Merry Christmas!

Every year Christmas bring so much peace and hope into our home. So many parties and gatherings. So much giving and receiving. It's always my most favorite time of year. However, I always look toward Christmas Day with a little bit of sadness. Does anyone else feel this way? This day marks the end of the Christmas Season. Although it's so much fun to open gifts with the kids and share in their excitement, and it's always nice to spend time with family on Christmas Eve and later on Christmas Day. I do get sad when the season is over. Something about this time of year. I feel less selfish, more spiritual. I try harder to make lasting memories with the kids. We think of those around us more. It's just nice.

Well, with my Christmas card this year, there was no family letter. I'm copping out by just throwing a few things about the kids up here for you to read if you're interested. If not, just scroll through the pictures! That's always fun, too.

I'll start with Cole.

My little Cole-bear is a year and a half. He's in nursery and growing up so big! I love to watch him as he interacts with his siblings. He doesn't have a problem holding his own in a fight- but he's also always ready for snuggles. He calls both Ethan and Sydney "sinee". I think "ethan" is a hard name for kids to say. He loves to jabber and has many words in his arsenal so far. For some reason, "milk" is "gum"...actually now any type of drink is "gum". Sydney always called it "cup", but that made sense to me because her milk did come in a cup. But I don't know where "gum" comes from. He also LOVES his "gi gi" (binky). It's going to be hard to wean him off of it. I am starting to understand how younger siblings do get away with a lot more. I think I'm learning which things to make a big deal out of and which things to let go. But his binky will be around for awhile longer, I'm sure. He's a TOTAL momma's boy. He really doesn't like other people. Even famliy members. Don't take it personal! He's mostly just nervous about you. People are always trying to help me out at church by holding him, but he won't go to them. He does love nursery once he's been there a few minutes and I'm outta sight. Cole also loves Wall-e. Because Ethan does. He also loves stuffed animals and babies. He's my little snug-bug. He loves to snuggle them.
He does this cute thing with his hands and face where he makes this huge freeze smile and clenches his fists. It's so darn cute. And the best thing is that he totally hams it up. He loves to be goofy and make us laugh. Especially his brother and sister. And they love it.

Ethan is 3 1/2 years old.

He is in preschool now. We do joyschool with some friends. He knows all his letters and their sounds. He can even write a few of them. Which is a HUGE accomplishement because when we started preschool in Sept. he didn't know any! The biggest reason for thus success is his watching the Leapfrog Letter Factory. I highly recommend it! The first thing I think of when I think of Ethan is WALL-E. He is obssessed, to say the least. We saw the movie when it came out in theaters, and he liked it a lot. But it wasn't until a short while later that we discovered his obession. He saw a big walle toy in the store and from that moment on would not let the issue drop. We ordered a small toy from online and then every day we also had to draw wall-e on paper and cut it out for him. Every day! And sometimes several a day! whew. Then we would draw "eve-a", too. "mom, could you draw me a 'mad' Eve?" "Mom, could you make me a 'turned-off' Eve?" "Daddy, I really want a Wall-e-turned-into-a-box picture." His obsession has not subsided one bit. I really hope Santa knows how much ethan is counting on a new Wall-e toy for Christmas. And he better bring one for Cole, too, because he has followed in Ethan's footsteps. If you ever see Ethan, the first thing out of his mouth is inevitably something about Wall-e. But it was bound to happen. He's always loved robots and rockets. So when this movie came out, it was a dream come true for him. Some other things about Ethan: he loves hugs and kisses. He's a very tender-hearted little boy. If I raise my voice to him, he cries. He just loves gentleness and love. Unless you take his walle. He starts sunbeams in January. yippee. Can't wait to see how that goes!

Sydney is 6 1/2 years old and in first grade this year.

When she first started out the school year she was able to read several words, and small simple books. With help she could do a little more. But after a short while she improved by leaps and bounds and now reads chapter books with big hard words with no help at all! She's amazing. She's also really good at math. Her teacher calls herself the "reading nazi" and I can see how. I go in on Thursdays and read with the kids...well actually they read to me. And it's amazing to see how far they've each come in so short a time. Sydney's favorite pastime is to jump rope. They make a big deal out of jump-roping at her school. They even offer classes! She also loves crafts of ANY kind and gets extremely creative at home with whatever she can find. As I write this, she is making a princess hat with tin-foil and ribbon. She has made several "homemade" gifts just out of paper for Christmas. Sydney loves to be with other kids and is always trying to make new friends. She also loves to sing and makes up songs on the piano. She even has some written down. My little girl is extremely helpful. She loves to be the 2nd in command and boss the boys around, but she can also be quite loving and get them things they need if I'm too busy. I can usually count on her when I need help with dinner, cleaning, or anything. She often asks if she "can" do the dishes. She thinks that is such a privelege! I told her I did the dishes a lot when I was her age and her reply was "your mom LET you!?" Sydney is such a special joy in our lives. We love to joke around and be nutty with her and she follows suit just fine. It's a little sad to see her grow so quickly, but each stage has been really fun.

As a family, we have had a great year. We send our best wishes to you for a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!