Keeping up with the Joneses: Tristan's Blue Dog

Dane is 10 months old today! Jocelynne taught him how to blow raspberries last week, and he loves to practice his new skill. He also does his head bobbing all the time, where he tilts his head side to side repeatedly until we all laugh. None of my other babies did that. I hope he doesn't have some strange syndrome.

Logan has been calling Jocelynne "my lovely lady" recently, much to her embarrassment. He is a funny blend of mischievous imp and adorable kitten. For example, he'll torment Dane by throwing a blanket on him or sticking toys down his onesie, and a minute later he'll be rubbing my arms with his cheek and asking for "lovies." He loves preschool, and his teachers must like him because they often invite him to come two days a week instead of just the one day I pay for.

Tristan has two pieces of his art displayed at a venue downtown this week! It is quite the honor, and we had fun going as a family to find his pictures on the art wall. His state test scores have been high this year: he scored at over the 90% percentile in math! He enjoys reading Frog and Toad books, Fly Guy books, and Mercy Watson books. Besides reading, he spends his time getting dirty outside with Logan as they jump in puddles, chase lizards, and hack at my poor elephant ears with sticks.

Chloe finished reading Harry Potter 4 and got 100% on her AR test. Her teacher, Mrs. Brabner, stood her up in front of the class and explained, "Chloe just finished reading a book that is bigger than her head!" Now she has started Harry Potter 5. She likes going to Activity Day Girls with Jocelynne and is the only girl in the group that has memorized all 13 Articles of Faith. There is a candy prize associated with each one, and Chloe wanted them all! When I looked over at what Chloe was writing in her notebook during Sacrament meeting today, I saw that she had drawn a picture of the temple and was writing her testimony next to it. She is a good example to all around her.

Jocelynne had a ukelele concert downtown on Saturday, in the same building where Tristan's artwork is hanging. We watched as she performed "Alouette" (which she sang in French, of course, since this is Cajun country) and Bruno Mars' "Count on Me." She has grown to love her guitar class and decided to continue on with it next year instead of switching to art. She remains a sweet girl, happy to play with her younger siblings and care for baby Dane when I need a hand. Or a nap. A couple of boys have already started paying attention to her, passing her notes and a rose. Fortunately, she seems to have little interest in middle school romance and is too shy to respond to these gestures anyway.

Landon just submitted the first chapter of his dissertation for publication, after which he treated himself to a well-deserved Dairy Queen blizzard.