Summer is ending...

Samuel is getting ready to start kindergarten! He had an assessment with his teacher this morning, and she said he did really well. She showed me his results (I was in the room anyway) and there were only a few letters that he had trouble remembering the sounds - the tricky ones like W and H, and b and d always confuse him. She said it is very typical, and that he did great! He was so proud, and kept talking about how "great" he did on his test. He can't wait for the first day of school. I'm going to send a note to his teacher telling her that she may want to try seating him with boys...he has trouble focusing instead of flirting with the girls! However, I'm not sure that will make much difference, becuase he enjoys making anyone laugh, so he'll probably act a clown no matter who is next to him.

Jake is going to miss his brother, but I am ordering a preschool packet for Jake and Abrie and we will do preschool at home. I think it will be good for Jake to do something on his own, instead of being Sam's sidekick. He and Sam were in swimming lessons, in different classes, all summer. At first he didn't want to when he realized he wouldn't be in Sam's class, but after a couple of lessons he completely blossomed and was the youngest by half (or more) in all of his classes. He is an awesome little swimmer, and he loves it! Even his teacher said he was such a surprise becuase of his size belying his ability in the pool. He passed 3 levels this summer, but his teacher had to hold him a lot since he was a little too short for the depth they were in. He can get his arms all the way out of the pool for freestyle, coordinate his arms, legs and breathing, and even does a form of butterfly - he just can't breathe when he does it!
Sam's teacher said he was a fantastic swimmer when focused (not flirting with the girls). He had no trouble focusing when she said they would race, and he won almost every time they did! He is a bit competitive, and likes winning. (But don't we all?) He and Jake were in the same level at the end of the summer.
Abrie is our little songbird. She has started singing a lot the last 2 weeks. She even makes up songs, but she remembers a lot of primary songs and loves to perform for people. She kind of reminds me of my niece, Lauren, in that way. She starts singing when she wakes up, and goes on and on until time to sleep. I even hear her singing in her bed sometimes. It's very cute! She can sing her ABC's and count from one to about 20 (she misses a few in the teens). I think she will like doing preschool with Jake, even if she will only last about 5 minutes or less!
I;m hoping to post some pictures tomorrow of the kids this summer.