2016 Blizzard!

We have lived in Maryland for 5 winters now. Every winter, there are rumors of big snow storms. They never hit. I think the most I have seen is around 6" and that ironically came with a forecast of light snow. But, year after year, we have been told to hunker down and prepare, which we do. For what turns out to be nothing. However, this year was different. The weather channel actually issued a blizzard watch on Wednesday--48 full hours before the storm was to start! I obsessively checked weather.com and local forecasts. The range of snow changed, but was never less than a 6" minimum. Maximums at time exceeded 2 feet. I felt like this might really be a big storm. We were all pretty excited. Although, my excitement was tampered by a worry for the homeless. We had seem some during our day in DC and their situation was fresh in my mind.

School was canceled Friday and we had a fun morning, making one last trip to Target (I think it was our 3rd "last trip"). We got our junk food provisions, gassed up the car, picked up some snow boots for Luke and went to the library to make sure everyone was stocked up with good books. We ordered some Papa Johns for lunch (which we rationed to ensure leftovers for dinner). The flakes started falling by early afternoon and we all went out to play. The slides on the playset turn rocket fast with the snow and the kids had fun. Poor Luke was quite unprepared when he went down the curly slide and flew a good two feet at the end. Fortunately, he landed in soft snow. Some neighbors came over to play and everyone had a good afternoon.

I love this picture of Luke. He looks so big!

Early in the storm.

Just the right depth for perfect snow angels!

Saturday was cold and windy. Luke was coughing, so we made him stay inside. I measured about 10" of snow at 9 AM. It was hard to get an accurate reading because the wind created spots of super high snow and spots where you can still see the grass. My educated guess is that when all is said and done, we probably had about a foot of accumulation, maybe slightly more.The neighborhood was out in full force shoveling and we got our driveway done with some help from our neighbors. It was nice to see everyone out helping each other.

Kara built some sort of "fort". This was Saturday morning. We can no longer see that bush.

Jack trying to dig us out.

I didn't actually take this picture, it was on our neighborhood Facebook page, but this went on throughout our great neighborhood on Saturday.

By night, the driveway was covered again. We watched Night at the Museum 3, enjoyed brownie sundaes and relaxing inside. We had an hour of quiet reading time, which (almost) everyone enjoyed. I read a great book about Lafayette. It was in the children's section and was 100 pages. I should check out the kid's section more often for my nonfiction reading! It had just enough depth to be informative, without all the detailed facts that can bog down my reading. I joked with Jack that I finally know more about a Revolutionary War figure than he does (which will only last until he reads the book, but still...). We never got around to game playing, but that's on today's agenda.

So far, it has been a fun time together. I am really glad that we finally have snowsuits and boots for all the kids. I am also super happy that we never lost power during the blizzard; the wind was vicious at times. Of course, it's not really over. It will be interesting to see how long the kids are out of school. My guess is that they will go back on Wednesday.

We made a donation to our local homeless shelter and my hope is that everyone was able to stay off the streets. 

Our back yard this morning. (We had this great idea of doing periodic photos on our deck, but the wind never let the snow accumulate much there.)  The little snowman is one Kara built earlier in the week with our 1" snow surprise. 

Bottom of our basement stairs.

Day in DC

Anna has been asking to "go to the city" for a while. Yesterday seemed like a good day. I wanted to go to the zoo, but it was Bei Bei's (baby panda) first day on public display, so we decided that was probably not the best idea. Instead, we planned a full day of other attractions, complete with metro. We started with Ford's Theater. Thomas and I went there once when we were dating, but the kids had never seen it. Jack was very excited. We bought the audio tours. They were $5 each and self-lead. You can program to either kid or adult. Completely well worth the money! The kids were entertained by pushing the buttons and being in charge of their own tour. Luke was quiet and well-behaved. Everybody learned something and it was amazing to see. I was surprised to learn that some of the pieces in the balcony were the ones that were actually present on the night of the assassination. We enjoyed going there, to the associated museum and the Peterson House.

Luke wondering what he can touch next.

Listening to their Aquistiguides

The balcony where the Lincolns sat

Waiting to go into the Peterson House, with Ford's Theater behind them.

After that, we went to the National Portrait Gallery, which Thomas has been wanting to see for years. Luke's patience had worn out and he really liked how his voice echoed in the giant halls. The girls were also not impressed. We tried engaging them by asking them to imagine the people who sat still for the artist and to look at the colors and how the styles of dress changed. But, they just wanted to find the comfiest chairs in the room. Between their sour attitudes and Luke's loudness, it wasn't the best visit. We decided to shorten our stay, fortunately, we did get to see the Presidential gallery, which was very impressive.

The famous Landsdowne Painting!

Their favorite thing in the Portrait Gallery

We had a snack earlier, but now it was time for a late lunch. We wanted to go to the Shake Shack, but the line was out the door and there was no where to sit. The restaurants in the city are not designed for large families, or even medium families. Fortunately, there was a Subway in view with no crowd. It was nothing special, but it was good to sit down for a few minutes.

From there, we walked about 3/4 of a mile to the American History Museum. It had been a while since we'd visited, but a lot of the exhibits were the same. Jack loved seeing the old Gunboat, Philadelphia and they had a great US Military History exhibit. But, Kara was cranky and just wanted to sit. She was ready to head home after the Portrait Gallery and wasn't in the best mood. There is really so much to see. The military history area could have been an entire museum in and of itself! I did a quick walk through with Jack and Anna while Thomas sat with Kara, then we switched places. We also saw the President's exhibit (we weren't intending the day to have a theme, it just kind of happened). I always like seeing the First Ladies dresses. The museum was really crowded. It felt like a Saturday in summer, which surprised me and definitely affected my level of enjoyment. We saw the flag that inspired the Star Bangled Banner and left.

Their favorite part of the museum.

Even Kara perked up for this exhibit.

Looking very serious.

Never mind!

Lincoln's hat. He was wearing it the night he was assassinated.

Next to a uniform that was actually worn by George Washington

Anna and C3PO

We expected our last stop to be the Archives, but there was a super long line, so we circled back to Natural History. We were just going to use the bathroom before getting on the metro, but much to Kara's disappointment, we decided to see a few things. Unfortunately, the butterfly and bug area were closed, and the Hope Diamond was off display. We knew the dinosaur area is being renovated, but weren't expecting the other closures. We did a quick walk through of a few things, my favorite being the award-winning nature photographs and finally decided to call it a day.

We offered to let Kara sit in Luke's stroller, but she wasn't interested. Anna on the other hand...

One brief moment where everyone was in one place looking at the same thing.

On the way home, we stopped at Chevy's for dinner. It was the lightest traffic we had ever experienced on an evening drive home, which was a pleasant surprise. Jack's favorite thing was the Gunboat, Thomas liked the Portrait Gallery, specifically seeing the George Washington Landsdowne painting, Kara liked Chevy's and Ford's theater, Luke liked his echo, and I liked the nature photos. It was a full day!

Nothing completes the day like an ice cream cone.

Goodbye 2015, Hello 2016!

As was my wish, we are ending 2015 the way we started it: healthy, happy and together. Although, in the interest of full disclosure Anna was diagnosed with another case of strep this morning. But, that is not the kind of "sick" that I worry about. It has been a challenging year in many ways.  We lost Thomas' mother to lung cancer in February. She was only 64 and made a valiant effort, but unfortunately, the cancer won. On a much more minor scale relating to challenges, we had a fair amount of behavioral issues, which I will describe more specifically when I write about each child.

We had another year with no big family vacation, although Thomas and I were fortunate to take our solo cruise trip. I sure wish there was another of those on the horizon! We did have a fun time visiting Fort Necessity and staying at Jellystone; we also did a weekend trip to Williamsburg (with uncooperative weather) and a night in Richmond. Probably our fondest family memory is all the time spent at Kings Dominion. Thanks to our annual passes, complete with the food plan, we were able to go countless times with little thought or planning. I think of 2015 as the Summer of Kings Dominion. Although, we have decided to take a break in 2016 and instead plan a trip to Hershey Park and Dutch Wonderland.

We had fewer visitors this year. Marta and Elizabeth came over Spring Break and Debby stayed with us while visiting Jennifer. We are hoping to see more of our family this year. My brother (Jim) is moving just 90 minutes away, so I am sure we will see more of him and his family. It will be nice to have someone (comparatively speaking) close by. It is funny to think about the things we contemplated in 2015, from Thomas coming thisclose to a job in Orlando and my application to join the work force, 2015 certainly could have been a much more eventful year. 

And now, all about the individuals:

Jack was the cause of some consternation in our house this year.  In particular, he struggled with keeping his hands to himself--i.e. hitting, pushing, shoving, etc. This resulted in phone calls with his teacher and conversations with the moms of his neighborhood friends (never fun!). But, after a one-month ban from playing with anyone, we feel as though his behavior is on the upswing. He is such a sweet, sensitive child that I honestly can't understand his struggle with self-control. But, it is definitely something he battles. On the positive side, he is doing extremely well academically. He is smart and consistently brings home perfect papers and tests from school. He is still very interested in history, particularly anything relating to our Founding Fathers, the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. He loves Star Wars and has seen The Force Awakens twice. Once, he went with his friend Harrison, which was his first solo outing with a friend. They also went to Panera and played at Harrison's house, making it a full day. He enjoys being outside and played a season of soccer. He is a voracious reader who reads several chapter books a week (sometimes one a night). He loves both nonfiction and fiction, particularly Diary of a Wimpy Kid and anything relating to Star Wars. He loves playing the Wii and with his Army Men. When he grows up, he wants to be a Naval Officer and his favorite t.v. show is Star Wars Rebels. My three words for Jack are: smart, kind and loving. Thomas's words for Jack are: bookworm, know-it-all and energetic.

Luke had a good year. It has been fun watching him grow and learn. He is a wonderful toddler and a joy in our family. He is the only person in our house that everyone always likes. Recently one of the girls got mad and went upstairs crying about how she hates everyone...except Luke. I loved the qualifier. He is interested in everything and does not want to be left out. He will attempt to do whatever the older kids are doing. He loves to help around the house and is quick to grab the dustpan or help switch out laundry. He is talking a lot more, but is not always very clear. For example, apples mean all fruit and if he says apple, but really wants an orange, he can get quite upset. He still adores his older siblings and will follow them anywhere. He is very friendly and has an easy-going disposition. He loves balls, particularly playing catch. Luke also like jumping off things. Fortunately, he generally lands on his feet. We think he is pretty coordinated for his age. Overall, I would say he has been the easiest baby of our 4 children (or, perhaps I've just become more mellow). My three words for Luke are: friendly, curious, and loud. Thomas chose: lovable, athletic, and cute.

Anna has had an okay year. She was really wonderful all summer, but has struggled with her behavior since school started. Fortunately, most of her issues are at home. This is the first year she has really enjoyed school. We owe that to her having a very calm, loving teacher. At home, she has continued to struggle with staying calm and speaking kindly. She readily admits that she is contrary and sometimes just likes to argue. Her latest thing is to tell us that we can't prove anything, we aren't in her head, so we can't really know. It's an interesting argument, but generally fails when we have directly observed her doing whatever she is trying to tell us she is not guilty of. She has had some unfortunate luck with her two best friends moving away, which obviously has been very difficult for her. I remember a poem my parents use to say described me that went: "there was a girl who had a curl, right in the middle of her forehead. When she was good, she was very, very good. But, when she was bad, she was horrid!" I feel that perfectly describes Anna, she can be incredibly angelic and well-behaved. When she is good, she is amazingly good, but when she is bad, everyone look out! She is still very sweet and loves to be helpful. We are happy that she is doing well in school. She is very bright and has come a long way in the past year. When she grows up she wants to be a teacher and her favorite show is Paw Patrol. I am anxious to see what 2016 will bring for her. My three words are: sweet, strong-willed and spirited. Thomas said: inquisitive, tenacious and talented.

Last, but never least is Kara. Kara has probably undergone the fewest changes from last year. She still loves school and learning and is anxious to be a more fluent reader (she is almost there!). She is taking gymnastics at a local dance studio (more of the floor stuff like cartwheels, backbends and splits) and played two seasons of t-ball.  Kara enjoys imaginary play, especially with her Littlest Pet Shop.  She also loves board games and is very lucky at them. She rarely loses, which can make it harder for her when she does. Like her siblings, she is smart and does well academically. Kara's biggest school strength is that she really, really enjoys school. She genuinely loves learning and is always happy to do homework. I know she is only in first grade, but I am praying that this continues--at least for a while! Of course, she is not without her faults, she still loses her temper fairly easily (and unpredictably) and very loudly. When she grows up she wants to be a doctor and her favorite show is iCarly. I would describe Kara as: persistent, fun and loving. Thomas chose sweet, temperamental, and considerate.

For myself, I would say this year has been a mix of sweet and sour. I have enjoyed Luke more and no longer have any resentment at starting over. He is at a really fun age and I love being his mom. I have a lot of great memories from 2015, particularly the cruise. Another highlight of my year was writing our Anniversary blog. It was really fun scouring my mind for favorite memories and then reading the ones Thomas chose.  I am extremely grateful that my family is all healthy and we are together with no separations planned in our future. On the flipside, I have spent a lot of time feeling frustrated at my inadequacies and really hope I can do something about it in 2016. I feel like I spend a lot of time complaining (hopefully more inwardly than vocally) about my weight and my messy house. I feel like my unhappiness with myself has affected my ability to be a good wife and mother. I feel sick when I think about the number I see on the scale. I want to live a long time and be healthy and active, yet I feel almost powerless in my struggles. I think to myself that this year will be different, but then I tell myself that logically, I know it really won't.  Hmmm, I should probably start with the negative, so that I can end on the positive. I just know that I don't want my children to have my struggles and I want to be careful not to inflict my issues on them. And, despite my complaints, I am so thankful for this life I have!

Thomas had a good year. He promoted at work and received stellar evaluations. He coached t-ball and soccer and shared all parental responsibilities with me. In fact, he changed his work schedule so that he is home only 30 minutes after the kids get off the bus, even though that means getting to work while the rest of us are still sleeping. He is not cooperating with my efforts to write about him, so I will just say that his favorite t.v. show is Turn and he wants to be a Jedi when he grows up.

Christmas!

Anna woke around 6:45, but didn't come in our room until 7.  Luke was already awake and Kara came in a few minutes later, so we were left to wake for Jack. We hung out in our room for about 20 minutes until he got up (we were going to wake him at 7:30 regardless). Everyone looked cute in their matching pajamas. Me and the kids were elves and Thomas was Santa. 

Like last year, we tried to cut back a bit (eventually, we will get down to negative presents, on Christmas morning they will have to give us their toys). But, with 6 people in the house, it still adds up. 

We opened our gifts at a leisurely pace, Everybody would open something, then we'd take a break. Thomas and I aren't big on equality, so while we made sure everyone had roughly the same number of gifts (and value) we didn't exactly count. This turned out to be a bad idea, because when we got to the end and told everyone they could open all their remaining presents, Kara was left with 1, Anna had 5 and Jack had 4. This was the result of me accidentally putting Anna's name on one of Kara's gifts and wrapping all of Kara's clothes in one box and putting Anna's in two boxes. So, next year, I may be forced to count. I am okay with things being a bit off, but when you look at your sibling with a giant pile of presents and you only have one, well, that doesn't seem quite so fun. We gave her the two gifts from the Mottas to open and she was a good sport about it. 

Luke spent the morning climbing in and out of his Cozy Coupe.

Santa Daddy

We stayed in our pajamas for most of the day. The kids had some outdoor gifts, but it rained for most of the day. We had a ham dinner and that was pretty much it. Anna's favorite gifts were her roller skates and a Discovery Kids book.  Kara says her watch and the Adventure Time Everything Burrito Game. Jack picked his army men and a Great Battles of the Civil War book. Thomas liked his Tigers sweatshirt. For Luke, I would say his counting bears, or maybe his shopping cart. I got a lot of great gifts, but the first that comes to mind is a little chef chalkboard that I can use to write what's for dinner. I swear I answer that question 10x a day, so now I just write it down and point to the board.

The day after Christmas, we went to Walmart and stocked up on the clearance wrapping paper and a few outdoor decorations. I also got a case for my new iPad. Then, we finally got to play outside. The girls both got roller skates, which they spent hours practicing with. Jack got a remote control helicopter, that he immediately landed on our neighbors roof (we got it down with a ladder and golf club). I got a bike that I took for a spin around the neighborhood. Luke had both a cozy coupe and a scooter and Thomas got to help all of us try our new toys (picture him walking behind the girls and preventing numerous falls). We played all our new games. I think my favorite is Minion Life, we have played that a dozen times already and had another relaxing day at home.

Luke quickly got the hang of his scooter.

On Sunday, we invited Jennifer and Jacob for dinner and then to see the lights at Ann Marie Gardens (Chris was working). It was another day with record highs and it was nice not to have to bundle everyone up to be outside, although it definitely takes away some of the feeling of Christmas.

Since it was dark, we didn't bother taking many pictures.  

Overall, I think it was a good Christmas, not our best. As is usually the case, the gifts I thought would be hits (like Jack's video walkie talkies or Kara's LPS plane) weren't, but we all know it's not about the gifts anyway. We enjoyed our time as a family and hope we are building good memories for our kids.

Star Wars, ICE! & Christmas Eve

Star Wars was great! Thomas and Jack got there very early, as in almost 3 hours before start time. The wait time paid off, Thomas got our favorite theater seats (center of back row). I met up with them a couple of hours later (after the babysitter arrived to watch the other 3). Thomas had bought Jack a hotdog for dinner and they were sharing a large tub of popcorn. Jack also had a big lemonade. We refilled the popcorn right before the movie started. After all the food and drink, Jack went to the bathroom 3 times during the movie! Then, he got sick that night. I hope he will always treasure the memory of going to the theater with his dad to see Star Wars on opening night. And, I will be there to remind him about that time he went to the movies and ate and drank so much that he made himself sick :)

blurry selfie shortly before the movie started

The movie was really good. It might actually be my favorite of all the Star Wars. Of course, I am a casual fan, so I am not sure that my opinion really matters. In fact, Jack often tries to ask me questions or discuss obscure (to me) things that he has read or watched. I NEVER know what he is talking about. One funny thing he said recently was that he didn't like that Disney had bought the franchise from LucasFilms because now none of the books are "real". I guess Disney has said that everything released in the expanded universe (books, cartoons, comics, etc) prior to their purchase can't be taken as Star Wars fact. Such a shame to see it all turned to fiction ;-)

My sole disappointment with the movie was that the crowd was not more enthusiastic. Obviously, you have to be a big fan to see a movie like Star Wars on opening night, or, at least be with a big fan. I expected cheering when major stars appeared or some sort of audience reaction, but it was just like seeing any other movie, except more crowded. But, we all enjoyed it and are excited to see it shatter so many box office records. We hope the big bucks mean Disney will invest even more in Star Wars (attractions at the theme parks, more Star Wars on the cruise ships, etc.). I also want to see it beat Avatar because I hate, hate, HATED that movie. (Let's make a film about a treasonous Marine who sides with the opposition and blindly murders his former colleagues, the same ones he fought alongside days ago and hasn't made any effort to peacefully educate about his new found knowledge--that will be a huge success!!!).

On Christmas Eve, we had big plans. We were going to surprise the kids with a trip to ICE! at National Harbor, followed by a picnic lunch and visit to Mount Vernon. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperative. It was a warm, rainy, day. We didn't tell the kids where we were going, but told them to put on their thermal underwear, warm clothes and to bring heavy jackets. We went through the McDonald's drive through for breakfast and were on our way! I brought hats and gloves and we layered up when we got there. I had read a lot of negative reviews, but it was still something we wanted to experience. The bad reviews gave us low expectations, but we loved it! I agree that it was pricey for a relatively short event, but it was amazing to see. I don't think we'll go every year, but I definitely want to go back if they do another theme we like (this year it was Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

All bundled up for the 9 degree temperatures

Looking Somber in Sombertown

The Wilsons have been imprisoned!

Luke on the toddler slide (it took him about 45 looong seconds to get down)

The last ice display was a Nativity

Since Mount Vernon was out, we just headed home. Everyone was still kind of full from breakfast, so we decided to skip to dessert and get Blizzards from Dairy Queen. Luke was sleeping, but he woke up when we got to the drive-through (I think he smelled it). It was a dilemma on what to do, if we gave him ice cream, he'd make a huge mess, if we didn't, he'd scream until we got home. We got him the ice cream and he made a huge mess (we've taken out the seat next to him in the van, so sitting with him was not an option. And, it didn't occur to us at the time to get him a shake). But, it was the right call, because as soon as we started handing out ice cream, he started getting excited and would have been devastated to be left out.

We got home and made our traditional sugar cookies. For dinner, we decided to start a new tradition of breakfast for dinner (french toast and eggs). Each kid opened up a gift of matching pajamas and we managed to get everyone in bed at a decent time. Then, Thomas and I did all the last minute assembly and wrapping and eagerly awaited the morning.

Kara is always ready to help bake (we did the dough the night before so it could refrigerate)

Next, we all rolled and cut out our shapes

The kids decided to change into their new pajamas before frosting (Luke had to wait)

They take the process very seriously!

Finally, we said goodbye to Twinkles. For his final spying spot, he decided to insert himself into all our family photos and hang out on our picture wall. See you next year, Twinkles!

Early December

Thankfully, everyone is healthy and ready to resume our December fun. I always try to fill our calendar with fun activities and in December that is incredibly easy.

We did not do our annual Norfolk trip this year. We are looking for ways to save money and that was an easy expense to cut. There are always so many fun things happening here that I was happy to forgo the trip and try something new. Specifically, I wanted to go to the Festival of Trees, which always takes place on the Saturday we are out of town. This year I was excited to finally go. Then, it happened on the day when Kara was sick and Anna was complaining about her throat. I missed it again! But, it would have been so much worse if we had been away. We also missed the Victorian Christmas at the Mudd House thanks to illness, something else we have been talking about for awhile. Maybe next year.

But, we have still done some fun stuff. We went to a craft show at the Hollywood Fire Department and Cookies with the Clauses at Solomon's.  The kids "babysat" some of the preschoolers in our neighborhood to earn money for their gifts to each other (we drew names). We had peppermint blizzards at Dairy Queen and Peppermint Shakes at Chick-Fil-A. We did a nighttime neighborhood walk to see lights.  So, while not as busy (or fun-filled) as usual, we have still kept them, and us, entertained.

I thought it was so cute how Anna was sitting with Luke.

The obligatory pictures with Santa.  As usual, I forgot a real camera, so just some blurry phone shots.

Luke did good! He wasn't thrilled, but he didn't get upset either.

Jack was happy to show him how it was done.

Last, but not least was sweet Anna.

We made Gingerbread Houses at home and of course we decorated the tree. For their teacher gifts the kids wanted to make something. We decided to go to All About Beads. They got to choose beads and make the necklaces themselves. I think they turned out really nice. Hopefully, the teachers will appreciate the effort (it took us 2 hours!). Just in case they don't, we got some Target gift cards too.

From left: Anna's, Jack's and Kara's creations.

Thomas and I were fortunate enough to be on the guest list for the Darrow's Christmas party, which is another of our favorite December traditions. We won the award for best Christmas jammies (sort of by default, I think we were the only couple who both had on Christmas-themed pajamas--thanks to the Pajama Grams Thomas' grandmother sent our family a few years ago) and we won the "Name that Christmas Movie" quiz. We did not win the lip-sync battle, despite going full-out to Pentatonix's "Joy to the World" with the Ainas.  But, it was a blast to see everyone acting goofy and having fun. And, I got a Simon during the gift exchange! I have wanted one ever since I saw them making a comeback. Unfortunately, I can't get past 10. Thomas currently holds the record at 13 and he's only played once. The kids can also do 10 in a row. I am sure we will all get better with time and practice.

I really don't know how we didn't win.  I thought about demanding a recount, but the Winning Weists were pretty awesome (they had a rap).  Regardless, we had fun and I was glad we were paired with the Ainas.

Still on the agenda are a trip to Mount Vernon and hopefully the zoo. We will definitely do Ann Marie Gardens (the kids did Flat Iron on the night Thomas and I did our painting). It has nothing to do with Christmas, but Thomas, Jack and I are going to see the new Star Wars tonight. I don't think I've ever been to a popular movie on opening night, so it should be interesting.

Completely unrelated, but something I want to mention is that Luke has a strange inability to say thank you. Instead, he responds with you're welcome to mean both thank you and you're welcome and who knows what else. It cracks me up! If you sneeze, he says "you're welcome". If you hand him something, he says "you're welcome". If you say good job, he responds "you're welcome".  I was trying to teach him to say thank you yesterday and every time I asked him to say thank you, he said you're welcome instead. You're welcome sounds like yurwawa, but we all know what it means. He's a funny kid. He loves all the Christmas lights and activities. He is even a bit into our Elf on the Shelf. He is always surprised to see him hanging out in the morning in a new spot and points him out with a bewildered look.

I took Luke to have lunch with the other kids. I brought him food, but he really wanted a lunch of his own. Kara was happy to buy it for him!

Jack asked me to take his picture and "put it online" this morning.He had on 2 Christmas hats and the reindeer headband. I told him I would add it to the blog :)