Isaac's Christmas Program

This past Friday I enjoyed Isaac's first Christmas Program since he has been attending Jefferson. I arrived a little early since I heard parking (and seating) could be tricky, so I enjoyed wandering around seeing the Christmas decor and observing the kids' hand-made decorations like this one (notice the color = green = Isaac's favorite!). It was nice to stop and take some time to find Isaac's creations when I could actually take them in, aside from the usual hustle and bustle of coming or going when we're dropping off or picking Isaac up. Isaac has been excited about his "program," coming home and enthusiastically practicing his songs. They are a couple of familiar tunes with different words - see if you can make them out. He didn't display the stage fright that he did last year at his Christmas Program - it was fun to see the difference 1 year can make. In fact, I'd say he was one of the more confident ones of his group. Here's a link of some of the pictures I took along with a couple of video clips of the preschool songs. I also took some photos of the art murals that a couple of the teachers have been working on this fall.
https://picasaweb.google.com/118301653485391374513/JeffersonChristmasProgram?authkey=Gv1sRgCOujtdmktOSA0gE

Enjoy!

Santa Claus, Trains & Music

This weekend we decided to take a break from our holiday to-do list and attend the Winter Depot Arts Festival at the Duluth Historic Depot. It was advertised as a free family event, with Santa Claus, hot chocolate, special vendors, and of course admittance to the train depot and children's museum.

For us, it was a "hole-in-one." In one 2-hour stop, we got to introduce Isaac to his first Santa Claus, sip on some hot chocolate while enjoying some carols sung by the Arrowhead Chorale, and of course enjoy the many train exhibits, which is always a favorite of Isaac's.
In addition to the regular train exhibits, they had a special showcase with many electric trains setup. As we were there towards the end of the day/event, there weren't many people around so I asked the engineer if Isaac could go back and see the exhibits more closely. Isaac was in train heaven!
Of course when Santa asked Isaac what we wanted for Christmas, he said trains/train set. It all came together Saturday afternoon!

Christmas Trees, Cousins, and Growing Boy

Here's a few tidbits of what we've been up to...
This past weekend we got our Christmas tree put up and decorated. It was fun to see the difference from last year in Isaac's participation with the decorating process. He even remembered some of the ornaments from last year. It was the 2nd Christmas tree he helped decorate in 2 days...helping with my parent's Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. He reminded us that we needed candy canes and gingerbread boys (from a Christmas story book he has) and a "beautiful bright star at the top."

Here's a fun picture from the Thanksgiving weekend at the Thompson House. Here is Isaac and David with most of the Thompson cousins.
And here's a fun picture of David. He's really starting to become a big boy...rolling over, teething, starting to sit up. We can hardly keep up!

Halloween Fun

Had to share some fun photos from Halloween. We started our festivities last Thursday when Joel took Isaac to his workplace (College of St. Scholastica) to participate in trick-or-treating and games in the student dorms. Then, over the weekend we attended a community carnival with more games and, of course, treats. By the time Halloween actually got here on Monday, we visited only a few neighbors close by. Isaac more enjoyed being at home and watching all of the "big kids" come in their costumes and help hand out candy. Of course, Isaac's pick this year was "Thomas the Train." I have a feeling we'll be wearing this around the house quite often!As for David, we didn't bring him with to any of the festivities this year. But he managed to still be cute in his "First Halloween" outfit. And he seems to enjoy watching 'big brother' in all the action.

Enjoy!

David's Dedication

On October 2nd we brought David before our family and extended church body and dedicated him to the Lord. It was a very special time for us as we commit ourselves to raising him (and Isaac) in a Christian home. Here are a few highlights of the dedication and following:

Pastor Jeff praying a blessing over David (David wasn't happy at the moment - and big brother knows something isn't quite right...)
The group prayer with our parents and Grandma Rudy:

The 4 of us:
The whole group (me, Joel, Isaac, David, Heather's parents, Grandma Rudy, and Joel's parents)

Grandparents

In recognition of Grandparents Day, I found a "grandparent job description" that I thought was worth sharing. I don't know what inspired me to find this...perhaps it was my recent return to work and the HR side of me...

SUPPORTS DEVELOPMENT OF A RESPONSIBLE ADULT

by

relating family history; supporting social growth; improving life skills; contributing to a positive family environment; providing overnights, outings, and vacations; dining out; allowing special treats; supporting discipline; keeping safe; supporting parents; giving lots of hugs; spoiling just a little.

Spoiling "just a little?" This should be modified to read "spoiling at will" :-)

I was fortunate enough to grow up knowing most of my grandparents and have many wonderful memories of growing up years with each of them. As I am now parenting young children, I realize how blessed we are to have such wonderful grandparents to our children. It brings joy to me seeing the special relationship Isaac already has with each of his grandparents, and will be fun to see how David grows into his own relationship with them as well.

Here is a special Grandparents Day wish from Isaac:



Happy Grandparents Day!!!

DIY Saturday Project

From time to time Joel and Isaac have enjoyed participating in the Home Depot's Saturday Kids Workshop, usually held the 1st Saturday of the month from 9 - 12 a.m. They have a do-it-yourself easy project to put together and give away fun freebies like a kids apron, pin, balloon, and popcorn. Today's project was a painted white board. I guess Isaac is quite handy with a hammer and a screwdriver, and we enjoy giving him an opportunity to practice those skills outside of our home! And, of course, we enjoy the little treasures that we're able to bring home afterward...