I love those J-I-N-G-L-E bells!

Monday's dusting started as a 2-hour delay and ended up with an entire day of freedom! We played a bit at Bass Pro Shops, and Harry got to visit his beloved fountains. We tried to turn it into a little bit of reversible change education, but mostly just laughed a lot!

Laughing all the way, ha ha ha! Can you see why that second tooth coming out on time would be more than adorable??

Frank Sinatra's Jingle Bells

Santa, please, will you help me

We are in full-on Christmas mode, and I found two of the biggest little helpers today

Jack was ready to demonstrate their new aprons....Dean will be happy to see the remote control pocket...sort of mans up the apron, right??

Jack's all over the helping right now - cards will be arriving with various Jack-isms...writing, stamping, address labeling. Please know that he spent as much time choosing the exact-right label as I did writing ;-)

Harry also pitched in, but mostly just modeled his gappy smile and sang carols to us as we worked .... he noticed the second top tooth is loose, so guess what he's been humming all day. He thinks it's great that he won't have to change the lyrics if he loses both teeth before Christmas.

He was the first to notice the snow this morning and immediately said "We must stop SCHOOL from coming...but how?" They've both memorized the Grinch and apply him whenever possible.

This last picture reminded me of one of when they first started using the computer way back when

Toni Braxton's Santa Please

Welcome Christmas, come this way!

Well, it's finally December and guess who's excited!?
I found the Santa hats, and they had at it

They both won their class spelling bees this week, so a little Grinchly trophies seemed in order. They will compete against each other and the entire school 12/16....that should be fun!

They were a little bit happy :-)

Jack doing his best Grinch impersonation...

....and our gappy-toothed Harry with his very own Max!

The (original) Grinch Movie

This Little Light Of Mine

After a lot of wishing he were Star Student last week but giving it up for his brother's sake, Harry has had a few big thrills this week....he lost his third tooth Tuesday nite, and....

He won his class spelling bee today! He'll get to go to the next round, which is on the stage with all the other classes in the school....I guess all those silly spelling games we played in the car were worth a lot more than just fun.

Congrats and good luck, little man!

My DADDY, HE wrote me a letter

The Star Student week continued today, with a letter from a family member to the class explaining what is special about the star student. Dean has been traveling but wrote a letter as a surpise for Jack. It was a huge hit, especially since it gave Jack a chance to do his Silly Dance ;-)
Thanx, Dean, for being such an amazing Dad - he was so proud to have your letter today!

Dear Mrs. C and Room 118,

I wanted to write to tell you how proud I am of Jack and the fact that he is the Star Student of the Week in your class! I hope this is a chance for the class to get to know Jack even better and find out what a truly special boy he is. From the first time that I saw his picture with his brother Harry before he was even born I knew that having Jack in my life would bring so much joy and happiness. Seeing him grow up and learn so much has been even better than I could have ever imagined. It seems like only yesterday that I could hold Jack in one hand and now he is a Star Student in 1st Grade!

I am not the most sensitive person, but somehow Jack has become a caring person with a huge heart (he must get that from his mother, huh?). He tries to act tough sometimes, but he always tries to make his friends and family feel better. Whether its with a joke or his silly dancing, he makes me laugh all the time. I love being able to spend time with him playing sports and have been really lucky to be his coach for soccer and T-ball. Some of my favorite memories with Jack are when we are doing things as a family. Jack is really a great son and a great brother and the times we spend together mean the most to me. And when I am feeling down, Jack can really cheer me up with his awesome hugs.

Jack loves to read, play games, try different sports and is a great fisherman. From catching his first bass at his Uncle Les's house to catching our dinner at Ocracoke Island, Jack loves to bring in the big ones! Of course this makes him a great story teller and he often cheers me up with his tales and his quick wit. When the day is winding down, I love to have Jack read to me or for me to read to him as we finish the day off with a good book.

It's hard to sum up how I feel about Jack in a short letter, but I hope that everyone in his class gets to know him as I do. He is truly a special person, a great friend, and a wonderful kid and I am truly blessed to have him in my life. Congratulations, Jack!

Sincerely,
Dean
aka Jack's Dad

Joe Cocker's The Letter

Oh oh oh oh, give em everything

'Tis the season, and the boys' school is having a book drive as well as providing canned goods for a local holiday program. I'm always so proud of their giving spirits, and they didn't disappoint today :-)

Books have always been an central part of our lives, and they really wanted to share some favorite books and make the holidays special....we debated long and hard about giving some abridged books but decided the stories were still good and they were much better than no stories at all. It was also a nice walk down memory lane to look at some of their old favs....

After the book look, we headed to the grocery story to get a bag of goodies for Harry to take to his class (Jack's flyer came home first and we'd sent in things the other day). He was happy to fill up a bag

I've been volunteering at the local food pantry and Food Lion is donating all boxes given between 12-2 on Saturday - please give what you can, the boxes are only $4.99 (and pretty heavy, judging by Jack's face ) and include emergency foods that would get a person through a couple of days.

JB's Jolly Mon

Just like a star across my sky

Jack had his second day of Star Student, so I tried to start it off with a little special lunch surprise - he loves, and I mean loves, PB and anything....today it was PBJ, tomorrow he wants PBB(anana), tho we haven't been able to convince him to fry one ala his favorite Elvis ;-)
Timing is everything, Harry brought this home today:
I am thankful for my brother Jack. We do things together! I love art. He loves PuzzleMania! Happy Thanksgiving

Jack's class wrote special cards to him today, and he got to bring them home to share with us. Many of them had pix and/or writing on both sides, but these are the best views - thanx to everyone who said such nice things. Jack is one lucky boy!

Corrine Bailey Rae

Hey now you're an All Star get your game on

Jack's class has a Star Student Of The Week every week, and it's his turn this week - he's, um, a LITTLE bit excited!

He jumped off the bus full of all the exciting things he gets to do this week, the first of which is taking in pictures for a bulletin board that's all about him. He picked these pictures, from in utero (about 20 weeks) to last spring's fishing expedition with Daddy and Uncle Les. It was fun looking thru all the old pix and watching him choose his favorites - he ended up with lots of 'firsts' and action shots that showed a bit of his personality.

When we went to town to print the pix, he got to choose a special little treat (the marbles) and took Harry and I to dinner at Burger King - I know, it screams Superstar!
How excited is he?!? He looks like a giant in this picture, it's amazing how quickly they are growing. I'm so lucky to be able to share all these moments, and we're trying to share as much as we can with Dean as he's traveling for work - we miss you, babe!

SmashMouth's AllStar

Draw Me A Map - random stuff

The boys had assignments in each of their classes to draw a map of their bedroom....funny how the same room can look so different - Harry's is on top and very proportionally correct...Jack's is on bottom and more of a perspective thing...he was focused on toys and the books left on the floor ;-)



During Jack's conference, he was helping the teacher by passing out his class's KidPins - his teacher thought of this and says it's really helped streamline choices. The students just mark their choices for things like lunch .... trying to figure out how we can use it at home to reduce chaos here as well ;-)

They both attended their friend's birthday party last weekend, and Jack couldn't wait for her to have a chance in the Ticket Blaster....he also used his map-making legend skills to explain the picture to her

I found this book while volunteering at the library - picked it up because it was an author they've enjoyed in the past, but it turned out to be one of the truest things Jack has ever read...right down to the alfalfa hair

Dierks Bentley

When the big report card comes

The boys got their report cards a couple of weeks ago, studied them, read them to Dean, and ask me if their behavior or chores are excellent on a regular basis now....yay for first reports being stellar!

JB's Summerzcool

Signs, signs, everywhere signs

I took a nap the other day, and the boys found a set of paper stick-ups...still getting the sticky off, but not as much damage as it was fun for them and sweet for us ;-) Harry's were mostly pix, but Jack was all about helpful signs
Jack's Ode To Bullet

And his hawking of our fridge fare

and bedroom boasts

and cooking songs (can't remember if he drew this before or after I cut my hair) He even sang it for me ;-)

And the sweetest of all - he said he wanted this to be the last thing Dean and I saw before we left the house so we'd leave full of love :wub:

Tesla (originally 5 Man Electrical Band)

the end of the (SOCCER) world as we know it

The boys ended their soccer seasons with some rocking medals - Jack swears these are his favorite ever (he says that every time!)

Harry's team, the Cobras, had a medal ceremony after their last game - it was a hectic one since they were playing on different field, but Dean got this sweet picture of our boy. The team had a pizza party afterward - thanx for everything, Coach! Harry had a great time and enjoys seeing you guys and Cullen around school - this week's dinner sighting was a nice bonus ;-)

Jack's team had their end-of-the-season party at a local restaurant. Jack was thrilled to get a HUGE cookie and hang out with his team.

Harry went along for the ride and had a working dinner while he waited.

Despite the awful picture, Jack loves the medal and had a great time playing with long-time friend Darius and lots of cool new friends. Thanx for the awesome coaching, Coach! Maybe we'll see you at swim team....

REM

When you wish on a load of hay

Our neighborhood has a hayride every year, some number of trailers filled with kiddies - they cover the entire neighborhood, stopping at either the entry to a cul-de-sac (there is a bit of a competition for best party) and specific houses that really get into the spirit of things. It's a blast, but I learned this year that when they first started it, there was only one trailer of kids and the second trailer carried the parents....it's good exercise now, but I'm thinking the party ride might have been fun too ;-) Dean had to leave for a business trip, so Aunt Jackie came along and lent a hand with the corraling of kiddies

They do approach things differently

Leaving the wonderful Mrs. R's house, always the first stop

Harry ended up with as much straw in his bucket as in his costume

Jack and Joe mid-transform

Mass exodus at one of the houses

Jack and Aunt Jackie en route

Harry is forever showing us the way, still our Human Garmin

The Harvey Girls' Hayride