Happy New Year!

After we wrapped up our Christmas celebration, we moved right on to New Year's.

A lot of times, at my folks' place, we just like to have Hors d'œurves for dinner. They're more fun to make, more fun to eat, and less mess to clean up... maybe. Anyway, New Year's seems like a good time to have a party and eat apps.. We got the idea to make Knox Blocks when we were in Osseo last week. The boys each made their favorite color.

We cut them into fun shapes with cookies cutters. Evan was the only one who would eat them, but it was still fun.

We nibbled our appetizers,...

donned our party hats,...

grabbed our noise makers, and had our own countdown. Owen got a watch for Christmas from Ya-ya and Bumpa. It has a second hand. When the hand would reach the 9, Owen would say, "Guys. Guys. It's at the 9!) And at the 10, we would all count down and shout, "Happy New Year!" We must have done it a dozen before the adults got tired of it and announced it was bedtime.

Christmas Up North

We drove through the night to our last Christmas. As usual, Jim finished work around 8:30. Then we couldn't get up our driveway due to ice. By the time we hit the road it was 9:20. The kids slept the whole way and Jim and I wished we could, too. It was close to 3 a.m. when we arrived because the roads got very slippery near Wausau. But we made it and the next day we celebrate our last Christmas.

My folks got Jim a fishing pole from St. Croix Rod and Reel. This pole will probably be most often used only miles from where it was made! That kind of thing right up Jim's alley. Owen was pretty excited about it, too.

My favorite gift was a stone to add to my "mother" necklace. Mia's birthstone is pink. I was routing for her to be born in September, so I could add sapphire to the chain, but the Pink Tourmaline looks surprisingly good with the rest of the family's stones. Thanks Mom & Dad.

Evan was probably the most excited about his gift. Even though he already received many dinosaurs this week, he loved his new Sharp Tooth & Pokey Guy (AKA T-Rex & Triceratops) and the really neat box they came in which folds into a play mat. The play mat scene includes a tar pit, a volcano, waterfall, and a cave with "scary eyes." With it, he also got this really cool dinosaur pop-up book.

By the end of our stay, I'm sure Ya-ya was regretting the purchase as she became Evan's prime dino playmate. Ya-ya is not use to playing little boy games and kept trying, with some success, to get the T-Rex to be nice.

Meanwhile, Mia discovered her hands. She's not grabbing dinosaurs yet, or even reaching, but she getting pretty good at grasping whatever is in front of her: her shirt, your hand, a small toy, etc.

We also celebrated with my Great-Aunt Sarah. Sarah made this plate for Mia. It has her full name, birth date and weight on it.

The boys were delighted with their new game and truck, but they equally loved Mia's new "polar" bear. Thank you, Sarah!

Elf Snowball Fight

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Jacobson Family Christmas Party

Every year, on the day after Christmas, my Grandmother's family gets together for the Jacobson family Christmas party. It doesn't always work for me to go anymore, but this year it did. Jim was in St. Peter visiting High School friends, so the kids and I went alone and we had a really great time.

For the first time in years, we participated in the annual talent show. My Grandmother is one of 10 and our family probably is the least talented, but that is not because we are unmusical or lack talent, it's just that the rest of the family is SO talented and creative. But, regardless, Gus really wanted to sing this year, so we gathered up as many as were willing (Owen was not included in the "willing" group, nor was Graham) and we sang, "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer." Owen said he sang from the back. He is such a Letts!

This picture was just too cute. I have no idea what song they sang, but my mom's cousin Kristen and her daughter had moves to go with it. It seemed, though, that only one of them remembered the moves.

And then came the talent. Three sisters did a beautiful job harmonizing.

My mom's cousin Jane's daughter with her sister, Anna's girls. The girls are all adopted from Guatamala and Anna is raising them alone. They have a wonderful relationship and even travel back to visit their birth families. Anyway, I just love these girls and their dance was priceless.

This is the song that I cannot get out of my head. These two were by far the best act. I was so entranced by their talent that I didn't manage to tape the end in which they took the two parts of the song and put them together in a round. Add to that their charisma and I wondered if I was on Broadway instead of the Osseo Country Club.

My Grandmother's youngest sister, Marion, and her husband, Ron, sang a song to celebrate the 50 years they've been married (accompanied by their daughter, Kara.)

Then my Grandmother's 4 sisters got up and did a silly rendition of their traditional act upon everyone's request. By the end, the whole room was singing along.
At the end of the show, Marion lead us all in a group dance. Evan was so excited. He got lost during the do-ce-do and ended up down by my aunt Peggy.

Even though none of us really knew what we were doing, nor had the room to do it, we had a really great time!

Hosting Christmas

"Quick! Get dressed, throw away the wrappings, stack up the presents, heat up the dinner! Our family is coming over!" That is what it was like here this afternoon as we rushed to get ready after a leisurely morning of gift exchange and brunch of apple strudel and Boca bacon & sausage.
Tom's family came up from St. Peter and Jim's parents drove over from Minneapolis. We nibbled on appetizers and cookies and then let the kids dive into their gifts. We gave Addie a castle and a magic wand. Ellie got a Tag Reader, which I think she will enjoy once they get it uploaded. Margaux received a book about her name and a baby drum set. It's so fun to watch kids open presents! These days just the kids get presents and the adults give to a charity. This year I gave to Planned Parenthood and Jim gave to Bonobo Conservation Initiative. Jim's parents gave to The Center for Victims of Torture, an organization our family has been involved in for more than 10 years, in our names. It's really a wonderful gift because we have everything we need right here in our living room.

All Evan asked for for Christmas was a blue longneck dinosaur. He now has dinosaurs in all shapes and sizes. Jen and Tom got him this really cool bin full of dinos, volcanoes, trees, and a play mat. Even I have had fun playing with it!

Nobody got left out. Mia received a little fish that plays music when you pull a string. It's brightly colored and she is very interested in it already.

After presents, we ate a light dinner and loaded up the van to go see the light show at Lake Phalen. The big kids each grabbed a cookie for the road. The trip was a bit of a let down. The show was cancelled due to weather (the weather was beautiful: clear skies, nearly 40˚!). So, instead, we drove down to Rice Park and Mears Park downtown St. Paul. Evan fell asleep before we left the neighborhood, but Ellie and Owen enjoyed the ride.

Christmas Morning

Evan would not get up Christmas morning. Christmas Eve night was so bad, we had to separate the boys. When Owen fell asleep, Jim moved him into their room and Evan was still chattering away. When he finally did get up this morning, he was craaaaaabby. He took one pouty look at his gifts and went back up to bed. 10 minutes later he came down, ate all the chocolate in his stocking, his orange and then decided maybe he could open a present. I think he may be an alien.

Owen had a typical child reaction to Christmas. He wanted to open everything in site and was thrilled about everything, including his orange!
(Owen will not eat any fruit at all, but says he will when he's 5).

Owen was pretty stoked about Santa's gifts, which is good because he and Santa decided he would get a surprise this year. The day we visited Santa, Owen was so excited, he forgot to prepare a list. Santa's elves were watching carefully, though, and they new just what Owen wanted. Although, not much could top last year.

Mia was happy to spend her first Christmas just sitting around spacing out with Daddy & Ally.

Evan finally got into it. He got a kid's knife to slice open the tape on his box. And he got exactly what he wanted: "a blue longneck."

I'm not sure if Jim loved his gift, but he sure looks cute in them!
(If you can't tell from the picture, they are insulated coverall waders)

Here Owen and Evan display their favorite gifts. Owen is showing his new ornament that plays "Jingle Bells" when you wind the crank and Evan is showing Owen's new knights, which he calls "Jack and Annie" from the Magic Treehouse books. And Mia is just being her usual adorable self.
Merry 1st Christmas, Mia!

Twas the Night Before Christmas

We spent most of Christmas Eve getting ready for our Christmas party, but right before bed we got out the cookies to fix a plate for Santa. Yes. I did say for Santa. And yes, that is Evan eating Santa's cookie! He's a gutsy kid eating Santa's cookies the night before Christmas!

We also decided to write a little note to Santa so he would know that these cookies were specifically for him. (and not for, say, Evan!)

Sure hope Santa likes what the boys picked out for him!

New Dino Exhibit

I'm all done with shopping, wrapping and baking, so today we met some friends at the new dinosaur exhibit at the Children's Museum!

Owen has moved on to the next level of discovery at the museum. He was very interested in the details of the dinosaurs today. He learned that there was a great waterway that divided the states and that this waterway disappeared between 60 and 80 million years ago. At this table he attempted to sort the dinosaurs into those who lived near Alaska and those that lived near Montana.

However he was quite discouraged by this boy next to Evan that was very into smashing dinosaurs together... like little boys should. Evan put his Triceratops in a herd near the Dakotas and they made friends with a Pteranodon.

Evan was also very intersted in the Troodon's nest. Paleontologists believe that Troodon's guarded their eggs. I think Evan liked the thought of that. On the other hand, he also liked the thought of throwing the eggs over the exhibit wall and watching the museum employee having to come with a giant grabber to get them out.*

And, of course, when we go to MCM, we get to eat at McD's. All the kids had to climb all over Ronald. Inside we ran into a homeless man Jim met during residency. His name is Reuben. He's a regular figure at this McDonald's and he's always situated at the same spot. I often slip him my Monopoly tickets or something, even though he doesn't know who I am. In fact, one of the reasons I don't pack a lunch for us is that I sort of hope to run into him, just to see that he's still around. He sure got a kick out of Evan and Mia today. As we strolled away Evan asked why Reuben doesn't have any legs. Oh, Evan, I wish there was an easy answer for that.

As we all go into the holiday weekend and hole up in our homes to avoid the blizzard that's about to hit, let's remember how lucky we are and say a little prayer for those who aren't quite so.

*He didn't actually do it, but he saw the egg rescue in progress and seriously thought about trying it out himself.

A Different Christmas Carol

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Caroling for the Seniors

Today we went caroling at the senior assisted living home where we take music class. The boys happen to get castanets in their advent calendars this morning, which helped get them in the mood for singing. It also helped that our first stop was 1st floor where our favorite senior, Jo, lives. Jo had a Santa blanket on today which thrilled Evan. We sang a series of songs, including Santa Claus is Coming to Town, requested by Evan. It's his favorite this year. Last year, it was Santa Baby. (Click the link to see him singing along with the ornament I got for him.)

We also sang Jingle Bells and ended each floor with We Wish You a Merry Christmas. We were joined today by our friends Leslie and her sons Teo & Meteh, Kerry and her kids Anisse & Xavier, Deb with her husband Arun and kids Jackson (of Action Jackson) and Charlotte, and were lead by our very special music teacher, Linda.

On the second floor, we ran into another one of our favorite seniors, Jeanine! I love Jeanine. She was a kindergarten teacher and although she must be nearly 90 years old or more, she still beams when she sees children, claps her hands to the beat as they sing, and listens intently to what they say.

Here is the lot of us singing. As we progressed to each floor, the kids participated less and less. By the last floor, they were all looking out the window, laying on the floor, and generally fairly whiney. Even though it got a little long for the kids, since they only knew 3 songs, they still said they had a really great time and I know they felt good about putting smiles on their senior friends' faces.

Before we left I wanted to get our picture in front of one of the many beautifully decorated trees at the home. Evan wouldn't wear his hat and Owen was way past being able to smile, but that's O.K. I know they will remember this place and it will make a difference in their lives.

Last Swim Class

Owen and Evan had their last swim class tonight. They both have made huge improvements. Owen was moved up to Little 3's! His teacher was really impressed by how fast he learned. His favorite activity is one called "Chop Chop Timber." The teacher says, "Chop, chop," and when he says, "Timber," the kid falls into the water (hopefully without doing a belly flop.)

Jim's parents have been a huge help to me with the swim lessons. I really could not have taken the boys without them. Tonight, they stayed for dinner after the class. Mia has really taken to Neil and he knows how to get her talking. She loves to talk and mimic sounds. She really watches your face intently when she hears a new sound. She will try to trill her tongue, mimic vowel sounds, and even sing on pitch!

You'll Shoot Your Eye Out Kid!

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Happy 2nd Birthday, Adeline!

It's hard to have your birthday near Christmas. There are so many get togethers, it's too cold for outdoor parties, you often get jipped on gifts... Our niece, Addie, sandwiched between two sisters, celebrated her 2nd birthday today. But instead our typical family get together, which there will be plenty of in the near future, Jen and Tom planned her party at The Malt Shop! That's the way you make a December birthday special!

Who loves The Malt Shop?

I think these two love it the most. All Evan had for dinner was this malt!

Mia didn't get a malt, but she got plenty of cuddles.

Addie doesn't really like to have too much attention. Even just having our family watch her blow out her candles is too much. Once the traditional demands of the party were over, she was able to let loose and have fun. She chased Evan around the table and copied her mom and aunties, who were busy feeding all the babies. I wasn't sure what to get a 2 year old girl, so we got her a ladybug constellation night light and the book Do Like Kyla. It's the perfect book for her since she can relate to both the big and the little sister.

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY, ADDIE!
WE LOVE YOU!!!

Disney Princesses on Ice

One of the few annoying things about being the organizer for my Moms' group was that I would get daily emails from solicitors. However, one of these turned out to be a real perk. I was able to get free tickets to Disney's Princesses on Ice just for telling other moms about the show. I got 5 tickets and I was planning to take my nieces and one of the boys, but they were busy, so we went with the Yeagers. My Owen wasn't too thrilled about princesses, but Owen Y. was excited, so Owen L. decided it would be O.K.

I thought the show was absolutely magical. Evan really enjoyed it, too. I kept wishing that Mia was old enough to come.

I thought the dwarfs were the most fun to watch skate. I can't imagine that it's very easy to see in those costumes. Then stick 7 almost blind guys on skates with top heavy suits onto the ice. I don't know how they didn't smash into each other.

The other truly spectacular thing was the sets. The castles and backdrops were on a giant spinning disk. Beauty and the Beast was my kids' favorite. Owen loves Belle and Evan, of course, loves The Beast.

At the end of the first half, all the princes and princesses came out to dance together, but somebody was missing. Hmm.

At intermission Jackie treated us to popcorn. I think Evan actually ate most of it.

The whole second half was devoted to Cinderella and Prince Charming.

Cinderella is not my favorite, but I thought the costumes on these "horses" were brilliant!

This part was a little over the top for me, but all in all the boys had a really great time. They weren't screaming and cheering for Cinderella and Tinkerbell like the rest of the 12,000 spectators, which comprised mostly of Girl Scouts, but they had a good time.