Tooth Newsflash...

MariCagle is officially on toothfairy alert. She came to me yesterday saying she had something in her mouth she couldn't get out. Low and behold, her two bottom permanent teeth are peeking through and the baby teeth are officially loose. She is ecstatic! So many of her classmates have already lost teeth this year; she has been waiting for this day. If only I could say the same for myself and Brandon. We are a little wary as it's just one more sign that our baby is growing up...way too fast. So stay tuned for some cute snaggle-tooth pictures!

Finally.....Merry Christmas & Happy 2008!

Thank you all for your patience. I have been very slow to update the blog as of late, but I hope to catch you up in this post and then do better to keep up. The last time I posted we were gearing up for Christmas which was a whirlwind as you can see from the sort of picture diary below. We enjoyed wonderful time with family and friends and rang in the new year blessed more than ever.

Nate and MariCagle were very controlled in their visit to Santa. MariCagle asked simply for a snow globe, and Nate asked for a 'road ripper' aka car that makes noise. If only that control had lasted through the holiday!

This shot was taken at Nate's Christmas program. Nate's class performed wonderful carols. Nate's favorite was 'Joy to the World.' And MariCagle's class performed songs from the movie, 'The Polar Express.' It's February and I'm still trying to get them both to move away from the Christmas favorites to some non-seasonal tunes.

We decorated what seemed like a million cookies for both their classes and mine. Surprisingly, Nate was the most methodical decorator being sure to cover every inch with adequate sprinklage.

Nate loves all things pirate so needless to say his most favorite gifts were of the pirate theme. He is very serious in his role playing. It's very cute.

Here are the little angels on Christmas morning waiting to go see their gifts. Nate was very quick to ascertain that it was NOT 'sticks and rocks.'

MariCagle got many fabulous gifts including a couple snow globes. One of her many favorites was this baby doll from Grandma. She was on cloud nine all evening making special plans for displaying her at home.

Like I said, Christmas was a whirlwind. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the spoiling of our children. We had great fun with everyone we got to see, and we loved the Christmas cards we received from those of you we didn't get to see.

Since Christmas we've just been trying to settle back in. We haven't been up to anything in particular, just the 'usual' which is enough to keep us busy. The kids are excited about Valentine's day approaching and the start of t-ball. They both get to play this year on the same team. So look for more to come in a much more timely fashion...I promise!

Reindeer Run

Mari Cagle and Nate participate in their first race! It was a race just for kids...the Reindeer Run. They got numbers, tshirts, medals and ribbons just like when Mom and Dad run their races so they were very excited! Mari Cagle ran a 1 mile race for Kindergarten through 8th grade. And Nate ran a 100 yard Toddler Dash. They both had a great time. Mari Cagle's favorite part was getting the medal and passing other people on the race course. She has quite the competitive drive. I can't imagine where she got it! :) We hope you enjoy the pictures from the morning as much as we enjoyed the morning itself. I wish I could share the pancake breakfast we had afterwards, but they haven't quite come that far with computer technology. :)



At the start/finish line before the race very anxious to get things underway.



Pretty good form huh? He was very determined running hard the whole way.




Being such a natural princess, I was very proud of Mari Cagle. She ran for most of the entire mile with just a few short walking breaks. And I didn't have to coax her along like I thought I would. She did mention the sweatiness at one point, but quickly moved past it. :)

The Start of Our Christmas Season....

It's officially Christmas here at our house. We got the Christmas tree, our first since moving to Florida (and yes, I purchased it wearing shorts!). I'm almost done with my shopping. Mari Cagle and Nate are counting down to the big day with the help of Nana's embroidered advent calendar filled with Smarties candies. They are learning lots of carols in preparation for their Christmas programs. Nate's favorite to hear on the radio is 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.' Mari Cagle is still partial to 'Rudolph' which she has learned to play on her violin! If she's not playing shy, she should be able to play an entire concert for everyone as her violin teacher has given her 'music' for several additional carols. It has been real motivation for her to practice; she absolutely loves playing Christmas songs.

St. Nicholas payed Mari Cagle's classroom a visit last night and stuffed their homemade stockings with treats in honor of his feast day, today, December 6. Mari Cagle's teacher is from Wisconsin and it is common tradition to celebrate St. Nicholas' feast day in this way. She said growing up it was always the way they officially began their Christmas season culminating, of course, in the birth of Christ, our Savior on our beloved Christmas Day. I have been intrigued by the custom (maybe because I have roots in Wisconsin too) and have been inspired to learn a little more of St. Nicholas and how his legend evolved into our American Santa Claus. If you too are inspired, below is a link to the website I found most helpful and interesting.

http://www.stnicholascenter.org

And another interesting link many of you have probably seen. But the kids convinced Brandon to 'Elf' our family. It's pretty funny.

we've been elfed!

I hope you all are having a blessed Christmas season filled with lots of the joyful Christmas spirit!

Thanksgiving Fun!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had a lot to be thankful for this year. We are so very blessed! Over the holiday we enjoyed lots of family fun and just as much eating. MariCagle and Nate love seeing all the family. I only have a few snapshots...I was having too much fun to remember the camera. (So Kim and Kristen, that's a hint that I need you to share some of your pictures from the week.) :)



One of the highlights was time spent with Hudson and Quinn. Here are three of the munchkins enjoying what MariCagle has proclaimed 'Grammy's Art Table.' Whether that was Grammy's intention or not, it is most frequently used for drawing and such.



I'm not sure what the name of this game was, but you can tell they enjoyed it immensely. Who knew that throwing a pillow shaped like a ball would be that much more fun when standing on the couch?

Now this next video clip is one of those that Nate will one day forever wish I had never taken. Pa was so kind as to let Nate and MC watch and borrow his 'Power Ranger' movie. Nate has really taken to the especially cheesy superheroes as you can tell by his demonstration below.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are very much looking forward to Thanksgiving this year! It's amazing how the kids remember and learn and understand so much more about the holidays each year. And I just love Thanksgiving because it's like a sneak peak of Christmas. I post this video and picture to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving from myself, Brandon, Mari Cagle and Nate. If we will see you for the holiday, we can't wait!! And if we won't, please know we will miss you lots.

This video is of one of the songs Nate has learned at school. It is a favorite of his even though you can tell he doesn't quite remember all of the words. But he doesn't let that stop him. (You can check out his new 'do' as well.)

If you're looking for some good recipes for the holidays, check out Mari Cagle's Pumpkin Pie Recipe.

Translation:
First, sugar.
Then you add pumpkin.
Then cherries.
Then stir.
Then cook.
Finished.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Trick or Treat!

Nate and Mari Cagle had a great Halloween. They both had classroom parties and costume parades. We went trick-or-treating at the zoo and then to Pizza Hut for dinner. (MC got to use her first free pizza ticket that she earned for reading 4 books in October.) Nate was especially into the whole Halloween scene - playing ghost, talking of a 'creepy, creepy house' and hearing 'strange noises.' And he's already got his next three Halloween costumes picked out - a ghost, Superman and Batman. I don't think that's carved in stone though. For this year, they were both adorable in their costumes. Hope you all had a great Halloween and we can not wait for the holidays this year. We're so excited to see everyone!!

Brandon carved a ghost pumpkin for them this year. I've provided a picture of the pumpkin I carved back in 2005 for comparison. Needless to say, we can see who gets pumpkin carving duties for all future Halloweens.