January 21st

While Kelly was at her first chemotherapy appointment I watched her boys for part of the day.  Our boys get along really well and have a lot of fun together, so it worked out really well!  When it was time to pick up Ronan from school, I put Griffin & Eli in the double stroller and John walked with me.  It was a beautiful, sunny day (somewhat abnormal for this time of year) so I decided to let the kids play on the playground for awhile after we got Ronan.  Once we got home the kids played until Alan and Kelly got done.  At one point John asked me when his mom would be coming back, and I told him that she would be back soon, and he said, "Wow, she must be having a lot of fun there." (:  I thought it was such a sweet and innocent response. (:

Darth Griffin + Captain Eli 

John + Ronan

 

 silly faces

 

 One treatment down and only five to go--you can do it, Kelly!

We wanted to take a few pictures to remember this time--before the inevitable hair loss.. ):

 

  This is such a hard thing to go through, but I am amazed at Kelly's strength and attitude through it all! 

 

My sweet friend Kelly is going in today for her first chemotherapy treatment after being diagnosed with breast cancer in November.  I am still in shock that this is actually happening to her! ):  I know that Kelly and her family would appreciate prayer during these next few months of treatment.

Basketball

On January 16th, Ronan went to his 1st YMCA basketball clinic!  We thought it would be a good opportunity for him to try out the sport without it being too much of a commitment.  There are four more sessions and each one will focus on learning basic basketball skills.

When we got there he seemed pretty nervous, but as soon as he saw some of his buddies from school he was just fine.  He stayed close to his friend, Lucas, the whole time. (:

 

dribbling

 

shooting

 

gymnastics + a celebration

On Saturday, January 9th, Josh and I took the boys to the open gym at NAAG.  They love going there and it's been fun for us to see them (especially Griffin) become more confident in trying out the equipment!  They are both such determined & active boys, so this is a great place for them to focus their energy. (:

 

Ronan practiced & practiced crossing the monkey bars and the rings until he could go the whole way across.

 

Amy met us there with Ethan & Macey (Jon stayed home with Emma).  It was fun for the cousins to get to play together!

Ethan & Macey (in the background)

 

View from the balcony of all the kiddos jumping on the trampolines.

 

January 11th was the 34th anniversary of the day my parents moved from southern California to Oregon with baby Becca. (;  I love how my parents remember events like that and keep traditions going!  Every year on (or around) January 11th we go to Abby's Pizza for dinner because that was where they ate when they arrived to Winston back in 1976!

 The whole family--except for Erik.  It's not quite a big enough event for him to drive all the way from Seattle for. (:

 

The kids played video games and won little prizes. Ronan was excited about his Jolly Roger tattoos. 

After dinner our family rushed to go to Josh's basketball game.  He is on a city league team with some guys from EWEB, and they all decided to grow beards and call themselves the Bearded Dragons. (:  The boys and I had fun watching the game!

 

1st Lost Tooth!

Ronan lost his first tooth on December 20th, but that news didn't make it into my Christmas posts. (:  It was still pretty exciting though!  He had been working on wiggling this tooth for weeks until one day it was so loose that I could hardly stand it anymore.  I asked if I could just try one time to pull it out and if it didn't come out then I would let him do it.  He agreed and it came out so easily (& without tears)!  He was so excited about it!  Then I made the mistake of talking about the tooth fairy, which freaked him out so much that he still hasn't wanted to put his tooth under his pillow.  I tried to get him excited about getting money for his tooth, but he replied, "I'll just find money somewhere else."  He was also concerned about the tooth fairy taking his tooth, so we wrote a note to the tooth fairy asking if we could keep the tooth. (:  I wonder if/when he'll be ready to put it under his pillow. (:

(Sorry Erik for the details and pictures!  I know it grosses you out!)

 

 Then, the other day (1/11/10) we were at Memaw & Papa's house after school when all of a sudden we heard Ronan yelling for me.  I ran to see what was wrong (because it sounded like he was hurt or scared), and he said, "MOM!  I lost my other tooth!".  He was eating a piece of licorice and it pulled his tooth right out.  It wasn't even that loose.  Crazy.  And so much fun for a 5 year old!

 

this week

1/4/10~ Josh joined us for lunch on Monday and we decided to make the most of Ronan's last day of winter break by going to Chuck E. Cheese's!  The kids were so excited!  Every time we drive near that place Griffin says, "I see Chuck E. Cheese's.  Can you take me there?".  The answer is always "not this time, maybe another day", so this day it was fun to get to tell him that we were going to take him there! (:  It's so nice to go there early in the day when it isn't crowded (i.e. no birthday parties)!

 1/6/10~ I babysat Kelly's son, Eli, for a few hours and the boys had a great time together.  Eli came with us to take Ronan to school and he got so much attention from the library ladies. (:  He has such handsome eyes and kissable cheeks. (:

 

1/7/10~ Griffin and I were invited to the Green's house to play while Ronan was in school.  Ethan, Macey, and Emma have so many fun toys!!  Griffin loved playing "kitchen" and working on puzzles with his cousins.

 

 Emma loves her Aunt Gretchen (;

(She wanted me to hold her most of the time I was there, and I was happy to!  She's such a sweetie!)

 

 

  1/8/10~Katrina, Finn, and Cedar came over this morning to play for a few hours since Katrina had the day off.  They walked with us to take Ronan to school, then Finn & Griffin played together while Katrina & I visited.

working together on a dinosaur floor puzzle:

Cedar is on the move!

 

 "Can I go upstairs?"

 

1/8/10~ Ronan's friend, Ryan, came home from school with us today.  This was a first "new school friend" play date for Ronan and he was so excited about it!

 

Owen's Party

On Saturday, January 2nd, we went to the Sawyer's house for Owen's 4th birthday party.  The coolest part was that they live a block away from a fire station and they arranged for the firefighters to drive a truck right to their house!  The kids were so surprised and excited!

Griffin & Owen, the birthday boy.

 

 The firefighters got suited up & talked to the kids about what to do if there was ever a fire.

 

 Then, all the kids got to try out the fire hose and sit in the truck.  It was such a fun experience--even better than a school field trip. (:

 Kerry, Simon, Barron, and Owen

 

 The firemen stayed for birthday cake and a group picture. (:

 

Happy New Year!

 

 The Henrys and Chases came over to ring in the New Year with us and we all had a great time together.  The kids played & played so nicely together, and the adults played games and ate yummy appetizers. 

Cedar's 1st New Year's Eve!  He was a little trooper!

 

  We played several rounds of Jungle Speed --with only minor injuries (:

 

 Josh brought out his strobe light and we had a little dance party. (:

 

Cedar went to sleep in Griffin's crib around 9:00, but the rest of the kids managed to stay up until midnight(--except for Sadie who fell asleep about 20 minutes before)!  Finn (who had a nap that day) led the pack of Novemberists all through the house, playing with light sabers and Nerf guns. I was amazed that they all lasted until midnight! 

 Happy New Year!

 

 Here's to an amazing start to a new decade!