Getting crafty

Post Christmas play

Christmas at home

After the ~10 hour drive back from NE (but who is counting) we pile out of the car and the kids get to see what Santa brought and we open family presents.  It feels so good to be home and see their smiling faces as they open gifts.  Thank goodness because mom gets pretty grumpy the latter half of that drive.  

Santa brought a Zoobs automobile building set and a flying turtle for Micah,

a skateboard, ramp and pads for Noah, and

ice skates and wheelbarrow for Celia.

Each of them also received a book about manners so Shawn and I figure maybe that was a hint from Santa for us.  

Christmas in NE

Gosh, it has been a long time ago now but we had a great Christmas in Nebraska.  A few pics of our time.

Tracking Santa.

 Tradition.

 A jersey for our girl.

 Snowboard!  How about that pile of paper?!

 So very happy with his new tools and bag.  Over the moon.

 Noah and Hallie riding to church.  Are they cute or what?

Celia Says

C: "Is this a freckle?"
Me: "Yes, that is a freckle."
C:  "Can I have a pink freckle?"
She is consistent in her love for color pink.

Look alike?

Lately strangers have been telling me how much Noah and I look alike.  So one day we snapped a selfie, and decided after all these years of saying he looks just like his dad, the strangers might be onto something.

Bonus day

When Noah has a day off from school I think of it as a bonus day when I get to hang out with all three again like the old days.  On this day, we went to lunch, watched The Mitten at a children's theatre and then hit their favorite donut shop for an afternoon snack.  Pretty big time.  

Noah is 7!!

Our big guy turned #7.  He loves the tradition of celebrating at Grandpa Dennis & Grandma Jane's house and we are fortunate that they are willing to host his party every year.  A birthday highlight for Noah is picking the theme of his cake - this year it was soccer.  It is so special for him to be surrounded with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.

 I conducted his annual birthday interview and here is what he had to say:

What were some of your favorite gifts this year?
Wild pants, lava lamp, sports cards book, snowboard and flag football.

Tell me what comes to mind when I say these words:
Home: family
Favorite color: green
Brother/sister: awesome
Magic: anything
Bedtime: around 7pm & relaxing
School:  friends
Cool:  me playing sports
Love:  hugs and kisses

What makes you really happy?
Going to sports games.

Now that you are seven, are there any new things you'd like to learn to do?
How to drive a snowmobile, how to ski and how to snowboard better.

How do you like reading so far?
It is FUN!

What do you think you'd like to be when you grow up?
Hockey player, snowboarder or skier.

Besides your birthday, what is your favorite day of the year?
Christmas.

Who is the last person you kissed?
Mom.

A few snippets from the year.

You continue to be incredibly into sports.  Watching games, reading books about sports or athletes, playing sports, collecting sports cards, wearing sports clothes.  You name it, if it has to do with sports you love it.  The winter Olympics just ended and you even enjoyed figure skating although you listed watching it as your low for the week.  Ha!  The Olympics has also inspired your winter play.  You, Micah and Celia have now begun to snowboard, luge and skeleton at the sledding hill.  You try hard when playing a sport and Dad and I get a lot of joy out of watching you play.  

You have settled into school and are thriving as a first grader.  Your teachers say so too.  Deb sends me notes from time to time to say you are rockin' and she sees your smile peeking out more and more everyday.  Your teacher recommended you begin reading John Feinstein books because you have such an interest in sports and your reading level is advanced.  I told Dad this and he got a big grin on his face and told me that that is an author he reads.  One day Dad overheard you saying your school program was the best to a couple of your buddies that are in the traditional first grade classrooms.  That gave us a real boost, we are thrilled that you are happy at school.

Noah you are a great friend.  You are flexible, nearly always kind and overall a fun boy to be around.  You told me your best friends are Easton, Cole and Ryan.  Thankfully you are still interested in spending lots of time with your family too.  Lately you and Micah spend time together making lego creations and playing hockey.  Celia continues to claim that you are her bodyguard.  We still rank as your favorite people to be with and for that I thank my lucky stars.  

My current favorite funny thing you do is your impression of Dee Snider/Twisted Sister singing We're Not Going To Take It.  Most of the time it is a trio performance with your brother and sister and you all wear pajama pants on your heads for long hair.  It just never gets old.  

A week ago I was driving you and a friend to basketball practice, when Ryan told a joke:

R:  "What is a polar bears favorite meal?"

N:  "A seal."

R:  "No.  A brrrrger (burger)."

N:  "A seal brrrrger."

Laughter ensues.  I just love hanging out with you and miss you now that you are in school all day.  Here is to a supercalafragilisticexpialidocious year!

Compliments

Micah:  "I like your sweater.  It looks like dirt and I like dirt."
Shawn:  "It is brown.  Thanks."

Go Wild!

At the school fundraiser, we won tickets to a Minnesota Wild hockey game in the silent auction.  Shawn and Noah had a boys night out to cheer on the Wild.  

Sweet seats.

Yes, please!

We got a call from my friend Libby on a Friday night asking if Noah and Shawn wanted to go to the Vikings game with Jamie and Easton, Noah's best friend, on Sunday.  A client had given Jamie free tickets, the seats weren't great but would they like to go.  It took me about one second to know that going to a Vikings game would be a dream come true for Noah.  The Vikings even got a win - a fantastic day.  

hoops

We've got a hoopster in the house.

Christmas Cookies

Every year the kids and I make Christmas cookies and deliver them to our neighbors.  This year we were extra heavy on the sprinkles, very festive indeed.  

 

Santa

Santa and two of his reindeer, I can't remember which, came to our local co-op.  It was an extremely cold day so our visit was brief but Celia didn't seem to mind.  Ha!  Micah was still able to ask if he was the real Santa.  He has a knack for asking zingers.  After giving him a good looking over and verifying his beard was real they decided it probably was the real Santa.  

 Love this picture of Noah.