Brag Alert-The following blog has a ton of bragging!

I have left a lot of stuff out the past couple of weeks because I really don't want this blog to be all about my kids, as it has been for almost a year now :)). But really, nothing too interesting happens to me or Jon. Let's see....Jon is still working and going TDY quite a bit...nothing new there....I am still at home, taking care of Owen and volunteering at the school about 3-5 times a month....boring right? So now I am not going to feel bad and write about all the great stuff my boys have been doing the last few weeks so log off if you don't like the bragging :))

First we will start with Justin. Here is what we received in the mail about 3 weeks ago:

(double click to read)

Now, even though it says he was nominated by his teacher, Ms. Sonya Campbell is actually the Principal of the school. She nominated Justin along with 5 other students. To know more about the program, it states that "the National Young Scholars Program was created to identify students with a history of academic achievement and exceptional leadership potential and to stimulate and invigorate their natural curiosity to learn and discover. The Program will recognize and honor the most mature and independent individuals possible in the 4th and 5th grades, and nominations are extended to high-achieving scholars only. Educational advisers are asked to nominate only those scholars who can meet the challenge of our advanced academic curriculum and who merit the distinction of a nomination."----We were of course floored. They go to Illinois for 6 days---without their parents---and stay in a dorm with 2 other roommates. Then they have daily classes on subjects they like and I could go on and on. Now the bad part---it cost $300.00.....A DAY!! There was no way we could afford it so we are turning it down. But we were so proud that he was nominated anyways!

Then in November he earned this:

He is the first 4th grader to EVER reach 1 million words read in a school year! Justin took only 3 months to do it. As of January, he has 1 million 350+ thousand. For Christmas, he received the last Harry Potter book. It has 750 pages in it. He read it in 3 days!

Nathan has not had the opportunities as of yet to accomplish the things that Justin has being he is only in 2nd grade. But he is doing so well in school! We just got his report card and he has all A's again. In fact, he has never had a B so far. On the teacher remarks, she wrote, "Nathan has such a creative mind. He is coming out of his shell and is able to contribute interesting tidbits to our classroom discussions!" He is well above his grade level in reading and is recognized for his artistic abilities! I see him going down the same path as Justin!

Now we can't forget about my sweet baby Owen! He has gotten all A's so far....just kidding! He finally started walking on December 30th~~about 2 days after turning 13 months! He can say Papa, heis (German for hot), licht (German for light), raus (German for out) he uses sign language and can sign for the words milk, all done, eat, fan, night-night, hi and bye. He knows where his nose and hair is if asked. Here is a clip of him walking (just a short one though):

There....I got it all out of my system!