Happy Holidays
Well, it has been a busy time the last few weeks leading up the holidays. As it is for most. Both Zoe and Nathaniel were finishing up their school activities and Sonja and I were doing last minute shopping runs for presents, food, etc. This will be Zoe's second holidays as part of the family and she has adapted quite well to all the activities this time of year. She enjoys two holidays starting this year with Hanukkah (where she open up several gifts) and then ends up with Christmas. Hanukkah only serves as a warm-up for Christmas as she has become a professional wrapped gift opener. She clearly understands how to do that this year. She really loved her Princess Walkie-Talkies that she got as a present, but still struggles with pushing the button when it's her turn to talk. So, Zoe has finished her first semester of kindergarten with a holiday party. Sonja, who is enjoying her first holiday off from working retail after 27-28 years is now a homemaker which gave her the opportunity to serve as parent helper at the party. They both had a good time, Zoe is getting the hang of partying. She has been invited to several birthday parties, school events and family activities. She absolutely fits right in.
Zoe expresses her undying loyalty to Santa Claus...however if you look closely at her yearly visit to Santa she appears very guarded. After looking at her newest picture (the one on the right), I think would be too! The picture on the left was from last year, can you tell how much she has already changed. Amazing, huh? Santa did ask her what she wanted, and she happily replied the "Gymnastics Dora Doll," I guess we are in trouble as that doll sold out a few weeks back. We looked everywhere! Oh, well...maybe Santa forgot and Zoe will find that Santa must have hidden the gift somewhere in the house...a few weeks later when it becomes available again. (wink! wink!). Zoe gets so excited to see all of her relatives. I am not sure what is more exciting for her...opening up gifts or playing with her cousins. Luckily...she gets to do both. Once they get together over at Aunt Brenda & Uncle Jack's house they are loud and run in packs. Watch out cousins, here comes Zoe.
Zoe is doing well in gymnastics. She received her next ribbon where she demonstrates 40 different skills. Only 6 more ribbons to go. She is enjoying both her gymnastics and dance classes. Sonja is looking for other activities she can participate in.
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| Nathaniel (one in white) wrestling a senior from Millard North |
Nathaniel is in the thick of wrestling now. He is wrestling both Junior Varsity and Varsity. Varsity is a challenge as he is facing a lot of seniors which is tough for him but he is holding his own. He also just finished his finals and says he felt pretty good overall. He is just worried about one class...English. He had a B going into the last month of the semester so we will see if he was able to bring it up to an A which was his goal. We recently went to Nathaniel's football banquet and he was selected as an academic all conference and lettered in football so we have a letter jacket on order for him. The letter jackets today do not seem as important as they were when and where I went to school....back in the day! Maybe buying the jacket for him was really for me...I don't know...but hope he likes it. Finally, only about 8 weeks away and baseball try-outs start for his school. There are always more boys trying out for the open positions than the number of slots available so kids will be cut. It is very competitive. So, Nathaniel is practicing baseball working out at the indoor baseball facility at least twice a week. He just wants to be at his best so he increases his chances of making the team again this year. We are keeping our fingers crossed.
So, it is Christmas Eve tomorrow and then comes the New Year. No one has made any New Year's resolutions as of yet! I am just hoping 2013 is a great year for one and all. So, all is good here...
We hope all is well with you and your families and hope you have a wonderful holiday season!
