Santa said I was very, very, very good this year!

 

 

Santa...I promise I was good this year! Would this face lie to you?

As wrapped gifts began to show up in the house, Zoe has been very mindful about being on her best behavior. She has been very helpful to everyone.  The good news is it also showed up in school.  We have been getting very encouraging comments about how Zoe is interacting with her classmates. She loves her time away from school during the holiday break. She likes that she gets to stay up a little later. Now that it is Christmas time, one of the things she most looks forward to is traveling to her Aunt Brenda’s and Uncle Jack’s to play with her cousins. Running around the house, playing hide and seek, yelling and screaming and every 15-20 minutes coming up from the basement to get a drink and sneak some goodies. I cannot imagine how the house looks like after everyone leaves, by now they must be used to it as they have been hosting the major holidays at their home for years now.

Last week Sonja took Zoe for her annual picture with Santa.  They waited in line for hours. They finally arrived home with a thumb drive of her pictures. Unfortunately, they gave her a bad thumb drive so they had to go back and get a new one. I must say, not only were these the best Santa pictures yet but the Santa in my opinion was very authentic looking. It surprises me that Zoe hasn’t noticed that each year the Santa she goes to is different.  Even Sonja got into the act and took pictures with Santa along with Zoe. Santa made sure to tell Zoe that she has been a very, very, very good girl. She made sure to tell both Sonja and I what Santa had said. So we will have to see if she is happy with what Santa brings!

 

Zoe has been a very busy girl. She is still doing hip-hop dancing, gymnastics and tumbling. Sonja has been taking her to Elite Cheer for private lessons. She is really improving. About a week ago she was moved up from Level 1 to Level 2 and is working on back flips and back handsprings. She will need to be able to perform these on a routine basis before she would be able to move up to level 3. Her instructor feels Zoe has some natural ability and could do well as long as she is able to focus. Focus?  That is the one word that seems to be her challenge at school, gymnastics and home.  Zoe is very social and her mind is moving in 100 directions.  Yes, focus! Focus will be one of her..maybe our New Year Resolutions. Focus..the lack of focus is what gets her in trouble at school…so hopefully this year we can focus on helping her get focus. Any suggestions from you battle proven parents would be greatly appreciated. 

 

Nathaniel just finished finals last week and did great. He ended up with a 4.0 this semester.  It amazes me he does so well with all the extracurricular activities he is involved with.  I guess I can excuse his tornado like devastation you see when you look at his bedroom.  Between Zoe and Nathaniel…I have stopped going up there.  Nathaniel tried out for and was selected to the University of Nebraska High School honor band where selected students throughout high schools in Nebraska will learn music and play together in a concert to be held in Omaha. How exciting. He will miss a wrestling meet which he is not happy about but sometime you have to make choices. Speaking of wrestling Nathaniel just competed at the Ralston High School Varsity wresting tournament.  He went 3-1 with two pins and came in third place.  This is the first time he has placed I a Varsity tournament so we were ecstatic.  We are only a few months away from baseball season and he is already working with an instructor for pitching.  We have our fingers crossed he will make the varsity team or it could be the end to his baseball career. If he does make the team, we think he will be mostly use for pitching in 2014.

So, all is well at the Teitler household.  We are ready as we can be for the rest of the holiday season. We want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a very happy, safe and prosperous New Year!!!

As the seasons change so do the sports!

Zoe's 2013 Soccer team! The Breakers!

 

Gosh, it has been awhile since my last post! I was having trouble adding pictures to the blog site.  So the good news is I am back! Zoe has had a number of exciting things happen over the last month or so.  She is so excited that her first tooth is loose, one of her front bottom teeth. She would not let me get pliers so I could help her pull it out so I guess we will have to take the usual approach of waiting until it is ready to come out. Zoe has been taking some private lessons to help her get ready to move to level two in tumbling.  She can now do a round off thingee and some sort of back spring.  Her coach said that Zoe has the body type to be a great tumbler if she can focus.  A six year old girl....focus? Really! Zoe also just finished her soccer for the fall.  I must say she improved dramatically from last year.  At last now she knows which way to kick the ball.  Last year it was progress for her to kick the ball, she still at times misses the ball...kind of reminds me of Charlie Brown, the only difference is when Zoe rears back to kick the soccer ball, Lucy is not there to pull it away.  Zoe just flat out misses the ball...both Sonja and I get a chuckle every time she plays.

 

How is school?  Zoe is doing so much better.  She has improved her reading skills but most importantly she is working hard on her social skills.  We have to keep reminding her not to kick, hit, punch, push, spit or say naughty things to others.  We received a progress report that she has improved significantly. Zoe likes school and gets to ride the bus on occasion which she really enjoys.

 

Zoe is so excited for the holidays.  There are so many toys out there that she is having difficulty choosing which ones to ask for. I am sure she will get many more than she needs.

 

Nathaniel's 2013 Football Season

 

Nathaniel's football season came to an end a few weeks back.  His team made the state playoffs but lost right away.  It is hard to come off a season before where you were the State Champions.  They played well and had fun. I cannot believe he only has one more year of football left.  We believe he has a good shot of being the starting punter his senior year. The would be a great way to cap off his football career.  now, he is practicing wrestling.  He was a 160 at the end of football season and is trying to get to the 138 pound class for wrestling. He has more discipline than I did at his age Nathaniel is doing great in school and is also practicing his pitching and hitting on a weekly basis getting ready for baseball season.

 

All else is well. Sonja is almost done with all our adoption paperwork and is getting our house in order (I hope) for the holidays! Until next time...have a great week and happy holidays!!!