Thanksgiving

This year, we spent Thanksgiving with Grandpa at his new house in Myrtle Beach.  Our usual Thanksgiving morning tradition is to wake up and watch the Macy's parade.  However, it was almost 80 degrees and sunny, so we DVR'ed the parade and went to the beach!  The kids asked me before our trip if I was packing their bathing suits, and I scoffed, telling them that it wouldn't be warm enough to swim.  Apparently, Mommy was wrong, as both children went in the water and got completely soaked!

It was an absolutely beautiful day, and we had a relaxing, wonderful morning playing in the sand and giving thanks for these two little blessings: 

In the afternoon, the Magic Turkey made an appearance, as discovered by chalk footprints on Grandpa's driveway.  The kids tried once again to catch that crazy character, but they didn't spot him this year.  The Magic Turkey left Lego Advent calendars for L&L for the third year in a row (it's one of our very favorite traditions!), along with an Advent Calendar with Random Acts of Kindness for them to complete each day of the season.  

Looks like Winnie was on the hunt for the MT, too!

We watched the parade, enjoyed all things Turkey, and even dressed up like Pilgrims and Native Americans before eating our Thanksgiving feast:

We played a Thanksgiving trivia game during dinner, and have now reached the point where our children are smarter than us.  Luke and Leah got almost every single question correct, and left the three adults feeling like we need to brush up on our Thanksgiving history and knowledge.

One of the most fun parts about staying in different places is sleeping in sleeping bags.  These sleepovers have become exponentially easier over the years, and one morning, I peeked in the children's room and found both kids quietly and happily reading.  We have come SUCH a long way with sleep and are incredibly thankful for that!

On Friday, we went to the beach again and had a pizza picnic lunch in the sand, which was so much fun.  It was one of the first years in recent history that I did absolutely NO in-store Black Friday shopping, and I didn't miss it at all!  That afternoon, we had tickets to the Christmas show at Pirates Voyage, which is a 4-course dinner theater and performance.  We weren't sure what to expect, but had heard that Pirate's Voyage was amazing, and we were wowed!  There were live animals (camels, sea lions, birds, and dogs), pirate battles with amazing acrobatics and special effects, and a wonderful depiction of the Christmas story.  Leah was chosen to be a part of the show, and was given a doubloon and a book as souvenirs.  Below is a very blurry photo of her waving to the audience (she was accompanied by Daddy), a picture of her receiving her instructions from one of the performers, and a video of our Pirate Star racing down the gangway:





It was such a great weekend, with so many reasons to give thanks.  How we loved our beach Thanksgiving this year!

Tooth Tales

So, this has been our situation for the past couple of months.  My baby has her first loose tooth, which was expedited by a fall from the monkey bars at recess and a subsequent face plant into the mulch.  A bloodied mouth and a fat lip resulted in a tearful phone call home to Mommy after this accident..and of course, this was the one time that my cell phone was on silent and I missed the call!

Apparently, the school nurse called Luke out of class to come down to the office to console Leah, and after a conversation with big brother, Peanut was comforted and able to return to class.  My heart almost burst when I called school shortly after listening to my missed voicemail from them, and the office staff told me, "Mrs. Winterhoff, your son was SO sweet with your daughter that he had us in tears with his tender, loving words to her..."   WHAT?!  I mean, yes, of course, that happens all the time... they are always kind and loving to each other, etc.  HA! 

Anyway, we made an emergency trip to the pediatric dentist who took this x-ray, assured me that there was no root damage, and informed us that even if Leah hadn't knocked her baby tooth loose, it was not going to be long at all before she lost it.  Sigh.  

So, I did what any Mommy who dreads this milestone does.  I did not encourage Leah to wiggle that tooth at all.  I just buried my head in the sand until Leah announced, "Mommy, my grown up tooth is growing in BEHIND my baby tooth!".  Ok, maybe it was time for me to let go of that tiny, perfect part of my daughter's childhood.  That bottom tooth became more and more loose, and then, last Friday, someone yanked her own tooth out at school and proudly showed it to me when I walked into the classroom that day.

Clearly, that tooth was ready to come out!

 The Tooth Fairy came and brought Leah $2 (despite Luke's best attempts to tell us that he was sure that he only received $1 for his first tooth).  Leah was thrilled, and we were happy to shower her with well deserved love and attention for such an important occasion.  Hooray for Peanut, for handling this momentous milestone with such enthusiasm and grace! 

School Snippets

I have so many wonderful school updates to share!  Both children are thriving at school this year, and Luke and Leah have received some exciting accolades.  In September, Leah was chosen as the Terrific Kid for her class.  Terrific Kids are recognized for modeling good citizenship, effort, respect, responsibility, and caring for others.  We are SO proud of our little peanut, who came such a long way from her tears and anxiety in the beginning of September to receiving this special honor for her very first month at elementary school.  Leah was also chosen as a Super Colt for the first academic quarter of the school year, received a ribbon, and was on the school's Morning Show.  Super Colts demonstrate strong academics, cooperation with peers, respect for teachers and friends, and embody the positive character traits at Oak Ridge Elementary.    

September Kindergarten Terrific Kids!

This smile says it all!

ORES principal giving Leah her Terrific Kid Award. 

A couple of weeks ago, we were notified that Leah was chosen as a Terrific Kid for the month October... I re-read the e-mail a couple of times, confused, until I realized that Leah was nominated by the Art Teacher.  When we went to the awards ceremony, the principal told everyone that the Art Teacher is allowed to pick ONE Terrific Kid out of the 750 students in the school, so Leah should be very proud.  We were speechless.  I know that I am biased about my darling little girl and the joy that she brings to everyone she meets, but it is affirming to know that her teachers feel the same way and are recognizing that she truly is extraordinary.    

Look how tall my baby is compared to the other kindergartners!

Luke receives letter grades for the first time this year, and was on the all "A" Honor Roll for the first quarter.  I loved seeing this self-portrait when I went to Luke's class last month for a parent-teacher conference.  Luke has a wonderful 3rd grade teacher, who had all positive things to say about our special little boy, and called him a "terrific role model" for his peers. 

Our self-proclaimed bookworm has his nose in a book for hours each day and is still so eager to learn new things.  This picture captures Luke's love of reading.  Even at soccer games, our little man reads every chance he can:

 Luke worked very hard this fall to prepare for his school Spelling Bee, and his efforts were rewarded as he was runner-up for his class last week.  Luke has always been a self-taught learner, and I was thrilled to see that he was motivated to participate in the Spelling Bee and that his hard work paid off.  Congratulations to our Spelling Bee k-i-d! 

Then there are the special days where you get to stay at home with Mommy since you are recovering from a virus and can't return to school until you are fever free for 24 hours...  I took this sweet guy to Firehouse Subs for lunch on his sick day (but he felt completely fine), and he declared that it was the "BEST RESTAURANT!".  Seriously, the cutest lunch date ever.

 I love this photo of the kids doing homework... One afternoon, they decided that it would be fun to sit in the front seat of the car and complete their assignments.  Too, too cute! 

I am at school several days each week too, as I volunteer weekly in Leah's classroom, help with PTO events, and serve as Kindergarten Room Mom.  Lest you wonder what a "Room Mom" does, here are some photos from the class Thanksgiving feast last week, which will show you: 

How lucky am I to be able to put my energy into these fun school events for my kiddos!  Sometimes my "job" even involves multiple photo texts to Mark while he is at work asking him if my school projects are "Pinterest Fails" or acceptable.   When I asked him if he knew what these were supposed to be, he wisely replied, "Yummy?"... and assured me that 5 year-olds don't care if my chocolate-pretzel turkey legs don't look exactly like the picture in the magazine.  

With all of this fun at school, it's no wonder we sleep well at night!

Sweet dreams, precious babies!

Little Eyes and Ears



One of my purposes for continuing this blog is to archive and record our family's memories as Luke and Leah grow.  Luke enjoys reading the blog books that Mark prints for me each Mother's Day (which contain all of my posts and photos from the previous year), and he refers to them as "our family books".  This treasured stack of hardback books chronicles our family's history over the past 8.5 years, and the pictures and stories within them contain physical milestones, temporal moments, and emotional reflections of our journey as a family.  One day, this written history will be the primary way that my children revisit their childhood, and I strive to accurately capture our family rhythm, routine, and activities with each changing season of our lives.   

Recent events relating to our country's current political situation have challenged many of the assumptions that I have about our nation and world.  I have struggled with how to explain certain things to my babies, and how to keep them insulated from much negative rhetoric that is being shared in the news and on social media.  No matter how much I try to keep my children in a bubble, they see ads on tv when we go to restaurants, they notice signs on the side of the road, they overhear adults' conversations, and they listen to the opinions of their peers.  These little eyes and ears are soaking it all in, and looking to Mark and me for guidance and reassurance.  Knowing that my children will read this post some day in the (maybe not so distant) future, I want to remind them that, as a family, we try to model kindness and compassion in our lives and through our actions.  Our faith in God guides us each day.  We pray... we serve... and we have love as our centerpiece.  We give thanks for our many, many blessings.   

Lately, I've realized lately how little control I have over certain things in our world.  However, I CAN control what our family values and holds dear, and the framework through which we educate our children and help them navigate situations as they grow.  Our prayer for Luke and Leah is that they use the gifts that God has given them to be a light in the world.  There is NO mountain too high for them to climb with love and kindness guiding them.  It is a privilege to raise these precious babies, and I want those little eyes and ears to know how much they are loved and treasured today and always.    

 

  

WFU Fans

Fall is one of our favorite times to be Wake Forest fans, and for the third year in a row, we have season tickets to WFU football games.  Many of our Saturdays are spent on and near campus cheering on our beloved Demon Deacons.  During Homecoming weekend, we attend the Festival on the Quad, and this year, the kids' favorite activity there was a giant chess board: 

There are lawn games, bounce houses, Krispy Kremes, and a photo booth, and it's a fun Saturday morning before the football game:

As Junior Deacon Club members, the kids were invited to WFU Fan Fest last month, and were able to watch the basketball team practice.  L&L went on the court and did drills with the players, got autographs from every single player and coach on the team (!) and took a picture with Luke's favorite player, #44, Dinos Mitoglou:

It's so much fun to be a Wake Forest fan, and we love these little Deacs!

Happy Halloween!

It was a Star Wars Halloween for our family this year.  What could be more perfect for our Luke (Skywalker) and (Princess) Leah/Leia?  For those of you who are not avid Star Wars fans, more than one person has pointed out to us that Mark (Hamil) and Carrie (Fisher) are also perfect names for our theme, so apparently our Star Wars family was destined from the beginning.  I found most of our costumes (including 2 versions of Winnie's Yoda costume) in the Target clearance section last year on the day after Halloween, and Mark has been teasing me about it ever since.  Everyone knows that I am a planner, but to have Halloween "done" 364 days ahead of time is a new record, even for me.  I reminded Mark about "how much money I saved" by getting such great bargains last November, and he just rolled his eyes.  Luckily, he went along with my vision to have him dress as Darth Vader.  I think he was just relieved that the Chewbacca costume wasn't his!

We found it much easier to take pictures of the kids (vs. all 5 of us together) and our two human children were thrilled with their light sabers, which were, by far, their favorite parts of their costumes:

Dear, dear Winnie wasn't bothered at all by her Yoda ears, and just gave me a resigned sigh when I put them on her head.  She's been dressed up in costumes for 13 Halloweens, and is the best sport about her mother's ridiculous shenanigans: 

However, when I tried to add the rest of Winnie's costume (and accidentally put it on incorrectly), she stood up and looked at me as if to say, "Alright, enough already."  

Thankfully, we worked out the costume kinks by the time we took our family photo, and all's well that ends well.

The kids didn't have school yesterday, and bounded down the stairs in the morning, shouting "HAPPY HALLOWEEN!".  It was a Teacher Workday, and L&L asked if it was time to go Trick or Treating beginning at 7:00 a.m.  By the time our friends arrived in the evening for our annual Halloween Night Pizza Party at our house, the kids were practically bursting with excitement.  We went Trick or Treating in our neighborhood and it was a beautiful, warm evening.  These little trick or treaters had bags bursting with goodies, and afterward, everyone came back to our house to count, sort, and trade all of their candy.  

It was a great evening with friends, and a fun tradition for our families each year.  It's amazing to us to think that this is our third Halloween in NC, and we love creating these memories together!