Counting Down to Christmas

We are counting down the days till Christmas in three ways this year.

1) We have an "advent" tree that hangs on the wall in the hallway between the kids bedrooms. The top of the tree has a cord that dangles a felt candy cane that can be slipped into the numbered pockets for each day of the month. So every morning, Will gets out his stool and moves the candy cane to the next numbered pocket and informs us what day it is.

2) Of course we made a paper chain too that we started on the first of the month.

3) And the third countdown (the one I have been most excited about and planning for months) is our book countdown. I had been purchasing some of our favorite books from our library lists off of Amazon, as well as some new un-read Christmas books from Will's Scholastic order, and collecting them in a box until I had 24 books. Then I wrapped them all up and stuck them in a pretty, silver basket on our buffet. Each night after dinner, the kids take turns opening one new book that is theirs to keep (and share). We read them together and they have become a fun ritual as we count down the days till Christmas. I love this and the kids do too! I found the idea on a couple other blogs. Others are using ALL Christmas books and even wrapping up some of their already-owned books or even library books that they plan to return. I, however, intended for this to be a part of their Christmas gift. There are plenty of books from all of our library lists that I had hoped to own one day, so this was a perfect opportunity to check off some of the list! I've made sure to include a good variety of books appropriate for each child.

So far we've opened several new Sandra Boynton's, as well as Thunder Cake (Patricia Polacco), Time for Bed (Mem Fox), and a couple Christmas titles we'd never read before. I can't wait for Will to recognize books from months ago that he'd loved so much when we borrowed them. He's going to be SO excited! And this will cut down (a little bit) on all the opening Christmas morning.

Visiting Santa

We've been to see Santa twice now!

Well... Sophie and I have. Will & Craig only once.

The first time was at the Wasserman family reunion last Sunday. As I mentioned previously, Sophie and I went together while the boys stayed home and napped. Then she and I came home around 3 and took our turns napping while the boys went to grandma and papa's for dinner.

I love bringing her tutu skirt into the winter season with a simple pair of black tights and a black, ruffled cardigan. So pretty. She looked adorable!
Lunch time! Turkey & stuffing, corn, sweet potato and homemade mac 'n cheese. In other words: an entirely carb-filled lunch. ;) Mommy loaded up on salads with a little turkey and sweet potato on the side. There was this great salad with green lettuce, apples, dried cranberries, tiny bits of Swiss? cheese and walnuts. It was wonderful! I think mom has that recipe and I want it!

Our extended Wasserman clan has boasted over 300 people in years past. But our show rate seemed to be dwindling a bit at just over 220 this year. It's amazing the number of people I'm related to that I don't know well at all.

Sophie was NOT a fan of "Santa" and clung to me for dear life, burying her head in my shoulder most of the time.

And then shortly after, pretending she was so brave, Sophie showed off her orange and candy cane to everyone.

On Tuesday evening, Craig suggested we take the kids to Bass Pro Shop in Perrysburg for a (hopefully) quieter weeknight picture with Santa. If that was "quieter", I can't imagine being there on a weekend. We still waited quite awhile in line. But the picture was free and we browsed the store after.

While Craig and Sophie held our place in line for a bit, Will and I walked over to check out the huge fish tank.

For some reason, whenever I see Will wearing white sneakers and jeans, I think he looks JUST like his daddy. I love dressing him similar to Craig's style. They're such a cute pair. ;)

A reenactment picture to compare to last year:

Sophie colored a picture at the craft table near the line.

I stood off to the side to take this while the professional pic was taken. Will asked Santa for two semi trucks, a rocket, a combine and a red bicycle. Ha! We're already done Christmas shopping and I think he will be pleased with his gifts this year! Yay!

And daddy had to hold Sophie, who again wanted nothing to do with jolly old St. Nick.

Not a good pic of either kid, but I like it anyway. Holy high-waters, Sophie! That girl needs 2T jeans already for those long legs!

Browsing the store for a bit.

Riding up the elevator and checking out all the animals.

Hmm... I wonder if Sophie will change her mind next year and decide to give the jolly, bearded man a better chance?

William at 3 1/2

Today is December 8th and Will's half birthday!

(P.S. - I started this on Dec. 8th but I realize I'm not posting till the 9th)

Our boy is three and a half and we are still continuing to grasp that he is so not a baby anymore! In fact, he has had a huge growth spurt in the past six months!!! His knees are bent a little in this picture, but we measured him today (using a tape measure first, not just the growth chart) and he has grown 1 3/4" since June! That is the same amount of height increase as between his second and third birthdays! So he's literally growing twice as fast this year! (Side note: every sentence in this paragraph so far ends in an exclamation point... can you tell I'm surprised??) That change is really evident in his pants length since we tried them all on before the start of the fall season. Many of the 3T pants seemed to need rolling then and now they fit him just right. And, for some reason, every time I look at his bare feet, it hits me that he is just so BIG now. Where did his little baby feet go?

Speaking of bare feet, that seems to be one of Will's little quirks. I'm not sure how common that is among kids, but he hates wearing socks in the house. He ALWAYS removes them no matter who's house we're in and no matter how cold it is. We can usually talk him into wearing slippers for a little while, but even those come off pretty quickly. Another one of his clothing quirks is that he is constantly pushing his long sleeves up above his elbows. It just seems to be habit. He never leaves long sleeves down anymore.

Another change I've noticed in the past couple months (which has probably been more of a gradual thing) is that he is able to remember things so well. I know I've mentioned before that he has always had a good memory - especially with things that are of interest to him - but now he is able to tell me what he had for snack at school or what a book was about that we read over a week ago, etc. He will even remember what color shirt someone was wearing the last time he saw them! This is great for his reading comprehension skills too as he is able to retell me a story that we've read even if I question whether or not he was listening. It seems that not much gets by him without making a mental note even if he doesn't seem to be paying attention.

Some of Will's current interests include:
1) Reading, of course! By that, I mostly mean listening to Craig or me read to him, but Will has really improved his own reading skills lately! He is still sounding out the letters to make words but getting much better at blending those sounds so that he's able to read them as words more quickly. And also quick enough that he can understand the sentence as a whole. I never really explained vowel sounds in any depth to him, but he knows if I say "that's a long O" that he should read it as a long /O/ sound. He's also grasping that "e's" are silent at the end of most words and that certain letter "chunks" (digraphs such as "th", "sh", "ou", "oo", etc.) work together to make common sounds, which we talk about in similar words. He's also remembering some sight words such as "the" and "and". We recently got two new beginner reading books that he was able to read (to me) about 80% on his own. I can tell that he's really feeding off the excitement of this improving skill - he LOVES being praised - but he still really loves being read to as well. Especially with the Magic Tree House series. I'm in no hurry to lose this special activity together because I enjoy it too and I think my reading more advanced books to him will help him continue to love books and want to reach that higher level of reading.
2) State, geography and cardinal directions. The USA place mat is often the spawn of most conversation about states, but he also loves his floor puzzle, wall maps and globe as well. Will now knows the names and locations of many U.S. states as well as something those states are known for. He's also very interested in directions and likes to point out which states are south of Ohio or on the west coast, etc. Oh, and for some reason, he is still in love with the state of Oklahoma - haha! - and always claims that it is his favorite state behind Ohio. I bought him a small "children's first atlas" for Christmas and am excited to see how he likes it.

3) This love of the states has also spawned a new interest coins. He and Craig sort through the quarters in Will's piggy bank and point out which state each is from and what pictures are on the coins. Until just recently, Craig and Will were on a hunt for an Oklahoma quarter. But thankfully, Aunt Kelly found one for them. :)
4) Singing! Another thing that Craig and Will do together is sing and make up songs. To anyone who knows Craig, this may sound shocking because he definitely did not inherit his mother's singing voice, but Craig loves to be goofy with music and invent silly songs with Will. Will totally engages in this and together they just build on each other's verses. It's ridiculous and funny.
5) Much more imaginative play. I LOVE this! I had hoped that Will would finally start to enjoy one of the purist pleasures of childhood: imagination! And he's finally self-creating his play time around inventive and imaginative activities. But now that he's doing it, I've realized my total lack of interest in most of this type of play. Well, not total lack, I guess. I don't mind role-playing from time to time, but having ridiculous conversations/dialogues between two dinosaur figurines is really NOT my cup of tea. Still, I try to oblige him because I know it's important. Craig is better at it though. I prefer more logical play, I guess. But both are very valuable.
6) Will's continued love of animals has brought him to his current fascination of classifying them into different categories, i.e nocturnal/diurnal, herbivore/carnivore/omnivore, and also by their habitats: forest, farm, African plains, etc. He understands and says all these big words so clearly! And you should hear him spout off the names of various dinosaurs: brachiosaurus, teradactyl, tyrannosaurus rex, triceratops, velociraptor, etc. (He knows which of those are herbivores and carnivores as well.) Hmm... I'm thinking that a dinosaur museum visit might need to be in our future!

School Updates:
Will continues to enjoy school days. He and his classmates seemed to develop new friendships quickly and the teachers have really been working on taking turns and cooperating with others. I'm sure sharing is a constant point of learning as well. :)

This is an old picture from the first day of school that I'd forgotten to post. You can't see Will that well (he's behind the two girls in front) but I think it's a cute picture and I love the light. Behind Will are two of his closest friends Austin and Jacob. I don't think his other buddy Luke was there on the first day. Also, Lily is the second girl in line and we hear about her often as well.

(Another old picture.)

They've continued to work on number recognition and counting as we've seen from the projects he brings home. Also, at home, Will and I continue to work on double-digit number recognition (being able to read them aloud) and place value - which number is bigger or smaller.

At the end of October, the students had a Halloween party where everyone dressed up and they trick-or-treated in the hallway.

Haha! Will's three best buddies all dressed up as Buzz Lightyear!! I'm surprised (and pleased) that he hasn't reached the age (or perhaps personality) type yet to be jealous of this or of being different. When I asked Will what his favorite costume was that day, he actually said it was his friend Payton who dressed up as a horse. :) I like that he held onto his true interest despite the obvious popularity of everyones' favorite astronaut. ;) Aren't these boys cute?

For part of November, they worked on a unit called "My Family" where each of the kids brought in a picture of their family and talked about each member. It was a focus on how each of the students held a special place in their family and together they created a large "family tree" on one wall using everyones' pictures.

The end of November until present has been a focus on "Manners Please" because of the upcoming holiday. Will does pretty well with "please" and "thank you" but often needs reminding for "I'm sorry" and "excuse me". ;)

They've done some fun art projects and continued practice using scissors and writing their names. Our current goal is to get Will's two "l's" to be written in lowercase now. Haha! Our local school district uses D'Nealian print style so I'll have to brush up on the specifics of that (i.e. tails on the ends of letters and slight slant to the right). Have I mentioned I love the preschool newsletters for all this information? :)

Behavioral issues:

Will continues to have phases of difficulty falling asleep at night. It happened in October after my last "Will update", then got better, and is now worse again. He is staying awake in his bed until after 10pm frequently even though he goes to bed between 8 and 8:30. This stems from difficulty falling asleep at nap time too. He will go down for nap around 1 or 1:30, stay awake until 3 in his bed and then wake at 5 acting totally exhausted. I was going to happily report that thankfully he seemed to be sleeping until 7:15 or 7:30 most mornings, but he's now back to 6:45- 7 the past couple days. It seems to be a bad cycle. I try not to let him sleep as late in the afternoon even if he does fall asleep late so as to not ruin bedtime, but it's difficult. And he definitely still needs that nap!! He frequently seems tired to me by mid- to late-morning, but then gets a second wind. I'm wondering if we just need to get him down for nap earlier? Like noon or 12:30... Maybe we're missing the boat and he's already had an adrenaline rush kick in following the drowsy late morning. That earlier nap would be extremely difficult though for our babysitter and impossible on school days. Hmm...

In October when he was struggling with this, we also noticed subsequent behavioral issues that were likely a result of lack of sleep: more tantrums, whining, poor listening, etc. It hasn't been as bad this time (fingers crossed!) so that's a relief.

Another behavioral thing I notice often is his desire to regress when he sees me praising something Sophie does or says. He loves that exaggerated response I give her when she does/says something new/better and then he tries to mimic even if it's too baby-ish for him. That's especially annoying when it comes to baby talk.

And finally, we are continually aware that Will just seems to be fearless of all people and most animals. (He is still afraid of the big dogs that run up to him at grandma and Aunt Kelly's houses.) While I'm glad that he is social and unafraid, it worries me that he would go to anyone, any time. He is completely comfortable around strangers, talks to everyone, and has zero qualms about wandering away from mom or dad. I know that "stranger danger" is something they address in school, but I'm not sure how confident I am in his likelihood of being cautious when that's just not in his personality. Does that make sense?

Other:
Will is still a purist when it comes to food. He likes things plain and one flavor at a time as opposed to recipes with multiple ingredients. He doesn't mind if his foods touch but he generally likes foods in the raw with nothing else done to them. The exception is baked goods - he does love muffins, pancakes and breads, etc. Will's favorite foods continue to be ALL fruits, most veggies, yogurt, meatloaf, crackers, sometimes noodles, pickles!, grilled cheese, peanuts, dried fruit, etc. He still doesn't drink much at any one time, although he will drink much more using a straw or a lid. One of Will's weaknesses is clumsy-ness... or I guess lack of coordination sometimes. He is still not as good as I think he should be at drinking from a regular cup - he gets sloppy and pours too much too fast, so I think that often makes him resort to being overly cautious and taking tiny sips.

Along the same lines of coordination are a need to work on using scissors and writing. He definitely hasn't mastered either of those skills yet. Part of the reason is his lack of interest in anything art-related but I think he really just needs more practice.

One of my favorite things about Will is how loving he is. Such a charmer, that boy. Here are some of the things he said to me in the last week or so:

"You are so kind, mommy."

"Your skin is really pretty, mommy."

(I have no idea where that came from but I almost cried when he said it. I've always struggled with skin problems and I remember feeling such a sense of acceptance with those problems after having kids and realizing that they don't see those things and they love me no matter what. Sniff sniff.)

"You are awesome, mommy."

"You're the smartest, mommy."

"I love you so, so, soooo much, mommy."

(My head is huge when I hang out with Will! LOL)

Such a sweet, sweet, lover boy!!!

In Will's next six months, I am looking forward to:

enjoying holidays with him

teaching him to read

teaching him to ride a bike

working on increased independence

winter and spring activities

etc.

Happy 3 1/2 years, William Dean!

We love you!!

Visiting Great Grandma & Grandpa

This past weekend was filled with helping and spending time with family.

We took pizza over to my sisters house on Friday so the kids could play and Craig could help Wes with some handy work... We went to Great Grandma & Grandpa Konesky's house on Saturday morning for Craig to help them set up their new computer... We babysat Cecilia on Saturday night while her mommy and daddy went out to a work Christmas dinner... And then by Sunday, we were in need of some down time for ourselves, so we split up the days commitments: Sophie and I went to a family reunion lunch party at 1:00 and then came home for a late nap... And then Craig and Will went to dinner at Grandma & Grandpa Riedeman's.

I honestly wish we could do more of that one-on-one time with the kids. I loved having Sophie all to myself (like I always did with Will at her age) and loved that she had my unshared attention for a quiet evening of doing whatever she wanted to do. We played with puzzles and read books, played with her toy kitchen and listened to Christmas music. We had dinner together (leftovers) and she got a bath... all without any other noise and interuptions that are standard when we're all home together. Of course, I wouldn't change our noisy/chaotic/busy family of four for the world, but I do cherish every minute of the one-on-one time we get with each of our children when it works out.

Anyway, here are some photos from our visit to Great Grandma & Grandpa Konesky's house on Saturday morning while Craig was working on the computer.

Will's first request when he walks in Grandma's door (before he even gets his shoes and coat off) is always for her little cars and trucks. He also loves the little old school house with wooden people and the tiny kitchen stove top that turns red when the "on" knob is turned.

Sophie's first grab was a baby doll and bottle that she pulled out of grandma's wooden, dolly high chair and carried around with her. She also loved looking out the window at grandpa's horse, Nanner in the pasture.

We played hide-and-seek.

And the kids fed the "babies" a bottle and "blueberries" (Will's creation on the play stove top).

Sophie's taken a much greater interest in babies and imitating mothering behaviors recently and I'm so excited for her to get her new baby doll from Casey and Wes at Christmas. Shh! Don't tell!

Will feeding the "blueberries".

Random: this is one of my current favorite outfits that Sophie wears. I love her whole 18-24 month wardrobe but this outfit just looks especially cute and so comfortable. I bought the boxy, swing-style, polka-dot sweatshirt last cold weather season and then just found the cotton pants and bodysuit (which also went under her Halloween costume) at Meijer!

St. Nicholas Day!

The kids left a shoe outside their bedroom doors on Sunday night in hopes that St. Nicholas would pay us a visit and leave a surprise for them. :)

We also requested a couple books from our library that tell the history and explanation of St. Nicholas Day.

Each child received two mini candy canes and a clementine, plus a note from St. Nick to look for a special surprise under the tree as a reward for their good behavior this year.

Since then, Will has been totally into the Melissa & Doug "Shape, Model & Mold" play doh kit.

I'd like to try to make my own play doh that would be a little safer for Sophie to play with, should she accidentally ingest any of it. So hopefully she'll get a chance to play with all these cool tools soon too. Play doh is so fun!

Winter To-Do List

Just a little over two weeks until winter officially begins and we are really looking forward to it! So I thought it would be a good time to make our Winter To-Do List. I like making these lists, even if it would be impossible to complete them entirely, simply because it's a helpful benchmark of all the fun, seasonal activities available in our area. It will also be a useful resource for me to refer back to in future years. In fact, I think I'm going to add a couple things that I know we won't get to do this year just to use as a reminder for the future.

When making my Fall To-Do List, I didn't really think about the month of December as part of the fall season, so this list may include some things earlier in December before the winter season actually begins. Also, I looked back on that fall list to see how much we actually accomplished and I think it was about 16 out of 23 ideas. Last minute changes of plan and/or budget concerns were the main reasons for the unfinished items.

So here are my ideas:
1) Holiday Pajama Brunch with our friends! This will be our 7th annual brunch and I look forward to it every year. This year, the time crept up on me sooner than I expected and I didn't get my invitations out like I normally do. But it's a totally casual affair (obviously... since we're in jammies) and everyone already knows that it's always the second Sunday morning in December. The invitations are just for my own extra fun. :) There are four couples and now three kids. We've dropped the gift exchange that used to be part of it, but we get together for a late morning feast and it's nice that it doesn't interfere with any other holiday commitments. Just time to hang out with our best friends.
2) Lights Before Christmas at the zoo. Obviously, we've already accomplished this this year, but it's definitely a must-do in our area. This was there 25th year of the Lights!
3) "Paint" and bake Christmas cut-out cookies with Grandma Verna using Great Grandma Wasserman's sugar cookie recipe.
4) Drive around to see the Christmas decorations and lit houses after dark with a thermos of hot chocolate.
5) Caroling!! - I've never done this and I know it sounds totally silly, especially since I'm not boasting any talent... but I thought it would be fun to take Will caroling to a couple neighborhood friends houses this year. Anyone want to join?? :)
6) Holiday crafts and decorations - I have a bunch of ideas... We'll see how many we get accomplished. Our tree is finally up as of this past weekend, so that's a start!
7) Countdowns till Christmas. We have three different countdowns going right now! More on that later.
8) Sledding. Bring on the snow!!!
9) Ice skating. I'd like to go to Tam-O-Shanter in Sylvania for their indoor rink so we can rent skates. Craig's a pretty decent skater and said he'd feel comfortable holding Sophie while Will and I attempt stay on our feet. ;)
10) Snowmobiling. Craig's dad just got a new sled and we think Will is old enough now to go for his first ride in front of Craig!
11) Visit the indoor farmers market (downtown) at least once monthly through the winter. Hmm... I wonder what they'll even have the further we get into winter??
12) Noon Year's Eve celebration! We did this last year with the kids and it was so fun. Hopefully, Casey and Wes will host this year and we can expand on our celebrating ideas.
13) Imagination Station visit for some science fun. I like doing this in winter when there's not as much to do outside.
14) Bumper bowling with the kids. Ha! I think they would love that!
15) Take Will to his first move at the theater. He's old enough now that he would sit through it, I think. Hmm... what should we see?
16) Take a winter time ride on the North Pole Express and visit the Northwest Ohio Railroad Preservation, Inc. museum in Findlay. The rides are on quarter-scale train (which I think are like the open ones at the zoo) but the museum has model and full-scale trains on display and the ride fee is only $2 for adults and $1 for kids. That sounds like a great deal for a fun time!
17) Celebrate my 30th birthday on January 23rd!!! :)
18) Visit the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. I'd love to see their Holiday Lights event, but I'm not sure we'll make it with our busy December schedule. Maybe next year we can try to get to their earliest day on December 4th? But even after the holidays, I think it would be fun to make a day trip out of visiting their exhibits and beautiful grounds. It's been ages since I was there last.
19) Speaking of busy December, we have seven parties on the calendar (including the family reunion we just attended yesterday and the PJ brunch I mentioned above). I am SO EXCITED to celebrate with the kids again on Christmas morning!
20) Frequent library visits and lots of reading!
21) A trip to the store to purchase some cold weather clothing items (hats, gloves, etc.) for the holiday bureau program and those less fortunate. They're collecting at school and Will and I have been talking about this and recently read a cute children's book that reinforces this message.
22) Celebrate Valentine's Day - making Valentines, lots of heart-inspired cooking and baking, hopefully another candle-lit dinner at home and some fun activities too.
23) Celebrate St. Patrick's Day - crafts? food?
24) Lots of other random wintery crafts/activities/food.
25) Visit the Ritter Planetarium and Brooks Observatory at the University of Toledo. I've had a flyer family events from them for over a year now and it looks like so much fun. I think Will would totally love it as he is very curious about "constellations" and "telescopes". The evening time are a little late beginning at 7:30 and the Saturday times are right at the start of his nap time (1:00) so I'm not sure if/when we'll do this, but I'm cataloging it in my memory and definitely plan to get there sooner than later.
26) Weekend trip to an indoor water park/resort with friends. I had high hopes of doing this this winter, but I doubt we'll be able to budget for this right now and I just think winter sounds like the best time to do this. So maybe next year?

Okay, that's all I've got off the top of my head. Looking forward to a fun-filled winter!