Moments.

His very first concert last night. He did so well. Heck, they all did so well! Largest band they've had in 8 years. Was a great Christmas concert.

My husband has been in MN since Monday & returns tomorrow, so hopefully I can get back to blogging. And I'm glad he's returning - mama's getting tired!

Happy 12.12.12!

Moments.

Now one of my most favorite photos. Ever. ♥

Moments.

♥

He opened a birthday gift he loved!

So I thought I'd take his photo.

♥

Moments.

♥

Bentley's photo shoot 9.26.09.

I know I am his mother & I know I am bias, but I think he is so beautiful. I mean, handsome. :)

Will add more in a few days as they are edited. ☺

First day of school '09.

August 24, 2009.

A 3rd grader & a Kindergartener. ☺

Fore!

Bentley actually is really good! ☺



Before it was all over, Audi got smart & began lining all his balls in a row - then when he hit the first one, all three went sailing! ☺



Too cute. ☺

Happy Saturday!

Her & him.

Here is my Jaguar with her new, short 'do. It's so cute. But it's so not her. I've always said that her big, ol' hair is so much a part of her personality. Since I have had her hair cut off, that has more than proven to be true. :o)



The beautician must have cut off at least 4 inches, if not more. I thought having her hair shorter would be much cooler for Jags, but have recently discovered that when she is playing hard, she sweats just as much. There is really no difference. Which tells me that it wasn't the actual length that was the issue - the problem is that her hair frames & lays on her face so much, that is actually what makes her so hot. But now, because it is so short, I can't pull it up like I could before, to get it off her face. So now we let it grow back out & I'll never have it this short again. She told me she prefers it longer, also. The one thing we are definitely enjoying while it is short is styling it! Holy pickles, it literally takes 5 minutes! Versus 20. She's so beautiful with her long hair (she's beautiful with her short hair, too!), we'll go back to the 20 minute styling. I'm anxious for it to grow back out & for her gorgeous spirals to return! ☺

The below photo shows how silly she is. :) She must not have received the memo - we do not allow skinny dipping! We have no clue where or when she decided it was ok to strip & swim! She has now received the memo. (That's my girl, with her beautiful long hair!) Gosh, this girl is priceless! ☺

I threw a photo of Bentley in, too. No particular reason - just because he's so darn handsome & I love him so much! I could stare at his face all day long. Adorable! (Um, yes, I got a little clipper happy. Why do you ask? :)

Love my children! ♥

Happy Wednesday! ☺

Squirt.

Took this of Bentley this evening. I'm shooting back in Jpeg - love RAW - however, I don't really care to spend the extra time editing in RAW. (This photo was actually taken in daylight - I edited it to look this dramatic. I ♥ it! :)

More photos tomorrow - such a sad, sad day today.

Chillin'.

Breaking in between bike riding to play his Nintendo. Sweet. Sweet boy. ♥

(Photo RAW, edited in CS3. All photos will be this format unless otherwise stated. :)

New size(s)?

This is Bentley on the trails a few weeks ago. He was taking a rest while waiting for the rest of us. He looks like he is in deep thought. I thought this shot was precious. ☺



This of Jaguar is the adjusted size of the photo below. I have to say, I love the clarity in the larger photos, but this will suffice. :)



I broadened my template & now these particular sizes work. The downside is, you can't click on these to view them in their original size. What you see is what you get. However, they are substantially larger than past images, so it works for me.

Priceless.

Bentley had some homework to complete. The instructions for this particular piece were:

"Think of something important that has happened in the world, in your school, or in your family. Write it in the center and then answer the six questions about it."

So he did this -



On his own. He had completed it when he showed it to hubby & myself. The only thing I helped him with was spelling the words 'adopted' & 'Palestine'.

He never ceases to amaze me. I thought this was amazing. He is such a precious boy with a beautiful heart. I treasure him & his thoughtfulness. ☺

My ski'er.

His first attempt ever. ☺

Here we go!

Take out the slack!

One!



Two!

Three!

And he's up! Ski'ing like a ...



Frog! He never stood up. LOL ☺

And then he was down. And they forgot to tell him one tiny detail -

To let go of the rope, once he falls! He was drug for quite some time before he let go.

And then he cried, because he thought his Uncle's skis would sink & he would be in trouble. Awwww.

He didn't ski again. I think he was too cold. He & Audi had been swimming all day & Bentley was shivering.

But, he does want to ski again.

And he will. Yay!

Great job, Bentley! ☺

(Photos are not snapshots, but I did no editing. Zilch.)

Snapshots & a new hairstyle for Jaguar.

Found Bentley reading in a little cubby hole he had made for himself. I guess he felt the need to protect himself with so many little siblings running amock. Cute. :)

Saturday I took Jaguar to a new Ethnic Salon in our area. I was so excited when I spotted it, I just knew I hit the jackpot! Unfortunately, I knew when I made the appointment, I wasn't going to care for the lady. She had a very cocky, snotty attitude & I don't do those. :) Nonetheless, we went, but I certainly did not like her any better in person. She is very experienced, but her attitude is ick.

She pinned Jaguar's hair up all pretty before cutting & I wasn't really sure what agenda was. She began pulling a bottom section loose - & then out came the hairdryer. And out came Jaguar's fear of hairdryers. While trying to calm Jaguar, I tried to explain to the lady that Jaguar is absolutely terrified of hairdryers & that blowing her hair dry was not an option. She told me she needed to dry it straight, to get an accurate cut. (The 1st time I got Jaguar's haircut, that lady cut her hair wet, so it never occurred to me that this lady would dry it first.) Since obviously that wasn't going to fly, she took the pins out & told me she'd cut it wet, but it wouldn't be even. Oh well. With all Jaguar's curls, one could never tell.

So she did some trimming, not nearly enough, & then proceeded to do this: (This is not right after the lady did it, by this time it had started drying some, losing some of it's tightness.)

*That above is Jag's natural smile - which I rarely capture unless I'm doing something insane! Doesn't she have the most adorable smile? :)

She showed me how to do twists with a comb (I already twist her hair sometimes, but I use my fingers). I thought this new do looked cute - but as time went on, I noticed it just wasn't 'her'. Her big, gorgeous, loose, curly hair is 'her'. It was nice for something different, though. ☺

I may try it sometime(s) for something different. I won't put as many ponytails in, though. Just a few. I do know that pulling her hair up or in pigtails is much cooler for her. :)

When we first walked in from the beauty shop, hubby met us at the door. He exclaimed "Oh! Ooohh, you look so pretty!" Then Jaguar turned around & walked away from him, giving him a view of the back of her head. He then said "oh oh oh....ooooohhhhhh". I guess 'cause she had so many ponytails & he had never seen that before. Ha! Funny.

Bentley's reading.

Bentley is all about books. Books, books, books, books, books. He reads so much, so often, I can't keep up with his books anymore!

Bentley was tested for reading on May 4, 2009.

His Individual Reading Profile (results):

Level - 40

Accuracy - 99%

Fluency - 158 words per minute

What does that mean? It means my child, who is currently wrapping up 2nd grade, is reading on a 4th grade reading level! At the end of the third grade (which he will be in starting next school year - i.e. August 2009), the expectations are 120 words per minute/level 38. He's certainly already exceeded that!

Woohoo! GO Bentley! I am so stinkin' proud of him I could squeeze his ears off! ☺ ♥



*There is a possibility that he is actually reading at 5th grade entry level, if the expectation for 4th grade is 150 words per minute at the end of the school year. My form only states up to 3rd grade. Beginning in first grade, the expectations increase each year by 30 increments, but I'm not positive it continues in the 30 increments past 3rd grade.

At the end of the school year students should be reading:

1st grade - 60 wpm
2nd grade - 90 wpm
3rd grade - 120 wpm

If the pattern continues:

4th grade - would be 150 wpm

Which means, if I am correct, he is quite possibly reading at a 5th grade level. Beginning of the school year, not the end of the year.

Oh who cares. WOOHOO! ☺

Randoms.

Just playin' with my camera. You know, when I look back over Bentley's birthday photos - well, they aren't that bad. I need to to learn to just have fun with this photography hobbie & quit stressing. These randoms are pretty cute too. ☺



Was playing with Custom White Balance here.



The Nintendo DS, Bentley & myself are fixing to go 'round & 'round about this video game. Suddenly I am reminded as to why we didn't allow any video games until he was 7. And now Mercedes is getting in on the action! Suffice to say I do believe I am anti-video games!

And now he is 8.

I am so disappointed in Bentley's birthday photos (not to mention a nice shot of hubby in the background in the one above...sheesh). I fiddled around with my camera settings because as you know, I don't like a flash. I do believe that has changed. I'm just going to have to let it go & use a flash at nightime in our home. Unless I want this quality of photos. And I don't. I upped the ISO to accomodate no flash/inadequate lighting & the photos are too grainy. Some people like grainy because they think it adds character to certain photos. Not me. :) Nonetheless, I edited them the best I could & I admit, they're still cute. Or should I say, he's still cute.

Finally, below, his true smile. Which I don't see often because typically he is giving me some crazy face smile & I don't like it. It's just not him. His smile is beautiful, with all his mismatched teeth & all - it's just really tricky to get him to loosen up & smile naturally. And look at the camera. He doesn't like to do that either. ☺

He is such an advanced reader - I bought him some books in the 9 - 12 year age group. He read one of them in one day. LOL I have no idea what to do with him & his books!

Not looking at the camera - see, I tell no lies. ☺



He got 3 Nintendo DS games. One from us & two from my mother-in-law. The two below are from her & I have no idea if they are decent or age appropriate games.



Bents got his report card the other day & again, he made straight A's as he has all year. Two 95's, one 97, & one 100. We are now in the last 9 weeks of the school year (Yay!). I challenged him & told him if he brought those grades up (not the 100, of course) that I would hand him $20. ☺ I don't expect his grades to come, as I'm very content with with his grades, obviously. I just thought I'd give him something to strive for. If he comes home with grades lower than the above, I'll take a $20 out of his savings. Bahahaha! Just kidding! ☺



I am so proud of this boy. He is more than I ever could have dreamed of. He is amazing & so stinkin' smart. He has a huge heart & is so loving, caring & giving. When I think about him -I smile. He's just a wonderful boy.

I hate that he is growing so fast. I say that, but on the other hand, I can't wait to see where God takes this child. I'm curious. And I'm excited, thrilled & blessed to be a part of his journey. ☺

Happy Birthday Bentley! Mom loves you more than you will ever know! ♥