December Catch Up

This is an attempt to catch up from all the fun events over the Christmas holiday. December was an extremely busy (and fun) month!

Stockings were hung 

Our book advent calendar started 

 A Christmas tree was found

Ornaments were hung 

Snowball fights were had 

 Matthew turned six. SIX.

Grandparents came and Christmas Eve dinner was grand 

Casey had his first Christmas 

Santa came! 

Toys were played with 

Sledding outside with Grandma and Grandpa! 

Life was joyful  

and Grandmas are sorely missed.

Math Test

I am very, very behind in blogging about our life - goodness gracious, I still haven't posted about Christmas yet!

Anyhow, Matt brought home his math test today. I'm proud of the little guy - he is right on track with his math concepts and loves the subject.

He counts well up to 30 and can estimate. Did we do estimation in kindergarten? I'm not sure, but I know my kids are learning things well ahead of when I learned them.

He can skip count (by 2's) and understands which number is "less" vs. "more." He counts objects well (though he did write "12" as "21," he corrected it) and he can identify the number that comes after 15 and before 20, as the instructions state on the test.

It is exciting to watch him learn new concepts and to really enjoy the process.

Rock on, Matt-man!

Tot Tennis

Waiting for class to begin.

Nolan has been waiting for a long, long time to play tennis. At least, that's what he tells us - it has really only been about 2 weeks since we signed him up through our local YMCA. They have a "tot tennis" class for 4 and 5 year old children that focuses on preliminary tennis skills.

His class size is really small, which is nice because the kids get a lot of attention.

The coach has them run a lap at the beginning and end of the lesson. I love any sport that burns off energy.

The kids develop eye-hand coordination by throwing and rolling balls back and forth to each other. Since there are five kids in the class, Nolan was partnered up with the coach.

The lesson is only 30 minutes long, but it is perfect for my little munchkin! He really loves going to the class, and I love seeing him so full of joy!

In Which the Dog Recognizes the Truth

Our cat rules the family.

Exhibit 1:


The cat approaches the dog's bowl and requests food. The dog pretends to give the cat a stare down, but we all know who the victor will be here.

Stage 1: Denial

Exhibit 2: 


The dog goes through the very brief "five phases of grief." Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance.

Denial:             I don't believe he's eating my food!
Anger:             He's eating my food - grrrr!
Bargaining:     Please, God, don't let him eat my food! I'll be a good dog!
Depression:     He ate all my food. I'm sad.
Acceptance:     I'll just go eat the cat food.

Stage 4: Depression

Exhibit 3:


The dog accepts the futility of asking the cat to move over, and appeals to the humans for help. Sadly for the dog, we are not willing to risk the vehement force of teeth and claws that exist in our cat. We'll just feed the dog later, after the cat retires to his throne bed.

Stage 5: Acceptance

Who's Your Daddy?

Nolan has quite a few "friends" that have been joining him at bedtime. The number has topped fifteen stuffed animals, and it can be hard to find the boy among the bears, lions, frogs, and puppies!

I asked him if he really enjoyed all of his animals, and he told me,

"I have lots of kids."

Oh, I thought - that is so sweet! I asked him if he was a good daddy to his kids. He looked at me blankly and simply replied,

"Oh, I'm not their daddy. The lion is."

Apparently, Nolan is simply the caretaker for the diverse offspring of the lion. And don't ask me how a lion becomes the father of a frog, a dog, and several bears. Some things need to be taken at face value.

Matt liked the idea of having a bed full of animals, so he copied Nolan's plan and ended up with several "friends" in his bed, too.

Sometimes the cuteness is overwhelming! Goodnight from the boys!

Back on the Ice: Timbit Hockey, 2011-2012

We headed down to the ice arena last week to pick up Matt's new jersey and to exchange his skates for a larger size. He chose "the white team" this year, and was fortunate to get the same number (7) as last year. The only thing they didn't have on hand were new sticks, and his stick from last year is quite short!

A lot of the new beginners are on the chairs, and Dennis is helping the little tykes stand up in their skates. Matt is a very steady skater this year, and simply heads off with the "big kids" to run through skating drills. He's the kid in the white jersey out in front/on the left hand side of the picture below.

Here's to another fun year of ice, pucks, and a little boy with a "sweaty head!"

A Late Halloween Post

We've been rather busy renovating a bathroom and spending time outside during unusually good weather this past week. Here are a few (late) Halloween pictures:

 Batman, an Owl, and Jango Fett: Trick-or-Treating

Pumpkin guts are DISGUSTING! 

Going back for more seeds... 

YUCK. I'm not touching that! 

A quick puppy-hug. 

Jack-O-Lanterns, carved by Mom. 

Happy Halloween!