Florida

The day after Christmas, we got in the car and headed south. First stop, Gainesville to spend some time with Spike. We all had a wonderful time. We saw gators, ate burritos, played with Tilly, saw campus, ran the stadium, and chilled with Spike's puppy and kitties. 

After spending a few days in Gainesville, we headed further south to Naples to hang out with Mom, Tommy, Colleen, and their kiddies. We went to the beach and played at the pool. It was a great escape from the stresses of home, a wonderful get-away with excellent weather and fun with family. We had a beach day and there were actually waves. The kids got to boogie board and play in the waves. 

On New Years Eve, Em and I went back to the beach during the day. The other kids did not want to go so we took a girls morning at the beach. It was great to spend some one on one time with her which is something we rarely get to do. There weren't many waves, but there were millions of cool shells so we did our fair share of shell collecting. And because we brought the boogie boards, we caught some tiny waves (likely made by passing boats but a wave is a wave) together. And since we hadn't done my dad's traditional "ice cream in new cities" ice cream, we found a little ice cream at a nearby deli. And we got some matching bracelets. Was a very nice morning with Em. 

Welcome 2016. Farewell 2015. 

Swimming with Addy & Kally. 

Christmas

Christmas Eve, our neighbors invited us over to celebrate with them as well as other neighbors and friends. Santa made a visit to the kids as well like last year. It was nice of Santa to stop by on such a busy night for him. 

Emily wasn't feeling well so she went back home before Santa arrived. We suspect she had a funky piece of crab (or some new allergic reaction) at dinner based on how she bounced back when we returned home and that it didn't spread. Thank goodness on all accounts. 

Christmas Day was fun too. Kids didn't get up too early like we used to as kids. They opened presents and we had brunch. Then we spent a low-key day in pajamas playing with some new toys. We had some friends over for dessert that evening and called it a holiday.

Gingerbread man

Aaron's class put on a little program for the families at Christmas time. The kids sang songs, ate some yummy snacks and made some holiday crafts. Aaron is quite a ham when it comes to performing. And he looks giant in this video. He is among the younger kids in the class. 

Gingerbread Man

Longest time

Jeff and I went to see Billy Joel in Charlotte. I grew up listening to him in car trips as a kid. I can still remember the orange vanagon trucking along between Illinois and Ohio and listening to the cassette tapes from the little brown suitcase of tapes. Needless to say, seeing Billy Joel in concert was a life bucket list item for me. Others that we listened to on childhood road trips include Simon & Garfunkel (saw them, best concert ever); Neil Diamond (saw him); Beach Boys (saw them in high school); Elton John & Lionel Richie. I'd see Billy Joel, Simon & Garfunkel and the Beach Boys in concert again should they tour nearby. Talk about transporting back in time in such a good way. 

Aaron singing Frosty the Snowman

Aaron has been busting out in song lately with some winter and holiday songs. On our drive between Chicago and Milwaukee, he started singing some Frosty the Snowman. 

Hugging light saber

Aaron loves his Star Wars. For Thanksgiving, he had to bring his light saber and Yoda ears. He has no problem wearing them wherever and whenever. Cuteness abound in this 3 year old. 

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving in Chicago and Wisconsin. It was fully of family, food, and fun.

Storytime with Grandma

The boys reading their own books. 

Milwaukee Science / Children's museum. We went with Grandma and Kristin's boys and had a blast. The kids all tried the flight simulator and laid on a bed of nails!! 

And the big guy was there! Somehow, Aaron didn't cry sitting on Santa's lap like every other kid in the history of Santa has done. 

The kids by the large fish tank. 

Grandma love. 

In Chicago, cowboy Jedi night Aaron has come to town. 

Cowboy Yoda Jedi Night Aaron. 

The kids loved playing with Caper and Berkley, Aaron and Emily especially. 

Someone got ahold of my phone

Aaron loves taking pictures when he gets ahold of my phone. Selfies especially. 

Way up high in the apple tree

My little surfer blonde baby is singing with a southern accent... His teachers definitely have southern accents so that is how he hears the songs he is taught at school. But if you showed him an apple and asked him what it was, he would say "apple" without the southern accent. 

Aaron's evolution of dessert

Aaron's speech continues to come along nicely. Dessert started off as "wurt". It then became "zert". And now it is a very emphatic "ezzert"!!


On a separate, yet entertaining note, when he counts he emphasizes the e. Ten, eleven, e-twelve, e-thirteen...

Slam dunk Aaron

Umstead

The kids had the day off school in observance of Veteran's Day. It was a gorgeous day so we made sure to get outside for some fresh air. We took a walk in Umstead and it was wonderful. Leaves were turning colors and falling. The kids enjoyed running the trails. We went about 3 miles round trip. Aaron was a bit of a hot mess at the end and just fell into a puddle of tears because he was just so done. I picked him up and commented, "Wow you sure are in a state. What state are you in? Alabama?" He paused his super fatigued sobs to say, "No, Raleigh!!"

Clarkus

Clark is here visiting from San Diego. Today we went up to Duke so he and Jeff could revisit their old stomping grounds together. Crazy to think that it's been 15 years since they were both at Duke together. It's really cute seeing the kids with Clark. When Kyle and Em were little, they would climb all over him and just have a great time with him. Now they still have a great time with him and play Guitar Hero and ping pong with him, they just don't climb all over him. Aaron has taken over that duty. Aaron just adores Clark and wants to sit by him and hold his hand and sit on his lap. 

Aaron singing

Back when Kyle and Em were little, we would sing songs with them before bedtime. We just started doing that with Aaron and he is loving it. One of the favorites with Kyle and Em was the Hawaiian version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" as sung by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. And Aaron is now starting to remember the lyrics. I managed to catch him singing it and recorded for a little bit. There isn't really any video to it so the link below is merely audio. It's sweet to hear his little voice singing. Nevermind him getting silly at the end and him starting to have a southern accent... 

Happy Halloween!!

And now for the full neighborhood Halloween party on Halloween. Our neighborhood sure likes Halloween. 

Aaron hitting baseballs

Not only does Aaron love shooting hoops, he also loves hitting baseballs. For a stretch, he had to hit baseballs before going down for his nap. He's got some pretty decent coordination to connect. One of the hits, he hit so fast and hard back at me, it bounced right off my forehead. Thankfully these are just soft, squishy balls and a wiffle ball. Interestingly, he tends to prefer to bat lefty. From what we have seen, he is generally right handed so it's interesting to see some left handed tendencies appear. Then again, Kyle throws lefty, plays basketball lefty, soccer lefty, but plays tennis right and writes right. Em is very much right handed except for gymnastics skills, she prefers lefty. My confused little kids. 

Aaron shooting hoops

I love basketball. I've always loved playing pop-a-shot. And last year for the holidays, the kids received one. I was so excited!! It was just as much a gift to them as it was to me. Anyhow, last year, Aaron could hardly get the ball to reach the hoop so he would use a little foam ball and baseball throw it. This year, he's been doing some growing. And now he can make some shots. And he loves it. It gives me such joy seeing how happy he is shooting hoops. And when he makes one, it's just too much. Such a sweet boy. 

Golfing with Aaron

Aaron had the day off of school today. With his recent obsession with basketball, baseball and golf, I took him miniature golfing. He had such a great time playing putt putt. He is equal opportunity righty and lefty with golf. He grips lefty but will hit righty or lefty. After golf, we went into the batting cage and I helped him hit a few balls. He was pretty stoked to play golf and baseball in such a short span. 

Halloween party

Our neighbors have hosted a pretty rockin' Halloween party on the culdesac each year that we have lived here. All of the neighborhood and more came out to partake in the festivities. Last year, we were meeting people for the first time. In masks and costume. Made for a beast of a year trying to figure out who everyone was without a mask or costume on. As if we weren't already bad enough with names. This year, we are starting to get it all figured out.