The Erika EXTRA
All the kid stuff you might not want
to read.
Erika is doing well this year, although as a friend of mine joked,
she's 48 lbs and 48 inches tall... what a SQUARE! ha ha ha
Erika still enjoys school and is once again in the Quest program, for
gifted students. Her reading skills are excellent, and so far she has
done extremely well on all her spelling tests and homework
assignments... she just needs a little more practice on her
handwriting. Handwriting? How quaint! Yes, Erika does quite well on the
computer, and loves to play games on our Palm Pilots.
At the beginning of the year, I noticed Erika was having trouble
reading things that were far away. Sure enough, she's nearsighted, and
picked out a great pair of GREEN frames in March. I think they look
great on her. Green is still her favorite color, but she also claims
that ALL the rainbow colors are her favorite now, plus Pink!
Outside of school, Erika participated in hula classes, AYSO soccer and
has gone ice skating with Doug and I quite a few times. Although it
takes her a bit of time, she's also able to tie her own shoes and tell
time! We're still working on picking out matching clothes. =) And, she
also hasn't learned to swim yet.
Unfortunately, Erika USED to be a very good eater, trying almost
anything we put in front of her. Now, she chooses not to eat things she
used to like, and is reluctant to try anything new. On the plus side,
between school and home she is learning to be a HEALTHY eater, and
still prefers veggies and fruit to candy, and doesn't drink any soda,
only lemonade, Kool-aid, and various fruit juices (though usually hates
any kind of red fruit punch!)and of course, milk.
Erika joined a swap group this year, online, and has fun trading cards,
decorations and stickers with about 10 other families (about 22 kids)
around the United States.
We had fun, as usual, this Halloween. Erika decided she wanted to be a
witch, and she and I picked out a pattern and material together.... I
managed to make her quite a nice dress/tunic and cloak We bought
a hat, broom and also a cauldron for her candy bin. Although we didn't
go 'all out' with our jack-o-lanterns, (they 'melt' too quickly here in
Hawaii) we did carve a few and had other non-perishable decorations.
Erika is doing well in Sunday school too, although her teacher has
asked her to put her hand/head down because she knows ALL the answers.
We still manage to have something new to teach her almost every day, as
we light our Advent candles, get out our advent calendars, and assemble
the Nativity. We're also having fun driving and walking through
neighborhoods to see everyones' decorations.