“A portrait of my children every week in 2016.”

Lillia: This week you desperately wanted to take a “mental health day” (staying home from school even though you are not sick). I thought about giving in—mental health is important!—but, in the end I was worried that you would miss too much school work (and a play rehearsal) and you wouldn’t be able to catch up easily. You have a full week of vacation coming up in April, so hopefully you will get some needed respite. ‘Til then, we’ll take it day by day.

Zane: This week you are very excited that Spring has arrived—in this picture you are wearing your amusing “King of Spring” costume. I made the flower crown, but you insisted that it needed to have glasses attached. Not pictured: your “cane” that you made out of an old stick decorated with more daffodils and some construction paper leaves. I really enjoy your ability to add your own quirky twist to everything we do.

“A portrait of my children every week in 2016.”

Lillia: This week was the home stretch for the second school term, and I am pleased to report to our faithful readers that you did, indeed, bring your math grade up to a 90, which means…YOU GOT ALL A’s!!! I am so, so proud of you, not so much because of the straight A’s (although that’s great) but because of how hard you worked to make that happen. You really put your all into it, and you were rewarded for your efforts. I hope you are proud of yourself—you should be!

Zane: This week you have been mama’s little helper! I’ve been trying to keep the house tidier because it has been a bit of wreck since I started working outside the home (it’s not an easy job with four humans and a cat living in 960 sq. feet). Perhaps you’ve enjoyed having more places to play and less clutter to trip over but, whatever the cause, you’ve definitely caught the cleaning bug. It’s certainly nice to have some help picking up! I had already been considering offering you the chance to take on some tasks around the house, so that you can earn a little money like your sister does. But, it’s hard to know what is an appropriate “chore” for little ones—any suggestions readers?

“A portrait of my children every week in 2016.”

Lillia: This week you’ve been working extra hard on your homework and other school assignments. The term ends next week and you are so close to having straight A’s. After a bit of a rocky start to the term—you aren’t the most organized person so you failed to turn in some homework papers early on—you’ve worked really hard to bring your grades up, especially math. Right now you have an 89, so if you turn in all of your assignments this week and do well on your test I think you can bring that up to a 90 (or A-). We’re all rooting for you, Lillia!

Zane: This week you were listening to Daddy and I talking about our bookcases, and how we’d eventually like to make some built-in bookshelves that go all the way to the ceiling. Daddy said he was concerned that they might be too high for some of us to reach. I replied that, truthfully, I might need some help reaching the top shelf. “Yep,” you quipped, “Dad, you’re a skinny zucchini. And, Mom, you’re a fat tomato that needs help!” I almost died laughing…even remembering it now has me giggling! Such a cheeky boy!

“A portrait of my children every week in 2016.”

Lillia: This week was your school’s annual Academic Fair. Now that you’re in sixth grade you are expected to participate fully by doing a project and a presentation. Your grade had to choose a country to study, and then you had to execute a multi-disciplinary project that involved writing an essay, designing and making a large poster, and then creating some sort of take-away. You chose to research Thailand, so we made some tasty Thai green curry with jasmine rice. It was a big hit, and you did an awesome job on your presentation!

Zane: I’m happy to report that you’re no longer covering your eyes at drop-off. You seem more settled and comfortable at school, which allows me to relax. Last weekend you went tubing with Nanny and Papa for the first time (while we were away in Boston). According to Nanny, you had a blast! At first you went down the hill coupled up with your grandparents and Lillia, but as soon as you saw other kids going down on their own, you had to do it by yourself, too. You are a speed-loving child with no fear—I dread the day you get your license!