The Lorax

I am the LORAX, I speak for the trees,
which you seem to be chopping as fast as you please!

Every time I see Kate on this tree stump, I think of her love of the Dr. Seuss story, The Lorax. This winter we lost the maple tree that provided wonderful shade and privacy to the front of our house. But in return, Kate gained a "shouting stump"! She climbs up on the stump and yells and yells. Tonight she shouted, "Hello Moon! Do you hear me?? OH MOON!!! MOOOON!!!" Sometimes the stump is just a stage for dancing and jumping. Kate is always about finding the dramatic outlet in any situation!

Jazzy Bugs

To say that she loves dance would be an understatement. Kate LOVES dance! She twirls and stomps around our living room for hours each day singing and dancing away! So we were very excited about giving her dance lessons for Christmas.

Kate started a Jazzy Bugs dance class last week. This class is perfect! It has 15 minutes of tap, then 15 minutes of ballet, and 30 minutes of gymnastics. The class focuses on rhythm, sequence and following directions. (All skills Kate will benefit from practicing!) Her teacher, Miss Melissa, is fantastic as well -a perfect match for a pre-school group of girls.

Kate is in her element dressed in tap shoes and tutus. Her excitement is precious!

My Buddy Z

For those of you who follow me on FB, you have probably seen my status updates lamenting the move of our dear, beloved friends: Paul and Peggy. If it wasn't for the fact that Paul just scored an incredible dream job in L.A., I might have to chain myself to the moving truck in pro-test. I am so happy for the blessings God is pouring out on them, but at the same time I am selfishly grieving our loss. Paul leaves to start his job this weekend. I still have three weeks until Peggy and Zachary leave. Kate and I are trying to take advantage of every moment we can spend with them.

Kate adores Z. You wouldn't always know it from the way she fights with him over toys, but Z has become family. Kate has even subjected him to her favorite game: dress up!

(Notice the ballet slippers on Zachary!)

We've been sharing late nights together so Z has been camping out at our house. He loves his "bath party" with Kate. They can sure splash up a storm, leaving more water on the floor than in the tub. (I opted to leave out the bath pictures - but they are so cute!!) After bedtime stories, Kate insisted on snuggling with Z before sleep.

Oh! What will be ever do with them??

Christmas Catch Up

Well, now that it is the last week of January, I guess I should probably get around to posting my Christmas photos. I don't know where the days go. Here a few photos to sum up the kids' excitement over Christmas. Let's start first with Kate's LOVE of baking. Here she is putting the finishing touches on Santa's cookies. I think she ate more sprinkles than cookies.

Kate got these snowmen last year from Gigi! She couldn't wait to pull them out of the attic and play with her long, lost friends.

Nathan got in on the fun too. Here he is cuddling with a froggy he got from his Washington cousins. He sure loved how big and soft it was!!

Nathan learned to sit up, just in time to enjoy the toys all over the floor!

Kate asked Santa for one, thing: a snow globe with Santa inside. She was very happy to find it under the tree on Christmas morning.

My little sous chef loves to be in the kitchen with me. We made a big family breakfast of scrambled eggs and Kate's favorite food: bacon! (Notice the tutu she is wearing - it's all about the princess and dancer these days!!)

After breakfast, Kate and Daddy enjoyed a little table side bowling. Looks like she's going to get a strike!

Nathan thought bowling was pretty fun to watch too. He is such a happy little fella!

We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. May this coming year be full of love, joy and blessing.

Santa Train

A few weeks ago, we all boarded a 1920's train in Walkersville and went for a little ride through the countryside. (Now, when I say ride, I mean crawl. I don't think we went over 10 mph the entire trip. But that was besides the point.) The kids were so excited to just be on the train, but they could barely contain themselves when they found out that SANTA was on the train too!!! They did a great job waiting for Santa to arrive to our car.

Nathan was a natural with Santa. He was all giggles and smiles. And the friendly, strange man dressed in funny clothes did not phase Nathan at all. I was so happy to get such great photos of Nathan and Santa on his first Christmas!!
Now Kate....well as can be expected, she wasn't as cooperative. All morning she couldn't wait to see Santa and sit on his lap and tell him that she wanted a snow globe for Christmas. But when the time came, she wouldn't go near him. UNTIL, Santa noticed the shiny Christmas tree on her tee shirt. She inched closer to show him her shirt, and she swooped her onto his lap for a quick photo. I guess this is an improvement from last year when Kate screamed so much on Santa's lap that no photo was taken!

It was a wonderful morning with family. My only wish is that Josh had not been ill so he could have joined us. We might need to do this again next year, so Daddy can come along too!

Gigi, Papa, and the Gang
(minus Nathan who was too busy eating to be bothered with a photo!)

Nathan and Mommy

Uncle Shaun, Collin and Collin's best buddy, Nathan!

Auntie Debbie and Brenden!

Papa with his little buddy!

This conductor was a riot. He took his job very seriously, and the kids had a lot of fun with him. Not sure what Kate was trying to communicate with this face - probably her pirate face ~ Argh Matie!

Loyes Station Park Photo Shoot

In late October, my sister-in-law, Jecholia, took some fantastic photos of our family at a park up in Thurmont, Maryland. There is a series of covered bridges in that area, and this park has one of my favorites. Jecholia did such a great job! Thank you for capturing these memories for us! Here are a few of our favorites.

Kate LOVES Nathan!! This photo is so special to me!

Highlights from the Outer Banks

Josh' dad came with us to the Outer Banks. It was a lot of fun showing him around a part of the East Coast he had never been to. One place we had to visit was the Wright Brother's Monument. Josh and his dad are big fans of aviation - they once had their pilot's licenses. Here are some pictures from their visit.