Merry Christmas to All...

Hi from East Grand Rapids MI, C here.

It's late & I can't sleep, so I thought I'd post a few thoughts.

The run up to Christamas Eve was a complete blur. We were a little hampered by the snowstorm last week so we couldn't get out at all on Saturday, so we hunkered down. They boys and I WERE able to sneak in a few snow tubing runs on Saturday night and Sunday morning.

We had a very nice early Christmas celebration at Grandmom & Pop-Pop's (Lockhead's) in the city. It was rough driving in the neighborhood but the rest of the ride was fine. We got to see everyone (except Aunt Meg, UC, Justin & Malissa, who decided not to make the flight in from Guam!!! - We missed you guys!!!)

The big hit of the day was the Buzz Lightyear Star Command Wings that the boys got - they were hytsterical as the walked around the (very narrow) house with all of the people, decorations, chairs, tables, etc... They literally could harldy take 3 steps witout knocking something over

You can see why!

The rest of the week we prepared for our annual journey to visit "the Grandmom & Poppa that live far away" as Kyle likes to say!!

The trip was no problem, we made great time on Wed. night and the boys (peacefully!) shared one of the beds in the hotel room. Very exciting for them.

We drove the rest of the way on Christmas Eve and we got in around mid-afternoon. Just in time for Dad (yes, me) to take a short nap. Later in the afternoon we had a wonderful visit to Uncle Mark & Aunt Avery's to visit the boy's cousins: Paityn, Logan and Luke. Dinner was really good and we had a very nice time catching up. The boys passed out quickly and were ready for Santa!!

Christmas morning was really fun for both Kyle and Dylan. They got lots of really cool toys and games from Santa, Grandmom, Poppa, Mom & Dad. They have become really attached to their Leapster 2's. Kyle got a Batman Game which Dylan is just getting to know how to work his Diego Game. Santa also brought a "Big Piano" (just like in the movie)!

We think Dylan "got it", but we're not completely sure about the connection with Santa. We'll work on this for next year!

Today we went sledding with UM and the crew at a local sledding hill. Mom (Lisa) had been acting as the official photographer, until we were able to talk her into making a few runs down the hill. We all had a lot of fun and the hill was just the right size for our gang. Thanks to Paityn, Logan & Luke for sharing their snow stuff with us. It was really an enjoyable afternoon!

The Snow Gang...

Uncle Mark about to make a run with K&D...

Luke & Kyle on the move...



What goes Down, must come Up!

All in all a great trip so far - and we just got here!!

Dylan is continuing to progress extremely well, and he's move adventurous with his English every day. He is stringing together sentences and he is able to make himself more clearly understood. It's really rewarding to watch him and to watch Kyle progress as well as the big brother. Dylan has really bonded with all of his grandparents, and his cousins - it's sometimes hard to believe that it's only been SIX MONTHS!!!

Speaking of Kyle, Christmas Eve was his "Gotcha Day." Lisa and I were just remembering our first China trip to meet Kyle and all of the memorable times and "firsts" we had a as a family with him. He was our Christmas miracle that year - we never thought that day would come. I sometime re-read his story so I can keep these memories fresh in my mind.

Anyway, we are amazed at how quickly THREE YEARS has passed. I have a hard time remembering life BK - when we were not tripping over toys, not stepping on matchbox cars in the middle of the night on our way to the bathroom, and not running out to the car at bedtime to get Panda because we forgot him in the back seat and he was NEEDED for Bedtime. Kyle has been everything we have ever dreamed he would be as a little boy. And we can see him, before our eyes, quickly becoming the little person that he will be as he finds his way through life.

We have every confidence that he will be the big brother that little Dylan deserves.

Time to head off to bed as I'm feeling better now, and I'm certain that I will be able to sleep soundly now, with Lisa at my side and the boys on the floor. (They actually like it down there!!)

'nite all.

C

A Trip to the Mall to Visit Santa...

Hi all, C here (been a while)...

On Thursday, we arranged an early evening trip to the Mall to see Santa and have the boys' pictures taken. Dylan adn Kyle both did really well! Kyle "gets it" while Dylan seems to understand some of what Christmas is about.

Here is the picture - it looks much better in person - good smiles from both...
that's tough to do.



Funny story on the way to the Mall:

The boys often watch videos in the car on the way to/from school and on long trips. Usually it's something like Mickey's Clubhouse, Little Einsteins, or Handy Manny. So far so good...

When you're in the front seat, it's hard to change the video or the story (if it's a multi-episode DVD.) Kyle tries to help out by asking for the remote and pushing buttons until he says that the video is all right. Last night, he asked for the remote, we handed it to him, he pushed his buttons and he handed the remote back up to us. We figured all was well...

A while later the boys seemed like they were really enjoying the story. Lisa looked at me and asked what DVD was in the player. "To be honest, I'm not sure - let's see", I replied. (On the console we have an audio feed from the DVD - with just the push of one button.)

So I pushed the DVD button to hear what was so funny - after about 5 seconds Lisa looks at me and I right back at her & we break down laughing. Really good - hurts in the gut - laughing. It took all 5 seconds for us to realize that Kyle (in his zest to make the video play all by himself) had inadvertently set the language selection to SPANISH!!!

So here we are, motoring along with two little chinese boys in the back (one who's just really feeling his oats with English!) listening to videos in Spanish. And neither one said A WORD for the 20 minutes that they watched! Very funny.

Lisa and agreed that we should probably check the DVD audio feed a little more often!!!

Gotta get to bed - Hershey Park tomorrow and the drive-through Light Show tomorrow night.
The boys are really pumped - they dragged their little backpacks (fully loaded for their one-night stay!) all over the upstairs before heading off to sleep.

More soon.
C