Happy Holidays!

Ta da! Here is our new family photo that will grace the front of our 2008 Christmas card. We had a blustery, snowy day on Saturday (a perfect Saturday for sledding, snowman making, and hot chocolate sipping by a fireplace) which made for an appropriate background for our Christmas card photo (I love how the photo even captured the falling snow!). I was lining everyone up on the porch and getting the camera positioned for a timed photo - this is where I set the timer and then run like crazy to join the photo lineup - when our 6 year-old neighbor Katie showed up to see if the girls (and boys) could play. I put the camera in her capable little hands - and this is what we got! Thanks Katie!!! There were several photos that turned out nicely - but this was everyone's favorite because of Jayden's characteristic silly smile! He brings some appreciated silliness and joy into our family.

On Saturday morning, Emme & Maea also got their ears pierced for a Christmas present. They had asked about pierced ears when they were about 5 or 6 years old, but I asked them to wait until they were older. And after such a momentous trip to Africa, and the maturity and helpfulness they displayed while we were there, when Maea asked about pierced ears again, I felt it was an appropriate time.

So ... to catch up on a few events from the last week in the Wistrom household ....

Jayden finished his first full week of school and things are off to a great start! He is really enjoying school and he was quite disappointed on Saturday morning to find out there is no school for 2 days. I had explained this earlier by showing him the calendar, but I don't think it fully registered until Saturday morning. His disappointment faded quickly though, as we watched the yard fill up with fluffy white snow and the temperature hovered around a comfortable 20 degrees so that everyone could play outside!

Wesley is doing great with his naps as we fall into a comfortable routine. I announce "naptime" shortly after lunch and he happily lays down and after a few minutes, he dozes off for about 2 hours. Quite a difference from our first few tries at "naptime".


He is still very stubborn about his food though - often refusing to even try something if he does not recognize it. A few evenings ago, we had chicken for dinner and I knew we were going to be in for a battle. Sure enough, he took one look and clamped his little mouth shut. Maea was just returning to the table with ketchup in hand, when I remembered him eating french fries in Ethiopia and dipping them in ketchup. So I squirted some on his plate ... and within a few minutes, he was eating his chicken by dipping it in the ketchup! So we may be onto a way to get him to eat a more well-balanced diet.

On Friday, we stopped by Judy's house (day care) so that she could meet Wesley and he could meet her and the other kids at day care. I will be going back to work full time the Monday after Christmas and I want to get him smoothly and comfortably transitioned into daycare - this will be another major milestone for us. We visited for about an hour or more, and he was happily playing with some of the kids and interacting with Judy. We'll stop by again next week and I will leave him there briefly so that he understands that I will be returning for him. It's tough to know what our adopted kids understand since at one point in their lives, they were left somewhere by a parent who never returned. This was something I worried about initially - but Wesley has seemed to attach and bond to us in a healthy way, and I think we will have a smooth day-care transition too.

On Saturday night, our good friends and neighbors, Michelle and Dave, had a neighborhood get-together so that everyone could meet our sons and hear about our trip to Ethiopia. Michelle even ground some coffee beans we brought back from Ethiopia and we enjoyed delicious Ethiopian coffee and dessert. I put a lot of our pictures into a powerpoint presentation - and we got to talk in detail about our adventures in Ethiopia. We see our neighbors every day during the summer months since all of our backyards are connected - but during the winter months we all go into hibernation mode. So last night was a real treat - and a fun time for all the kids!

One more funny story about Jayden ... He has been so quick to investigate all of the outdoor toys in our garage and let us know that he was dismayed to not find a bike there for him. (In our defense, we both planned to get him a bike in the spring so he can actually use it! But silly us ... because Jayden can use a bike in the dead of winter!) Everytime we go outside, he drags out the skateboard and the scooter and even the rollerblades - instead of the sleds. We've demonstrated the sleds repeatedly, but in his mind, anything with wheels is way cooler!

And here are a few photos from the last few days ...