Happy birthday, Vika!

Yesterday we celebrated my sister-in-law's birthday at a Japanese restuarant. (Her name is Vika, the woman on the far left.) It was a wonderful afternoon: great company, yummy food, and delightful news. Dave's brother, Mike, and his pregnant wife, the birthday girl :), announced that their baby is a BOY! Such exciting news! Of course, the boys were thrilled. Henry and Seth pointed out to me the fact that Grandma and Grandpa Nosek now have more grandsons that granddaughters, that the boys were winning. Caroline was a little dissappointed, and asked me, "Why can't the baby be a girl?" :)

The kids loved trying their hand at chopsticks...

and most of them were enthralled with the culinary entertainment...

Evan was not so sure about it, especially the fire part. He jumped off of his chair and cowered by the back wall for a few minutes.
As the show went on, he did get brave enough to watch from behind his chair. :)
Thanks so much for a wonderful day, Mike and Vika, and once again, congratulations!

Friday Night Fun

Lucky Caroline...she was invited to a birthday party/sleepover on Friday night. My friend invited 5 or 6 Kindergarteners. What a brave woman. Apparently, it went very well and the girls had a blast. The girls stayed up until about 11ish, with Caroline being among the last to fall asleep. That doesn't surprise me in the least. :) (I am writing this post on Sunday morning, and Caroline is still sleeping at 9:00. She is one tired girl!)With Caroline out of the house, her brothers wanted a boys' night. Very kindly, despite my gender, they invited me to take part in their boys' night too. I accepted, as long as I could cut their hair first. And afterwards I had a great time playing Mario Kart with my clean-cut boys. :)

What's for dinner, Evan?

My assistant chef, Evan, is an excellent tater tot arranger. This skill really came in handy tonight when we made Tater Tot casserole. I told him while he was making it that I was so proud of him. A couple of minutes later, he returned the compliment, saying, "We're making such a good dinner...I am so proud of you, Mommy!"
Here he is in action...

Congratulations, Evan!

He did it! After such a rocky start to swimming lessons, Evan now loves it and just PASSED UP TO THE NEXT LEVEL!!! He was so pleased with himself, and Caroline and I were so proud of him! His coach gave him a ribbon and a medal and he has been carrying them around with him all day, showing them off to everyone. Way to go, big boy! After swimming lessons, I dropped Caroline off to school...in her PAJAMAS! It was "Jamas Jamboree" day in Kindergarten, a reward for the class having such good behavior.

A Special Desk

There's quite a family history behind this little desk by which Caroline is posing. My sisters and I used it in our rooms when we were little girls. My brother and my cousin, Sean, also used it. My nieces, Annie, Callie and Evie used it in their rooms. And, a few days ago, my mom, my sister and I shipped it all the way from my nieces' home in Flower Mound, Texas to our home. What a sentimental little piece of furniture! Our craft-crazed daughter couldn't be happier as she has been wanting her very own desk for quite a while now, and has already filled the drawer and cubbies with many special things.

Hmmm...it looks like we'll have to work a little on organization, huh?!

Buzz

We signed up our son, Buzz (whoops, I mean Evan), for preschool today. This child prefers to wear his Buzz Lightyear pajamas AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, which translates to pretty much all of the time we're home. It's a good thing that Santa brought him two Buzz Lightyear pajamas so that I can keep one in the laundry and one on his body at all times. :)

Evan pulled me into the living room tonight, actually telling me to bring my camera. He wanted me to take pictures of his Buzz Lightyear moves. (Not sure what this one was all about!) He knows how things work around here!

Back to the preschool registration...I know they have until the fall, but I'm just wondering...will this preschool be ready for this Buzz-crazy boy?!

Name That Famous Illinois Person!

Henry's teacher assigned a project over Christmas break. The kids were to choose some creative way to tell some interesting facts about their home state, and Henry chose to make a diorama. He's included the state tree (Can't you tell that's a white oak?!), the state bird (cardinal), the state flower (violets), the Chicago skyline, and all sorts of famous people from Illinois. He's even made a matching game where his classmates need to put the correct description by each famous person. He's covered the box with all sorts of other interesting Illinois facts, maps and the state flag.

He's so excited to take the finished product to school tomorrow. Way to go, Henry!

Happy New Year!

My sister and brother-in-law, Karen and Jim, are very brave. They invited our family of 6 to sleep overnight at their house on New Year's Eve. :)

They have a sweet little 2 year old boy named Robbie, so with our four, it was a full house of kiddos. They kept all of busy...we swam at their pool, ate lots of gourmet food (my brother-in-law is such a chef!), decorated personalized cookies (note Evan's "Broccoli Boy" cookie),

watched movies, and helped us make the most beautiful framable craft. (Karen and her God daughter, Caroline, and such crafting buddies!) It was so much fun to spend that time with you, Karen and Jim! Thank you!

Wish I would have taken more pictures! I have none of Robbie! Ah, well...next time...