Reyes Family Time: March 2017

Life is busy!!! And all of a sudden it is March, and Miriam is 6! We've had a very busy start to the year, although I can't put my finger on any one thing...after our huge snowstorm in January, we've been busy with sports, sickness, visitors, school events, and Mario traveling some for work.

The kids are great. Mathias is a busy, busy 3 year old. He has a dynamic, forceful (stubborn) personality that is starting to show itself more and more now that he can verbalize what he wants and how feels. He is a super engaging kid who loves to be active, loves to climb and jump off things, and loves to do anything physical that Daddy is doing. He also really loves to be silly, play pretend games, sing silly songs, and giggle and be goofy around the house. Some of Mathias's favorite things to play include anything to do with cars (especially any cars that he can hook together), blocks, building forts, playing "spider" with Mario, riding his bike, and playing "see how far I can jump off the couch!" games. He's a great eater and is adventurous about eating new foods; recently, he's been enjoying shrimp tempura when we go out for sushi and Japanese food. He's dramatic and goofy and silly, but he makes us giggle and smile and hug him close every day.

Miriam turned 6 a few weeks ago - I know I say this every year, but how has time gone so fast?!? This year she has really come into her own, and she has grown and changed SO MUCH since starting kindergarten. She is so confident in herself, and she isn't shy anymore at all. Remember the days when she was shy and wouldn't speak to many strangers, or even teachers at her school? Now, she'll happily strike up a conversation with any teacher or volunteer at her school, and she is outgoing and confident. She is such an amazing, bright, caring little girl. She's so smart and is doing really well academically in kindergarten but more importantly, she is a sweet, empathetic little girl who is kind to others and works hard to make sure everyone feels included. She goes out of her way to do acts of kindness for others and especially likes to make others feel loved through her artwork. One of Miriam's favorite things in the world is the do arts and crafts of all kinds - she especially loves to draw, paint, color, cut, glue, and create. She's also gotten into origami and original art projects, and she often makes multiples to give away to friends, her teachers, her family, or to send to people in the mail. Miriam also loves to spend some time outside and has recently become very interested in planning our garden and plantings this year. She really wanted to plant bananas but after much discussion about how bananas don't grow well in Oregon, she settled on planting some cherry bushes to add to our collection of fruits grown in pots. She's such a sweet girl, always loving on others and loving to help; she makes us smile every day with her bright, colorful outfits and her sweet personality.

We are so busy these days we don't take nearly the amount of pictures we used to, but here are some from recent months, including from Miriam's birthday.