Here are some more pictures from the week of Valentine's Day. Jane is growing quickly. She has already outgrown her newborn clothes and is filling out her 0-3 month outfits. Her little hats have become more snug. I weighed her the other day and she was 11.9 lbs!
This is Benjy's homework assignment from that week. He had to write three sentences using sight words, and I joked with Justin that kindergarten is giving him a superiority complex. ;) He actually meant to write "I am good" for the third sentence, but it came out in a funny way.
Thursday we decorated Valentine's cookies. With all the distraction of the baptism/blessing, Dave and Teresa's visit, and the kids getting stomach flu, I hadn't even thought about doing our usual holiday sugar cookies until Valentine's Day was upon us, and at that point I didn't have time. I found sprinkles on sale, however, the day after Valentine's (score!) and decided it was never too late to decorate yummy cookies.
Cutie boys
Sleeping angel Jane
One of Eli's front teeth got really wiggly that weekend. He finally pulled it out on Saturday after wiggling it constantly for a couple days.
Benjy wrote a note to Eli's tooth fairy, Periwinkle, pretending the note was from Eli. He asked her to bring him a piece of gum.
My four little sweethearts
Eli and Janie-boo
We are applying for Benjy to be accepted to the Gifted and Talented program, and as part of the application, I had to fill out a "Traits of the Gifted" form. I thought it gave some interesting insights into Benjy's personality, so I'm including what I wrote here.
Motivation
Evidence of desire to learn.
Benjy independently starts and works on projects
that interest him
Intensity (“Over excitabilities”)
Strength of reactions, responses, behaviors (The term “Over
excitabilities” comes from Polish psychologist Dabrowski.)
He has a tendency to become overly emotional, and many times the
intensity of his reactions is disproportionate to the stimulus. He also is
sensitive to loud noises. He is afraid of trains because of their loud whistle
noises.
Sensitivity
Strong reactions to emotional stimuli
Benjy is a very sensitive child. He cries when he perceives sadness.
When watching the movie "The Secret Garden," there was a scene where
Mary Lennox dreamed she was a young child and her mother was running away from
her. The child in the dream was probably 2 years old, and she was crying
because she could not get to her mother. Benjy cried intensely about this scene
after we saw it. He continues to bring it up from time to time, mentioning how
sad it made him and how he never wants to watch that part again.
Visual / Spatial
Visual-Spatial intelligence refers to ability to represent the
outer world internally in your mind.
Benjy made a drawing
showing himself jumping off a diving board. There were three figures in the
drawing-- one standing on the diving board, one midair after jumping off, and
one in the water. The two figures that were above water had hair that fell to
the sides of his head in a solid-appearing mass, but the figure that was
underwater was represented with single strands of hair sticking up. I was
impressed by this because I thought it showed a sophisticated level of visual
perception and ability to convey that perception. *Benjy also demonstrates his ability to represent the outer world visually in his mind by writing in mirror image (I didn't put this but should have).
Leadership
is the exceptional capability or potential to influence and
empower people (e.g., social perceptiveness, visionary ability, communication
skills, problem solving, inter and intra-personal skills and a sense of
responsibility)
Benjy is not afraid to speak up around adults and peers.
Once, at a McDonald's, he wanted a soda and I had said no, so he left the play
area when I was not watching and asked someone standing in line if he could
have $2 to buy a drink.
Communication Skills
Highly expressive with words, numbers, or symbols
He expresses himself very clearly for his age. He has a large
vocabulary and is very good at articulating his thoughts and feelings.
Problem-Solving Ability
Effective, often inventive, strategies for recognizing and
solving problems
When he is building with Magna Tiles and his structures are
unstable, he finds ways to prop them up and make them stronger
Inquiry/Curiosity
Questions, experiments, explores
He wants to know how everything works. The other day he
wanted to know how food went down into the legs after it went to the stomach
and asked if the legs were hollow to hold food.
Insight
Quickly grasps new concepts; sees connections; senses deeper
meanings
He is very good at grasping the theme or moral of stories. There
have been many times that I have been reading to him and thought he wasn't
listening, so I have asked him what I just read. He almost always surprises me
by not only giving details about what I have just read, but also extracting a moral or meaning.
Imagination/Creativity
Produces many ideas; highly original
He is extremely creative and original. His illustrations are
incredibly well executed for a child his age, and they are so imaginative. He
makes very detailed drawings and can explain what each aspect of the
illustration represents. Much of what he draws is the product of his
imagination and not a reproduction of things he has heard or seen.
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