ZOO LIGHTS!

It has become our annual tradition to go to The Montgomery Zoo around Christmas to see the lights and ride the train. We have wised up and started waiting it out until a warm night comes along to enjoy the fun! This year it was 60-something degrees...no shivering for us! As you can see, alot of sibling love took place. Joseph was a part of it, he just didn't make it in the pics! He did enjoy dancing to all of the Christmas music as we walked.

Basketball Hilarity

Who knew Basketball could be so funny? We found out Monday night at William's first Instructional League ballgame. His team did great and they all had fun!

FUN at Grammy and Pop's

The newest game is to push each other down the hill in the dump truck :)

First Day of First Grade

Well, friends, I am here to tell you that time truly does fly. William is seven this year and began first grade in August. He LOVES learning, so was very excited to begin another year. He was quite surprised when he began to realize first graders only went outside once a day and didn't always get to have center time. He has slowly come to love first grade, I think almost as much as kindergarten, but it's hard to beat kindergarten:) He has recently made large strides in his reading skills and is a wiz at math.



He has a great group of buddies, most of which are in the other class this year.

He insisted on sticking with the metal army lunchbox he picked out last year, but did opt for a brand new back pack. He told me he wanted a black, one strap bag. We went to Wal-mart to look for one. I was sure they would be all out or we would be unable to find them. Upon looking, I thought I was right, but William kept on looking and found it hidden behind other normal backpacks-he was so excited.
We look forward to a great second half of the year and more fun!!!

You are Seven

You are seven. You are smart and funny. You are special yo all who know you. You are thoughtful. You LOVE to read and be read to. You have read the entire Narnia series (with Dad) and some books twice. You have an amazing imagination. You try new foods. You love to eat. You love pancakes, pizza, sausage, noodlebake, tomatoes, Dr. Pepper, spinach, brocolli, and lots of other stuff! You love cowboy stuff, guns, drawing. You love art and creating and paining and photography. You love to talk and tell stories. You love Pheneas and Ferb, Wild Krats, and Electric Company. You love Sorry and play it well. You are amazing at Math. You are learning to read better and try really hard to do well. Spelling is not your favorite :). You ran your first race this year and did well. You LOVE to play with Lily and Joseph. You love to reenact. You love to wear warm pjs and cover up. You are sweet, kind, compassionate, creative, thoughtful, and loving. We are so blessed to have you in our family! We love you. You are seven.

We began the day with presents and a candle in the eggy-bread! William got a binder and copy paper (for his many drawings) and a digital camera. For months now William has been grabbing our phones and taking as many pictures as possible of as many things as he could find. So we decided it was time to get him a cheap real camera so he could even print off what he takes. Needless to say, he was so excited.



Of course, Lily and Joseph were ready to party, even early in the morning!
Mom checking out the new camera.
When Grammy and Pop got here they gave William a balloon and told him they had something in the car to help hold it down. When he looked in the van, he found a new bike. Now you might recall that we gave him a bike last year for his birthday. We got him a huge bike that cannot have training wheels, so this year we thought it would be a good idea to back up and get him the right bike. Grammy and Pop git him a nice orange and blue bike.

William wanted a soldier cake made of gluten free brownies and icing, so he got it!

Mimi and PaPa also came to the party and gave William a Spy Copter. William LOVED "flying" it around the house and taking video.
We ended the day with a cheese sandwich supper, a candle, and a carved pumpkin with a soldier on it.

You are 2

You are funny. You have the biggest smile I know. You love to be independent, but still love to rock with Mommy. You still suck your thumb. You have started to "borrow" other people's stuffed animals as your own, like someone else we know:). You like to hum. You love to eat. Your favorites include beans, hummus, and PB&J. You look like your Uncle Jason. You still have blond hair. You finally got a haircut and didn't cry. You are very brave. You can balance better than anyone I know. You love to take risks when it's fun. You like to come up with your own versions of people's names-Grammy is Gammy and Papa Bill is Pop. You love being in the same class with Lily at church on Wednesday and Sunday nights. You remember people's names well. You love to play. You love your nap. You love your Pooh blanket and your brown blanket. You like to watch birds and squirrels out your window. You like to play whatever Lily and William play. You even dress up with Lily while William's at school. You ask dad for coffee all the time and drink his dark, bold, black coffee. You come and get in bed with me almost every morning. You ask where Dad is every morning and answer it yourself once I've told you he's at work. You are special and bright and loving and compassionate and sensitive. You are 2 and we are so glad you are a part of our family!