happy new year!!

more fun with cousins

We left Boston Thursday and drove to Cleveland, arriving late Thursday night. We spent the day today with the DeRoches, and are sure to see them all weekend. Kestrel and Cooper have such a great time with Erica and Gillian!

museum of science

We made it back to the Museum of Science today. We spent a couple of hours exploring the exhibits, including the Butterfly Garden. Cooper's favorite things at the museum were seeing the model space shuttle, and going into the capsule. Kestrel's favorite was "the spinny thing" in the Science in The Park exhibit.

merry christmas!

We spent a nice Christmas here in Brookline. Kestrel and Cooper of course once again had a blast with their cousins. Here's who we spent Christmas with: Mom and Dad (Grammy & Papou); Charles, Heather, Adam, Halle, Heather's brother John and his son David; Stephen, Julie, Tegan, Kelsey and Kale; Nancy, Bill, Emily, Holly and Jake; and Wally. Hard to believe how grown up all of our nieces and nephews are!

puzzling with our puzzlers

We're having a fun time in Boston. Yesterday when we woke up my sister Nancy was here. The kids pulled out an old 500 piece puzzle, and we all got involved in doing the puzzle all day. Today we started on a 1000 piece puzzle.

Yesterday after doing some shopping we got to see Jane, Greg and their 1 year old Declan (so cute). Today, after lunch at the Cambridgeside Galleria, we went to the Museum of Science. Unfortunately when we arrived we discovered they were closing early for Christmas Eve, so we only got to visit the exhibits in the lobby area. Still, it was fun. From there we went to see Charlotte's Web, which the kids both really enjoyed. We'll be going out to dinner tonight at Bennigan's, the only restaurant we could find that was actually open for dinner on Christmas Eve.

long drive

Here we are in the car on the way to Boston. We left yesterday around 7pm and should arrive about 4pm today. Paul drove straight through all night, and fortunately the kids slept all night.

giving credit

Notice the new header? The photos and the entire header image were done by my friend and very talented photographer, Joanna Strauss. Also, my profile picture is from a shot that my friend Amy Drane (also great with a camera) took at a "moms night out" last spring.

So how do you like the new look? I went with a white background because I was thinking it might be a little easier on the eyes (that and I know my mom tends to print out the entire page, and I don't want her to waste all her ink). :)

happy chanukah!

Tonight is the 4th night of Chanukah. Here's Kestrel lighting the menorah. We've been having some fun family dreidel games!

first sleepover

Kestrel went to her first sleepover last night at her friend Amy's house. Their friend Caitlin also spent the night, and it was the first sleepover for all three of them (brave parents). Amy's parents had all of us over for dinner earlier in the evening with a couple of other families, and then we left and Paul took Cooper home to bed (I went out to another friend's get together).
Kestrel was soooo excited for the sleepover. Apparently the girls didn't go to sleep until about 11:30, which doesn't surprise me. She was also thrilled with the "first sleepover" present Amy's family gave her, a Burt Bees cherry lip gloss!
Here is her list, in her words, of why the sleepover was so much fun:

• playing!
• going to sleep
• we were all together
• we got to stay up until after 10:00
• watching a movie
• I ate a stack of three pancakes with syrup and a banana for breakfast

Of course when I came to pick her up, Kestrel kept asking if she could have Amy and Caitlin sleep over at our house. I told her we'd think about it after the holidays!

just because

This evening the kids were snuggling watching The Polar Express (which was on TV) before dinner. I couldn't resist. How sweet!

nutcracker

Today Kestrel and I went to see The Nutcracker performed by the Champaign-Urbana Ballet at the Krannert Center. It's becoming a yearly tradition for us as we went to this same production last year, and a local ballet school's production the year before. She loves The Nutcracker! This year Kestrel's good friend Caitlin was in the production, as one of the children that runs out from under the big dress. After the ballet, Caitlin's mom brought us back stage to the dressing room to see Caitlin.

shoe project

Paul and I went to Cooper's school Thursday morning for the "Shoe Project Culminating Event." They have been studying shoes in his preschool since the beginning of the year. The project included asking questions and giving surveys, going on field trips, talking to "experts" and making representations of the things they observed. Thursday morning they showed us a video they made of the kids talking about what they learned, and showed off the centers in their classroom, including the shoe shine station, the "is it waterproof?" table, and the shoe store with a beautiful sign that read "Number 1 Shoe Store" written by our very own Cooper. We saw the "small shoe grinder" sculpture made by Cooper and one of his classmates out of "boxes and junk."

Cooper showing us how to shine a shoe

Cooper with Allison, who was the student teacher in the classroom this semester. Thursday was Allison's last day. He kept telling her he was going to miss her.

Their next project topic will either be music or "things that fly", which happen to be two of Cooper's favorite things.

aloha, it's a birthday luau

dancing the hula..."Oh we're going, to a hukilau..."

playing pass the coconut

Kestrel vs. the pinata

Cooper vs. the pinata

volcano cake!

Kestrel's birthday party was today. She wanted a Hawaiian Luau theme. 9 girls came, and we had grass skirts, leis, and the works. It seemed like they all had a great time. Lots of screeching! They decorated flip flops, learned a hula dance, then ate hamburgers, hot dogs and fruit skewers for lunch. After lunch they danced the limbo, played musical chairs and pass the coconut, ate cake and ice cream, and finally smashed the parrot pinata.

Kestrel specifically requested a volcano cake with a sparkler on top. I was up a bit late making it, but I think it came out pretty good. Paul was a big help in leveling everything off so it would all fit together.

first snow

We woke up to snow this morning. These pictures are after Kestrel got home from school. It was a little more impressive earlier while it was still snowing. It was pretty cold, wet and miserable out there, but Kestrel was determined to play in the snow. Cooper, on the other hand, chose to stay inside (he's in the doorway). When Kestrel came in they both had some hot chocolate.

happy birthday kestrel!

Hard to believe my baby girl is 7!!!
Kestrel had a pretty busy birthday, but a good one. After school she had gymnastics, then on to her ice skating lesson (a make-up class for the one we will miss this weekend). After skating, Paul cooked Kestrel her requested dinner, "surprise dinner" (sort of a peanut-noodle dish he invented a few years ago). We had our own family celebration with cake and presents.

Kestrel said it was "the best day ever!" Here is her list of all the great things today:

• at school she got to pick the story
• she got to go last to share her star and poem
• all the kids in the class ate ice cream sandwiches (that she brought in)
• the whole class sang Happy Birthday to her. "I've never had so many kids singing to me all at once!"
• she passed her ice-skating test and gets to move on to the next level
• the cake was the best cake ever (ice cream cake from Baskin-Robbins with chocolate cake and chocolate chip ice cream)

Kestrel had a project due today in school. They had to create a 3-dimensional star and write a story, song or poem to go along with it. Kestrel made her star out of cardboard, painted it and added glitter.

My Star, by Kestrel
My star is beautiful shining in the moonlight. It is so happy twinkling next to its friends. I like to wish on the first star I see. Some stars are big and some are small. Some are bright and some are dim. My star is the most beautiful star of all.

thanksgiving

We had a nice Thanksgiving holiday here. Paul's family was here including Paul's mom, Debra, Jim, Erica and Gillian, and Aida, Lila and Levi. The kids had such a great time with each other. There is nothing like the fun of cousins! They played constantly all weekend. The food was great Thursday, thanks to Paul for doing most of the cooking (I did bake an apple pie, though).

On Saturday we had a cake for Kestrel & Gillian, whose birthdays are both this month.

Kestrel and Gillian Saturday

Cooper eating cake

anniversary last week

Just realized I forgot to mention our anniversary last Friday! Paul and I celebrated our 10th anniversary Friday, November 17th. We started dating in 1985, which means we've actually been together 21 years.
Last Friday evening we got a sitter and had a nice dinner at Jim Gould's, where Paul surprised me with a beautiful necklace as an anniversary present. Then we went to see a late movie. It was a very nice night.

power rangers

Kestrel and Cooper in their new pajamas. They've both discovered Power Rangers within the last year. Cooper especially is excited about all things power ranger, including his pair of Power Ranger slippers. I've got to admit, I've always had mixed feelings about Power Rangers. I mean, it is pretty much all fighting. I have noticed that the show has gotten better over the past 13 years, though. In any case, they enjoy it and I guess I have gotten over my hesitation.

As soon as the pajamas arrived in the mail Tuesday, they both wanted to put them on. It was mid-afternoon. They kept them on the rest of the day and wore them to bed. I took this picture Wednesday morning before they got dressed for school.

chicago weekend

Kestrel on Paul's shoulders during the parade

Cooper on Dori's shoulders during the parade

Kestrel with Anna in the Doll Hair Studio at The American Girl Place

Eating Lunch in the Cafe

Kestrel and Anna just after lunch

We got home this evening from a nice weekend in Chicago. We drove up to the city Saturday, and discovered Saturday evening was the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival to kick off the holiday season. Before checking into our hotel, we took a walk around Michigan Avenue, including visiting the very crowded Disney Store where the kids both got balloons, and watching some ice sculptures being created. After checking in to the hotel Paul took the kids swimming in the hotel pool, then we went back out to Michigan Ave. to watch the lights procession, led by none other than Mickey Mouse himself. The procession lit the tree lights along the street as it travelled down the avenue with the crowd cheering as it went. After the procession we walked down to the river to see the fireworks. Unfortunately, Cooper was a bit scared by how loud the fireworks were, so I brought him a little ways down the street while Paul and Kestrel stayed to watch.

The next morning after a quick breakfast I took Kestrel and her doll Anna to the American Girl Place, which was a special treat in honor of Kestrel's upcoming birthday. We quickly put our name on the Cafe waiting list (I couldn't get a reservation in advance) and then brought Anna to the Doll Hair Studio to have her hair styled. Kestrel was so excited she got to pick the style and the colors for the hair ribbons. While we were there a photographer from the Cleveland Plain Dealer took some pictures of Kestrel. We then shopped around in the store and Kestrel picked out a new dress and coat for Anna. We didn't make it off the wait list for the early lunch (Kestrel was very disappointed), but we got on the wait list again for the later lunch. Then on to the Theater to see The American Girl Revue. The show was great, and Kestrel loved watching the American Girl stories on stage. After the show Kestrel go her picture taken with Anna in the Photo Studio, then we went back to the Cafe to see if we could get seated. We were lucky, and got the last table available. It was a great table, too. We were seated right next to the big tree decorated with pretty "sweet treat" ornaments. The lunch was fun and the food was good, too. Anna got her own seat and cup and saucer at the table. Kestrel said it was her favorite meal ever.

What a fun and special day we had! The only downside was that we lost Anna's new hat (that came with her coat) on the walk back from the store. Kestrel was sad, but fortunately I was able to order a replacement hat.

U-505 submarine at the Museum of Science and Industry

While we were at the American Girl Place Paul and Cooper had a great day together at the Museum of Science and Industry. For Cooper, the highlight of the museum was a real submarine he got to go in and explore. It was the only captured German Uboat in the United States. They got the enigma machine off of it to help them break the codes for the invasion of Normandy. Cooper got to practice piloting the submarine. He was a little bit scared by the depth charges, but still thought it was all very exciting. They told us all about it on the ride back to Champaign.

solar sing

Kestrel had her First Grade music program at school this evening, titled "Solar Sing." They sang songs about space and the solar system. She was great! The last song of the evening she had her "solo"(as she called it, though she was singing with 2 other girls). They sang "This Pretty Planet." They sounded great and the program was fun and Kestrel looked so proud when she came and found us at the end. I tried to take a picture with my phone (forgot my real camera) but I was too far back so this is the best I could get. Its hard to see, but Kestrel is up front doing her "solo". She is on the left of the three girls singling in the front. Paul videotaped, though.

leaves

Right around dusk we went outside so the kids could rake leaves (Kestrel's idea, of course). It looks darker in these pictures than it really was. They each wanted to make a big leaf pile to jump in. They never actually got a pile big enough, though Cooper did make a valiant effort and jumped in his anyway. After all, we only have 1 tree, and it still has a lot of leaves left. They had fun raking, though! By the way, Kestrel has an orange braid clipped in her hair.

kite

Cooper is holding Kestrel down so she doesn't blow away with the kite.

the kite

When we picked Kestrel up from school she said she wanted to go fly a kite today, so we did! Quick stop at home so they could put on their gymnastics clothes and have a little snack, and we went right out to Millage park (in our neighborhood). We had about a half hour to fly the kite before gymnastics. It went right up there, and Kestrel and Cooper kept switching off holding the string. When Cooper had the string for the first time he cried, "don't let it take me away!"

dollar prize

A little over a week ago I started a timer and sticker chart for the kids to help them get ready a little faster in the mornings. I set a timer for 10 minutes, and if they can get dressed and brush their teeth before it goes off they get a frog sticker to put on their chart (titled "Hop to it!"). After 7 frogs, they get a prize, which is that they can pick out anything they want from the dollar store. We had a couple of set backs during the week when a sticker wasn't earned (that didn't go over very well), but on Saturday they each earned their 7th sticker.

That afternoon I took them to Deals. Cooper right away picked out a toy, and then while we were waiting for Kestrel to decide he changed his mind and decided he wanted candy instead. I tried to talk him out of it just because he already has so much candy at home from Halloween that I thought he'd enjoy a toy better. No, he was set on candy. He ended up choosing a huge bag of gumballs. Must be about 50 gumballs in that bag! After all of this Kestrel was still trying to decide. We were in there a long, long time as she checked out every single possible dollar toy. I was thinking it was probably so hard to decide because everything is so, well, cheap. Finally she chose this 3-in-1 Frisbee-like toy. On the way out of the store she said it was so hard to choose because there were so many great things to choose from!

BOO!

Carving Pumpkins

Wolf and Alligator before going out

Here they are when they came back because Cooper was tired. Notice the red cheeks. It was chilly out! Good thing they had such warm costumes.

Well, we had a fun Halloween! We spent the afternoon carving pumpkins. Cooper wanted to do a bat on his, and Kestrel wanted a cat with an arched back. We downloaded some templates which made it a lot easier. We also had fun decorating the front of the house with the pumpkins, some lights, a bat and a skeleton. One of the highlights at our front door was this cat, that Grampa bought the kids when he was visiting this weekend. It has a motion detector and hisses or shrieks or sings a goofy song when someone gets near it. The cat would surprise the trick-or-treaters when they got near the door.
This year it was Paul's turn to take the kids out trick-or-treating, and I stayed home to answer the door. After an hour they came back home because Cooper was tired, and then Kestrel and Paul went back out for almost another hour. Cooper and I had a great time answering the door. Cooper loved to hand out candy and wish everyone "Happy Halloween"!

"my room"

Kestrel wanted to participate in the PTA "Reflections" program (where students submit creative works, such as art, literature, music, etc., to be judged). The theme this year is "My Favorite Place" and Kestrel created a painting and a poem, both titled "My Room".

Here are her works! She thinks she is going to win for her painting. It is very good, in my own unbiased opinion. I can't seem to get through to her, though, that winning is not supposed to be the point. However, I'm really rooting for the poem!

I know the pictures are a little hard to see, especially the poem, so I'll re-print it here.

My Room, by Kestrel

My room, my room

I like my room.

My room is very nice.

My room has lots of different things.

The one I sleep in is my bed.

I have a toy box.

I have a dresser.

I have two closets and I have a hermit crab.

My room makes me feel so joyful and happy.

I feel really protected and safe in my room.

My room, my room

I like my room.