Random Fun in December

In no particular order, some fun December happenings ...

Ian continues to be fascinated with letters, sounds, and "writing." One day, Ian was drawing on his dry erase board while Momma folded laundry. He was proud to show Momma how he had copied the logo on the board (though Momma didn't see it at first ... oops!)

Ian was thrilled that we continued our tradition of advent boxes this year. Over half of the boxes were filled with an activity; the others were filled with (leftover Halloween) candy! Ha! Ian really enjoyed the "watch a Christmas movie" box. He got to watch the Grinch and the Charlie Brown Christmas movie after he had gotten all ready for bed. And, yes, many nights Ian requests his fireman PJs and also wants to wear his fireman boots. (Thanks, Grammy & Papa!)

One warm December day, we had just finished reading Curious George Flies a Kite (I think that's the one ... it's the one where he's supposed to deliver newspapers but instead folds them into boats). Ian wanted to fold OUR old newspapers into boats. We did that and then Ian wanted to float them in his turtle pool! They floated quite well until they got saturated with water and super floppy. :) On a side note, Curious George continues to be one of Ian's favorite characters. Almost daily, he'll watch Curious George on Netflix and/or request a Curious George book!

Our family headed to Austin, TX, so Kim could be trained as a student teaching supervisor for Concordia University-Texas. The family enjoyed the time in a hotel. Ian's favorites were jumping on the bed and having a pillow fight, of course! Our friends, Brad, Jenn, and girls, were also there, and the kids had a great time together. They ran all around the student union where Ian was thrilled to find a "goofball" (Foosball) table.

Jenn and I got our official purple bags as proof we completed the training! I'll observe my student teacher four times this semester. I'm looking forward to this fun opportunity!

Our small group went caroling at a local memory care/nursing home facility. Here, Ian's friend, Christopher, proudly shows off his caroling book he brought from home.

Our group sang carols for about 30 minutes. Many of the residents joined us in singing.

Then, the kids passed out ornaments they had made. Ian made dough ornaments with lots and lots of glitter. :)

It has been fun to see the boys interacting more and more. They can crack each other up better than anyone else can!

Our garage door spring broke one morning randomly. Thankfully, Matt's car was out so we had one car accessible while we waited for someone to come fix it. Ian was fascinated by the fixing process. Even though he was sick with the flu, Ian insisted on going into the garage with his play tools and sitting on a lawn chair by Matt so they could watch the whole repair process. The repair man was kind enough to explain some things to Ian (and Matt) throughout the repair.

Ryan went to his first baby-only playdate. Some friends from our small group moved to Missouri while Chris goes to Seminary there. Chris' wife, Lauren, and daughter, Lillie, came back to TX to visit for a few weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. We were so excited to see them again and see how much Lillie has grown.

Ryan was very interested in the other babies -- Samuel (less than 1 month old), Lillie (9 months), and Cate (6 months).

What a fun December! :)