The L-O-N-G winter!

It has been a very long winter up here in Virginia- we've gotten around 30 inches of snow since December. Hopefully, spring is coming!

Here is an update on the boys:

• Nicholas is becoming more "big-brotherly" with each passing day. Although he occasionally instigates an argument or aggravates Daniel, he seems to be increasingly more patient with D's tantrums, often giving him a toy to pacify the little guy. It is sweet to see him being such a peacemaker. He is very excited about the upcoming birth of baby Andrew, and loves to feel my tummy when Andrew is kicking around.
  
• You may be wondering how the homeschooling is going. We have fallen into a comfortable routine of working for about an hour 3-4 times per week. Nicholas knows around 20 sight words, and is starting to transition to actually reading his (little) books rather than just memorizing them. We have recently started a kindergarten math program, which covers place value, addition, etc. He is a great student, and is eager to please! Next fall, we will begin "Classical Conversations," a weekly meeting with other homeschoolers where he will learn fine arts, science, history, geography, and Bible. I will reinforce what he's learning there at home during the week, in addition to teaching him math, reading, and probably Spanish.
• Nicholas will start speech therapy at our neighborhood elementary school next week. After some concern on our part that many of his sounds and words were not completely intelligible, we decided to have him tested, and he qualified for services. We are looking forward to having someone work with him on this!
  

• How N. made us laugh this past month:

Nicholas: So, Dad, what did you do at work today? (speaking to Chris over dinner one evening)
Chris: I worked on a software procedure.
N: That doesn't sound very kid-ish!

• Daniel is very much in the "terrible twos" phase. Although we still see glimpses of our laid-back little guy, screams of "NO" and "MINE" are more the norm these days. Daniel is very attached to his big brother, and the two will play together quite a bit. It's easy to see N's influence as D. loves all things Star Wars, and has even started watching episodes of "Voltron" on Netflix. Reading books and going to the library are favorite activities.
• We recently finished Daniel's new big boy room, complete with blue walls and bunk beds. Although the boys will not have to share a room, the bed will come in handy with visitors as we no longer have a guest room. Nicholas has wanted to sleep in the top bunk, and I think this has made the transition easier for D. Promise to post pictures of the new room soon!

• How Daniel has made us laugh recently:

Bev: Guess what, guys? We're going to Great Wolf Lodge tomorrow. They have a water park and bunk beds for you to sleep in.
Daniel: And food, too?