2012: Winding down already?!

Christmas greetings to you and your family! I think it would be accurate to describe 2012 as a grand journey for this Abetown family. We conquered our first flying vacation in style and had a wonderful time visiting with my sister and her husband in Southern California. The trip included our first visit to a Disney park, taking in a baseball game (or two, in Aaron’s case) and a couple of days at the beautiful Santa Monica beach. It was the perfect sort of vacation where you’re not quite ready to leave, but you’re happy to be back home all the same. Holly, Edie and Levi once again proved themselves to be fantastic young travelers and making us proud parents. We’ll look forward to going back in a few years!

     

Holly ∙age 7∙Grade 1∙ Besides the milestones we experienced during our family vacation, Holly reached a number of significant ones on her own this year. She developed into an amazing reader and has lately been tearing through the pages of every Junie B. Jones book she can lay hands on. I am super excited to have a reader in the house! She played spring tee ball and loved it, making it her goal to hit a coach-pitched ball in the air by the end of the season. She jumped off the diving board and swam across the pool at swim lessons. Late in the summer she mastered her two-wheeler and could be seen zipping around the cul-de-sac frequently. She celebrated her seventh birthday by getting her ears pierced. Holly’s vacation highlight had to be her special trip to American Girl; she had saved up her money to chip in and buy the special doll she’d been wanting for over a year! We were so proud of her for waiting so patiently to finally get Ella! Overall, Holly had a year full of excitement and she handled it all with the independent, can-do spirit of a first-born.

 

 Edie ∙age 4∙preschool∙ What a big year for our girl Edie! She finished her first year and is enjoying her second year at Cherry Hills preschool. She loves to go to school, loves to play with her friends and asks every school day if we can go out to lunch or to someone's house. She is a social bug! I see all the clues of prereading surfacing in Edie and I can't wait to see her progress in kindergarten next fall - this girl is ready. She spends time every day drawing pictures, usually entitled Edie and Mom. Edie says her vacation highlight was Disneyland, but I'd say it was her first trip to the beach. She was more excited about that than anything else. Not to be outdone by her big sister, Edie made huge progress during her first session of swim lessons and also took off her own training wheels just a few weeks after Holly had mastered the skill. She continues to live life passionately, showing excitement, personality and a great sense of humor. She's the kid who keeps us laughing constantly.    

Levi ∙age 2∙Just looking at the first picture below makes me snicker. To say that Levi is SUCH a boy doesn't even begin to describe how different he is from his sisters. I really just had no idea! Included with his inherent boy qualities are a love for cars, trains and all things that go. He also has a special affinity for mud (but not an appetite for it, thankfully!). Certainly Levi has changed this year in ways not affiliated with his boyhood. Over the past couple of months, his speech has improved dramatically which has always been among my favorite childhood developments. "Mere!" has progressed to "Come 'ere, Mama!" Each afternoon and anytime we see one around town, "Bus! Bus!" is his cry. When playing trains he always calls, "All aboard!" before departure. During cleanup time one evening I was surprised to find that he can identify several letters of the alphabet - I again thank PBS's Super Why for the assist on that skill. From a parent standpoint, the vacation highlight for Levi had to be meeting Mickey Mouse. His whole face lit up and he wasn't a bit timid. Basically, Levi is all the things one can expect from a two-year-old boy.

As for Aaron and me, we're chugging along and doing just fine. Aaron continues his quest to increase public safety at railroad crossings with the Illinois Commerce Commission. We rarely make a family outing without a quick detour to check on one of his crossings. It's one of his endearing qualities! :) I am still fulfilling my duties as a full-time mama to the best of my abilities. I teach fourth grade PSR at our parish on Wednesday evenings when Holly goes for her class, and I lead a small group within the Moms Group I attend at Edie's preschool on Wednesday mornings. Beyond that, the calendar is relatively clear and the atmosphere peaceful. Let's try to keep it that way, shall we?

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas and best wishes for a wonderful New Year!