The Growing Caldwell Family

We made treats to bring in to celebrate Sarah Graves turning 7! She can pretty much bake a cake on her own now! She loves to work the mixer, but is scared to get near the oven. Probably a good thing! I frosted these and thought they came out so well! The birthday girl invited Lovie to come share treats with her class at lunch! She had daddy there too! These sweet friends were so excited for her and loved the cupcakes! I love how this girl knows how to celebrate! She has been making our life exciting for 7 years!

During the fall, Sarah Graves was really struggling in school. Spelling was a real challenge for her; she was having a difficult time completing her work in class; during a conference with her teacher she noted the difficulty with fidgeting and impulsivity; and she was struggling to get positive points for doing things like working hard and staying focused Not only was she not learning as much as we knew she could, it was really affecting her self esteem. She would tell me she just wanted to be one of the smart kids. It broke my heart to see her feel so bad about herself. I could see the problems she had while doing school work with her at home. Every noise, every movement, every thought was a distraction for her. I decided we had to find out what was really happening for her. We went to a psychologist and had an educational evaluation done. I was prepared to hear that she had dyslexia or some other learning disorder. I knew she was bright and just not processing the information the...

My girl was invited to an 80's dance party for friends She had a great time and was totally impressed with the black light on the dance floor!

These 2 kiddos love to help me cook - mostly bake! They are getting pretty good too!

 I think we had a good start to 2017! Charlie woke up feeling better, we did some early morning shopping at the Dillard's New Year's sale, and then enjoyed a tasty dinner at Lovie and Pops' house. Charlie finally felt well enough to show MiMi how his new Batman helicopter set worked. You know, she bought it and wrapped it for him, but needed him to teach her all about it! The Orbeez hand spa was quite the hit with everyone!

Grandaddy and MiMi came to visit for New Year's! The kids were really excited to have them visit! It was also our last extension of Christmas. They made special cards for Grandaddy and MiMi. Of course, the kids were very excited to open more Christmas presents! This was the Christmas of the mermaid for Sissy! She loves mermaid tails and was super excited to get some for herself, her doll, and a blanket one!  Everything was going great, until Charlie was in a cranky mood and then I touched him and realized he had quite a fever going. We got him into bed and later checked on him to realize his fever was over 104 and I was getting nervous! He was pitiful and felt rotten all afternoon and most of the evening. Poor guy missed most of New Year's Eve. MiMi and Grandaddy gave Sissy a sewing kit and she was really excited to put it to use. MiMi showed her how to get started and they made a pillow for her dolls! I like for the holidays to feel...

The kids had a great time going to a dramatic arts camp over their break. The camp focused on teaching the kids singing, choreography, production, and having a great time putting it all together!  Charlie was adorable stepping up to the microphone and introducing himself to the crowd of adoring parents.  Sissy was in her element loving the dancing and singing!