Church Children's Concert

Tonight will probably go down among my favorite parenting moments. All the kids were in the show this year for the first and probably the last time. It was Mary's first year in the little kids' choir, and although it's technically a PreK-5 show, Nellie was asked to do a reading. They all did a great job, though it wasn't exactly DJ's idea of a great time. (We had fun reminiscing about the year he threw a fit, refusing to go on stage, and another when he stood up there but just soundlessly opened and closed his mouth the whole time like a fish.) I loved every minute of it.

So here's a Christmas challenge for us all...

May we gracefully accept each opportunity and responsibility that comes our way this season like Nellie;

may we share the good news of Christ's birth with sweet confidence like Annie;

may we carry on diligently when we face holiday trials of any kind like DJ--whether it's beating the crowds at Meijer, surviving a family get-together, or holding up the letter "S" even though people will be watching;

may we watch for and quietly meet the needs of others like Eddie;

and may we draw near to the Lord with even more adoration than Mary Cate has for her brother.

Karaoke Tuesday

I married up. I mean, how else can you explain these kids' dance moves?

Nellie's ability to tune everyone out, though--that's all me.

It's the holiday season

After a rough week--which started with a blessed post-Thanksgiving snow day, but went downhill when Kevin came down with strep and I got to single parent most of the week with a dead car battery thrown in there somewhere--we had a great weekend together.

Kevin was finally well enough to get out of bed, and we had a rare 48 hours without a single plan. We filled it up with some of our favorite things: Pumpkin-dark-chocolate-chip pancakes, Chinese take-out, fires in the fireplace, Christmas movies, online gift shopping, church, and Christmas tree decorating. 

Annie made up and hosted a Double Dare-esque game for us called "Wernet Wonderland." It involved trivia on energy, heat, and motion (using a Jeopardy review game from her last science test!), some blind pictionary, a few rounds of Heads Up, and everyone's favorite--obstacle courses in the basement. It's a miracle Kevin and I didn't hurt ourselves. Team Booger Assassins (DJ and I) narrowly beat the Pine Tree Tyrants (Kevin and Nellie).

As we move into the break-neck pace of Christmas celebrations and preparations, it was a nice little window of relative peace and quiet.

A talented student painted this ornament--it made my week!

No denying she's a funny girl, that Nell

We just had our first round of conferences at Beagle. I was a more concerned about how the kids were doing socially than academically at their new school. When I asked her teacher if Nellie was making good friends, she got a funny look on her face. She told me Nellie gets along with everyone okay in class, but it's not uncommon for her to read alone on the playground instead of playing.

That worried me a little, so I asked Nellie about it when I got home. She confirmed that yes, she reads on the playground, and sometimes plays with friends.

"But MOM. I had NO IDEA how many books they would have in their library. And I keep accidentally checking out really good ones. Like, cliffhangers. And I can't stop reading them, so I have to read at recess."

I mean, what am I going to say about that?

P.S. While I wrote this, the girls finished up their weekend project of making a family library out of the books in the basement.

P.P.S. And here's a sampling of pictures of Nellie from summer in her natural habitat.

Halloween 2018

Eddie: Captain America

Annie: Wonder Woman at school, princess at home

DJ: Lumberjack

Nellie: Lumberjill

Mary Cate: Was going to be a pot of honey but refused to wear the costume. She did, however, like the ballerina dress. And because she eats, sleeps, and breathes Daniel Tiger, she knows that "You can dress up any way you choose--find a way that's right for you!"

As has become tradition in the past few years, we hosted an extra 11 people for a quick dinner before heading out for trick-or-treating. The big girls hit every house in the neighborhood, only two kids cried, and no one had any razor blades in their candy! So we're calling it a success.

It's not all the neighborhood kids. Just us.

Her everyday hero

Fun with Nellie, Annie, and DJ

Honest moment: Eddie might be addicted to playing Mario on the Wii and the kids' most frequent fight is whose turn it is on the iPad or Kevin's old-school Gameboy. 

Now that that's clear, I can mention how awesomely creative they can be and how much fun they have together. Nellie is quite the activities director. Annie lends a lot of creative logistical support and DJ goes along with whatever they make him do. 

In the last couple of weeks, Nellie finished a hunting board game she's been working on (DJ won). She described it as a prototype and is planning to make a larger version on poster board. 

The three of them put on a puppet show complete with a homemade stage and puppets, lighting, and a sound system (karaoke machine). Sorry about the poor-quality picture--I had to use a screenshot from a video.

This weekend, they wrote and performed a play at my mom's house. There is rarely a boring moment around here!

The program

The play

The story board

Mary Cate is 2!

In my "happy birthday Mary Cate" post, I commented that she's equal parts sugar and spice. I'm not actually sure that's true. It might be more like 40-60 or 30-70. Mary is a girl who walks around hugging us and saying, "I love you so much," and, "I want to snuggle you." She cares lovingly for her dolls and adores her family. Then she'll scream and push a sibling in the face for invading her personal space. Mary perfected her stink-eye at an early age, which she uses with anyone who tries to talk to her in public. But she's so darn cute, they keep trying. She just recently started talking to Ms. Jentz, who she's known since birth and seen almost every day because we share a classroom. My dad almost had a heart attack from shock this weekend when Mary let him help her with her sweatshirt.

Anyway, she's got a mind of her own and I have little fear that she'll ever be pushed around or be someone's doormat!

Mary's favorite word is "no," to the extent that she often has to backtrack because she responds before she realizes she was offered something nice, like a gummy bear or opportunity to watch Daniel Tiger. The older kids have a great time with this. ("Mary, can you say no?" "NO." "Mary, do you love to say no?" "NO." And so on.)

She also loves her blanket ("hee-hee"), mac and cheese, ice cream, baby dolls, and her family. Her favorite color is blue (I think it's the only one she knows), her favorite shows are Daniel Tiger, Thomas, and Sesame Street, and she loves to read books, sing, and pretend to talk on the phone.

Mary Cate celebrated her birthday while we were camping, which was...different. I didn't want to bring many presents because of the dirt. Her cake was an arrangement of Hostess cupcakes. She was pretty excited about having a birthday and usually told people she was turning five. We asked what kind of presents she was hoping for and she said, "Um, I don't know...blue?"

Tonight (two days later) we got an ice cream cake to share with Grandma Lisa. I tried to bring her a piece of cake while singing Happy Birthday and she literally ran away from me yelling, "NO!" until we got to the part of the song where we sang her name--then she smiled and said, "Oh." She still wouldn't blow out the candles, though.

Mary Cate has some spice in her soul, that's for sure, but you probably need some as the youngest of five! We can't wait to see what's in store for her in the next year.

The "cake"

Little mommy

Mary loved to swing us in the hammock

I gave her a bin to use as a table, but she wanted to sit on it

Our camping neighbors were up partying until 1:00 am. Did I feel bad about giving my child a xylophone for her birthday at 7:30 in the morning? No. No I did not.