Our Pool Party Holidazzle Family Thanksgiving

We started our Letts Family Thanksgiving with a dip in the pool. Ellie, our eldest niece, is fearless. She jumps in the pool, submersing herself, over and over. Evan likes to jump, but still wants to hold your hands. Owen wasn't planning on swimming at all, until he saw this boat. He and Jim have been watching Whale Wars on Animal Planet and Owen was sure this was the Sea Shepherd raft, Zodiac, but theirs is motorized and I think he expected the boat to take off fast with a little kick of his legs.

Connie takes Evan every Tuesday while I take Owen to preschool. They try to swim each time. He has gotten quite good at paddling around and jumping. He doesn't seem afraid of getting his face wet either.
Ellie loves being tossed in the air.

After the pool party, we all went back to the party room for a wonderful Thanksgiving feast put on by Connie. Jim's cousin, Anna, & her husband, Paul, joined us again this year and Gina brought her boyfriend, Adam.
Afterwards, we were too stuffed for pie, so we walked off our dinner and headed down to the Holidazzle Parade. Owen's favorite was Captain Hook, of course, and Evan loved the Three Bears. It is his favorite story. Baby Bear gave the kids a high five as he passed by.
Evan must have really enjoyed the parade because he has been talking about all the floats: the choo-choo train, the bus, and Santa's "HUUUUUGE" sleigh. Evan has even been imitating Santa, saying, "Ho Ho Ho, Mawee Chrishmas!" Owen & Ellie were so excited to see Santa after the parade. They all stood there a bit dumbfounded, but Evan just couldn't take his eyes off the jolly 'ole elf.
After the parade, we headed back to the party room for pie. Jim's aunt Linda, his cousin's husband, Ben, and their daughter, Lilly, met us for the parade and joined us for a visit. The kids watched Black Beauty in the theater while we cleaned up the huge mess we made.

Thank you Connie & Neil for putting on a wonderful holiday celebration for us all! We are extremely thankful for our loving family and the wonderful memories we create together.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

The Aftermeal

After the big party, I thought the boys would be ready to crash. Jim and Neil finished up in the party room and Connie took Linda, Ben, & Lilly back to their car and the boys and I hung out upstairs in their condo. They built their own condos while they waited.

And played Poindexter in Bumpa's glasses.

Evan is practicing up for American Idol. Oreo is his biggest fan.

Sometimes he gets so into himself, he doesn't notice anything else. Here he is demanding that Bumpa, "Walk the plank," when Oreo decided to play Pan.

Thanksgiving or Halloween?

Jim had to work this Thanksgiving. It's bound to happen once in awhile in his line of work. My mom came and we took the boys to my Aunt Peggy's for Thanksgiving dinner. My cousins were at their in-laws' when we had dinner, so my kids had to entertain themselves for awhile. Evan got some one on one time with Great Grandma. She sang him a Thanksgiving song that I remember her singing me when I was a girl. Seems us Grandkids sort of blocked out part of the song over the years.


Peggy has a room full of kids' favorite toys. We brought up a box full of farm animals and tractors. You would think a nice game of make-believe farm would have ensued from this, but Evan had other plans for these plastic domesticates. Unbelievably, it was not "I Hide." No, it was his other favorite: "Trick or Treat," or if you don't speak Evanese, "Trock or Tweet."

You might think that this game would include them running around asking for treats, but no. This is a game of giving. Perfect for Thanksgiving. Owen and Evan trotted around the room giving farm animals, sometimes by the handful, to each person at our celebration. Evan resumed the game several times throughout the night.

My family has always been into crafts. Last year my mom brought gingerbread houses for the kids to make. This year my Grandma brought a project for the kids.
As soon as I looked in the little container of supplies for each kid, I knew I would never get Evan to make his craft.
The project usually turns into a lot of work for the adults, but it's something to do together and usually also leads to a lot of laughs.






The big kids eventually got theirs together,
















admired them,













and ate them!

Before we left, Owen just had to hold his newest little cousin, Baby Bennett. They were both born at United Hospital. Every time we pass by there, Owen reminds me of that, as if I will ever forget. Both boys loved holding Bennett and did not want to let go or leave the party.

THANK YOU PEGGY & DAVE FOR A WONDERFUL
THANKSGIVING CELEBRATION!

Gathering the Harvest

The weather has turned, much to our dismay, and we have not finished preparing for winter, unlike our outdoor pets. Nachoo (which may be Nutchew) has been busy gathering berries from this tree outside my garden window for weeks!

On those really cold days, we have focused on cleaning up inside. Jim is in charge of going through mail. He left the City Pages sitting on the ottoman. Evan likes to pretend to read our books. He got a hold of the City Pages, flipped to the back, and found...
"A butt!"

Owen wanted to see what all this butt-talk was about. He was more interested in the advertisement for a strip club inviting Viking fans to come in for tap beers and table dances. Luckily he can't read and thought this gal was actually going to play football. He was very concerned that her attire was not going to protect her during such a rough sport.

Here he is wearing his "football" gear with highlights on what happen during the Viking/Packer game held in our very own living room. Perhaps the Vikings lost due to an issue of improper gear. Or maybe all their fans were at Schiek's.

When Jim goes through his paper piles, he likes to crank up the tunes. Random people would occasionally tell Jim that he looks like Larry Mullen Jr., when we were younger, but on this day, he, Owen, and Evan were emulating Jack Irons from Pearl Jam. Here they are during what they call, "The Kick-in."

Later, Evan decided to sort the mail, just like Daddy. When he reads the mail, he always says, "Honkey, honkey, honkey," in the most Minnesotan way possible. I have no idea where he got that word or why he says it when he reads letters.
When Evan hasn't been busy sorting mail, he's been eating cereal. He usually has about three bowls for breakfast and then eats next to nothing the rest of the day.
And when Owen isn't playing for the Packers, he is racing in his new race car, AKA his old car seat, sporting Evan's birthday helmet, Ya-ya's mittens, and a plate for a wheel.

Although the boys have not been too busy during this drought of blog posts, I have been very busy. In the past week I have painted our kitchen, cleaned out the fridge and pantry, organized a food drive, put away all the outdoor furniture and yard toys, and spent two days cleaning out the basement from which my mother and I hauled 4 yard bags full of garbage, 8 bags of items to the Goodwill, and 2 boxes to Toys for Tots. I have been almost maniacal about getting all this work done; somewhat like a squirrel gathering it's harvest for the winter.

Music Together

We have been taking Music Together classes since Owen was six month old. I can't even put into words how enriching these classes have been. Our teacher, Linda, has taught me a wealth of information on child development over the years. She is absolutely amazing and Evan, in particular, adores her. He's been her partner in song since he was old enough to sit up and has listened to her voice since he was in utero. When she told me she was planning on piloting a class at a nursing home, I was eager to join.

Owen, like his father, has curious way with the elderly. Owen has always been a sensitive and empathetic kid and I was thrilled to be able to provide him an opportunity to use those gifts and spread happiness to some seniors. I had no idea the depth to which these relationships would develop.

Every class starts by singing the "Hello Song" and ends with singing "Goodbye." During those songs and some others, we sing each child's name. Even small babies love hearing their name sung in songs. In the middle of class we usually do one free dance song and one song where we just play instruments. This is favorite part of class for both boys. Evan usually brings an instrument to another adult in the class and joins their family in playing it. He has always felt comfortable in our musical circle.

Since we have started this class at the nursing home, Owen has become more engaged by helping Laura pass out instruments and other musical props. Laura is the senior's assistant and she gives such tenderness to each of the seniors. She hops from chair to chair during songs, helping each senior with their individual needs: making sure they are engaged if they start drifting, helping them hold and shake their egg shakers if their hands are crippled, singing in their ears if they have trouble hearing. You can see how much she cares for these people. It's beautiful. She knows how much these residents love children and when a child touches them, you can see how proud she is for them to have something that she just can't give: the essence and innocence of childhood.

Sometimes we dance with scarves. During this class, Owen took his scarf over and "tickled" some of the seniors. They all laughed with glee and so did he. These are moments that you can't make up, you can't stage. Authentic and pure joy across generations, neither thinking about what time it is, where they have to be next, how they are going to get everything done. These moments are what life should really be about.

During class we always sing a lullaby. Linda always prefaces it with, "find a lap to snuggle in." You don't have to tell Owen twice. Snuggling is on his list of favorite things to do. I had spent the whole class taking pictures and videos, trying to capture the feelings I have about this class. Right after the lullaby, Linda grabbed the camera and told me we had to have a picture of the photographer. I think it's the best picture of all. It reminds me that if I'm going to enjoy "these moments," I have to put the camera down.

This is Jo.

Earlier I said that I had no idea the depths of the relationships that would be built through this class. After class we usually go around and give high fives to the seniors and say goodbye. I talk to Linda, she gives stamps to all the kids, and we gather our stuff. Somehow during that time, Owen and Evan met Jo. They met her before I met her and I didn't realize that right away. We were driving in our car two days after the second class and Evan started saying, *"Bye, Jo! Bye, Jo!" The next week after class, they both ran up and said, "Hi Jo!" and it was then that I realized this amazing woman touched their hearts right under my nose.

Jo drives a motorized wheelchair with an Obama sign on the back. I've heard second hand that she use to be a children's librarian. She has learned and remembers the names of each child in class and she never misses a day. The thing I find most interesting about all this, is that I don't think she can hear very well.

One day after class she took off down the hall with a kid on her lap. Owen hadn't said goodbye to her yet and he burst into tears. I called after her. She didn't even pause. I yelled quite loudly and she still didn't hear. My second clue to this was during a song where we stopped singing and made snake sounds. I looked at Jo and she had a look that said, "What on earth are you all doing?" So, whatever the extent of Jo's hearing, it is not the music that brings her to our class. It has now become tradition for each boy to get a ride down the hall with Jo after class.

I wanted to include some videos of the class so people could see what we do, but it's really hard to engage your two children, sing and take video. As if that wasn't hard enough, then Linda decided for us to sing a round.

The funny thing about this video is at the end. We had just finished a song where we passed around eggs to the rhythm (a task I struggle with.) Other people were having trouble with this task, too. As we were singing tonal patterns, I caught the reason why on video. Evan was a chicken for Halloween. I think he was practicing his egg laying for the part.

If you are interested in learning more about Music Together, please check out their local website. Clarice organizes a variety of classes around the east metro area. She also schedules demo classes for interested families. Music Together is a franchise that started on the east coast and has spread around the country and is an internationally recognized program.

*Evan has since become obsessed with the name Jo. He shouts greetings when we pass Trader Joe's. When we were in North Carolina, he found out Jim's Uncle's name is Joe. Now if he doesn't know somebody's name, that person will most likely be Jo and will get a loud and happy, "HI JOE!"

The Very Happy Birthday Party

The big party was really just a medium sized party. My family ended up in the Emergency Room with my Grandmother. She passed out Sunday morning. The doctors said it was because she was dehydrated, but that there also has been a "change" in her heart. My Grandma has had Multiple Myeloma now for over five years and during that time also had heart surgery. You would never know it looking at her. She is an unstoppable 81 year old woman. Her biggest complaint about her chemo treatments is that they put a cramp in her social life. Now you can see where I get it.

So, the Letts Clan, my folks, and my sister in spirit Nina and son Henry came to celebrate Very Hungry Caterpillar style. I got a lot of great ideas and help from my Stay at Home Moms group. It's so fun to make adults act silly. Everyone donned an antennae headband, we had a cup full of suckers that had pom poms to look like caterpillars, we all wrote our favorite "Evan" memories on circles taped together to make a caterpillar, and I attempted to make a balloon caterpillar with some pipe cleaners and a helium tank.

Have a very Happy Birthday, Bro!

This is how caterpillars greet each other.

Evan was very excited to blow out his candles. He couldn't even wait for me to bring the cake all the way to him. He started standing up in his seat!

Here we are with Evan's caterpillar cupcakes which contained so much dye they turned his poop very green... and he ate a blue one!

The kids enjoyed the caterpillar suckers better without their wrappers.

Evan's new garden house was a very big hit with all the kids. There never seemed to be less than two kids in it at a time.



Evan got so many wonderful gifts for his birthday and the boys have been playing with each of them all week. It's nice with this dreary weather we're having this week to have some new imaginary games to play. He absolutely loves this cat piano. It comes with a microphone, but luckily it also has a volume control. Owen immediately stole this biker helmet that Ellie gave him. Evan has always been fascinated with animals. He got this deer book from his Grandma and Grandpa and then a special guest came to say Happy Birthday.
This huge hawk came swooping down and landed in the "Letts National Forest" also known as our yard. He took off as soon as my camera flashed. We've seen this guy here before, but never this close.
Evan was pretty tuckered out by the end of the party. It was a very special day.

Evan Turns 2!

After naps, Ya-ya and Bumpa showed up for the "real" birthday party. Sunday will be the "big" birthday party. We had a practice cake tonight.

We was a little worried whether or not Evan would like his gifts, but he definitely liked this Elmo paper. There is a similar picture of me at age 3 standing in front of a large Sesame Street wrapped package that contained a play kitchen. I guess large, furry puppets never lose their appeal.

He doesn't have much gift opening experience (apparently, either does his father *wink*) and he insists it's Halloween, not his birthday.








Jim and I got him the Little Tykes Vegetable Activity Garden. Everywhere we go, he seems to love this toy. We were worried he might be too old for it, but it was a big hit! He delivered mail and ate vegetables. Maybe this will carry over to real vegetables,

but probably not onions.
And we wonder where he gets the drama.


Owen also picked out a gift for Evan. It was a good pick. Evan loves ambulances or as he calls them, "Whee-oo, whee-oo." This gift was two-fold as it also includes a helicopter, a toy that we carried with us everywhere for about six months and nobody else could touch.

(He not only looks just like Jim, he even sits like him.)








All the gifts were a hit. Ya-ya knit him a new "Budgy." We have lost or left the old one a few times which led to some long nights. They also gave him a box of play donuts for their play kitchen. The donuts have removable/changeable frosting. I'm not sure if I have told this story before, but one weekday afternoon, Evan woke up from nap and insisted that he was "go wit daddy get donut, brown donut." He must have been dreaming about going to the bakery with Jim, who shares his love for "brown" donuts. His Aunt Rosemary use to feed them to him when he was a kid every chance she got.
Anyway, Ya-ya and Bumpa also gave Evan a super cool recycling truck that makes noise, but doesn't need batteries! After everything was over, this is the toy they both want to play with all the time.

THANK YOU YA-YA & BUMPA!