Our White Thanksgiving!

It has been nearly an ENTIRE MONTH since my last post, which is shocking! This is what happens when you're busy!

Anyway... We had our first snow of the season on November 13th. It was the most perfect snow-- just a few inches, nothing on the driveway, but it covered the grass and stuck all over the trees (that's the best part!). The kids had school that day, and it had melted by the time they got home. It was low-maintenance and very pretty!

Fast forward to this past Tuesday. It was the kids' last day of school before Thanksgiving, and they (pretty much ALL kids in town) were beside themselves because of a huge anticipated snowstorm on Wednesday. We made big plans... we were going to have cinnamon rolls for breakfast, decorate our Christmas tree, play in the snow, and drink hot cocoa. Gus was home, too, so he got to join in the fun! We started by getting the tree up:

Then, after lunch, we suited up and went out to play in the still-falling snow. It was pretty wet, but it wasn't that cold-- we had a great time!

And then there was cocoa...

In the midst of all this, we were busy with Thanksgiving dinner preparations for the next day. My friend Miranda came over with her family, and the eight of us celebrated together. It ended up being a lot of fun for everyone, especially the kids (who played in the snow with the dads while Miranda and I finished up with the food).

And that brings us to today... It snowed a little bit more overnight, but it wasn't enough to stop me from waking up at 5:30 and going Black Friday shopping with my friend Caryn! I am officially done with all of my shopping now, and I came in under budget. Woohoo! And despite it being dark and snowy, we had a lot of fun. And I was home by 10am, which left us with plenty of time for enjoying the snow and putting up the rest of the Christmas decorations!

And Maya dressed up as Rudolph. It was an excellent day!

And that is where we're at! So much more has happened, of course. Not the least of which was our shocking discovery that Cookie the chicken is, in fact, a rooster (ack!). But life in general continues to be good, and we are really getting into the Christmas spirit. Good times await us! :)

Happy Halloween!

We had a great day, despite me feeling less-than-great! We went trick-or-treating with our usual buddies, and the kids had a blast! Once we got home, they quickly got to work doing a complete inventory of their candy while we waited for pizza. And that was our day! The weekend ahead looks to be a lot colder than it's been, and we might even get snow on Sunday. Good time for me to just rest and recuperate, because being sick is no fun at all!

Birthday Weekend in Review

I'm still tired, but I don't know when I will ever NOT be tired, so I might as well just suck it up and post about Niko's epically awesome weekend!

Saturday morning, the boy was up bright and early, eager to open presents. He woke up to a balloon bouquet outside his room, and promptly went to wake up his sister (as always). And since the lady at Dollar Tree had accidentally given me eight balloons instead of seven, I had given one to Maya to give to her brother-- so she grabbed it out of her closet and gave it to him, much to his delight! Then the two of them went downstairs, where Niko discovered his gift from us: a new 20-inch Schwinn BMX-style bike. He sat on it and checked it out while he waited for us to come downstairs, and then he eagerly tore into his presents. And while he had previously lamented that he didn't have very many gifts this year, he quickly changed his tune... because he loved EVERY SINGLE GIFT he unwrapped! A number of Lego sets, a Razor scooter, a snowboard, and a photo album that Maya made especially for him (100% her idea... cutest thing ever!). He was seriously beside himself, and couldn't decide which gift to play with first. It was awesome!

After that, we got dressed and went to breakfast. Normally we go out to dinner to celebrate birthdays, but Niko (the stereotypical morning person) wanted to go to breakfast. So we did! He also asked for corn dogs for lunch and pizza for dinner. Done and done. The rest of the day consisted of getting ready for his party and taking him over to the local basketball court so he could really test out his scooter.

And of course, he had cake!

Sunday dawned cloudy and cooler than expected, but we went forward with the plan to have his party outdoors. And it went fine! I was out of my mind inviting so many little boys (who nearly ALL came), but Niko had a complete and total blast. I will let the pictures tell the story (it was a Lego/Halloween party):

The total headcount was seventeen little boys and two little sisters. And while the temperature outside ended up being fine, we did get rained on a little bit at one point (I am so thankful for my mom-friends who stayed and helped move everything inside while Gus and I rushed to get the pinata done-- which was indestructible, by the way. haha!). Of course, this meant that Niko received an obscene number of gifts, all of which he opened very graciously. And he's already gotten started on his thank you notes, so that's good! Because the kid has a lot to write!

Anyway, he really did have a great weekend. He was grinning from ear to ear the entire time. And now he has a crazy number of Lego sets to work on, which is HEAVEN for him! He is a happy camper! And I am a tired mom! :)

Niko's 7th Birthday Letter

Dear Niko,

Seven years ago today, right at lunchtime, you were born via emergency c-section. It was quite a dramatic entrance, and you continued to rock our world every day from that point on. Your seventh year of life has been no different. You have always challenged us as parents, but we love you SO fiercely, and are so proud of the person you are becoming!

This past year has been a huge one for you. Shortly after you turned six, you went from reading scattered words and phrases to really READING! And there was no looking back. You are not a huge bookworm, but reading comes to you with relative ease, and it's opened up a whole new world for you where you can read instructions, advertisements, menus, everything! This year you also decided that it was time to ride your bike. We've been working with you for YEARS but, in classic Niko fashion, you wouldn't learn until it was completely on your own terms. And then you mastered it in a few hours. Of course! From that point on, your independence has grown and grown. You asked me to teach you to tie your shoes one day, because you really wanted a new pair with laces-- and you learned in less than five minutes. When you are feeling motivated, nothing can stop you. It's really impressive!

You've grown in other ways, too, this year. You've stepped out of your comfort zone more and more, and have been willing to try things that you refused to consider before. You went on your first roller coasters! You decided that dogs were okay, and even went so far as to pet a few of them and declare that you wanted one (is this the same kid who used to scream in terror when a dog walked by on a leash??). One day, my jaw nearly hit the floor because you announced that you wanted to try a hamburger-- a food you had previously and repeatedly denounced as "disgusting." And, wouldn't you know... you LOVED it! You never cease to amaze us!

You continue to do well in school, and have adjusted to the full-day schedule surprisingly well. Despite the occasional fatigue-induced meltdown, you really love your teacher and enjoy being at school. Your teacher tells us that you are such a smart, well-mannered boy, and we love hearing that! You have a large group of boys who you enjoy playing with at recess, and you all get along great. You love playing sports, and soccer is your most recent passion. You amaze us with your speed and enthusiasm, and we anticipate many more fun soccer seasons ahead!

Physically, you've grown about four inches in the past year, and gained only a pound or two. You are stretching out! You've lost four teeth, including both of your top front ones. I won't lie-- I ADORE your gappy smile, and am almost sad that it will one day be gone. I ask you to smile at me several times a day, which I'm sure annoys you... But I just love it!

And while you are looking and acting like a big kid these days, you still sleep with your beloved Bear every night, and still love snuggles with both your mommy and daddy. And we'll take it while we can. You are an expert Lego builder, and can name every Pokemon, but you are still our baby boy. And we love you so, SO much.

Happy Birthday, Buddy!

All our love,

Mommy, Daddy, and Maya (Your #1 Fan!)

October Update

Yes, it has been more than THREE WEEKS since my last real post (not counting the quick picture last night). All I can say is that I'm glad I take so many pictures... because I can look back at them and easily piece together what we've been up to for the past few weeks. And really, there haven't been a lot of BIG things-- just lots and lots of little things!

Since last month, I've been volunteering at the kids' school two days a week. It's been fantastic, but it's also a lot of work! On Tuesdays, I work with kids in Maya's kindergarten class for their entire school day. The kids all know me, and we generally do math groups on the days I go in. I also read to them during their library time. I love it, and I am also so proud of how Maya is doing in school. Her teacher tells me that she is at the top of the class and is a real role model for others, but I actually get to see it in action! And it's true! She makes us so proud! On Wednesdays, I help out with Niko's class, but that mostly consists of doing tons and tons of copies and prep work. It's more tiring than actually working with students, BUT another mom friend of mine volunteers at exactly the same time-- so at least I have someone to talk to! Niko's teacher keeps saying that she is going to have me work with students, but she has a student teacher at the moment which I think complicates things a little. So, we will see what happens there! I've also continued to be super involved with the school PTO. I just counted and sorted over $1300 in teeny-tiny Box Tops and got those shipped to the office in Minnesota... And now I'm running the PTO website. And I somehow volunteered myself to put together the school directory. And then the principal (who, coincidentally, is from California-- small world!) asked me if I'd be the parent representative on the School Improvement Committee (= more meetings for me). So, throw another thing on my plate! The fact is that I spend hours and hours at the kids' school these days. And when I'm home, I am going room by room through the house, trying to finish all my projects. It will take years. But I never rest! And I know that all my time at the school will be helpful when I get on the substitute list for next year. I have a good relationship with the principal and am a familiar face around campus. AND I get to see my kids (who are still young enough that they are excited to see ME)! So it's all good!

But anyway... That's the long way of me saying that I don't have a ton of pictures from this month! We run from event to event. Kids get home, do homework, change into the appropriate uniform for the day (karate, dance, scouts, soccer) and we're off! One big family thing we DID do, though, was our annual trip to AppleFest at the local ski resort. For the second year in a row, Gus' company held their annual family event there. And while it was very cold, the turnout was good and everyone seemed to have a good time. Probably because they gave everyone a ridiculous number of alcohol vouchers, so the beer was flowing freely... but as I recall, it was fun! And I took pictures:

And, inside the company's tent at the event, they did a little birthday celebration for all the October birthdays-- which meant Niko got sung to and got to help blow out the candles 6 days early. A great way to kick off his birthday week! :)

Niko also had his first Cub Scout den meeting this month. Led, of course, by the den leader... also known as Gus! Gus sort of accidentally volunteered himself for the position (we're apparently good at that), but has discovered that he really likes it. They've now had two den meetings and a pack meeting, and both of them are really loving it. I'm so happy that it's becoming such a positive experience for them!

In other random news... Niko earned his first purple stripe at karate. He will likely be taking a break from karate at the end of November, when our one-year contract is up, simply because we are just way too overscheduled right now. We ALL need a break. So he probably won't earn his purple belt before then, but he can always pick up where he left off if we rejoin it down the line.

Finally, a story, because it is too funny not to share! Last night, I was making garlic bread in the oven, using the broiler. I had it on a piece of parchment paper, which was a poor choice-- it started smoking and set off the fire alarm. So I went to turn it off. But in the meantime, I heard this: "Maya!!! We need to feel the door first before we open it! Let me do it!" I walked around the corner to see both kids on all fours by the front door. For the record, October is Fire Safety month, and they've been talking about it at school a LOT. But I just about died laughing! I asked them what they were doing, and Niko told me that they were going to go out front to our meeting place. haha! I guess it's good that they were paying attention!

Anyway... the next few days promise to be very busy, and will merit their own posts in the not-too-distant future. Tomorrow is Niko's last soccer game, and the Fall Fest at the kids' school. I'm also reading to his class in the library (an assortment of fun Halloween-y books). And then Saturday is our baby boy's SEVENTH birthday (sniff!). And Sunday is party day, where I will have 15-18 little boys at my house. Lord help me.

Toothless (x2)!

Yes, it's been a while since I've blogged, and I know an update is long overdue! And it will happen, at some point. But I needed to share the big news: Maya lost her first tooth! And to make things more interesting, Niko lost his other front tooth today, too! Teeth are just falling out all over the place! Both kids were determined to catch the Tooth Fairy in action at bedtime tonight (they were unsuccessful... shh!). I took this picture right before bed of my two toothless kids. They were so, so excited!

Thanks, Fly Guy!

You know, I should have mentioned this a little sooner. But life has been crazy busy these days, and my plans to blog about it came and went. But Maya can READ! For real! She's been on the cusp for a while now, picking out words and phrases all over the place. But last Tuesday, I went to read to her class during their library time. While I was there, her teacher handed me the books I'd gotten from their recent Scholastic book order. I got a lot of "easy reader" type books because Niko likes them, and I figured Maya would, too. Among those easy readers was a set of Fly Guy books. They are all about a boy's pet fly (named Fly Guy) and the adventures he has. They're just gross and silly enough that I knew both kids would enjoy them.

That afternoon, at home, Maya begged for me to open the package of Fly Guy books so that she could look at them. She was instantly obsessed! She pulled out this one, and asked if she could bring it in the car while we were out running errands. Sure, why not?

Well, that little girl proceeded to read me the ENTIRE BOOK while I was driving!! Granted, it took a while, and she did have to spell a few words out for me to help her with, but she READ it!!!! I was amazed! And amused! Just for fun, here's a plot description:

"Buzzy Fly Guy's on his own for most of his third outing. Returning from a foray past garbage, a horse and other intriguingly scented landmarks, Fly Guy finds a note that his human buddy Buzz and family have gone off for a picnic. Away he flies in pursuit—both of Buzz, and of his favorite food, which is "brown, oozy, lumpy and smelly." Being a fly, he is of course willing to settle for any one of those qualities, but the tempting burger, pizza slice, bones and roadkill he finds are already claimed. Poor Fly Guy, shooed away from every snack. Arnold's cartoons are more pop-eyed than ever in this simply told, medium-gross episode, and emergent readers will enjoy following the muscid marauder to final nirvana atop a slice of—yes, shoo-fly pie: brown, oozy, lumpy and smelly.

So naturally, Maya loved it. :) And she has since become absolutely obsessed with these Fly Guy books-- good thing I bought a big set of them! She has read two of them to us at bedtime now, and even brought one to Niko's karate class today (and read it the entire time). GO MAYA! We are so proud of her. But this is just par for the course with her lately-- how will she surprise us next??? :)

FINALLY!!! He lost a front tooth!

Niko's front tooth has been ridiculously loose for a few weeks now. It was so loose that it was being pushed up and out of place, and it looked really funny. I've been hoping and praying that it would come out before next week, when he has his school pictures. Well, he wasn't really wiggling it or anything. BUT... my brother is visiting us this weekend (he was in town for business), and he told Niko that he would take him shopping to pick out his birthday present IF Niko could get the tooth out. And Niko told me to go for it!

I have to admit, I was nervous! I didn't want to hurt him, but I was confident that it would come out pretty easily. And it did! One good tug with some dental floss, and his tooth was bouncing across the bathroom floor. And now he has the cutest smile! :)

Backing up a bit... We've had a fun weekend so far with Uncle Grant in the house! He got to know our chickens:

And we went apple picking, despite the fact that it was 75 degrees outside...

He was also here for Niko's soccer game last night, which was (as always) fun to watch. I've been told that his team is actually stacked, which explains why they are SO GOOD. There are a bunch of little girls who are absolutely AMAZING out there. Niko is new to this, and is catching on quickly, but the girls are really quite impressive. Anyway, I took a bunch of pictures, but these were two of my favorites. One of my little soccer star, and another of my favorite goalie, frolicking and leaving the goal wide open (haha!). :)

Also on the soccer front... Today was picture day! We had Maya's team photos this morning, and Niko's this afternoon. Luckily, that tooth came out just in time! I took my own pictures before we went to take the official ones. I'll likely just keep these pics and buy the team photos. I think these two kids are pretty adorable, though!

And that's been our weekend, so far! Well, Grant and Gus and Maya went out on the canoe this afternoon (while I took Niko to soccer pictures). And we went to the store so Niko could pick out a Ninja Turtles Lego set. And we barbecued and ate dinner outside. It's been pretty nice! No complaints here, especially now that that tooth is out! YAY!

Pics from the Big Camera

I hardly ever use my fancier cameras these days! Seeing as how I am constantly driving from one activity to another, my small camera (that fits in my purse) is the one I use 99% of the time. But for whatever reason, I felt like using the big camera a few times this week. So, here you go!

From soccer on Tuesday... He loves it!

My little helper, peeling apples this afternoon (we made an apple pie... second one this week, haha! We love apple season!)

And both kids, doing their homework this afternoon. Maya usually does hers right after school, but wanted to wait and do it with her brother when he got home. Awww!!

And a Halloween sneak peak! Sort of! I don't know how to tie a tie, and he will tuck in his shirt, wear black pants, and actually have shoes on. And a lightning bolt scar on his forehead, of course! But I have scrounged bits and pieces of this outfit from friends for a grand total of $6, so I'm pretty happy about that!

And while I am thinking of it... off to watch YouTube videos on how to tie ties!!

Life Goes On!

Before I get into this long-overdue blog post, I want to wish a very happy fourth birthday to my favorite nephew in the whole wide world (until nephew #2 arrives, hehe), Colton! We love you so much and wish we could celebrate with you! I can't believe it's been four years already!

Anyway... Life has been busy, as expected! As I type this, it's Sunday night. I should be feeling relaxed and ready to tackle the week ahead, but I just don't! I'm exhausted!!! And when will I get a break? Who knows. You'd think I'd have time when both kids are in school, but that hasn't happened so far. I'm always cleaning or working on home improvement projects (which never end when you live in a 184-year-old home). Or running errands, or helping out at the school. And before I can blink an eye, that time is up and Maya is getting off the bus, and the craziness continues. There is really no such thing as free time. I wish I could lay in my hammock in the sunshine for just a few hours. Maybe I will pencil that in, before the weather gets too cold. sigh.

But yes... The most time-consuming activity in our lives right now is SOCCER! Niko has practice twice a week, with games every other week. And he LOVES it. He had his first game on Friday night, and I was really impressed at how his team all worked together and how people were generally staying in the right areas. Niko even played goalie for a bit, which was something he was scared of! But it went well, and his team WON! :)

Maya only has soccer once a week, and it's done a little differently. They mostly just practice and work on skills, but they scrimmage for a little bit at the end. She loves it, though, because pretty much all her buddies are there, including Jamie (who is wearing a pair of Niko's hand-me-down shorts in this picture, I just realized!):

Yesterday, after Maya's soccer practice, we went home for a quick lunch and then headed out to pick apples. It was finally chilly enough! It feels too weird to pick apples when it's 80 degrees and humid out, which is how the past two weekends have been. The orchard was packed with like-minded people, coming out to pick apples on the first cool day. I took pictures, of course! And promptly came home and baked a French apple pie... SO GOOD!

OH! And I nearly forgot!!! LAST weekend, when it was warm and humid, we went to the fair! The kids look forward to it every year, and it did not disappoint! :)

But back to this weekend. This morning, we went for a bike ride-- Maya's first time riding on the Rail Trail without training wheels! She did great! Gus and I were just walking behind our two bikers, but a REAL bike ride (where all four of us are on bikes) is looking like it is in the not-too-distant future! I am so proud and amazed at how far she's come over the past few weeks!

In other news... both kids have very loose teeth! Maya has a bottom-middle tooth that is quite wiggly, and one of Niko's front teeth is so loose that it looks like it's in the wrong spot! So if you look at the pictures I've shared of him and wonder what's up with his smile... well, there's your answer! He hasn't lost a front tooth yet, but should very, very soon. The Tooth Fairy is prepared!

And that's what we've been up to! Both kids are loving their teachers and their classmates, and life has been pretty drama-free (not counting the ONE meltdown Niko had because he was so tired... but we've moved past that). We're very, very busy every day, but we seem to have it under control right now. Still, if I don't post again for a while, then you know why!

Let the Madness Begin!

I realize I haven't posted in a while, and the fact is that school has begun and life has gotten busy! And it's about to get even busier!

Starting tomorrow, Niko has soccer practice on Mondays and Wednesdays, with games on alternate Fridays. He continues to have karate on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and will likely have Boy Scouts (Tigers) on Fridays as well. Meanwhile, Maya has ballet and tap class on Wednesdays (starting tomorrow!), soccer on Saturdays, and Girl Scouts (Daisies) on Mondays. Oh, and the kids are supposedly starting Greek school in there somewhere, but we don't know the schedule yet. And of course, both kids have SCHOOL in there, and all school-related events coming up (ice cream social, curriculum nights for both grades, fall festival, etc.). In other words, we have activities pretty much every single day but Sunday, and I am not sure how it is all going to work out. Yet I have faith that it will, somehow! It will be a lot better once soccer is over at the end of October. But thinking about it now is enough to give a person a panic attack!

In preparation for the madness, I spent the day making dinners that I can pull out of the freezer, toss into the crock pot, and serve at dinner time (since soccer ends at 6:30pm and I need to get everyone fed right away). So I feel a little better about it now. And if we get pizza a few times from the place across the street, then so be it. We will survive. DEEP BREATHS.

Anyway... Change of subject... We had a nice weekend! On Saturday morning, we all went over to the track so that Maya could practice riding her bike (and show her daddy her skills for the first time). She had done great when we'd gone over there with my parents... but had gotten even better in the few days since then! I was amazed! She really didn't need us for anything other than moral support. She was starting, stopping, and pedaling on her own. Like so: And ever since we started this whole effort (of getting her to learn to ride her bike), we've promised her that she could get a pink and purple big girl bike once she mastered the little one. So... she got her new bike on Sunday! And she was nervous about it, but took off like a pro! She still needs to practice on it a bit more to get comfortable, but I think we really might have family bike rides in the not-too-distant future. And I can't WAIT! We live in a great place with miles of trails! It is going to be a blast!

On a related note, Maya has really amazed me this summer. She is only 18 months younger than Niko, but she is also a girl... and she has been hot on his heels whenever he learns something new. When we were working with him a few years ago, getting him to wipe his own bottom after using the toilet, she started doing it on her own, too! When I taught Niko to tie his shoes, she learned a few minutes later. It's happened time and time again. When it became clear that Niko was a skilled bike rider, she suddenly felt compelled to learn, too. It's almost like having twins, because they learn everything at almost the same time. They're close enough in age that they have this peer pressure thing going on. But it's been amazing. When one learns something new, they both learn it! Incredible!

Anyway... the rest of the weekend was spent running errands and going to two birthday parties-- both pool parties. Niko is a fish these days. He was trying to do flips off of the diving board and everything! That's one thing Maya is still working on: swimming. But she is so close!! We might sign her up for indoor lessons this winter/early spring-- and I'm pretty sure that she will be good to go after one session.

Today, however, it was back to the school routine. Both kids are LOVING school. Maya has a few new friends she's been talking about. Niko, too. The guest list for his birthday party gets longer by the day, with these kids I've never even met! He loves his teacher, and came home SO EXCITED to do his first homework assignment today (haha! We'll see how long that excitement lasts!). It's due on Friday, but he's already done. First graders get specials every day (art, music, gym), which he LOVES. And he loves recess, which he didn't get as a half-day kindergartener. He still plays with all his old buddies, plus his new ones. I'm fairly certain they just run around like crazy the entire time. And he has enjoyed eating his lunch at school-- he even bought pizza last Friday for the first time. He's getting so big. I can remember a kid not too long ago who would have been way too shy to even consider buying lunch. But he did it and was so excited! We told him he can buy lunch once or twice a month, so we will look at what's on the menu each month and pick out a few days.

Anyway, it's all been going very smoothly. Both kids are happy-- I just hope they hang in there when their schedules get crazy for the next 8 weeks! Fingers crossed!!