2011; A Holiday First

This is the first holiday letter I have written from our family, but with all the "firsts" we've experienced this year, it seems like an appropriate year to begin this new tradition. My friend Katie has always written a letter for the holidays and two years ago she converted her letter to a blog. I loved this idea and felt it would be a perfect answer to my efforts to reduce: less paper, less time, less spending. What's in it for you, the reader, are more photos, more info and more rambling about our awesome kids. If that doesn't scare you away, welcome to the inaugural post of this Abetown family's holiday blog. We have had so much fun together in 2011 as we made new discoveries and learned new skills. Read on for an update on all the things that keep us busy...

Holly ∙age 6∙ In the spring Holly finished her preschool years at Cherry Hills Preschool. Her summer began in a whirlwind of exciting activities, new and old. She started with the new experience of Springfield Art Association’s Art Camp. Holly’s week of “Mini Monet” was the highlight of summer for me. She is such an artistic little girl and she bloomed in that environment. In the following weeks she overcame her fear of the water with two weeks of parks district swim lessons and had a great time playing and learning at “Pandamania” Vacation Bible School. She spent the rest of summer anxiously awaiting the arrival of her next big adventure: KINDERGARTEN! Kindergarten has been nothing short of amazing. Each day when Holly steps off the bus I ask, “How was your day?” Her answer is always the same – “Great!” In three short months we have watched Holly grow into a reader and a writer. As a parent and a teacher this development has been thrilling. We can’t wait to see how much more she’ll learn by the end of the year!

Edie ∙age 3∙ Exciting new experiences were not reserved for Holly this year. Edie was able to attend VBS for the first time and she loved the “Pandamania” theme. I was so proud of her as she patiently sat each day and watched Holly’s swim lessons. She’d look at me wistfully and say, “I want to do swimming lessons.” “Next year, Sweetie. Next year it’s Edie’s turn.” That was enough for her; just knowing that she’d get her turn. It can’t be easy for the second child to watch her big sister try out everything first. After Holly went to kindergarten, Edie had her own first day of school when she started preschool at Cherry Hills. She loves going to school on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I see growth in her already. Lately she has been following in Holly’s footsteps by spending lots of time drawing. She also loves to “read” Levi a bedtime story each day at naptime. Certainly she is “reading” from memory, but this is still a pre-reading skill that is very exciting to me.

Levi ∙age 1∙ Certainly this has been a year of big firsts for Levi. At his age every day seems to feature a new discovery or skill. Sometime over the summer I remember commenting that Levi’s baby firsts are every bit as exciting as they were with Holly and Edie because I’d forgotten the excitement in the time between. In the past year Levi has gone from sitting to standing, crawling to walking, cooing to talking (sort of) and watching to doing. I marvel at him daily and can frequently be heard to say, “Levi, you are SUCH a boy.” In that respect, I’m not sure if it’s the boy factor or his personality, but Levi is a very different toddler from either of the girls. Aaron has called him Dr. Destructo. It’s a fitting nickname as his path of destruction is shocking. Additionally, he is a child of no fears. Just yesterday he figured out how to climb into a dining chair. Of course that translated into sitting on the table by evening. Levi is busy and he wears us out but we love him just the same.

Aaron ∙ In addition to all the fun developments with our children this year, Aaron had much to celebrate when his beloved Cardinals triumphed over the Texas Rangers to win the World Series! It was an incredible series of games in which they came from behind a number of times, even coming down to the final strike twice in that crazy game 6. We are so proud of the team for pulling it together in the end and look forward to next season as always. Aaron was able to get away in the spring to visit his friend Frank in Chattanooga for a few days and traveled again this fall to spend a weekend in Southern Illinois with our friend Matt. He always enjoys these trips but even more enjoys returning home at the end. For 3.5 years Aaron has been a Rail Safety Specialist with the Illinois Commerce Commission. This continues to be the perfect job for him and satisfies his passion for trains and safety all in one.

Brandee ∙ My own job description hasn't changed in the past year, either. I can still be described as a full-time mama and found most days with one or more children in tow. Wednesday mornings I attend a Moms Group at Cherry Hills where I drop off Edie and Levi in their respective childcare rooms and have two hours worth of book study and discussion with a great group of moms. I joined this group last year and have been so happy that I did - it's a nice mid-week break for me and has provided a number of wonderful new friends. I had the pleasure this summer to spend some time with the kids and Mom visiting my brother Matt and his girlfriend Rene` in Indiana as well as my cousin Tina and her family. We then made our way to Olney for several days and even squeezed in a trip to Holiday World with Aaron's brother Eric and his wife Kelly. We are currently in the very early stages of planning a trip to visit my sister Brittany in California next summer. This will be the first flying trip for our children (and only my second) so the travel portion is a bit daunting to me, but I am very excited overall and would welcome your "flying with children" advice.

It seems that I've covered all the highlights of our past year. Factor in a few baseball games, trips to the zoo, play dates, park visits and the occasional trip to Olney and you have a good idea of how we stay busy! We hope your family has many blessings to count and that your holidays are filled with all things bright and beautiful.

Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Brandee, Aaron, Holly, Edie and Levi

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