. Our cousin Kim teaches the class and she does a great job! We hope more ladies will come join us on Saturdays at 9am. It is only $5. Swimsuit season will be here before we know it!

Yesterday Ed and I took Braeden and Brenna in for their well visits at the Pediatrician's office. Our chunky-monkey Brenna, is still in the 90th percentile for her weight. Braeden is just in the 25th-50th percentile for his weight, but after starting out at a birth weight of just 3.1 lbs., I am so thankful that he is average weight today.
They both passed their exams with flying colors and Miss Brenna received 2 shots. She took the shots like a trooper, but once we got home, the tears didn't stop until almost bedtime. Her thigh was really hurting her. Thank goodness for Tylenol!