Family Update 2017

This is us: Our family of four in the fall of 2017.  (Thank you to Chloe Photography for these beautiful images!)

NOAH | Noah is five and in kindergarten. He is loving school! He is officially "reading" and the child development major/former educator in me is thoroughly loving watching this process unfold. Seeing him blossom and bloom in the areas of reading and writing is simply the best. Noah played soccer in the fall and scored a few goals. When the season came to an end in November, he was disappointed; he genuinely wanted to keep playing. Recently, he came to me and said he needed more sports in his life. So, he's all signed up for a 6-week basketball class starting in January. Noah is currently obsessed with the music from the movie, Sing. In fact, at least once a week, we'll find him pounding away at our piano and belting out "I'm Still Standing." I see piano lessons in his future.

The week before Thanksgiving, Noah created an "I am Thankful For" turkey at school. On the feathers of the turkey, he wrote what he was most thankful for:

• My dad
• My mom
• Good dreams (How sweet is that!)
• My friends
• Maui (We spent a week in Maui in October.)

Yes, he neglected to include his sister, but he does love her. And I think most days, he is thankful for her -- except when she gets into his LEGO bin!

We are so thankful for Noah. 

BETHANY | This little 2-year-old girl loves to go, go, go -- nonstop. Bethy climbs on counters and jumps off chairs and she is happiest when she is at gymnastics "nastix" class, swinging on the rings. She dances to "Hair Up" from the Trolls movie as often as she can. She sings "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep" over and over, along with the ABC song.

Her car seat now faces forward, and she's become quite the backseat driver. It's not uncommon to hear her yell "Faster, Daddy, faster!"

Beth loves to eat. Fresh eggs from our chickens are one of her favorites! When she really likes a food like pizza or spaghetti or black olives, she'll say "lishis." When she counts aloud, she's likely to say 1, 2, 3, 9 and 10.

Her favorite phrase right now is "try again." I hope it's a mantra she carries with her for the rest of her life. 

BRIAN | Still fighting fire. Still cheering on the Notre Dame football team. Still misplacing his sunglasses on a regular basis. Still secretly planting flower bulbs in the yard for Jennie every fall. Experimenting with yoga. Cooking with his new pellet smoker. Working on his bachelor's degree, one online class at a time.

JENNIE | Still super thankful to be a mama -- and a mama who gets to be with my kiddos A LOT. Still taking photos of my kids and other people's kids. Still serving as a Little Free Library steward. Still biting my nails. Loving a new practice: once-a-week heated yoga. (And really loving that they have free childcare.) Enjoying teaching monthly art lessons in Noah's classroom. Dreaming up our next travel adventure.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!