Van at 8 years old:
Van is in 2nd grade and has grown into such a wonderful big boy. He has the sweetest group of buddies and they all play soccer and basketball together on the same team. He loves to say his prayers every day and is reading so well. He is still taking guitar lessons and loves to practice Clapton tunes on the new amp Granny and Pop Pop got him for his birthday. Van is kind of a home-body and loves to spend one on one time with his mom and dad :-) He enjoys riding his bike, playing with Sophie, and he and Abe have started to play legos together often which is so neat to watch. Van and his dad enjoy Indian Guides together and went on a fun camping trip recently. Van also appreciates any opportunity to dock or drive the boat. He has come out of his shell quite a bit over the past year but he is still probably the most laid back of our three kids. He is sure to tell us every night he loves us.
We love you Van and are very proud of you!
ABE at 4 years:
Abe has all the feels! (And he is sure to tell us about them!) He has turned a corner recently though. We are definitely out of the baby stages, slowly turning out of the toddler stages, and enjoying watching him grow into a cute little boy. I still hold and snuggle him to pieces and savor our two mornings a week together at home. Abe comes with me to preschool three days a week so we are quite a pair and always together! On the days we stay home, Abe wakes up with so much excitement and asks "IS TODAY A MOMMY AND ABE DAY?!!" Even though our days at home usually consist of laundry, groceries, and cooking--he still loves the notion of Jeanie and Van going to school, Evans going to work, and the two of us having our special time together. It makes me very happy that he still wants to be with me all day ;-) For his birthday we got him a skateboard. He is left-handed and left-footed and has really good balance. He played soccer this fall for the first time and made it through most of the games without tears. He has about 5 or 6 Lightning Mcqueen cars and loves to tell us about the one he dropped over the boat and now rests at the bottom of the ocean. Abe loves to play pretend with Van and Jeanie. His favorite thing so far about being four is showing us his "four year old muscles!!" He asks us every day if he looks bigger than the day before. He is mischievously sneaky but also so so loving. Happy four years little guy!! We love you!
