Report Cards are in!

Greetings! 
We had our first parent teacher conference this week.  We were both very nervous to hear about our kids because we know our kids are amazing yet we don't really know how they are all the time at school.  The report is in and Elsa and Jonas are doing very good indeed! 

Elsa and Jonas are both learning so much and it was great to hear about all the things that they can do!  They have learned a ton about colors, shapes, numbers, letters, and social interaction skills.  Their teacher had no worries about them and said they were both ready to move on to the pre-school room next year.  Congrats to Jonas and Elsa.  The teacher singled out Jonas for having a lot of empathy towards others in his class and singled out Elsa for her love of singing and her big belly laughs during games. 

We are always encouraging imaginative play at home...lots of blanket monsters, building elaborate forts to fend off lions, cooking up feasts in the play kitchen...the video is of Jonas playing a game he created with the vehicles on the table.  Enjoy!

God Bless,
Mari & Dan & Elsa & Jonas

Splish Splash

Greetings!
A week of not feeling good.  Ugh.  Jonas and Elsa stayed home from school this week because of a bug that caught up with them and all of us.  They did start to feel a little better towards the end of the week and were able to make it to really important doctor visits. 

Jonas has a new dentist that won him over with not one, but two, hot wheels cars on his first visit!  She graciously agreed to work with his ear nose and throat doctor to do both procedures at the same time at Mary Bridge.  Great news!

Elsa revisited her favorite eye doctor!  He gave her a big bird toy last year and she still remembers that every time we go.  She is also going to have surgery in the upcoming months to tighten an eye muscle.  We are so blessed to have wonderful doctors and dentists always working with us on decisions about Elsa and Jonas.

The rains have been going non-stop this week and as such we had to jump at the opportunity to splish and splash in puddles!  We have been doing a lot inside too.  Cookies!!!

God Bless,
Mari & Dan & Elsa & Jonas

Wait lists

Greetings!
For the past several months we have been on a wait list for cancellations with an ear nose and throat doctor.  Jonas had a sleep study that indicated that he should be evaluated for having his tonsils taken out.  There was an underlying urgency to this appointment because Jonas also needs to have a front tooth pulled out.  If we could coordinate services between the doctor and dentist both things could happen at the same time.  If not, we would have to have the front tooth taken out without having Jonas go under anesthesia.  We were very hopeful that both could happen! 

As January rolled into February, we were a little anxious about whether we would get in to the ear nose and throat doctor in time.  This past Friday our prayer was answered and Jonas got a last second call for an appointment over the weekend.  The doctor indicated that Jonas would be a good candidate for the surgery.  With that information in hand, we just need to get a dentist with operating privileges on board and we are good to go. This was a great bit of news and we are happy to share it!

As we often sing to our kids during melt downs..."Have patience, have patience, don't be in such a hurry..."  We continue to pray that Jonas' tooth holds on long enough for this all to happen.

God Bless,

Mari & Dan & Elsa & Jonas

Super Bowl!

Greetings!
Jonas and Elsa had a great week.  On Saturday we went to a "block" party at the local school.  There was a building block area for both under five year olds and over thirty year olds to play.  We all had a blast and got lots of good information about how to use block play to help aid in development.

Grandpa Harold stopped by after his high school bowling team won the state tournament.  Elsa and Jonas both got to see the huge statue!  They played trains with him for a bit and congratulated him on his big win!

Jonas and Elsa danced with us while we watched the half time show of the super bowl today.  We did lots of spinning!

School has been a great experience for Jonas and Elsa.  Below are some photos of them at work at school!

A great week!
God Bless,
Mari & Dan & Elsa & Jonas