Isaac 5.5, Caitlin 3.5

This is a totally disjointed blog entry since I started uploading pictures for it weeks (months?) ago.  It's been awhile since I've posted an update on the kids, so here goes:

the kids love their itouches, and since Bill and I don't love the cacophony created by their simultaneous watching, we got them headphones (with volume limiters) which we ALL love

Isaac has learned so much in school, and we have started focusing on letters, numbers and reading over dinner and in the car.  He was a little behind his classmates, but since we have been focusing, he has improved a lot and is actually reading and writing full stories now (much to our amazement!).  Cate - always wanting to be a part of the action - is absorbing a lot of this, and isn't far behind him in reading and writing (much to our further amazement!).  Here are some pics of the kids doing "homework," Isaac's school project, his first spelling quiz (he got 6 out of 6!),  and Caitlin's "superstar artist" award for a piece she did in art class that was featured in the art show.

Cate still loves dance class (she is now signed up for 2 classes each week - tap and hip hop), and will take any opportunity to dress in my shoes and have me do her nails or make me put my makeup on her.  Here's a picture of her first pedicure from Mother's Day.  She picked the sparkliest, pinkest polish she could find and tiptoed around the house all afternoon admiring her toes!

Both kids have turned into monkeys by practicing in our backyard and have speed contests to see who can make it across the monkey bars faster.  They also still love riding bikes and ask for family bike rides every night to go to the playgrounds in the neighborhood.

The kids still take gymnastics and love (attempting) cartwheels and back somersaults around the house.  One day they will get it...

They are also taking swim lessons at the athletic club near our new house.  Both are totally swim safe, so they are working on learning different strokes.

They obviously keep us very busy, but we continue to prioritize family dinners, and the kids fight over who can tell us about their day first.  Isaac's answer: school was good, I don't remember what I did.  Caitlin's answer: "first I took off my jacket, then I went to the playground and played with Ella, we went down the slide then..." and the detailed recounting continues until we get the entire download.  At some point mid-story, Isaac, seeing the attention Cate is getting, remembers some detail and raises his hand excitedly to tell us.  It is actually kind of adorable.  They are best friends 50% of the time, and they bicker and compete the other 50%.  They definitely come together when it counts - for example, Cate got hurt upstairs last night, and Isaac when heard her cry, he raced up the stairs yelling "I'm coming baby-girl, are you okay?" which was so cute it made me cry.  As for foods, my grandma's trick of earning a quarter for trying new food has actually gotten Caitlin to expand her horizons beyond pizza, pasta and chicken fingers, which is awesome.  Isaac is still our adventure eater, trying everything and actually preferring salad to mashed potatoes.
That's it for now - more to come soon.