Happy Birthday Emma LeeAnn

My sweet baby girl is no longer a baby. She just turned 7!! So hard to believe. I am pretty sure she was a small baby in my arms just yesterday.

Ben has decided that the kids do not need a big birthday party every year. This is a hard concept for me to swallow as Emma has tons of friends like I did at her age and it seems I always had at least ONE party if not two - one for friends and one for family. But I can understand how between decorations, food and the actual Party, the cost and time of a party can add up. Especially since the kid's birthdays are so close together. Emma had a big party last year so I just put together a small play date with some of her friends. Because it is Spring and sports are in full swing only 2 kids made it to the park to play but it was Emma's two "BFF's" so it worked out just fine! Madison, Angelina and Emma played it up at the park and I brought special cupcakes for them to share. It was a perfect little gathering!

On her actual birthday I made Emma a soccerball Cupcake "cake" for her to share with her classroom. Last year Emma wanted PINK cupcakes and Ben came back home from her school with about half of them because the boys refused to eat them. But this year the soccer cupcakes were a success and were all gobbled up rather quickly (thanks Pinterest for the idea!).

The best thing about Emma's birthday and not having a big fancy party was that we got to spend a little more on her birthday presents. She was asking for a Nintendo DSI and we discussed it at length. After much contemplating we decided to get her an iPad - not the newest version. I know that seems excessive for a 7 year old's birthday presents but we had good reasons. Her desktop computer is about 15 years old and in big need of an upgrade for her to be able to play her games and get online. We felt we could put more educational games and learning applications on the iPad then a DSI. Also, I was thinking of getting her some sort of MP3 player and this worked for that as well. And of course, although technically it is "hers" we are all allowed to use it as a family and she must share it with Matthew. We are also using it to teach her responsiblity. She can only use it when her homework is done AND her room is clean. There are even more reasons but believe me it has been a blessing to have and use.

My daughter is amazing and I look forward every year to see how she is growing. She has a strong personality that everyone adores. She can be so strong yet so sensitive at the same time. She loves performing and is rarely nervous in front of others. She loves to be girly but can hang just fine with any boy. She has a temper and can be sassy but she also loves to give hugs and kisses. She has a great memory and a thirst for knowledge. She is ALWAYS asking questions. She is a great listener and is wonderful at following directions. She is crafty and imaginative yet also logical in her thinking. She is everything a mother would want her daughter to be!

April starts the string of family birthdays. Matthew's is up next in April and then Ben in May and possibly the newest addition in May or June. It's a great time of the year in the Jett house!!

Reflections

Georgia has a contest they do every year that they offer to school aged children. It is to support the arts and to support children's creativity. The contest starts at the school level and then winners participate in a county then a state competition. When I was in school they called it Kalediscope but now they call it Reflections. When I was in school we usually did something at school that we submitted for the contest. Now it is all voluntary and you do it on your own at home. We didn't do it last year but I decided this year to ask Emma if she wanted to participate. Of course my crafty little girl said YES!

The theme this year was "Diversity Means....". You have the option of submitting a drawing/painting, photograph, dance, song, poem, etc. Pretty much any sort of artistic expression. Emma had just learned how to make those paper dolls that connect by the hands and really wanted to use that in her artwork. So all by herself she cut them out and then she picked out a poster board to put them on. She drew different faces on them all and for her submission she wrote how everyone is different in their own way. I was very proud of her and thought she did a great job all on her own. We turned it in and several months later when I had pretty much forgotten about it we found out she won third place in 1st Grade at her school for her artwork!

They had a ceremony for the winners at the school where she received a nice certificate and a fancy medal. Her favorite thing was that she also received a voucher for a free ice cream at lunch! The other cool thing was that her best friend Madison placed first in their grade so she was there too.

Very proud of Emma and is excited to see she is already making plans for next year's submission. That's my girl!

Soccer Fever

I am so glad we put Emma in Soccer. I hope she sticks with it for a little while. It is great exercise and she has already learned so much about her position and teamwork. She did Fall and Indoor and is just starting her Spring Season. She has the same coach as she did in the Fall but this time Ben is the assistant coach. She is lucky to be on a great team who support her and help her to look good! But of course she is always the cutest little soccer player out there. And I mean little!! She is usually the smallest one out there but she is getting better and better at being more aggresive and going after the ball. We will take a break over the summer but then back into it next Fall. She is starting to say she wants to do gymnastics again but maybe I can talk her out of that by next Winter ;)
She is number 11

Going after the ball!

TEAM IRISH

That's my girl!!

Kindergarten Here We Come!!

At the beginning of the month we officially signed Matthew up for Kindergarten! Hard to believe he is old enough for that. This means next year Emma and Matthew will be at the same school. They will get to ride the bus together and maybe see eachother in the halls. They are both pretty excited about that!

He has done better in Pre-School than I ever thought he would. He gets along pretty well with his classmates. He seemed to favor the girls in the beginning but has slowly made buddies with the little boys in the class.

His reading skills are getting better every month. I think Matthew will be our book worm where as Emma seems to excel more in Math. He has always loved letters since he was an infant.

Here are some pictures of my cute little boy!

Community Helper Day at School!