Don't Forget...

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Preschool Day 1.

The new year brought big moments right out of the blocks. 2 Jan. - bright and early - Sully took on the world of preschool. Twice a week, 2 hours. A little more P&Q around the house. It made me tear up.

Before... Giddy up!

After with his buddy from next door...

I don't think I've ever seen a kid more excited about school. And when we picked him up, he turned around as we were leaving and yelled, "OK! I will come to preschool again!!!" to reassure his teachers that he'd be back.
Mike said that reaction alone was enough to make it worth while.

Vol. 3 - All Our Wildest Dreams Came True

The going-to-bed-on-Christmas-Eve photo. A Pillow Pet line-up.

Show time!

A few of our favorite moments:

Tillman received the MAPS he'd been begging for.

Grace attacking Noble with affection after she opened the Disney Princess bath gel he got her. (I love how Noble is trying so hard to get away.)

Tillman documenting the day with his new camera.

Madden 12 baby!!!! Noble was giddy.

It took us a long while to just get Sully to look away from his new Finn MacMissile flashlight so we could get a picture. This gift idea should be included in the playbook of "How to Make A 3 Year Old Extremely Happy."

A surprise Christmas AM visit from Mom and Dad Sullivan... who had their sleigh loaded up with new BAR STOOLS!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you... etc. We needed them.

Jessie and her new Nano...total shocker for her. (She had been hearing a lot about how a replacement for her really old one was not in the cards.)

Abner's top pick this year = the bows. Definitely the bows.

The Barbie Princess BULK pack. Oh my. (one happy little girl)

The Little Giant ladder from Mike's parents (which has come in very handy for taking down Christmas decorations).

We'll always remember this as the year that Jessie did a very grown-up thing and parted with her beloved Pumpkin to make another little girl happy.

Thanks Jess. We are SO proud of you.

In the barn on Christmas Eve, Jessie making Pumpkin beautiful for a very magical Christmas morning.

 THIS was the spirit of Christmas. 

Jess was on the verge of tears the whole time, but kept herself together until she handed over the lead rope & turned and walked away. That's my girl. 

Greatest Hits: Vol. 2

One huge bonus this year is that we had all of Mike's bro's in town. We have been so lucky this year to be able to be together more than once (that never happens). So this has been a pretty special holiday.

The Michigan Meltons got into town the week before Christmas and we have been painting the town with our only & much-loved Melton cousins.

Hanging with Father Christmas at the Pioneer Village Candlelight Christmas

Sully having a few important words with Father Christmas

 Grace and Father Christmas staring each-other down. He may have met his match.

At the new Museum of Natural History...

Also with the Michigan Meltons: skating at the Olympic Ice Oval and a cousins sleep-over.

Christmas Eve dinner with the entire Melton brood.

After dinner, the presents.

 

And after presents, the nativity with the Sullivan's

 (Grace scored the coveted role of Mary this year and baby Jesus was played by none other than Abner.)

And after that...more presents. We got a master stone mason (aka Casey Bert) to hand-chisel a name in slate for the future home of the newest Melton family (Gar & Val).

The hand-off.

More fun with the Meltons...

On Christmas day we all went to visit Grandma Helen at her house... Tami and the boys played for her...

 ...and we all hugged and kissed her a LOT.

The sweetest moment of the day for me.

As I compose this, the clock just struck midnight...and the fireworks and yelling have begun out of doors.

Happy New Year!

Christmas 2011 Greatest Hits: Vol. 1

It kind of feels more and more like the events of our lives seem like stepping onto a wild ride, where we just hang on for dear life. I know it has something to do with the demographics at our house, and this phase of our lives.

And yet, the magic is alive and well.

I kicked off December by organizing the ward Christmas party. I had never done anything like this before. I don't think I'm good at this kind of stuff in general. So naturally, I worried a LOT. But I have learned how to delegate to and pep-talk people who know what they're doing (Go Team!). I think it came off well. And I got to know some really great people better.

Snow fall in the gym.

  

Sully: nervous/STOKED to see Santa.

Ang with a couple of the gals after the crazy.

...And the month proceeded with the usual excitement...
A little after school festivity with Abner.

This was a pinnacle year for Sully, who ate up every aspect of the Santa myth. He was  as obsessed with Christmas as he was with Halloween a couple of months ago, and at times he had a difficult time separating the two holidays. I mean they are both a kid's dream come true. So we had some discussion about scary witches and skeletons coming to town along with Santa. He had it pretty much straightened out though by the time the big day arrived.

Holiday confusion

Here's a bit of video of S. expounding on Christmas.

"Ginger-bread mans" with Sully.

 Noble's now annual rendition of the nativity in Star Wars Lego's - the 2011 edition.

And as a side note, this photo sort of sums up the state of our snow-fall so far. The sad remnants of Sully's little snowman in our front yard - made after the one weak snow storm we've had this winter. I think that was about 2 weeks ago.

No white Christmas this year.



Look for more highlights coming soon in Greatest Hits Vol. 2.

Hanukkah is Here

On this first night of Hanukkah - nothing fancy like LAST YEAR. But to mark the day, here's my favorite Hanukkah song...by our favorite Jewish music-man, Matisyahu.

Love it.

A little bit of fame for Noble

The kids' school was recently visited by the Fox 13 "Cool School" crew. The 5th grade teachers requested Noble to come and do his part as Puck in a segment featuring their production of "Midsummer Night's Dream". Turns out - they totally truncated it into this 5 second summary version. I guess Shakespeare is too boring for a TV newscast? The guy spent more time talking to Mrs. Peterson about Jimmer than he did talking about curriculum or the kids. But, whatever. Noble was still excited to be on TV (and Jessie was jealous). You'll see him between his teacher and the news guy (red vest, pumping his fist - he  he he). Anyway, it made for an exciting morning at school if nothing else.
Mike pointed out that Noble has now been on TV AND in the paper. If there has to be a famous member of the family, it's probably best if it's Noble. :)
 

Just when I thought I'd struck pay-dirt ---

Noble wrote out this list for himself - things he would do to help me out around the house - and posted it to the fridge to remind himself.

I was pretty excited...until I read the fine print (last sentence below).

Things we've been learning

1. Sully has turned a corner in toileting.  I can't say that any of the books I checked out at the library were much help. If anything helped it was an episode of Super Nanny that I happened to see where she helped potty-train this 3 year old kid. Their issues were different, but the thing I took away was that my own attitude is key. Confidence as a parent is crucial (and NOT just in potty training). Kids, like sharks, sense fear (and frustration)...and they exploit it.

 *Poof*!  A more cooperative Sully.

We are %100 now - including night time. Of course, I've done this long enough to know that kids often revert after they've been consistent for a while - so I won't say we're totally out of the woods yet. But I kind of think that since he waited so long to begin - he might just have made a permanent transition. He requires no reminding. He just goes.
 
2. Noble as Puck. (He won't appreciate my sharing this particular clip because he runs into the tree at the end.)
 

Noble was Puck in the 5th Grade production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. He did not think to tell me when the performance would be until the night before...and even then couldn't tell me the time. He had to call from school the next day to tell me when to come. I'm glad I could go. It was dee-lightful. Sully somehow knew about Bottom and the donkey head (maybe he remembered when Jessie was in the same play 2 years ago?). And he kept asking, "Where's the donkey? Wh-wh-when's the donkey coming?" (he's got a cute little stutter right now). Anyway, WELL DONE, dude.
 

3. Mike - the Lego Robotics coach.

With everything else going on in our lives I worried about Mike taking on Noble's FLL team this year. Especially since technology isn't our strongest suit. He has learned a lot - and the kids are having tons-o-fun.

5. Abner is starting to try solid food. But I think he thinks it's gross. I am trying to cherish all the nursing time I have left with him...so I'm not in a hurry.

4. Sully's hobbies. A little bedtime reading. I found this on Sully's bed yesterday. Apparently, he's developing an interest in economics.

Thanks for Thanksgiving.

I think our official count for Thanksgiving was 36. Amazingly. & Would you believe - it didn't feel all that crowded? This might have been because the weather was nice enough for the next generation to get the wiggles out ---} OUTSIDE. Case in point:
The uncles chasing kids up and down the street with an RC car.

We had a great time.
We consumed 3 whole turkeys (one the size of a small car) - smoked, deep fried, roasted - and ALL the fixings. The kitchen island and counters were overflowing with serving dishes. Mom had asked everyone to share some things that have gone RIGHT in our lives this year. And that got everyone emotional. I love these people.

Best cousins - Grace and Em-ergy.

 My 2 brothers.

 Mitch-darling, Derek & Dad - and baby Ollie. (still making his come-back - one of the best blessings this year)

Ah...Thanksgiving. Good times.