Summer singpost-Debbie and Karl

5-yr-old Speller

Life has been crazy in the Gee household. We had a nice holiday season even though Karl was very busy with work. It was the first time we have had our own Christmas in our own home so we tried to make it special and I think we succeeded. We spent Christmas Eve with the Cederlofs and that was fun. Matthew’s preschool class put on a really cute little program on the 23rd. Santa Claus brought a fish tank for Christmas so we bought each of the kids a goldfish. Unfortunately two of them died within 2 weeks. So Matthew’s is the sole survivor. We also enjoyed ringing in the New Year by watching Kung Fu Panda and eating yummy food. We put the kids to bed at 8:00, they are a little young to make it to midnight. Steven didn’t even make it to 8, he fell asleep on the couch! The kids were excited because Karl bought them New Year’s Eve hats.
Karl’s store had a great month in December, making money for the first time ever. He even got special recognition at a manager’s meeting for the highest percentage of increase.
Matthew was ready for his birthday as soon as Christmas was over. It could not get here fast enough. It finally came and he is now a big 5-year-old! He wanted to have his first ever kid birthday party so we had one. We got a good turnout-8 kids plus Matthew and Steven. We played “Button Button, Who has the Button?” “Don’t Eat Pete!” (a game Karl’s family played when he was little), and “Duck Duck Goose”. They also decorated their own cupcakes and they had a good time with that.
On his actual birthday we had a pizza and ice cream and cake. He also opened his presents from us. We celebrated with Grandma and Grandpa this past Sunday. Now Steven is excited for his birthday and says he wants a Spiderman birthday!
Matthew also enjoyed his Valentine’s Day party at preschool. He thought it was the most exciting thing ever.
Matthew is doing well at preschool. He is currently learning how to print his letters. He can sort of write his name but he struggles with M’s and W’s. He also knows how to spell “stop”. Spelling is one of his favorite things right now. He always wants to spell everything for him and then he repeats it He has always loved to learn new things. His fine motor skills have also improved greatly, especially cutting. Now he just needs to learn how to hold a pencil correctly!

Steven is his usual funny self. His vocabulary has greatly improved and he is getting easier to understand as well as talking in complete sentences. He is now in the SR nursery at church and it was a challenge for him at first but now he seems to have adjusted. He is into everything and wants to do everything that Matthew does. He is becoming very independent and wants to do everything all by himself. If we try to help him with anything he says “No, self!” which of course means “I can do it myself!” He loves the “Wiggles”, “Backyardigans”, “Blues Clues”, and “Bob the Builder”. He is also very into cars and thanks to Matthew-light sabers! He is a lot of fun and has a great sense of humor. No one can make Summer laugh like him!
Summer is growing and learning. She crawls about 100 mph and pulls herself up. She will stand for a few seconds by herself. She also tries to reach for things while standing so we expect her to start cruising around the furniture any day. Summer is now sporting 4 teeth all in the front-two on top, two on the bottom. She is a tiny little thing. She weighed just 13 lbs 10 oz at her nine month visit and has fallen off the charts. They are hoping she picks back up by her one year visit. We will see.
Summer loves baby dolls, anything that makes sounds or lights, and keys. Her favorite things to eat are chicken nuggets, crackers, and cheese. She has an adorable smile and it is hard not to be happy when you are her around.