Christmas 2015

Christmas Shows

Wyatt started out the Christmas show season with his Preschool Place concert. He announced each of the songs they performed and was by far the loudest singer of the bunch. He loved it. He's even been performing for those that missed the actual performance.

Wyatt smiling before the show.

Afterwards, he got to tell Santa he wanted a "blue light up gun, green light up gun, blue light up sword, ...."

Jacob was Merv the Shepherd in "Arrest These Merry Gentlemen" at church. He had a good time learning all the songs and hanging out with the cast. He was worried about a friend forgetting his lines, but when it came to performance time it was Jacob that had a blank moment, he recovered and recited his line. The second performance was flawless. 

Jacob during a song.

Jacob with some fellow shepherds.

Gavin & Wyatt were part of the children's nativity at church. Gavin was a wise man and Wyatt was a cow. They both learned their lines the day before the show and did great.

Gavin and Wyatt

Here the animals are singing "Away in a Manger"

Gavin amongst the other wise men, shepherds and angels.

Taking 3 Boys to Well Checks is like a 3 Ring Circus

Yes, I thought it would be efficient to take all the boys to the doctor for well checks at the same time. I thought I would just get it done and all would go well. I didn't think about being locked in a small room with 3 boys for about an hour and a half and then having the nurse and doctor come in to see the spectacle that is my life. But, we survived the visit including a blood draw to check Jacob's cholesterol (routine),Wyatt's shots, and Gavin's antics.

Here are their stats:
Wyatt - Age 5 years and 2 months
Height: 43.5 inches (54th percentile)
Weight: 49.75 pounds (90th percentile)
They were slightly concerned about his weight until she looked at him. You can see the kids ribs, but he's got thighs from all the jumping around he's been doing for years.

Gavin - Age 7 years and 11 months
Height: 51.5 inches (72nd percentile)
Weight: 70.25 pounds (90th percentile)
She was concerned about his impulse control (which I talked about) and his respect for authority, amen.

Jacob - Age 10 years and 7 months
Height: 50.25 inches (91st percentile)
Weight: 93.75 pounds (86th percentile)
Jacob had his blood drawn for the first time since he was a tiny baby. He watched and was pretty calm (seemingly) about it, but afterwards he got dizzy and nauseous, so he got a can of Coke and some time to recover on the exam room table. They tested his cholesterol and all was normal.

Visit to the Holiday Train

We made a quick trip to Waseca to see the Holiday Train. It was a balmy night for December in Minnesota, so there were a lot of people there. We did end up finding my cousin Bob and his family and then went to their house for hot chocolate.

Basketball Season

Basketball season is underway. Jacob is on the boys 5C travelling team. He has practice about 3 times a week and tournaments every 2-3 weekends. He's a great rebounder and is finding his way to the basket to make some scores too. Gavin is playing in the in-house program and has practice one night a week and games on Saturday mornings. Gavin also finds his way to the basket at least a few times a game and does a good job on defense. Wyatt gets to play on Saturday mornings and 5 year olds playing basketball is comically entertaining. They don't keep score during their games, but Wyatt usually knows where each team stands.

Jacob in his first tournament. 

Jacob getting props for his rebounding skills after their first tournament.

3rd place team in the Chaska Tournament.

Jacob passing in the ball at the Minnetonka tournament.

Wyatt having a great time playing basketball. 

Wyatt with his teammates and coaches.

Gavin putting up a basket. I'll work on getting a better picture of his playing.

Florida 2015

We spent Thanksgiving week at our timeshare in West Palm Beach, Florida. We had pretty good weather, just lots of wind the last 3 days. So we had a sad 10 year old who didn't get out in the ocean to boogie board. But he found some friends in the pool and had a pretty good time anyway. We had grilled ham, turkey and cheese sandwiches for Thanksgiving lunch. We took some breaks from the resort to check out the Loggerhead Marinelife Center, mini golf, and Sailfish Marina. 

The boys on the beach.

Wyatt

Fred & me

Jacob

Gavin

Fred & Wyatt

Fred with Gavin & Wyatt

Gavin & Jacob with a loggerhead

The boys measuring up to the turtles.

Jacob spent an afternoon burying himself in the sand.

Wyatt was our bingo winner - $15.

Family selfie by a Florida Christmas Tree.

Happy Halloween

From the wizard, ninja and Iron Man.

Fred and Wyatt decorated the back of the truck for Holyween.

Football Finale

Jacob wrapped up his first season of tackle football this weekend. They started off playoffs with a heartbreaking loss on Thursday night to the Chanhassen Blue Machine, where they lost by 1. Today they got to play on the Chanhassen High School turf and had announcers calling the game and the score board lit up. It was so nice to finally know what was happening during a game and what the exact score was. But, it was even nicer to hear Jacob's accomplishments on the field being announced over the PA system. We heard things like "Middendorf on the tackle", "Middendorf and Harvieux putting on the pressure", and "That's a stop by Middendorf". They came away with the win for 3rd place, so the season ended on a high note. Jacob learned a ton this season and came to enjoy his role as lineman. The first game of the season he didn't know what he was doing and was not a happy camper afterwards, so of course I always suggest that swimming would be a great option for him. But then he learns a ton, has a great time with friends, and enjoys the season. He's already talking about his 6th grade season.

Warm-ups

After the win.

Good sportsmanship.

3rd Place Chaska Black

Gavin also had his last flag football game yesterday. His team was missing a few players, so he got a lot of playing time and had a great game. He had a run in for a touchdown, a pass into the end zone for a touchdown, and a made a hand-off that resulted in a touchdown. We had such great weather for this football season, it was great to see the boys playing each week.

Gavin making a hand-off.

Gavin blocking for the running back.

Gavin running for the touchdown.

Celebration donut.

Gavin also started basketball games on Saturday. That team was also missing a few of their players, so he had lots of playing time there. His team looked ready for the NBA compared to their opponents. I think we were missing our weaker players and they were missing their stronger players. Gav and his teammates made a bunch of baskets, did some great dribbling, passing, and rebounding. Looks to be a fun season.

Jacob has started practice for travelling basketball. He is on the 5C team and its his first year travelling. I'm hoping it goes well as he had said he just wanted to do in-house again. However, after a friend's dad said they needed one more kid to make 3 teams of 8, Jacob was persuaded to try travelling. Then after they posted the teams a few of the kids dropped out (don't get me started on that whole deal). They found a couple replacements from the Chanhassen system, so they have a full team again. He's had fun at practices so far and we'll see how it goes once the tournaments start.

Wyatt's 5th Birthday

Wyatt turned 5 today. He asked for a light up sword, light up gun, and light up shield. He got a light up sword, a football, and new sunglasses (since the ones he wore last week weren't dark enough). He didn't quite understand where his light up gun and shield were.

Auntie Drea's birthday collage

Wyatt in his new shades with his pancake breakfast.

After supper at Bull Chicks we had cake at home. 

Blowing out the candles.

We went to Jacob's 8 PM football game tonight. I thought the little boys would come home with me at halftime, but they were so busy with their sideline game of football, we stayed for the whole game. Wyatt came downstairs after I put him to bed and was sobbing because he was so sad his birthday was over. Poor kid has to wait another 364 days until his next one.

Back to School

Only decent pic I got before they got on the bus, after Gavin melted down about wearing his glasses.

After school pics, they are a little happier.

And a little silly.

State Fair Photos

Our day at the state fair was missing the Rosenbergers this year. They started school before the fair started, so they didn't get to come on the first day of the fair with us. But Auntie Drea was home and Tim made a guest appearance early on. We ate our fair share, enjoyed the 4-H show, the parade, the STEM area, Miracle of Birth barn, and by then it was time for Fred to take the boys and get Jacob to football practice. Mom, Drea, and I got to stay and enjoy the talent shows, a 4-H food competition, and a little more food.

Little Farm Hands

Resting Up

Sticking together

Singled out for a demonstration