A Boy and His Goose Plate

Back in November I took the kids to Christmas Village in Birmingham. We went last year and enjoyed it. I had their picture made again with Santa, so the kids got to tell Santa what they wanted. When I say kids, I mean Alli and Aaron. Hannah didn't really want to be in the picture, but she did it for her momma. Anyway, later Aaron told me what he asked Santa to bring him. Never in a million years would I have guessed what he was about to tell me-----a GOOSE PLATE! I am thinking, "Where did he come up with that?" I kind of dismissed this, thinking it was something silly he had said just to say it. Well fast forward to December and I am at church one Sunday morning. A lady named Carol who gives Aaron gum every Sunday morning came up to me and told me that Aaron told her he was getting a goose plate for Christmas. Now I am thinking, "Santa I hope you took him seriously!" I am still trying to understand where he got the idea of a goose plate. When Kevin found out about this request, I don't think he could comprehend the idea of a goose plate. He asked Aaron multiple times where he got this idea. Aaron has not given us an answer yet! So here's the boy with his goose plate and it's the one present that he has been the most interested in. The goose plate won over Spike the Dinosaur!

The Dough Man

Aaron has an abundance of toys in his room. He occassionally goes in his room to play with them. Most of the time he enjoys playing with his big sister, Alli. We have learned that his most favorite item to play with is playdough. Someone gave him a cool caddy with lots of playdough for Christmas. I also added a Backyardigans playdough set to his collection as well. On Thursday I kept him home from preschool because he has had a terrible cough and didn't get much sleep Tuesday and Wednesday night. I think the playdough stayed out all day Thursday. He would play for a while and then go watch one of his favorite shows. After a while, he would be back at the table playing with his playdough. I don't think he ever gets bored with it. He is definitely in the stage of playing pretend. He has a wild imagination. We know this by the stories he likes to make up. Playing with playdough is a great tool for his imagination!

Back in the Swing of Things

The holidays didn't last long enough for us. We have quickly gotten back into school work and our usual activities. This Tuesday we began a new activity that comes every January--Upward Basketball! The girls had their first practices on Tuesday-Alli at 5:30 and Hannah at 7:30. It makes for a fun evening of trying to get homework done, eat dinner, take baths, and try to get them in bed at a decent hour. Trying to get this done while your husband is at work, makes it even more interesting. I am thanking the Lord for a good friend who let us come over and get Alli and Aaron a bath while we waited for Hannah's practice. The friend only lives 5 minutes from the church. I am looking forward to watching my girls learn more about basketball this year. Hannah gets better every year. This is Alli's first year and I know it will be a fun one with her. She giggles all the time, even while dribbling the basketball. This was a problem for her when she was learning to swim. She always took water down, because she was constantly laughing. I know our schedule is really getting busy because we have added this activity to it. However, when they walk away from Upward, they have learned more about Christ and how to play basketball in a Christlike manner.

As you can see in the picture, Aaron has finally learned how to wink. He usually closes both eyes. I was so excited when I actually caught his first wink, with one eye, on camera. At practice, Aaron ran around the gym numerous times and got rid of lots of energy. I look forward to Aaron getting to play basketball, too!