Freddie the Frog

Emily's class at school has a stuffed frog named Freddie. When someone is the class leader for the day they get to bring Freddie home. It's a big deal for a Kindergartner. Emily freaks out whenever she gets this honor. She literally runs to the van at pick-up time beaming with joy on these days. So I figured it was time to blog about Freddie. Here's a photo of Em and her green, furry friend. Joel secretly thinks Freddie is probably germ-ridden & doesn't like him much. Part of bringing Freddie home is writing about his stay in your home to be read in class the next day. Here's our entry from his last visit:

Emily H. brought Freddie home with her today from school because Emily was the leader. They ate Chex Mix and juice for a snack. Then they made a butterfly craft together with Emily's brother, Jonathan, and her mommy. Freddie tried to eat the butterfly. We laughed. When it was story time Freddie listened quietly. While we ate our dinner Freddie ate ants in the backyard. When Emily's daddy got home Freddie jumped on him to scare him as a joke. We all laughed, but daddy didn't. It was fun having silly Freddie at our house and we hope he visits again soon. The end.

Mom's Helpers

The kids love their baby sister tons. There are times on weekday mornings or when I'm getting dinner ready that Emily will help me feed Katherine a bottle until I can get free again. This morning Jonathan got in on the action too. He tried to feed her the remaining little bit in her bottle before we headed out the door to get Em to school. I had to get a picture of it & I love the way they are smiling at each other. She's got a great big sis & great big brother. She's a very blessed little lady & I'm a thankful momma for the help too!

Jon's 3!

Jonathan is 3 now! It's hard to believe he's already been with us for that long. He's such a great kid - so funny, cute, and smart. I love the way his mind works. He really thinks through things. For example: we were driving in the car one day & out of the blue he said "Mom, Jingle Bells (the song) is just for Christmas, but we can sing it anytime too." And the other day he was playing with his matchbox cars & Emily's cash register toy was on the coffee table near them. So he decided he'd combine the two. He set the cars in front of the cash register drawer & then pushed the button that made the drawer open. This caused the cars to go rolling forward & off the table. I would have never thought to play with the cars like that, but it was really fun! Here's a shot of him on his birthday. He requested a cookie cake like the one Emily had. We took him to Red Robin for lunch too - also per his request. We love having him in our family. He's such a great addition & so, so fun. We look forward to seeing what he will do with his life & how that great mind of his will continue to develop. I have a feeling he's gonna have me doing some research to answer some big questions he'll have for me! :-)

SNOW!!!!

We just got over a foot of snow! We've never seen snow like this in our lifetime here in Texas. It was incredible & so, so beautiful. Joel and I felt like kids again playing in it. I loved just laying down in it and listening to the quiet. Emily liked to eat the snow. Jonathan liked to dig holes in it with sticks. Joel liked to photograph it & throw huge snowballs at the kids. It was so fun. We still can't believe how much we got. It snowed the day Emily was born & now, 6 years later, she had snow for her birthday again. What a gift!

Birthday Girl

Emily LOVES birthdays. She's been talking about the party we had for her last year ALL year. And she's been talking about her 6th birthday for weeks now. I think it may even top Christmas for her. She just really loves to be loved on & feel special. There's a book titled The Five Love Languages of Children. I don't have to read it. I already know Emily's love language: gifts & surprises. Needless to say I wanted to make her day special. It started with a birthday cookie cake. She was then treated to her first pedicure & manicure thanks to Grandma. We grabbed lunch at Red Robin, headed home for a quick nap & then had a birthday party/dinner with my side of the family. She had a blast & lit up anytime someone wished her "happy birthday!" She's the kid that made me a mom. I can't believe she's already 6! Love you, sweet, silly, smart, creative & fun Emily. I can't imagine life without you in it!

Test Subjects

Joel loves photography & he's really gifted at it. He often uses us as his test subjects for various techniques he wants to try out. These photos are examples of this. He put up a white sheet outside our kitchen windows & fired a flash through them to replicate daylight. The lights in the house were out & it was dusk outside. Pretty cool technique! He wanted us to be doing something everyday & natural so we were pretending to be mixing cookies. Em, always willing to play along for make-believe, totally got into it. Jon needed some water in the bowl to stir to become believable on film ;-)
I like them all, but I am especially fond of the one he snapped of me and Katherine.

Christmas Season 2009

Here are some highlights from our Christmas season 2009:

Our annual Christmas Eve Eve.
The movie this year was The Polar Express.

Joel put up some very nice red & white lights on the house.
The kids thought he was Superman for doing so.

We saw Avatar in 3D. It was an experience.

We had a great visit with Joel's dad & his step-mom, Jan.
To get to see them for Christmas was a real treat as they live in Virginia.

It SNOWED on Christmas Eve & stuck around through Christmas morning!
Enough said!

And my baby, Katherine, was almost 3 months old.
I can't believe it!! (She really is cute, isn't she?!?)