Ringing in 2012 (About 4 hours early. . .oh well!)

2011 has been a great year for many reasons. Most of them have to do with the wonderful friends and family that we are surrounded with.

• I have had a blast (and hope to continue) singing at church and watching my kids become quite comfortable with the church surroundings and people. (Much like my church growing up--which I am grateful to have found a place that reminds me of that.) 
• Tyler has been working toward his administration degree and we all look forward to him finishing that up in the new year. Hopefully it will bring him new exciting career challenges.
• Zoey has been having a great year at Wildwood--she loves everyone there! Her New Year's Resolution is to try to be less wiggly when sitting on the circle rugs.
• Zander is happy as a clam at daycare. Most likely the next big change for him will be enrolling in some summer classes and starting some sort of preschool experience in the fall.

I started a new tradition tonight and interviewed each kid separately to get a snapshot of what the kids are like at this age. My hope is to remember to do this each year and see what happens.

1st Annual 2011 Time Freeze:

Zander age 4
Zoey age 6 1/2

What is the best thing about you?
Zoey: It's just like how I feel. . .happy, sad, mad, excited. . .well A LOT excited.
Zander: That I'm cute.

What is your favorite supper?
Zoey: Chicken Parmesean
Zander: Peanut Butter and Jelly

What will you be when you grow up?
Zoey: A rock star and a teacher.
Zander: Spiderman

What do Mommy and Daddy do when you are at daycare?
Zander: Going to work.

What are you good at?
Zoey: Star Wars and Tundercats and Clone Wars
Zander: Fighting

What is your favorite toy?
Zoey: My all around the world dolls and Barbie and Ken.
Zander: Spiderman action figure

Who is your best friend?
Zoey: Ellie, Amiah, and Anabel
Zander: Sammy

What is something that Mommy always says to you?
Zoey: Pick up your room.
Zander: That I'm cool.

What makes Daddy happy?
Zoey: His kids.
Zander: That I love him.

How old is Mommy?
Zoey: 36?
Zander: 100?

How old is Daddy?
Zoey: It's either 34 or 24?
Zander: 400?

How old is Nana?
Zoey: You got to be kidding me! Old!
Zander: I don't know.

What is your favorite place to go?
Zoey: Star Wars Wonderland in my dreams.
Zander: Grandma and Grandpa's cabin.

What is your favorite TV show/movie?
Zoey: Star Wars and Thundercats
Zander: Superheros

What is your favorite book?
Zoey: Star Wars chapter book AND Junie B. Jones--she is FUNny!
Zander: Superheros

How do you know Mommy and Daddy love you?
Zoey: Hugs and Kisses
Zander: Because I'm cute.

What always makes you laugh?
Zoey: When Mommy looks at me funny.
Zander: (makes monkey noises)

When are you allowed to get married?
Zoey: 18?
Zander: 6

Why does Spiderman wear red tights and a mask?
Zander: Cause he doesn't want any bad guys to see he's a person.

What is the hardest thing about being a kid?
Zoey: When I always have to clean my room and listen to what parents have to say.

What is the best gift you have ever been given?
Zoey: Mommy and Daddy
Zander: Spiderman

If you could be invisible for one day, what would you do?
Zoey: I would sneak up on kids and pick up frogs and make it look like a haunted house.
Zander: I would touch people and I couldn't see them.

If you could make up one rule that everyone in the world had to follow, what would it be?
Zoey: They have to watch Thundercats or Star Wars once a night.

Of all the things you are learning in first grade, what will be the most important when you are a grown up?
Zoey: Science.
Why?
Zoey: Because I'm going to do science about rocks sometimes.

What makes you a good friend?
Zoey: I think its whats inside.
Zander: To be nice.

Whats your favorite color?
Zoey: pink and rainbow
Zander: Blue

What is your favorite song?
Zoey: Star Wars Theme
Zander: Away in the Manger

What makes Mommy happy?
Zoey: When I go to sleep.
Zander: Loving her and hugging her.


What did I learn about my kids from this interview? They are extremely kind and loving children who are obsessed with superheroes and Star Wars. Could be worse. . .

Zoey's Writing

 

Above is the original song Zoey and Zander wrote to celebrate watching Star Wars Episode 3 with Daddy. They also decorated the family room. It was a big to-do. 

"Celebrate the Clones! It is time to celebrate the Clones, yay! They are braver than stones, yay! Yay! The are our strength, yay! Yay! Yay!"

On a sweeter note, below is the letter that Zoey wrote for us at school. 

"Dear Mom and Dad, I love you so much!!!!! Dad you make me laugh!!!! Mom I love you about hundred hearts much!!!!!!!!!! I love you!!!!!!! You guys are the best! Love, Zoey"

Star Wars Crazy!

 

Zoey's and Zander's reaction to getting one of many Star Wars action figures this Christmas.

Christmas Highlights

 Our entire Christmas season was great! We are completely blessed. Here are some pictures that highlight some of the events this year. Above is Mary's Little Lambs--minus Logan who couldn't be there this year. Mary's annual cookie party was fun this year. Zander has made some great friends--he is always talking about Sammy and Adam! Below is a picture of the three amigos. . .Zander gave his Christmas Batman picture to Sammy.

 Then Santa came and crashed the party. Always a welcomed guest, the kids went nuts with excitement!

 Santa passed out presents to all the kids and everyone went home stuffed with sugar and happy!

We celebrated Christmas Eve with the Livingstons. I sang at the church services. Here are the clips of the songs. Zoey had heard me practice them so much that she was singing them in the pews--she's a natural!

Christmas Morning we celebrated with just us.

Then we headed to Moorhead for Christmas with the Nyhlens! We barely had said our hellos and the four cousins were off making a play about the Christmas Story. Zoey cast herself as Mary--no surprise.

One of the games was Headbanz. Good entertainment--especially once the kids realized that if you caught your reflection in the window, you could see who you were.

Twister was a lot more fun and easier when we were kids.

2011 Christmas Program

I made a montage of my favorite moments from the kids' Christmas program this year. Some of the highlights are Zoey having a speaking part (There are no small roles, only small actors!), Zander doing the actions for Away in the Manger (look for the cutie on the left), and Zoey standing on her tiptoes in order to get her face by the microphone and singing Glory to Glory with as much heart and gusto as any 1st grader I've ever seen! I also think that Zander yawning at the end is darn adorable!

Zander's Christmas card

Zander is in a very giving mood this Christmas. Plus, it seems overnight he has learned how to draw and color pretty darn well, in my humble opinion! This intricate picture above is drawn especially for his friend Sammy at daycare. It is a picture of Batman and Robin. There is rain coming from above and that thing on the left is the rain catcher. There is also an airplane up in the sky.

Zoey's First Piano Recital

Santa Claus is Coming to Town. . .Then and Now

Our Shining Stars

Both our kids got a chance to be in the spotlight today. It was St. Mark's Christmas program today. Zander was a sheep with all of the preschool-Kindergarten kids and Zoey was a talking sheep. . .Bah Bah Lou! She sold all two lines! She also sang a duet in one of the songs. We were so proud of both kids today. This was Zander's first extended time in front an audience and he sang and did actions and everything. Zoey has reaffirmed her love for acting today and told me after the Christmas program, "Next time I'm in a play, I want MORE lines!"

Then later on in the day we got ready for Zoey's very first piano recital at the historical Fillebrown House in White Bear Lake.

 Zoey's fan club consisted of Nana, Poppa, and Auntie Tammy, Grandma and Grandpa Nyhlen, and of course Zander, Mom, and Dad.

 Zoey and her teacher Ginny Gadbois Green (also her 1st grade music teacher)

Then of course, there's Zander. . . .

Letters to Santa. . .Ready to Go!

Zoey's Self-Portrait

Zoey did this as part of her Media class at school. I think that it is perfect and embodies almost everything that I love about my daughter!

Happy November (and early December)!

 On Thanksgiving Day we went over a few bridges to Nana and Poppa's house to celebrate with the family. It was a fabulous day of relaxing and letting other people play with my children, while I read through all the Black Friday ads. :-) The kids enjoyed teaching Nana and Tammy how to play Sorry and they played dress up and went outside (for of course more lovely weather) to play.

Both kids are still addicted to Star Wars. They turn EVERYTHING into a star wars reference. (If you use the words force or darkside--you will be sure to hear about Star Wars!)

Their other obsession at the moment is Wizard of Oz--due to the most recent outing with Nana and Tammy to the Children's Theatre performance.

Zander is all about dressing up and creating these elaborate costumes--that really don't need to be anything all that special--but make sure to follow his lead. When he wanted to be a magician, he told me that we needed a costume. "We can make a hat and I wear black shirt and pants, ok? Is that a good idea?"

On the morning of Thanksgiving, Tyler and I were taking advantage of sleeping in a bit and I heard the kids out on the couch getting all excited about their weekend. Zoey said, "Zander, do you know what day it is? It's the day BEFORE WE DECORATE FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!" Yep, not Thanksgiving, but Christmas Decoration Eve. Friday is always a fun day for us. We thoroughly clean the house (more fun for me than the kids), put out our decorations, then cozy up on the couch as a family and watch Elf for the first time of the season. Great memories!

Here is another one of Zander's costumes. Can you guess who he is?

 (Tin Man)

Zoey had a double dose of playdate with her friend Anabel last week. Two playdates in a row! What a deal! These two girls have more creativity and personality in their little fingers than I have in my whole body! I love watching these two get together. Of course my favorite thing was when Anabel was coming over to our house on Friday, Zoey leans over to her and says, "My brother Zander is SO annoying!" (She neglected to tell Anabel that she absolutely adores her brother and plays with him almost all the time.)

Boo! It's October!

 Spiderman is climbing the walls again!

And apparently singing in a band.

This year, as tradition goes, we took the Plumbs and the Livingstons off to McDougall's Apple Junction down near Hastings. It was a rare  80 degree fall day--making looking for pumpkins and enjoying the activities a little harder to bare in the heat. It was, as always though, a good time for all. You can see from the pictures that the kids are growing like weeds. I give it about two more years and Zoey will be at the top of this sign--Zander not far behind!

Zoey kind of loves her Auntie Tammy--can you tell?

In October we also went to the Mahtomedi Halloween Ball at the high school. Again, it was a beautiful evening and the kids left on a hayride around the area as part of the festivities.

We out to Perkins (I know, suprise, right?) after the Halloween Ball and while we waited for the food to come, Zoey drew a great picture of me. (Make sure that you read the directions above her picture.)

Zoey was estatic the day she was picked to be the VIP for the week in her classroom. She went to town on her poster and knew exactly what she wanted to share with the class. The highlight of the poster is the picture of her very own 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Marshall, holding her when she was only 2 months old. Apparently, the whole class got a kid out of that one.
 

Over a long weekend in October, we took the kids up north to see Grandma and Grandpa and then stopped by to visit the cousins and Uncle Robby and Aunt Nicole.  I am always so happy to see how the kids get along so well and enjoy being together.

We went to our friends' annual Pumpkin Carving Party--it was on Oct. 29th and would you believe that it was yet ANOTHER gorgeous day? Of course, as tradition goes, the kids helped out with the pumpkin carving for-oh- about 10 minutes and left the rest for Tyler and I to do.

Halloween night--the menu included cooked mice (my favorite) and brains. Yum!

Then FINALLY it snowed a little and the kids were able to go out and play in some white stuff. Or maybe I should say that Zoey was finally able to go out and EAT some white stuff. She loves her some snow! :-)