Happy Birthday George!

Can you believe that this little guy is six? What a great kid we have. He is such a sweet boy and a great big brother and we are so grateful to have him in our family. It has been so fun to watch him learn and grow. He has an amazing mind and a super imagination.

Since it's his birthday I'll list a few interesting facts about George:
1. He loves legos.
2. He spends most of his free time pretending to be some kind of super hero.
3. He hates to comb his hair.
4. His favorite dinner is chicken and rice.
5. He loves broccoli and gets really excited when I serve it- except when it has some kind of sauce on it.
6. George is very much a male- in that if the TV is on he is incapable of concentrating on anything else and doesn't hear anyone who attempts to talk to him.
7. His best friend is still his blanket that he calls "Warmy"
8. He is impervious to the cold. He can play outside in the snow for a long time.
9. He likes to write stories and wants to write when he grows up. He spends hours pacing through the house "thinking" them up.
10. He cannot sit still while watching TV/movies. He gets so excited and enthralled that he is constantly running and jumping. Benji says he is probably the only kid that burns more calories watching TV than in normal play.

We love you George!! Happy Birthday my man!!

Iyah is a sugar maniac. He loves anything and everything sweet. A couple of days ago I walked into the kitchen and found him guzzling this...


When I asked him what he thought he was doing , he calmly informed me he was drinking the jam- like it was a perfectly normal thing to be doing. Duh mom.

Yesterday Benj had the day off of work so we decided to take the kids sledding. The boys had a blast and even Ella liked the bunny hill. It was a great day and only one other kid was there so we didn't have to worry about crashing into people, etc. George was a total dare devil. He developed his own way of riding in the sled to make him go faster. And I have to brag just a little bit..I beat Benj in a race. It helps that he can't steer to save his life (sorry babe!)


Plowing has left huge mountains of snow around. The neighbor girl and the kids turned this mountain into a fort. That along with the snow cave that dad dug in another mountain provide hours of fun in our freezing winter wonderland.

This one's for Grandpa

This post is especially for my dad...Look what you've done to my children!!! You've corrupted them. :) Thanks to you, grandpa, my kids regularly ask for popcorn. A snack that NEVER used to be seen around our house is now a regular. They will forever be grateful, and as long as I can leave the room while they are eating it I think I can handle it too.

Back in the Saddle Again

We had quite the challenging end to our year, but we made it and here I am, back again! No pictures today, but soon I hope. We enjoyed hearing from everyone through Christmas cards and e-mails, and plan on getting our "New Year" letter out soon! As I've been looking back at 2008 I realized we reached quite a few milestones. To name a few:

1. Ella started walking
2. George started kindergarten
3. Isaac started talking a lot!
4. We had our one year anniversary of home ownership
5. We bought a car

And I'm sure there are many more that I can't think of right now. Some things I'm looking forward to:

1. Isaac starting preschool (Please let him like it!)
2. Learning how to quilt.
3. Warm weather
4. Turning over storytime at the library to another mom. It's been a good experience, but is getting a little overwhelming in view of everything else.

We are excited to see what the new year will bring us.

Votong Day!

I find myself getting all excited to vote. Kind of like on my birthday or something. I just think it's exciting to be able to go out and have my voice heard. Remember to vote!

Halloween

Halloween was super fun this year. The kids got a lot of candy!!! We started the evening in town trick-or-treating on main street and at the Hall of Fame where daddy was handing out candy. Then we participated in the Halloween parade. The kids had fun looking at all of the other costumes and meeting friends from school. After the parade we trick-or-treated in surrounding neighborhoods until the kids had had enough and then headed home.

Ella the pink meowy

When we got home the kids hit the neighbors and visited the firehouse for cider and doughnuts with dad, while mom handed out candy. My favorite part of the night was when the headless horseman came riding up and down the street on his big black horse. I don't know who he was, but he was dressed as the headless horseman, complete with jack o lantern under his arm. The sound of the horse's hooves on the road was very halloween-y. The kids were very impressed.

Superman and the Flash

So far the kids have regulated themselves pretty well with the candy. I wish I could say the same for Mom! :) And of course they are already planning next year's costumes. George wanted to know if we could start making his today. sigh. They don't give me much of a break.

Winter Wonderland

George, Isaac and the neighbor girl by their little snowman

We had our first winter storm this week. We only had about 4 inches at our house, but surrounding areas got a lot more and there were many people without power for awhile. School was canceled much to the joy of the kids who spent hours and hours playing outside.

It was Ella's first time in the snow (she was not walking last winter) and she was a little wary. Once we sat her in the sled she was fine and stayed there for about 45 minutes.

Isaac and Ella on the sled