She Chose Jesus!

Last night after the kids were in bed, Zach went up to check on a crying Briggs.  Once he got Briggs settled back into bed, Adelie called to him from her room.  When he went in, she happily told him, "I chose Jesus." Zach exclaimed, "You did?"  And she said, "Yes.  I asked Jesus into my heart."  When Zach asked her when she had done it, she responded, "Just now."  Then she asked Zach to pray with her.

My heart is so happy to know that my kids love Jesus and want to live their lives for Him!

This sweet girl chose Jesus.

My heart is full!

T-Minus Two Days...and Counting

Only 2 days until we leave for Disney.  Our plans are made.  Our bags are packed.  Our mouse ears are dusted off.  We are ready!!

It's almost time to leave behind the frigid Illinois winter and bask in the warm sunshine.

Disney, here we come!!

Knowledge is Power

Briggs:  "I know everything, right?"
Me:  "You know lots of things, but you don't know everything.  Nobody knows everything.  You still have lots of things to learn about as you get bigger."
Briggs:  "I mean, I know everything about kids and rides at Disney World.  That's what I know everything about."

If you are going to be an expert in something, kids and Disney is a good place to start.

Safety First

This morning Briggs was watching through the window as the garbage men were picking up the neighborhood garbage.  He said, "The garbage man is holding on tight to the back of the truck, but he is not even wearing a seatbelt.  He is not being very safe."

I'm big on safety and I'm glad to see some of that is rubbing off.

Eight Years Old

*This is my annual, lengthy post about my children at each given age.  Be warned.

Staley is 8 years old.  She is now 48" tall and weighs 52 lbs.  She wears her size 7/8 clothes and size 13 shoes.  Staley has been undergoing orthodontic procedures for the past 6 months.  She currently has a retainer for her upper teeth and an expander for her lower teeth.  She will be getting a small set of braces next month.  Over the past year, Staley has been involved in a variety of activities including Stage Kids, Broadway dance, piano lessons, singing lessons, basketball, coach pitch baseball, volleyball, and Wednesday night Kid's Connection at church.  She is in the second grade with Mrs. King as her teacher.  Staley sleeps for about 11-12 hours at night, generally going to bed around 8 and getting up around 7:00-7:30.  She is growing up fast.  That's about the only thing she does fast as she lacks any sense of urgency when doing daily activities.

Likes:  Staley has a large variety of interests.  She is very creative and loves singing, dancing, acting, drawing, and writing.  She is constantly writing stories, books, and plays.  Staley also enjoys trying out more athletic pursuits.  Staley is not necessarily innately athletic, but she is very persistent and has enjoyed playing sports through the park district (baseball, basketball, volleyball), going for runs with Zach and I (and pushing herself to go a little farther each time), and trying out activities like rock climbing and roller skating.  She loves swimming, riding her bike, riding her scooter, and trying to climb trees.  She is generally cautious by nature, so she keeps her tree climbing, rock climbing, and bike riding endeavors within the realm of what she considers safe.

Although cautious, Staley does love to try new things and learn new skills.

Staley is an avid reader and loves all kinds of books, but current favorite series have been American Girl doll mysteries and books, the Whatever After series, Beverly Cleary books, Magic Treehouse books, A-Z Mysteries, I Survived books, and non-fiction do-it-yourself books (like how to do hair, cook books, yoga books, craft books, etc.)  She is also very good about reading books to her younger brother and sister.  We do not watch television and only occasionally watch movies, but recent favorite movies that Staley has seen are 'Mary Poppins Returns' and 'The Greatest Showman.'  She also really enjoys the American Girl movies.  Staley does not play with many toys anymore, but she does enjoy playing with her American Girl dolls.  She will occasionally still play Barbies or figurines, but not often.  More of her free time is spent reading, writing, making up and performing plays, and doing craft activities.  She is in her element when she is writing, directing, and starring in plays or performances with her siblings.

Staley loves her American Girl dolls, especially Haley.

Staley making lip gloss.

Staley is generally a good eater.  She eats most main dishes, fruits, and desserts.  Favorites include tacos, cheeseburgers, chicken casserole, meatballs, pancakes, muffins, and ice cream.  Staley is becoming more interested in clothing.  She likes workout-type clothes, like leggings and exercise tops.  She still prefers soft, comfortable clothing like leggings, jeggings, and soft pants.  She has recently become interested in the store Justice and the clothing they sell because her older girl cousin really likes that store.  She also likes making her own outfits by adding accessories like belts, scarves, and jewelry.  Staley prefers to do her own hair and has become more interested in trying out different hairstyles and styling Adelie's hair.  Staley has a variety of friends from school, church, the neighborhood, and Stage Kids, but her best friend is our backyard neighbor (and school and church friend), Lilian.  She also loves to spend time with her cousins with cousin sleepovers with Lila and Olivia still ranking among her favorite activities.  She also gets along really well with her siblings and they are some of her favorite playmates.

Staley and Lilian

Staley and Lila

Staley and Adelie

Dislikes:  Staley is still sensitive to certain things.  She does not like denim, tights with feet, or scratchy material.  She has begun wearing a cami underneath clothes if an applique is on the shirt or it doesn't feel quite right.  She does not like veggies except cooked carrots.  She likes most desserts, but is not a big fan of cake.  Staley can still get overwhelmed in new, busy, or chaotic situations, like big birthday parties.  She prefers smaller groups of people to do things with.  She has gotten much better about loud noises, although she did still cover her ears at the firework finale this 4th of July.  She is also less sensitive to intense parts of movies, although we rarely watch anything that has many intense parts.  As Staley has gotten older, she is also more flexible about doing things other people want to do, accepting instruction or suggestions from others, and being more kind with her sister.  She still does not like when people do not follow the rules or when things don't go how she anticipated.

She always prefers her comfy clothes.

Just like her Mama!

Skills:  Staley is getting to be a very independent little girl.  She takes her own shower, brushes her own teeth, picks out her own outfits, and does her own hair.  She is responsible about getting her homework done and memorizing lines/songs for plays she is in.  She does still need reminders to practice for piano lessons.  Staley is a big help and does jobs around the house (cleaning the bathroom sink and taking the sheets off the beds are her weekly jobs), makes simple things in the kitchen without help (except with the oven), and helps out with her siblings.

Staley is getting quite proficient in the kitchen.

Staley is very bright and does very well in school.  She is scoring in the 98th percentile on standardized tests for both reading and math.  Staley has worked hard to master various athletic pursuits.  She can hit a ball consistently in coach pitch, make baskets when the basket has been lowered, and run a mile and a half without stopping.  Staley is taking piano and singing lessons.  She is beginning to play simple songs with her right and left hand together and is becoming much better at matching pitch with singing.  Staley loves acting and has no stage fright.  She easily memorizes her lines and songs and dances for plays and performances that she is in.

Staley and Haley both enjoy playing sports.

Staley is very sweet.  She still loves to cuddle and hold my hand.  She is sensitive about getting in trouble and is generally very good about obeying the rules...and making sure everyone else is too.  Staley is growing more and more in her faith.  She reads her Bible, asks deep questions, and says heart-felt prayers.  She is very inquisitive and enjoys diving into subjects.  Recent interests have been dinosaurs, the solar system, and historical events.  Staley is kind and a good friend.  She is thoughtful and giving, shows empathy, makes others feel included, and is developing a grateful heart.  She loves to be helpful.  She still has a stubborn streak, but this is now seen more often in her persistence in learning new skills as opposed to resistance to doing what others want.  She is growing up right before my eyes, leaving behind some of her childish ways and showing more emotional and social maturity.

She is growing up, but still loves her favorite teddy.

I

My big 8 year old!

Birthday Fun

Although Staley got to celebrate her birthday with her friend activity and sleepover last week-end, we still managed to help her turn 8 in style with a week-end full of birthday celebratory fun.

Briggs and I joined Staley at school on Friday.  We brought birthday lunch from Subway and ice cream sandwiches to share with her class.  Staley loved having us eat lunch, play at recess, and stay for read-aloud time in her classroom.  And Briggs relished all the attention from Staley and her friends.

Both sets of grandparents joined us for Staley's birthday dinner.  Like every year, Staley chose Daddy cheeseburgers (which involves Zach grilling outside in the cold) and no veggies.  Her dessert of choice?  Brownies with chocolate frosting and Uncle Bob's oreo overload ice cream.

Staley opened a few gifts, like pajamas, clothes, a running watch, and a CD.  However, her most exciting gift was a pair of roller skates.

Her brother and sister spent the rest of the evening helping her practice on her new skates...and then skating around the living room on pieces of wrapping paper.

Despite the winter weather, Staley continued to celebrate her birthday the next day with a cooking lesson from Aunt Jan (yummy crepes and homemade hot fudge), play time in the snow, and family movie night.  Staley had been wanting to see 'The Greatest Showman', so her birthday week-end seemed like the perfect time to check that off her list.

We finished off Staley's birthday week-end with a celebration of January birthdays with my family.  Happy birthday to Staley, Liam, and Uncle Evan.  (We would have celebrated Uncle Ethan's January birthday too, but he didn't make the trek from Chicago for family birthday dinner.)  

There was play time with cousins, yummy food, and a few more gifts.  You can tell your little girl is growing up when her birthday gifts are CDs, clothes, and an alarm clock...and she is super excited about them all.

And nothing beats Aunt Melissa's homemade cherry pie for birthday dessert!

To top off a wonderfully fun and exciting birthday week-end, Staley woke up this morning to find out that she got cast in the part she wanted for her next Stage Kids play.  Talk about the icing on an already great birthday cake.  

What a wonderful week-end we had celebrating our 8 year old!!

Question of the Day

Should I be proud of how perfectly my 3 year old son behaved while spending an hour at school yesterday on his sister's birthday eating lunch with her, playing with her and her friends at recess, and sitting so nicely to listen to her teacher read a chapter in a book?  Or should I be disappointed that he threw a fit in the school office as we were signing out to head for home?

I felt both in the matter of minutes.  Thus is the life of a mom of a 3 year old.

Interview with an 8 Year Old

Favorite color:  Blue
Favorite food:  Dad's cheeseburgers
Least favorite food:  Broccoli
Favorite restaurant:  The American Girl restaurant
Favorite dessert:  Uncle Bob's ice cream
Favorite toy:  American Girl dolls
Favorite stuffed animal: Teddy (formerly known as Yellow Bear)
Favorite animal:  Sloth
Favorite game:  Monopoly
Favorite movie:  Mary Poppins Returns
Favorite sport:  Baseball
Favorite activity:  Stage Kids
Favorite thing to do at home:  Read
Favorite thing about school:  Learning cursive
Favorite place to go locally:  State Farm pool
Favorite place to go for vacation:  Disney World
Favorite thing to do with Adelie:  Put on plays
Favorite thing to do with Briggs:  Play
Favorite thing to do with Mommy:  Run
Favorite thing to do with Daddy:  Play board games
Favorite book:  Cry of the Loon (American Girl mystery)
Favorite princess:  Mulan
Favorite superhero:  Bumblebee
Favorite outfit:  My lime green running hoodie
Favorite pajamas:  My monster pajamas
Favorite play you've been in:  The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

What are you excited about doing when you are 8?  Going to Disney World, the We Love America program in 3rd grade, doing Peter Pan
What are you scared of?  Broccoli
What's the best thing about you?  No stage fright
What are you good at?  Acting, dancing, singing, playing the piano, rock climbing
Who is your best friend?  Lilian
What do you want to be when you grow up?  A professional actress

Happy Birthday, Staley!

You know how everyone says that time goes so fast when you are raising kids?  How they say your kids will grow up right before your eyes?  How they say "cherish the days" and "it will be over so quickly" and "you'll never be able to go back?"  You know how they say that you'll blink and they'll be all grown up?  Well, they're right.  I blinked and 8 years have flown by.

Where did my baby go?

I blinked and she grew into a sweet, smart, loving, creative, confident, independent, amazing little girl.

Happy Birthday, Staley!

I promise not to blink again if you promise to stop growing up so quickly.

Questions of the Day

Briggs has an ear infection and got prescribed an antibiotic to take for the next 10 days.  Adelie is very jealous and has already asked if she can have some of it.  What is the appropriate answer when your child is asking how she can give herself an ear infection?  And how do I convince my child that her fear of missing out is getting out of hand when it involves wishing she had an ear infection just so she can taste the pink medicine?  

#ohthisgirl

#neveradullmoment

#fomo

Not Our Fault

There are a number of factors that contributed to the Bear's heart-breaking play-off loss today, but the blue and orange spirit of the members in this house, both human and doll, cannot be blamed.  We were at the top of our game!!

Adelie's shirt may be pink, but hidden behind Camille's rather large blue and orange bow is proof that Adelie is representing with her Bear's gear as well.

*You may not be able to see this, but Camille is holding up a little popsicle stick sign that says, "I love the Bears" and has a little sign around her neck that reads "Go Bears!" (With the G backwards, of course.)  Also hidden from the camera's view, most of the dolls have their hair done up with blue and orange bows or ponytail holders.  Willa even had to resort to wearing her navy blue leotard under a white soccer jersey as an outfit, but when it's play-off time, you do what you have to do.

Birthday Activity

With Staley's 8th birthday less than a week away, we celebrated this week-end with a birthday activity.  While some kids prefer big parties with lots of friends, Staley requested no party and just an activity with one or two friends.

Staley invited her two best friends:  her cousin Lila and her friend Lilian

Staley initially wanted to go ice skating.  I couldn't find a place with convenient open skate hours that would work with our schedule, so I asked if she had a second choice.

She decided that she'd like to try rock climbing instead.

All 3 girls had a blast.  They climbed for over 2 hours and each one got braver and climbed higher as the day went on.  Rock climbing was one of my very favorite activities as a college student and young adult, so I loved watching all the girls embrace the challenge.

They all worked up a big appetite after all that climbing.  They decided that lunch at Culver's would hit the spot.  I think they actually determined that ice cream at Culver's would hit the spot, but they conceded on eating lunch first.

After lunch, we then went to see 'Mary Poppins Returns' in the movie theater.  All 4 girls loved the movie with Staley declaring it her new favorite movie.

The girls then rounded out the fun with dinner and a few hours of American Girl doll play.  

The girls were having so much fun that everyone was disappointed when it was bedtime.   Of course, bedtime included getting each and every doll ready for bed as well.

But capping off a big day of birthday fun with a sleepover?  Nothing could be better.

When it was all said and done, the girls enjoyed over 24 hours together.  Staley declared it a perfect 10 out of 10 for birthday fun!!  What a great way to start off celebrating my baby turning 8.

Christmas Letter

Although most people who read this blog have already received our Christmas letter, this blog is just as much for our family as it is for others.  I always like to archive our letter on the blog, so here goes:

It’s a week until Christmas and I’m trying desperately to check things off my Christmas to-do list.  (Finish off yet another tub of peppermint ice cream after the kids are in bed.  Check!)  I’ve left “Write Christmas letter” on the list for the last few weeks, waiting for inspiration to strike.  As I initially sat down and stared at the blank screen, I thought, “Maybe I don’t need to write a Christmas letter this year.”  I still keep up our family blog on a regular basis, so for those who want to get a glimpse into our crazy life, you are always welcome to go to ezsanck.blogspot.com.  For the rest of you, I’ll try to give a brief recap of the past year in our household.

2018:  Our Year in Review

January:  Celebrated Staley’s 7^th birthday with a trip to the American Girl Store.  Also celebrated my 16^th work anniversary at the Children’s Hospital in Peoria.  Recognized I’ll need to keep working my 2 days/week as a pediatric occupational therapist in order to afford anything they sell at the American Girl Store.

February:  Stayed inside, became one with my cozy sweatshirts, and lamented endless Illinois winters.  Jake and Elwood celebrated their 16^th birthday.  No driving for them, but they definitely have a cat license to nap and shed.

March:  Adelie turned 5 and Briggs turned 3.  Adelie wanted a mermaid party.  Briggs wanted a train party.  I didn’t want to plan 2 parties.  The result: a mermaid train party.

April:  Zach hit a milestone birthday.  (Hint:  Rhymes with zorty.)  Took a quick spring break trip to Indianapolis.  It was fun, but winter coats and snow made me think that maybe spring breaking somewhere warm is a better idea.

May:  Crammed tons of end-of-the-school-year activities into a few short weeks as Staley finished up first grade and ended her spring acting class with Mulan, Jr. while Adelie “graduated” from pre-school. 

June:  Enjoyed lazy days punctuated with baseball and t-ball games, swimming lessons, trips to State Farm pool, play dates, library programs, acting class, and our week-long extended family trip to Pentwater, Michigan.

July:  See June minus Pentwater plus 4^th of July.

August:  Participated in another successful Eureka to Peoria St. Jude Run that Zach spends all year planning and organizing.  (Just wish he wouldn’t have planned for it to be so hot the day of the run.)  After years of waiting, Adelie got to join Staley on stage (Lion King, Jr.) and at school (big Kindergartener!!)  I realized how quiet and easy it is with only one child home during the day.  I also realized that I have a certain threshold for how long I can play train table before going a little insane.

September:  Briggs started 3 year old pre-school two mornings each week.  Zach and I celebrated 17 years of marriage.  Adelie realized that school actually means every day and includes homework, missing out on daytime outings with mom, and not getting to spend mom’s work days with grandparents. There were tears.

October:  Enjoyed a long week-end family trip to Madison, Wisconsin.  My kids haven’t met a zoo, children’s museum, or hotel pool they don’t like.  Filled up on favorite fall activities like pumpkin farms, football games, bike rides, and Halloween, as well as some not-so-favorite fall activities like raking and raking and raking some more.

November:  Zach accepted a promotion at his job at State Farm, started studying for his CPA exam, decided he’d like to train for a triathlon, and almost single-handedly cheered the Bears into the playoffs.  (He thinks sleep is over-rated.)  Expressed our thankfulness for our family, our friends, our jobs, our health, and that all our kids can dress themselves and take themselves to the bathroom.  Lamented the beginning of endless Illinois winters.

December:  Enjoyed festive celebrations, watched the girls in another play (Annie, Jr.), became best friends with Amazon and Etsy, and came to terms with the fact that our Christmas cards will be late this year.

As you can see, it’s been a full, fun, healthy, happy, crazy, busy, blessed year.  Wishing the same for you! 

A cute Christmas picture that I loved but never had a chance to post.

Merry Christmas to Me

Zach's Christmas present to me this year was an overnight get-away that he planned for the week-end after Christmas.  He booked a hotel, bought tickets to a show, secured child care, and promised me that I could sleep in as late as I wanted.  Just the sleeping in would have checked off an item at the top of my Christmas list, so the rest was just icing on the cake.

We headed down to St. Louis to enjoy some relaxing, quiet, child-free time together.  We kicked off our adult time away with some time at the St. Louis Art Museum.  We realized that we might not be considered overly cultured as we had just as much fun making fun of the art as we did appreciating it.

Although officially titled "Untitled", I aptly named this one "Black Square."

Zach and I couldn't decide whether to name this one "It's Just Trash" or "Needs to be Swept Up."

We actually asked a museum worker whether this one was a work of art or simply an empty display case.  Apparently it's art.  Who knew?  (Obviously not us.)

Once we had all the art viewing we could handle, we checked into our hotel before heading out to a new restaurant to find yet another masterpiece.

I call this one "Worth Every Calorie."

We then thoroughly enjoyed an evening at the Fox Theater to see 'Anastasia: The Musical."

While we were culturing it up in St. Louis, the girls had a very elf-y cousin sleepover with Uma and Papa while Briggs soaked up some quality time with Grammie and Grandpa.

We had a wonderful little get-away.

And don't worry.  We both slept in until after 10:00.

Merry Christmas to me!!

Question of the Day

Is it considered a sign of a successfully relaxing Christmas break that my children have not changed out of their pajamas (until bedtime when they put on new pajamas) for the past 3 days?

Or are we just lazy and need to get out of the house more?

Milestones

There may not be a spot to record this in the baby book, but Briggs can FINALLY blow his nose.  With runny nose season in full swing, this is a game changer.

First words and first steps are great and all, but nose blowing is a highly under-rated milestone.  I'm glad we've finally made it!!