where are you spring?

Last week the weather was lovely and the kids were doing a lot of this. Not so much anymore. We've had freezing rain, light snow, ice, and cold temperatures now that it is officially spring. Go figure!

When Casey went to Philadelphia for work, I took Steve, his friend Stephen (left) and cousin Ethan (right) to the Bucks game. It was a lot of fun to be there with them! They were determined to be on the jumbotron. And to make it even more exciting, the Bucks actually won!

All decked out in red & green....

Norah had her first dental appointment. Or should I say first complete dental appointment. We tried once before and she was way too shy. I got wise and found a female dentist. Norah loved every minute of it and honestly did not want to leave! She kept talking their ears off. Whenever we encountered someone new after her appointment (at the store, Steve's pediatrician, teachers, etc.) Norah told them about the dentist and opened her mouth wide to show her pearly whites!

You can have your pie and eat it too....

No pictures :( I've snapped a few, but I am having trouble uploading them onto our other computer so I will do it this weekend when Casey returns from his now 5 day trip to La Crosse.

We had a fun weekend last week! On Saturday, Grandma took Norah, Aunt Shelly and me to see Annie at the Fireside Theater. It was such a special treat for Norah. She loved everything about the theater from the giant Annie signs to the fountains in the restaurant to the play itself. She often clasped her hands and smiled while listening to her favorite Annie songs. She loved it so much that she cried and cried (and cried) when it was over and time to leave. She just wanted to hug Annie. Later on that day I suggested that maybe someday she would be Annie in a play, but she said "No, Mommy! Then I would be an orphan and not have any parents." Casey and Steve also had a fun "guys day" that morning and drove to Illinois to golf with a friend. It was wild and windy, but they toughed it out Scotland style.

Steve's math class celebrated National Pi Day with a pie party and pi related fun. The kids could earn extra credit for coming up with ANY activities related to pi and then they would all enjoy eating pie. Steve chose blueberry for his contribution.

As I mentioned, we're missing Casey while he is out of town almost all week for work. We are super excited about the hour of daylight after we get home from work though! The first night Norah ran around the driveway with a huge smile as if she had never been outdoors in her life. The next night the kids colored with sidewalk chalk while I made dinner. With temps above 50 now, we feel like spring is actually here. One night we shopped at Target for some donations that will go to Haiti with parishioners from our church who are visiting an orphanage. Norah may not understand where Haiti is located or that there are truly people without anything, (I think that is hard for young kids who do not know life without daily food and shelter to actually imagine)but she knows an orphan means no mom and dad. And that is the worst thing imaginable to a three year old. (I also bought myself a new food processor on sale...I can't wait to make hummus. Oh, happy day, for mom!) And last night we went to the Lent service, which is in place of confirmation class for Steve until Easter. He did a fantastic job with his reading and was asked to hold the chalice, which is new for him. He had the non-alcoholic wine though so no one dipped in his cup... :)

Tonight is St. Patrick's Day! As much as I drooled over the briskets at the store, I am making fish with homemade sweet potato "chips." Fish & chips--not as exciting, but it's Irish!

Lent

(That is not my Lenten jar, but I'd like to pretend that is my beautiful marble tile....)



• Tonight we went to a lovely Ash Wednesday service at church. Wednesday is Steve's confirmation class, and he was happy to sit with his friends during the service. Norah was excited to get a "dot" on her head, but even happier about the communion bread. (Last Sunday, she got a little impatient toward the end of the service and said to the people in front of us "I am hungry for the bread now!") Unfortunately, whoever bakes the bread on Sundays must not have been available, and we had wafers. Norah looked less than impressed. She nibbled the first half and then stared at the second half like she was contemplating tossing it into the garbage. She finally got it down. She also suggested that the ash would look prettier if it was red or pink. Well, she is 3! (I mean 3 and a half...can't shortchange her on the half!)
• I want my kids to understand Lent. Steve joked that he was going to give up wine (since he doesn't drink it anyway!) and Casey laughed that he should give up mayo. I encouraged Steve to choose his own lent sacrifice and to consider that it be a sacrifice. I secretly hoped he would choose no video games, but I reminded him that Lent does not have to be about taking something away. It can also be about adding something to his life that he does not already make time to include and to choose something that brings him closer to God. I was reminded of Father John last year when we were still at St. Christopher's who suggested that instead of giving up gum or chocolate that we spend 15 minutes everyday in prayer or make time for regular outreach during Lent. Steve chose exercise. God wants us to take care of our bodies, and Steve made a goal to run a certain number of days each week and race in a 5k with me. I will give up wine, which is sort of a cheat because I have only been drinking about once a week, but to make a more full commitment, I also asked Casey to read a marriage devotional daily with me.
• I want to include Norah, but it is hard to fully explain Lent to a preschooler. (I found myself stumbling when I tried to explain exactly why we all had ash on our heads.) I decided to do two things--one that includes the whole family and one that is fun for the kids. (I found both of these ideas online.) The first is a Lenten jar. I wrote things on slips of paper and put them in the jar. Each morning the kids can pick something for everyone to do. The slips of paper say things like "Bake cookies to bring to someone as a surprise." "Ask God to do something nice for someone you do not like." "Send flowers to brighten someone's day." "Turn off the tv for the whole day." "Read one story from the Bible as a family."
• While we don't need jelly bellies in the house, I knew the kids would respond to this. I bought single colored packets of jelly bellies. Each color represents something, such as love, charity or prayer. Each day when the kids do something without prompting, they will put the color that represents that action into the jar. The jar will hopefully get nice and full by Easter! (And since I put non-candy things in their baskets, this will be even more exciting.)
• Steve was asked to do a reading for next week's Lent service. Every Wednesday during Lent, the confirmation class will have a potluck, go to the service and then gather for a talk. He was very excited to be offered the opportunity and practiced reading last night. He asked if he could wear a tux. If you know Steve, you know he has a love of the tuxedo. I believe he is serious and would wear one if he had one. Our church is fairly casual, which makes it an even funnier image.

You are a super star!

(This picture cracks me up--she was SO excited!!)

I wrote this last night.....

• Today was Norah's super star day at school. Norah counts down the days the week before her super star day. This morning she asked to wear her Hello Kitty shirt from Aunt Shelly (this is her prized special occasion shirt) and a bow from her friend Annabelle. All of the kids in her class are assigned a day of the month to bring morning snack. That is their super star day. They can bring a book from home to share and pick out one of the teacher's colored necklaces (like Mardi Gras beads) to wear. Today she chose green. She also asked to bring fruit or veggies for snack so her friend with many allergies could also eat the snack. We brought fresh veggies and hummus. They also had a Mardi Gras party and made necklaces.


• Norah is taking a computer class on Mondays at school. Computer Tots is a small business with a teacher who brings her computer and activities to schools, etc. And although I can't quite envision where they set this up, Norah really enjoyed her first class. They learned about the mouse, arrow keys, and did some animal related activities. There are only three other kids in the class, and at the end of the month, we will decide whether to keep doing it next month. So far, so good!


• Norah is also taking swim lessons again. It's her first class without a parent in the water. She is having a lot of fun, but I was not allowed to take pictures when I tried. I didn't even think about all the privacy issues we face these days, and sadly, with little kids in bathing suits, it becomes a bigger concern so the Y had to create this policy.



• Steve is also as busy as can be, but he has not wanted his picture taken lately. He probably has plenty to report, but his most common answer to questions these days is "it's hard to explain." He is a busy preteen!

George is 1!

George (aka Georgie and Gorgeous George, which the kids say in a British accent) turned 1 in February. He is such a sweet pup. He can certainly be a stinker, but he is loving and loyal. Every single evening we know that he will be curled up right by our feet.

The dogs love to share one big dog bed. (George ate the first one, but this one has held up.) George also has an old towel that he drags around in his mouth like a security blanket.

Our Lily girl.

• We had a fun weekend. On Friday, Steve spent the night at a friend's house so they could make one of their movies (I can't keep up with the plots anymore...WWII, spies, the mafia, or maybe mafia spies in WWII?) and went bowling while Casey and I had a night out alone at dinner & the Bucks game. The guys also enjoyed the golf expo at State Fair, we went for pizza in Port Washington on Saturday, and I taught Sunday school. We were pretty busy, but also had some much needed down time at home. On Sunday the kids were in opera mode and sang every word that they said for good chunk of the day. They were pretty entertained by their inventive tunes.
• On Saturday, I stopped by my office with Norah, and we ran into my boss JoAnne. She asked Norah if she would write her name. (Good timing since she loves to do that now!) Norah also wrote JoAnne's name. She sat at the kitchen table for a long time this weekend writing all sorts of words that she can either spell or asked me to spell for her. I love the way she makes a little i because it looks like a balloon with a big circle for the dot!
• Steve continues to go to the high school for golf at 6:30 a.m. three days a week. He really enjoys it! He only has a month left in his third quarter, and his grades so far are excellent. We are so proud of his hard work. He had to choose his electives for next year, and it is just crazy to imagine that 8th grade is around the corner. All I know is next year needs to go A LOT slower!!! Steve also continues to grow like a weed. He is just about 5'9, quickly outgrowing recently purchased clothes, and has almost the same shoe size as Casey. Everyone asks him why he does not play basketball, but then he tells them about some of his favorite tall PGA tour pros who play great golf!

Finally....a blog post!

It has been a while, but I promise to be a better blogger now....especially since this is like a "scrapbook" of the kids. Last week on February 25, Norah was officially 3 1/2! Although, she has been saying she is 3 1/2 for a looong time.

• Norah is 69 inches tall and weighs 36 pounds
• She stills tells us that she will be a doctor when she grows up, as well as a singer, dancer and artist
• Norah's favorite activity at school (aside from being assigned the weather watcher or calendar keeper at morning group time) is drawing letters on those worksheets that have the letters made with dashed lines. They usually work on these sheets for their letter of the day, but she always asks for more and wants to bring them home as "homework." Her hard work must be paying off. Two nights ago she put her name inside her book.
• Norah is very independent....sometimes to a fault. She wants to do everything by herself, and when she is working on an art project or "homework," she wants to be left alone until it is ALL done. It makes me proud to see her figure out challenges on her own though.
• Norah is taking swim and creative dance. She loves both so much. This is her first swim class without a parent still in the water. It is a lot of fun to see the kids on their own. They are all more brave without a mom or dad in the water with them.
• Norah also loves to type. She asks us to "make a letter" on the computer, which means opening a word document. She can type "Norah Paige Young." She thinks it is funny that all of her names have five letters. She says she is "five letter buddies" with Steve because Steve has five letters too!

(Even though she makes a cap "P," she always makes a little "r")

Her class celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday this week. They brought in their favorite books to share and made paper Dr. Seuss hats. Last night she only wanted to be called "Cat In The Hat Norah."

(I need to practice with my new lens. I wanted one that let in more light indoors and I got it. I did not even use a flash with these. Since I take a lot of pictures inside in the evening, I am excited to be able to get lighter pictures that don't look like they are in front of a black screen.)

GAME DAY!

Ready for her first Super Bowl with the Packers! (These pictures were taken with a phone so I apologize for the terribly quality, but I still think they are cute.) We had a fun day watching the game with Pops, Uncle Elliot, and Pops' friends John & Elizabeth. Elizabeth brought us Packers beads which Norah has claimed all for herself! :) Her class had Packer Day on Friday, and they made these Packer flags and other festive decorations.

Can you believe how tall Steve is these days? He looks so grown up to me that I can hardly believe it sometimes. He has been showing a lot more responsibility at church and with golf. Last night, after the game, he spent about an hour putting golf balls in the basement!