Christmas!

We spent Christmas Eve with all of my family at my sister's house. We had super-yummy food - my brother prepared a lovely cheese platter, my mom made her famous corn chowder and sugar cookies - we were stuffed! We had a nice program, ending with my dad's annual reading of The Polar Express (and all of us a little teary at the end). We dressed our kids in new pajamas and snapped a few pictures with cousin Cody before heading home.

Everyone was up early Christmas morning. The Princess was so happy to see Santa had enjoyed our treats! We opened stockings and had a lovely breakfast. I made my mother-in-law's famous cinnamon rolls and we ate on some lovely family china. It had belonged to my great-grandfather's family in Holland and they ate Christmas breakfast on it too!

We had fun opening presents as a family. It was nice to feel like we could take our time. The kids were thrilled with what they received. We had church a little later - and it was such a treat to have church on Christmas Day.

Later, we went over to my mom's house for Christmas dinner - yummy again!

I loved that this Christmas we tried to make things more relaxed for our family and focus more on the Savior with our children.

The Buddy was so sad to take down the Christmas tree a few days later - until I reassured him Christmas would come back next year!

Waiting for Christmas

We had a lot of fun seeing the Christmas sights and enjoying the anticipation that leads up to Christmas. The Buddy was so excited to decorate the tree, we had all of our decorations up by the end of Thanksgiving weekend. We visited the lights at Temple Hill - once as a family and once with our friends, the Mullers. We enjoyed attending a thank you party at the UC Davis MIND Institute, where the Princess got her face painted. We went on the Niles Canyon Train of Lights with my parents & my sister & her family. The Princess met Mrs. Claus. We made & decorated gingerbread cookies - YUM! And the Princess and I went with all of the girls to see the Nutcracker in San Francisco. My favorite part is the Dance of the Snowflakes and the Princess loved the Russian dancers!

Buddy Update

It has been a super long time since we have posted an update about our sweet Buddy.  This last year has been a big one for him.  We had a difficult school year last year and ended up having 4 IEP's (meetings to discuss his goals & placement) with our district.  It was extremely frustrating and stressful. 

Finally, by the end of May, we felt like we had set up a great plan for the new school year.  We were able to work with a great behaviorist in our district, who had just returned from maternity leave.  She wrote a behavior support plan for the Buddy that incorporates all of the strategies we have been trying to use at home.  She also recommended placement in a class that I was super impressed with - great teacher, wonderful expectations of the students.  Perfect!

He had a great summer - attending a few weeks of summer school and then lots of play time!  Discovery Kingdom, swimming and visiting some of our other favorite places.  It was so wonderful to have him home & have time to go on big & small adventures with both kids.  Anyone who knows our family knows that I have not always felt like this in the summer.  I wasn't quite ready for school to start but start it did!

His new class is at the same school he was at last year.  The only important fact about this school is it is not our neighborhood school.  Last year he took the bus, but the bus came very early and took a long time to get him to school.  This year, we decided I would drive him.  It's taken some juggling and I'm grateful for some wonderful friends who have been willing to have the Princess come to their house each day to walk to school with them so I can drive the Buddy out to school.  This change in the schedule has given us so much more time with him in the morning - it's been nice!  The class has worked out beautifully.  He is mainstreaming everyday for math, has homework for the first time ever, and has much less anxiety than he did at this time last year! 

He was baptized and became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ earlier this year - that was a huge step for him, but just the first of many.  In September, he started Cub Scouts, and was so proud to wear his little uniform.  He also learned to ride his bike without training wheels! 

We are just so amazed at how far he's come - and wanted to share his progress!

Catch-up Time

It's time to catch up the blog a little.  I won't post a ton of pics...

We had a fun summer.  I had a chance to go to Girl's Camp with the wonderful Young Women & leaders of the Concord Stake.  We go to Rucker Lake each year and it's a beautiful site!  We had a wonderful, Spirit-filled week.  It was hard to be away from my family all week.  My wonderful mother-in-law came to town to help us with the kids while I was gone.  I know it was a tough transition for the Buddy, but by the end of the week, everyone was fine. 

Right after camp, we left for our family reunion with the Dad's family in Missouri.  It was super hot & humid, but it was fun to have everyone together.  The cousins were great with the Buddy, especially Ryan.  The Princess had so much fun playing with all of the cousins.  There were babies to hold and lots of yummy food.  The one downside was our kids got the stomach flu for a day or two.  I felt so badly for them to miss out on cousin fun.  At one point, the Princess asked if we could go home!  It's no fun being sick away from your own house & bed.  They bounced back though.  We swam & swam in the pond, the kids went down the zip line, and I went for morning walks with my sisters-in-law. 

Once we got home, we still had a few weeks left of summer.  We visited some of our favorite places - riding the Ferry to San Francisco & eating at Bubba Gump's; going to the Jelly Belly Factory; more time spent at Discovery Kingdom,; and lots of swimming!

And now we're off to a great start in the school year.  The Buddy is in 3rd grade and the Princess is in 1st grade.  They have wonderful teachers and we've settled into a schedule.  The Buddy started Cub Scouts and still enjoys his piano & swim lessons.  The Princess love everything about school and still enjoys gymnastics. 

Things for the Dad are a little stressful.  Facing some major stress & potential changes at work has prompted him to seriously look for a new job.  He has been reaching out to his contacts, sending out resumes and interviewing.  we have faith something will work out.  He also has a new assignment at church - he was called to our bishopric a few weeks ago.  He is excited to serve with our new bishop.

I've enjoyed the flexibility in my schedule that has come with the kids being in school all day.  I've enjoyed taking a Zumba class once a week at the gym.  I'm starting to help out in the kids' classes & schools.  My calling with the Young Women in our stake never stops being busy, but I love it and I feel blessed to serve with these amazing youth and with a stake president and other leaders that love them so very much. 

More to come...

To blog, or not to blog...

This is the question I've been pondering. Has anyone missed us? What role does a blog play with Facebook and my digital scrapbook and a journal?

Hmmmmm....

First Day of Summer Vacation!

On our first offical day of summer, we went to Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley to check out their new Dino Exhibit - very cool!  It was a beautiful day.  The kids enjoyed the exhibit & playing outside.  We'll definitely go back a lot this summer.  Welcome summer!!

Kindergarten Promotion

The Princess is done with Kindergarten!  She had such a magical year - a great teacher & a great class.  All of the kindergarteners participated in a cute little promotion ceremony right before school ended.  They sang songs and then each was called up to receive a "diploma" from their teachers.  So cute!