Bellefield's Christmas pagent 2009

The Sunday before Christmas, our church, Bellefield Presbyterian in Oakland put on a little Christmas pageant with the children's Sunday school classes. Sadie's class were sheep. Caleb's class were shepherds. Unfortunately with the events of the past month or so, we haven't been making it to Sunday school with regularity. The kids had learned their song "Away in a Manger" but didn't really know beyond that what they would be doing. To make matters even more complicated Saturday morning we were supposed to have rehearsal but mother nature decided to send us a heavy snow fall. Rehearsal was rescheduled for right before the service.

Well, Caleb was not even remotely interested in playing this game. He knew very well that there were no policemen in the manger scene and therefor no place for him. He couldn't be a shepherd when he's always been a policeman. He happily sat with Daddy watching the practice and performance.

Sadie was all dressed up in her Christmas dress but a little unsure of all that was going on. Then came time for putting on her little lamb costume (a pillowcase). Well, she wanted nothing to do with covering up her pretty dress. She reluctantly put it on and came downstairs to rehearse with the rest of them. A very sad and pouting Sadie came down to rehearse. I went to ask what was wrong, seeing her so upset, and all she had to say was "I look silly." I've never been good at lying and while she did look adorable, she also looked a little silly with the pillowcase on. I tried my best not to let on and reassure her that she looked like a little lamb but she was not having it. Her class went up on stage to practice and she refused to sing at all and stood there pouting. It was heartbreaking to watch and still so funny because the poor thing was convinced that she looked ridiculous.

Rehearsal finished and the little ones were sent up to their rooms to wait for the program to begin. I talked to Sadie and talked to her teachers and we agreed that she didn't have to wear the pillowcase if she would be happy and sing with the rest of the kids. This made her very happy. After a short time of playing, it was time to take the lambs all down to the sanctuary. This meant getting pillowcases on 8 or so 3 yr olds (most of which were not interested at all in wearing them let alone being up on stage singing). One of Sadie's classmates put on her pillowcase and the next thing I knew, Sadie was happily wearing hers and was ready to sing.

She went with her class up on stage, wore her pillowcase and even sang a little. It was very cute. We even had a black sheep in her class. Actually the little guy was wearing a bat costume from the dress-ups but we decided that he was the little black sheep and it was adorable.

It was a very cute program, complete with a newborn baby as the baby Jesus and I hope they do it again next year. Who knows, we might even be able to convince Caleb to be a shepherd.



Notice the black sheep on the left



Sadie pouting

Christmas Tree 2009

This year we decided to get a "real" tree for Christmas, something we haven't done since living in Baltimore pre-kiddos. After talking about it a bit, we decided that it might be fun to venture out to a tree farm and try choosing and cutting down our own tree. It just so happened that G'ma and Papa have been doing exactly that for the past couple of years and new of a good farm to go to. So we ventured out to a pretty little farm in New Alexandria, PA to find and cut down our Christmas tree.

It was quite the caravan going out there. We had 2 cars (me and the kids had been on an overnight to my dad's and Andy drove out in the morning). G'ma and Papa had their truck and Aunt Judy and Heather had decided to join us and cut down their own tree too. Jackie also decided to tag along for the adventure at the last minute. So we were quite the crew.

The farm was on top of a hill with the evergreens growing on the surrounding hillsides. It was very pretty and we couldn't ask for better weather. We all piled out of our vehicles and started to walk around and take in all the trees. Caleb and Papa started walking together and at just about every tree Caleb would look up and ask "is this the perfect tree?" There were hundreds of trees but a lot of these early ones that Caleb looked at would have filled our entire living room. So we needed to find a cute, little, perfect tree and kept walking.

Sadie quickly found some weeds to pick and gather into a bouquet. I'm not sure what it was that she was picking but she started calling them cattails so that's what we stuck with. It certainly kept her entertained for awhile.

We walked around for about 20 minutes before finding the tree. There were a lot of maybes up until that point and then we saw our tree. It was perfect. Just the right size for our little living room! Papa Joe passed the saw to Andy and he began to cut while the rest of us eagerly watched. The tree fell and then Andy and the kids worked to drag the tree back up to the car. They were very excited to help.

The rest of us continued to walk around, looking for the next "perfect" tree. It wasn't long and wasn't far before Heather had found the tree for Aunt Judy's house. This one was big and full and beautiful. Papa Joe helped cut the tree down and Heather drug it back to their car.

Now we only needed one more tree but weren't having any luck. So we decided to wander back towards the cars. There were trees growing on the hill below where we parked and these were the ones we started out looking at. This time we decided to head towards the trees that were growing above the cars. It wasn't long before G'ma and Jackie had spotted their "perfect" tree. This tree was also full and not quite as big as Aunt Judy's but not as small as ours. Papa Joe quickly cut the tree down and got it back to the cars. We were loaded up and ready to go in no time.

It was a fun adventure and fortunately there were few mishaps so I'm thinking that we might be doing this again. Hope you like the pictures!




Papa Joe and Caleb




Is this the perfect tree?



Sadie and her cattails



Our tree? maybe...



Andy cutting it down. Timber!

Meet Margot...

Earlier this week, Sadie made an imaginary friend and she's been with us almost constantly all week. Her name is Margot and Sadie will happily inform you that she is from Mexico, has blond curly hair, is 10 yrs old and speaks spanish. We also learned that her mom is named Sophia. Sadie takes care of her friend, making sure to hold her hand when crossing the street and buckling her into her seat in the car. Caleb has started riding in the back back of the chocolate car so Margot has been able to sit next to Sadie. Margot has gone to preschool and came out for dinner the other night but sometimes has to leave suddenly to go with her parents. If Margot is around, Sadie will happily introduce you to her.

I've found Margot to be quiet but helpful, especially in getting Sadie to listen. For example, Margot always is quick to put on her coat to go outside and Sadie seems to respond better knowing that Margot is waiting for her. I have managed to not have to make lunch for Margot- Sadie's quick to inform me that Margot has her own food. I'm also hoping that Margot has her own Christmas presents too :-)

Caleb has also been recognizing Margot and asking if she's with us when we go out. This morning there was a little problem though. Caleb was the first to start playing with Margot and Sadie was hurt. Sadly, she told Caleb "but Margot is my friend" Fortunately, she bounced back quick and then very sweetly asked Caleb if she could play with Margot. Caleb (being a good older brother) said "yes, if you promise to be nice" and then Margot, Caleb and Sadie enjoyed pretending to watch movies together.

I'm not sure how long Margot will be with us but she's been very entertaining and we continue to be amazed at Sadie's imagination.

Sadie Sings

This afternoon, we were treated to a private performance by a budding superstar singer - Sadie! (Like all the greats, she is known simply by her first name.) The concert was a delightful mix of Sadie originals (including her famous "Cowboy Song") and standards like "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "ABCs", as well as a few seasonal favorites like "Jingle Bells."

Of course, even when she is covering a well-worn chestnut like "Jingle Bells," Sadie manages to inject it with her own original flair. Here are Sadie's lyrics for this particular number:

"Jingle Bells,
Jingle Bells,
All the way!

Oh what fun it is to play
Oh it is so fun...HEY!

Jingle Bells,
Jingle Bells,
All the way!

Oh what fun it is to play."

Each number was met with riotous applause. At times, one might have thought that Sadie was waiting expectantly for it. But this little nightengale is no diva; she thanked her audience profusely after each outpouring of affection and she graciously took a number of requests. When she was unfamiliar with a suggested tune, she was quick to provide an alternative. And on a few occasions, she had to postpone a particular request, presumably to help it fit better into the flow of her setlist. But we were always promised that we would hear that song "in 5 minutes."

As if her remarkable singing talents weren't enough, Sadie also demonstrated a finely honed comedic sense as well. For instance, consider how she handled a request for "The Bear Went Over the Mountain":

"OK, I'm going to sing 'The Bear Went OVer the Mountain.'

Hmm... what are the words to that one? Hmm...Let me think about that. Aaahhh, I've got it!

The bear went over the mountain,
The bear went over the mountain,
The bear went over the moun-TAIN!!!"

Unfortunately, video and audio recording were strictly forbidden at this performance. We certainly understand Sadie's decision to tightly manage her public image at this early stage of her career; the wordly is hardly bereft of young starlets who could have benefited from more discretion. Nevertheless, it seems a shame to deny the rest of the world the opportunity to experience Sadie's prodigous talents. Therefore, we were able to smuggle out this short clip of Sadie performing one of her signature originals, "I Love You." We were told that this was the world premiere of this number; after listening, I think you will agree that this song, like Sadie, is destined for great things.

Sadie's Birthday Pics!

We celebrated Sadie's birthday a couple weeks ago at my mom's. She and Aunt u surprised us by putting together an awesome cake for Sadie. What a way to receive your very first Barbie doll?!

 

 

 

 

Quick Bits

Sadie had her 3 yr check up this morning and provided quite the entertainment the whole time. I was a bit shocked to have her tell me in front of the doctor that "Girls don't read books" after I told her to try to read a book to herself while I finished up with the doctor. I glanced up to see the doctor raise his eyebrows and wonder where she might have heard that. I honestly have know idea where she got that and proceeded to feel awful that somehow my daughter has already picked up this idea about what girls do and don't do.

And now this evening, Sadie decided to start calling me Lady and is insisting that I call her Carrie. Not sure where that name came from but all her dolls have been named Lady. We'll see how long this goes.

Finally, at bedtime, Caleb read to Daddy and Sadie about the 10 pla-goos in the Bible.

Sadie Says- a contribution from Andy (aka Daddy)

I had the day off today and we had Brandon visiting for the afternoon, so we decided to all go to the Carnegie Museum to look at the dinosaurs. On the way over, the three kids were chatting about dinosaurs. Someone brought up Stegosaurus. Jodi asked if Stegosaurus was a plant-eater or a meat-eater. Caleb immediately replied "Plant-eater!" At which point Sadie, in her most professorial tone, chimed in: "I thought he was a hervidore [herbivore] of the Cretaceous." Apparently someone has been paying attention during "Dinosaur Train".

Later, at the museum, after looking at the dinosaurs for a while, Sadie announced "I want to go fix rocks." After a few seconds of head-scratching, we realized she was talking about the faux paleontological dig they have set up for the kids. Each kid gets a chisel and a brush (and safety goggles, of course) and gets to scrape dirt off of dinosaur bones. Apparently Sadie had remembered this exhibit from a previous outing, but hadn't quite grasped the purpose. Hey, they gave her tools and told her to go work on the rocks - what else was she supposed to think?

Sadie Turns 3!

It's been a long year and it's been quite awhile since I last posted. More on that later...

Tomorrow Sadie celebrates her 3rd birthday and we're all excited (but that could also be attributed to the sugar high leftover from Halloween). Sadie has had a very busy year and has certainly kept us on our toes.

She continues to be our little ball of energy, constantly on the go, never just walking but more like bouncing from place to place. Thinking about it now, it's endearing. Trying to cross a busy city street, it's frustrating to no end. She continues to love dancing and is still our stunt woman in training. Where some little girls have a natural grace, not Sadie. I often think that instead of calling her our little Peanut, we should have nicknamed her Tigger. Sadie is frequently sprawled out on the floor either tripping or diving for effect. We're definitely thinking this child may have a future as a stunt woman or physical comedian. Often when we're out shopping she'll dive across the floor and you'll hear woman gasp and then bend over her asking if she's okay. She always pops right up and declares for all "I'm okay."

While these stunts can be entertaining, they've also caused our family some concern. Sadie has no fear and will attempt things that you would never begin to think of doing, like free falling backwards at G'ma Suzie's and Papa Joe's and landing flat on her back on the cement floor. She knocked the wind out of herself a little but was otherwise okay. I can't count how many times she's knocked the wind out of herself this year and yet we've managed to not have to visit the ER yet for this one (knock on wood). Because of Sadie's fearlessness and her desire to be a monkey, we put her on the top bunk when we got the kids bunk beds for Christmas. She loved it right away and hasn't fallen out once (knock on wood again). She also got roller skates for Christmas and has gotten fairly good at them but is actually a bit cautious and only recently started trying it without holding my hand.

Sadie leaves us exhausted most days but does manage to have her quiet moments. She (like big brother) loves books and reading and listening to stories. There has been some frustration over the past few months for her, though. Sadie often forgets that she isn't the same age as Caleb and thinks that she should be able to do everything that he can do. When he started reading this past spring, Sadie became so frustrated she would just pout and say "I can't read the words. I just can't do it." We've spent a lot of time reminding her that it's okay and that Caleb couldn't read at this age either and that she'll learn soon. So even though she can't read the words, she has quite the imagination and will look at her books and make up the stories herself.

Speaking of imagination... this child is something else. Starting at about this time last year, she became obsessed with babies. As she grew older, she began turning anything and everything into a mommy and a baby. At dinner time, eating french fries, we would listen to her talking to her food. First the mommy would go into her tummy and then baby would follow. There have been many shows at lunch time and dinner time. And again, it's so cute as I write it out here and yet so frustrating as we try to get her to finish her supper.

Her imagination has been such a blessing to our family. She loves to pretend and she loves to get her brother to pretend with her. Much of these games of pretend he's learned from her. They pretend to go to the doctor's or to the store or even fishing.

While she loves her babies, surprisingly, her favorite toys to play with are not babies. She loves her Little People. They all have names and go on adventures all through the house. There is frequently someone in need of rescuing these days- not quite sure where that came from.

Sadie is also our artist. She loves to draw and paint (as much on herself as on paper) and these days she's very proud of her circles. There were many days this summer where Caleb would drive his car outside and she would paint at the easel.

In other developmental areas, we're still working on the potty with her. She's shown interest in it many times but we haven't been able to completely put it all together but we're working on it. Her reward for going potty is a jelly bean and a bugs bunny cartoon.

That would be Sadie's other obsession- the TV. This has been very difficult for us to find a balance with. Caleb will watch but will also often ignore it if it's on. Not Sadie. If the magic box is on, she is in a trance and one show is never enough. So the challenge is that I don't want to be the "no TV" mom but I don't want her addicted to it so this is one of our struggles these days.

Other big news...Sadie started pre-school this year. She goes Monday and Wednesday mornings and happens to be in a class with 2 of Caleb's teachers from last year. She loves going to school and her teachers and classmates. It's been so funny to watch her strut through the school and inform everyone that she's going to her class. I can't wait 'til she starts going to music and movement classes in the spring.

With pre-school, there have been developing friendships. This has also been fun to watch. Last year a couple of girls in Caleb's class latched on the Sadie and she became part of their group. They would run around the yard after school and have lots of fun. Sadie continues to idolize these girls but has also been developing friends in her class. She's going to be my social butterfly. Also, friends of ours from Canada are spending half the year here in Pittsburgh. They have 4 yr old twins who are in the same class as Caleb. Sadie and Caleb love these boys and often can't go too many days without asking to see them. Sadie in particular always seems to team up with Andrew. It's so sweet to watch. Yesterday when we went trick or treating, Andrew and brother, Brandon came with us. Andrew was a knight and had to protect Sadie, the ballerina. At one point, he was holding up his sword, with his arm around her saying "I save you." Too cute.

Sadie has been talking for awhile now...in fact I have trouble remembering a time when she didn't talk. She is constantly talking. Of course this means we get no end of funny little things that she comes up with. Recently, while fighting a cold, Daddy was getting her ready for bed. She and Caleb had been in the bathtub and now it was time for pjs. Daddy went to put some Vicks on her chest and she asked what is was. He told her "This is some medicine that will help you breathe." Her eyes got very wide and with excitement she asked "Under water?" Apparently she had been trying to be The Little Mermaid in the bathtub and was disappointed at not being able to be underwater. Sadly, Daddy had to explain that no, Vicks would not help her breathe underwater.

Sadie is the source of much laughter and frustration and we love her dearly! We're looking forward to seeing how she grows in the coming year and feel so blessed to have her in our family!

Caleb's First Camera

For Caleb's 4th birthday we decided to get him the vtech kid's digital camera. It was more me wanting him to have it, rather than him really asking for it :-) It took him all of 5 minutes to figure out how to play games on it and that's been the most enjoyable part for him :-) He gets to take pictures and then turn them into puzzles. Unfortunately, his puzzles are next to impossible since he spends a lot of time taking pictures of the floor. oh well, he's having fun :-)

Here are some non-floor photos by Caleb :-)

 

 

 

 

Blue Slide with the Bowlings

The Little Artists

This what I found just after lunch. I thought the children were happily coloring in their coloring books. I had been sure to remind them to ONLY color on the paper. Guess that wasn't specific enough...

oh and Caleb is covered too. He was just camera shy while Sadie couldn't wait to show off.

Sadie Says

Sadie's been having a rough week, not been feeling well ;-)

The other day, Sadie told Daddy "My tummy has a headache" and then yesterday she told me "I feel a little woozy." Fortunately, these maladies seem to pass quickly so we're not too concerned.

Caleb Turns 4

What a year! Lots has been going on with my little man and we're so proud of him. This time last year, he started going to preschool for the first time. Of course he loved it! Caleb went to Shadyside Presbyterian Church Nursery School and we have been so happy with the teachers, staff and other students there. He went Tuesday and Thursday mornings- just long enough to give Mommy and Sadie a little girl time. While preschool was lots of fun, it was not without it's challenges. Caleb was expected to be potty trained for school and while we all had those expectations and tried very hard to meet then, it just wasn't happening. We did manage to make it through most mornings without an accident and continued to work on the potty all year. We also had some troubles adjusting to the classroom and getting used to being with so many other kids. Fortunately, Caleb's teachers were so understanding and came up with some ideas that really helped him find his way. Can't say enough good things about them :-)

He went from wanting nothing to do with the craft/art projects and painting to completing his projects right when he got into the room. He continued to love music time and story time and even participated in both the Christmas and Year End programs. We were able to make some friends and even got to go to a few birthday parties. All in all a great school year and he's really excited to go back.

Other developments for Caleb...

He's mostly potty trained or rather, half? He is very good at #1 but not #2. It continues to be a frustration but there has been progress.

He has gotten very good at dressing himself even though the outfits are somewhat comical at times. We're still working on buttons, zippers and snaps.

Caleb continues to enjoy helping around the house. One of his favorite chores is putting away his clean clothes. He knows which drawer they go in and while they don't necessarily stay folded, they're in the dresser and not on the floor so I'm not going to complain. He also loves vacuuming. He doesn't really do it but anytime I get out the vacuum he has to get out his toy vacuum and clean the rug with me. It's really cute and sweet that he wants to help.

The biggest news this year has been his learning to read. Now Caleb has been able to recite books from memory almost since turning 2. About this time last year, he started recognizing the word Stop and would point it out any time he saw it. Around Christmas, he became really interested in the sounds that the letters make so we started talking about that more and more. That was about the extent of what we taught him. In the spring he started putting it all together and would go through the books he had memorized (mainly Curious George) and would read from memory but would break down the sounds that made up each word. Somehow it all clicked and since about 3.5 he's been going through books non-stop. His favorite stories now are a series about a pig named Mercy Watson. He reads them over and over. They're short chapter books but even Sadie loves them. Mercy has become another member of our family. We've also read through Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little and recently started reading Despareaux.

He's starting to get into more non-fiction books so we've been on the look out for easy readers that are more fact-based. I have to admit, it's been hard finding books that can give him the information that he wants but not over do it.

With his learning to read, he's also gotten his first library card. Last week, at the library with Daddy, Caleb was so excited to go to the librarian to ask for help finding a book and was even more excited when she found the book for him and let him check it out. (It was a Mercy Watson book of course)

Caleb continues to love puzzles but it's been a little tougher lately. It's been harder for us to find puzzles that challenge him but that he can still do. In short, there aren't too many 100 piece puzzles. Tons of 25 piece and tons of 500 but not much in between so he's turned his interest to Legos, which are kind of like puzzles to him. He's really enjoyed the couple of sets that he has. He usually needs a little help from Daddy to build it the first time but then he reads over the instruction booklet and starts figuring it out on his own. He also loves to play games. Right now the favorite is Candyland but he's also been having fun playing a game called Chicken Cha Cha Cha and Hungry Hungry Hippos. He and Sadie have even managed a game or two on their own but Sadie has a much harder time focusing on the game (big surprise) :-)

Another new development...Caleb loves bowling! We went for the first time on Labor Day and even with all the music and crazy lights, different shoes, and strange people, he went along with it and had a blast. We went to Funfest. There they had everything set up so that bumpers would come up for Caleb and Sadie but would disappear for Daddy and I. They also had little ramps so that the kids didn't have to try to throw their balls but simply put them on top of the ramp and pushed. Caleb would cheer his ball down to the pins and then would have to run back to check his score before taking his second turn. We're definitely planning on doing this again :-)


We're working on coloring a bit more. He still prefers to scribble more than draw but we have discovered that he loves Connect the Dots and he's pretty good at them.

He also really enjoys Playdoh and drawing with chalk on the front sidewalk.

We still struggle with change but have made lots of progress there too. One recent addition that has helped has been the use of a schedule. We outlined a vague order of activities for the day and Caleb and Sadie get stars when they complete the activity. Things like eating breakfast, getting dressed and going shopping. Caleb looks forward to checking out the schedule each morning to not only see what's going on that day but also to look at what the day is. He's learning the days of the week and loves figuring out if it's a work day or a stay home day for Daddy. I have to say, this might be more demanding if he wasn't reading but I've been having fun planning out our days a bit.

Caleb continues to be a joyful little guy who is almost always smiling and giggling. He is also a very affectionate big brother. It's not unusual to find the 2 of them snuggling in his "house" reading stories together or getting into other mischief together.

It's been a great year and we're looking forward to watching our little man grow more and more! Happy Birthday Caleb!

Funny Bits

Sadie's asked me to call her Michael for much of today, as in Michael from Peter Pan. Apparently I've been Wendy, Daddy is Peter and Caleb is Captain Hook. Not quite sure what to think about that one... :-)

Caleb Says

This morning:

"oh no! The butterfly tent is not fascinated!"

i'm pretty sure he meant fastened and not fascinated but with this one you never can tell. ;-)

Yesterday:

me- "Caleb, would you like to go to the zoo today?"
Caleb- "No, I don't think so. I want to stay home. I'm coming down with a cold" and adds a fake sneeze for effect

The other day:

me- "Caleb, please stop don't touch that" He was playing with the vent in his room.
Caleb- "But I was just admiring it"

Sadie Says

Her new phrase is "aww shucks"

This was what she said after every turn playing Candyland the other night. We have no idea where she heard it.

**update**

we've since learned that "aww shucks" is a phrase that comes up in their Mercy Watson books

Some More Jersey Shots!

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So you all can see that the kids didn't spend all week sleeping :-)
Thank you Aunt Linda for letting us enjoy your pool!

Our Week at Jersey G'ma's

very tiring :-)

more to post over the next few days!

Packing for Vacation...

Kids at Work

Apparently the train table has been in need of some repairs. Don't worry, Caleb and Sadie are on the job. Sadie's baseball cap is functioning as her hard hat even though big brother Caleb likes to keep informing her that it's not a real hard hat.

 

 

 

Determination

what a face! looks like we have a future little league player on our hands.

Happiness is...

your first taste of freedom in the swimming pool!

 

Caleb Swimming

Kettle Creek at Sunset

Sadie's Fish

You might need a magnifying glass but there is a little fish on the end of that line. Pap Pap hooked 'em and Sadie reeled him in.

Sadie Fishin'

Waldameer 2009

The first of many pics from our day at Waldameer on Sat. Had to zoom in on this one so you could really see the different reactions in the 2 monkeys. #1 looking quite relaxed and enjoying the breeze. #2, terrified.