Cool New Glasses

Rachel got her new glasses today. Doesn't she look sharp? Rachel is the first Stratton kid to need glasses. Her eyes are 20/50, so not too bad. Mallory tested recently at 20/20 and Taylor tested last year at 20/25. Natalie's eye doctor said that she has perfect vision and the other two have not had a reason to be tested..

Joseph & Natalie

Great brother/sister moment. Joseph loves his little sister Natalie.

Bailey & Natalie

Great sister/sister moment. Bailey also loves her little sister Natalie.

There's more than one way to type

I came home from working at BINGO today and found Natalie typing on my keyboard that was hanging off the my by the cord.

Drinking from a Cup

Natalie is learning to drink from a cup without a lid. She prefers to drink this way now, but we still have to supervise and just put a little bit in the cup.

Eating with a Spoon

Natalie is also learning to eat with a spoon. She's been using a fork since the summer, but we've just introduced the spoon.

Happy Birthday Taylor !!!

Taylor had her birthday party at the movies. Five of her best friends joined here there. They saw the Pink Panther. Mallory stayed with them as I had to pick up Bailey and Joseph from Tae Kwon Do during the middle of the movie. After the movie, the five friends all slept over. They stayed up until 4-5 am and watched scary movies all night. They also helped Taylor make her own birthday cake. The trumpet was her big family gift. She has decided to play trumpet when she starts middle school in the fall. I bought the trumpet, brand new, on eBay for $75. I would have put that much out in rental fees in about 6 months or less. I also bought her the beginner trumpet book that she will use in the fall. Mallory and Rachel, who both play baritone, have been having fun trying to play the trumpet too.

Littlest Big Mess Maker

I thought that Natalie was being too quite. She must have felt like it was time for me to clean out under the bathroom sink. I've said this before, she's as bad as the dog, when it comes to making big messes.

Congratulations Bailey !!!

Bailey passed her belt test Friday night to get her advanced white belt. She says you cannot smile while doing Tae Kwon Do. She loves going and we never have to ask her to practice. We usually have to ask her to stop practicing because we can only take so much of her shouting. Tae Kwon Do is very noisy, lots of yelling.

Joseph's Belt Test

Joseph had a one hour belt test Saturday morning. His test was longer than Bailey's because the higher belts have to do more things. They have to demonstrate all of the kicks and punches that they've learned since they were white belts.

Sparing Match

Joseph had to spar with another of the test takers as part of the test.

Breaking Boards - Cool !!!

The kids were surprised by the instructors when they were told they had to break a board. None of them had ever done that before. After a few instructions and a few attempts, all of the kids were able to break their boards. The smaller kids got skinnier boards than the bigger kids. The board that Joseph broke was 3/4" thick.

Congratulations Joseph !!!

Joseph got his advanced green belt.

Scooter Girl

Bailey has become quite good at getting around on this Barbie scooter she got for her birthday.

Skater Girl

Taylor has decided that she wants to learn how to skateboard.

Biker Girl

Natalie obviously had a blast riding her bike outside today. I was surprised by how well she did. I hadn't seen her actually ride this bike that she got for Xmas.

Computer Room - Final Phase

Joe finished the downstairs painting with what he calls the "Hot Chocolate" room. The next picture shows more of the wall color.

Sewing Room - Final Phase

I"m still trying to decide how much of my sewing stuff to bring back into the house. So far, only the sewing machines and a few current projects have made it back in to the sewing room.

Joe's New Computer

I finally got around to getting a picture of the new computer that I gave to Joe for his birthday.

Top Ten Meet

Today's meet was more competetive than previous meets as it was composed of just the top ten gymnastics from each of the local gyms. Taylor came in 11th overall out of 32 in her age bracket, she is in the lower right of this picture. Taylor's gym won 1st place overall.

Second place on the Vault

Taylor won 2nd place on the vault with a score of 9.55.

Pretty in Pink?

NOT - she's our little tough girl. It's best to get out of her way if she wants to get through.

Three Lovely Ladies

Joe's sister and her daughters.

Gorgeous Girls

These beautiful girls are Joe's nieces.

Where does she get all her energy?

Peek a Boo. Natalie never stops moving these days.