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Jaedin

Milestone. Jaedin lost his first tooth this year, which was exciting for him, except that he lost it at night in the dirt on a camping trip; a lengthy search effort never yielded the lost tooth, which made for a distraught boy who was very worried that he wouldn’t have anything to leave for the tooth fairy. We knew that a friend of Jaedin’s had just lost a tooth as well, so after we put the kids to bed, I told Lindy we should just get that tooth from the other parents and tell Jaedin we found it. "Daddy, I heard you!" came a small voice…turned out Jaedin wasn’t asleep. The next morning he told me I was in huge trouble with the tooth fairy; looks like I’ll need to do some time in tooth jail for perjury and insider trading.

Spider man. Jaedin is loving first grade. His latest interest is spiders. He brought spider books, spider videos, even his own live spider collection from our back yard to Show & Tell until his teacher finally had to beg us, "no more spiders, please!" For Christmas he wanted a pet tarantula, but Lindy had to draw the line there (we couldn’t guarantee that it would stay in the cage…) Other interests this year have included volcanoes, sharks, jellyfish, beetles, scorpions, and stingrays. Jaedin is a master builder (Legos, K’nex, Bionicles, etc.) and loves to make lists about everything, from how many days are left before an upcoming event to who’s invited to his party (dis-invited sister noted at the end). He’s also very into the holidays, especially Halloween. Sometime in early October he got the idea in his head that he was going to host a Halloween party. So he spent the whole month planning every detail, complete with games, treats, music, and the works. His "Boo Bash" was a hit. He’s had a great year on all fronts, including his health. We’re down to annual visits to the cardiologist with no major upcoming operations, so we’ve really been blessed to have him doing so well.

Cambren

Family hall monitor. Cam makes sure everything stays in order and that everyone gets permission for whatever they’re doing. He has also taken on himself the role of Addie’s protector (not that she needs it). The other day he wasn’t quite meeting her expectations, and she told him, "you’re not my brother anymore." Never seen a little boy burst into tears so quickly, "I am too your brother!" It took a lot of consoling and a forced admission from Addie that he is, in fact, still her brother to calm him down.

Mindset. When Cam gets his mind set on something, you can’t change it for anything. Cam decided he didn’t want any part of the Alice and Wonderland theme that Lindy had planned for all of the kids at Halloween. Lindy tried all sorts of bribery, but it was no use, and to her dismay the Goodwill Batman costume won out over all of her creative home-made ideas. Cam graduated from swim class and finished a T-ball season and a soccer season with Jaedin on the same team and Dad as the coach. He can be very fast running bases when he wants to be. He had everyone glued to their seats each at-bat, though, as we waited to see if he felt like touching a few square blocks warranted a full sprint on that particular day, or whether he felt more like taking a leisurely stroll around the bases. He’s hooked on video games, which is the first and last thing he thinks about each day. He’s destined to be a Ms. Pac Man wizard like his father before him. His uncle who lives nearby got a puppy, which was a dream come true for him as well as a big revelation that dogs actually do play catch just like in the movies (unlike Grandma’s elderly dogs who have trouble even following the ball with their eyes). Cam loves Kindergarten, but keeps telling us they just need more recesses.

Addisen

"Ta-da!" Lately Addie’s every accomplishment is followed by a little hop, outstretched arms, and a very loud "ta-da!" She is our little princess, but loves to get down in the dirt, too. Playing with two brothers sure has toughened her up (and vice versa). One particular fight came while playing Star Wars with her brothers. She told them, "I want a pink lightsaber." They told her lightsabers don’t come in pink, and the fight escalated from there. It finally took some intervention and a Wikipedia internet search to resolve the issue and reveal that lightsabers do, in fact, come in pink. And boy, did she rub it in that she was right… Addie has been our first to actually protest when we pick her up from her nursery class each week, where she loves trying to be the center of attention. She changes her clothes up to six times a day and walks around being our little housekeeper, telling us what needs to be picked up.

Talk Show. Addie is by far the most verbal of the bunch and never has a lack of conversation topics. Bedtime stories are constantly interrupted by questions: "What kind of Chia pet do you like best? Daddy, do you like a blue Cinderalla dress or a pink Sleeping Beauty dress? Is your favorite letter A for Addie? Daddy, you have to take me to a ball, OK? You can’t wear your work clothes. You have to dress up extra nice…" She had to wear a splint after messing up her wrist playing rough with her brothers last month. Once the pain wore off, she started to see the advantages of her splint. Not only could she got all sorts of extra attention, she also discovered that her "whacker" could kill bugs, keep her brothers in line, and keep dad awake during our nightly story time dialogue.

Lindy

Shadow. Lindy is getting used to having more free time with both boys in school; it especially took some time getting used to the vocal little shadow that follows her everywhere around the house now, pointing out everything that needs to be cleaned and re-cleaned (most of which happens to be Addie’s own doing.) We’ve had to put a lot more locks on doors that we didn’t need three years ago. Lindy manages to concoct a few plans here and there to keep the kids’ imaginations flying, being a secret leprechaun, Santa’s elf, or whatever it takes to bring in the holiday fun. Lindy has been keeping busy volunteering in Jaedin and Cam’s classrooms and finishing projects around the house. I came home from a trip to Alaska last summer to find that she had painted the whole exterior of the house a different color. She’s also been enjoying the fitness club she joined a few months ago (at least in part because they offer child care while you work out).

Krey

Family

The Griswold's Vacation. We stuck around home most of the time this year, but did end up being able to take a few weekend camping trips in the mountains and lava beds around here. We also took a trip to Utah for my brother’s wedding, and then headed to California for a family reunion for Lindy’s family the day after we got back from Utah. While we in California, we decided to take the kids to Great America. Got there nice and early to beat the crowd with the kids all geared up for a day of fun. Only the crowd never showed up, since the park was closed that day. Turned out I had checked the wrong park’s website, and I felt like Clark Griswold getting to Wally World. We did end up having lots of fun on the trip nonetheless, touring the Jelly Belly factory, driving up and down the crookedest street, taking train rides, and visiting with extended family.

Nanny 911. For the most part it’s been a pretty splendid year, though we’re tempted on occasion to call Nanny 911. Used to laugh at the prospect, but lately we see ourselves relating more and more to the families on the show. This year, we’re particularly thankful for monster trucks, jellybeans, lava, amplifiers, tarantulas, the tooth fairy, Wikipedia, family, puppies, and pink. God bless you and yours as He has blessed us in all the things that matter most. Best Christmas wishes!