Xander was chosen out of his class to receive a Cardinal Pride Award this morning!!! Students are awarded based on their behavior…being responsible, showing respect, giving 100%, and doing the extra. It was so sweet for me to see all of the kids in Xander’s class and in other classes holding their hands up to high five him. Way to go, Xan-Man!!!
Jonas, Xander, and I had fun at Family Literacy Night! The boys unscrambled and guessed book titles from famous lines, played sight word Twister and Scrabble Junior, worked on crafts for “Oh the Places You’ll Go” and “There’s a Wocket in My Pocket”, goofed around in the photo booth, and even got their faces painted. We’re so thankful for such a wonderful school and for a fun night together.
I can’t believe my baby boy is 5 years old today!!! Preschool ended up being canceled due to a power outage, so Roman and I celebrated his birthday at Goofballs (one of his favorite places to play) and at Cracker Barrel (one of his favorite places to eat) this morning/afternoon. We are looking forward to a celebratory dinner and dessert with Tom and the boys tonight and a birthday party with a few of his best preschool friends later on this weekend. Happy 5th birthday to Roman Cole!!!
Jonas (explaining things to Tom): “It’s a world of complications, Dad.”
Jonas (building with Roman): “Roman!!! Do you want me to build this?!? I’ll build it the way I build it. And I won’t regret it.”
Xander (trying to get my attention): “Dude! I mean…Mom!”
Xander (loving his new found ability to snap): “God gave me a new power…I can snap both of my fingers!”
Roman (consoling me for messing up): “You have to get stuff wrong to be the specialist Mommy.”
Roman (discussing his ongoing cold): “I think the bacteria is winning.”
For as much as they fight, they do love each other…
Xander has been loving his aquarium and fish!!! He lost two fish friends (Echo and Flip) which was rough for our tender hearted boy. But he was super excited today when the chemicals in his aquarium finally equalized and he could add three more fish friends (Blue Glow – a Glow Tetra, Blue Ray – a Neon Tetra, and Rapido – a Lemon Tetra) to his tank.
We met up with our dear friends, the Pomerantzes, at the park this afternoon and played some frisbee golf (which really ended up looking like the kids messing around with the frisbees in new and different ways) and had a picnic. Here’s Xander and his newest dolphin stuffed animal that his teacher gave him, hanging around on the playground…he’s getting so big!!!
The chore Jonas is working on right now is unloading the dishwasher. When I came downstairs from helping Roman get ready for school this morning, Jonas showed me what he created instead of putting the dishes away…a dish sculpture in the shape of a Pokemon character, Alakazam. What creativity!
Tom and I will have been married for 9 years in February!!! We were SO excited to celebrate for five days at a resort in Florida, while Grandma and Grandpa so graciously took care of the boys for us. What a treat!!! We relaxed on the beach, played corn hole and paddle ball in the sand, went down an inflatable water slide, swam in the ocean (brrrrr) and in the pool, ran on the beach, ate super delicious food, enjoyed hanging out on the balcony, ate dinner and lunch with friends (Evan and his precious wife and son), visited the Clearwater Marine Aquarium gift shop in honor of Xander (we decided to save visiting the actual aquarium for him), paddle boated and played put put golf, went karaokeing, and took a peaceful boat ride (we saw manatees!). We were so thankful to get away from the winter weather and soak up the sun together. What a blessing!!!
We had our first snow day on Friday!!! The boys had SO much fun playing in it…they were in and out all day…sledding, playing with friends, scooping and piling up and eating snow, and enjoying our first winter wonderland this year.
Roman and I visited the Adventure Science Center with some friends several weeks ago and LOVED it. So, when Aunt Jean gave the boys some money for Christmas, I knew one of the best gifts ever for them to enjoy would be a membership to the Adventure Science Center. We went today, and I practically had to drag them out of there to go get some lunch…haha!!! They were all over the place like pinballs in a pinball machine. Jonas had the great idea of bringing walkie talkies…so, in case we got separated, we could find each other…it worked brilliantly. Among the favorites of the day were the rocket launcher, the parachute pulley, the play structure that goes all the way to the top of the pyramid and looks out over Nashville, and the water table. We can’t wait to go back and explore some more. Thanks, Aunt Jean!!!
Tom had the winning idea of getting Xander an aquarium for Christmas…which was the best gift EVER for our aquatic animal lover. His Aunt Sherri helped him set up his aquarium while we were in Virginia, and he was so excited to pick out some fish for it when we got back to Tennessee. He chose three Tetras…a white, a longfin serpae, a bloodfin…and a platy. Their names have changed since the beginning, but he’s settled on Pearl, Splash, Flip, and Echo (named after his favorite dolphin characters in the Dolphin School book series).
Petra’s favorite place to be when we are out of town is at Camp Beans!!! She stays with my sister, Jeanne, and her dog, Riley. They have so much fun that when she comes back home…she mopes (she misses Jeanne and Riley so much) and she sleeps A LOT (she’s exhausted from playing with Riley). Thanks so much to Jeanne for always taking such good care of Petra for us!!!
We spent Christmas in Virginia this year with Grandma and Grandpa Seyfried, the (Northern) Seyfrieds, the Longs, and the Paccassis. The boys had a BLAST playing with their cousins…exploring the woods, playing pool, decorating Christmas cookies, playing Wii games, going to mass, and opening and playing with their Christmas presents. Highlights for me were: catching up with everyone over after meal conversations; learning to sew a pair of pajama pants from a pattern with Sherri; watching all of the kids play together; family prayer time; continuing my half marathon training by running my first 8 miles in 13 years; and seeing Gabe, in his little man Christmas pajamas, hug Joseph and kiss baby Jesus in the nativity.
For more pictures, click on the “Christmas in VA 2016” picture page to the right.
We have LOVED visiting with Uncle Darren, who is here from Norway for the holidays. He spent a day and a night with us for which we were so grateful. I enjoyed having some one on one time with him before we picked Roman up from preschool and before Jonas and Xander came home from school on the bus, kicking off the Winter Break. I loved sharing our daily life and catching up with my big brother and watching him spend special time with each one of the boys. His rousing rendition of “Ooey Gooey was a worm…what a worm was he…he climbed upon the railroad tracks…the train he did not see…Ooey Gooey” was just as much of a hit with Jonas, Xander, and Roman as it was for me when I was a child. Yay for Uncle Darren!!!
This morning, Roman and I joined the other four and five year olds from his preschool and their moms in the sanctuary at church for a reading of the Christmas story and singing of Christmas carols, followed by a favorite preschool holiday tradition…decorating gingerbread houses!!!
Jonas was excited to bring home Nolen, the classroom bear, for a few days. He enjoyed snuggling, reading, and checking out the presents under the Christmas tree with him.
Going to the Breakfast with Santa at our church has become a holiday tradition. We eat breakfast, help the boys with crafts and games, and snap a picture of the boys with Santa. This year they stamped treat bags, made Santa puppets, played Christmas bingo, and loved on the dog (sheep) in the live nativity. So sweet!
Roman’s Christmas pajamas crack me up…”Dear Santa, Define Good”.
We are so blessed in Nashville to have not only a beautiful library but a second to none children’s library and program downtown as well. Roman checked out the climbing wall, the courtyard fountain, and the craft room this time before the Holiday String Swing Show. It was an AMAZING show…complete with a swing string band, Professor and Library Pete and Mary Mary, Cedric the Dragon and Tommy Dog and J.J. the Lamb, a reading of the Night Before Christmas, marionettes from the 40’s and 50’s and 60’s including Santa and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and mini lessons in instrument identification and tempo…not to mention it was my first real feeling of the Christmas spirit this season. Bravo!!! Encore!!!
