My Niece & Nephew

Allow me to digress from talking about my kids for just one post so I can talk about my brother's kids, Abby & Jon ... with whom I'm comletely smitten! My sister-in-law, Anne, & the kids spent a few days with us at the end of May, and I just had SUCH a good time with with them! My niece and nephew are beautiful children, and I love seeing them grow and change--both physically and socially.

Abby has always been a serious girl--if you know Jason & Anne, then you know she gets more than her looks from her mom! Over the past several months, I've noticed a big change in Abby--she's gotten a lot more talkative, and I've seen her smile SO much (although I wasn't able to capture any of that on camera!). Selfishly, I think what I love the most is that she has several personality traits that appear to have come from her Aunt Jenn. Since she was very little, Abby has been a girly-girl--she loves make-up and jewelry--which is not something that she is really even exposed to because Anne isn't a big fan of either--who knew those things could be passed on in her genes?! This next picture is one Anne sent me a few weeks ago on my cell phone with the caption that Abby has all her classmates pull her around but refuses to reciprocate ... "who's child is this?!?" it said:


I LOVE IT! Abby is a princess and she knows it. That's my girl!

Speaking of princesses, Abby was the flower girl in her Uncle AJ's wedding on May 30th. Because the ceremony took place right around nap time, Jason had to bribe Abby down the aisle with candy (she loves candy? wow, we MUST be related!). Abby looked BEAUTIFUL and did such a great job ... we caught her coming down the aisle and finishing up some candy after the ceremony:


We have had a lot of people tell us that Abby and Paige resemble each other a lot. I don't always see it, but Jason noticed at the wedding reception that the girls have the exact same color of eyes--kind of a bluish-gray. He also said that sometimes Abby will have an expression on her face that instantly reminds him of me (most likely because it reminds him of Paige and Paige is my mini-me) ... I'm under no pretense that this girl look like anyone BUT her mom, but I'll take what I can get--ornery expressions are fine!

That brings me to Jon ... he's had my heart from the day he was born, and somehow got it even more when he began to smile! I wish I could have captured it on film, but Jon has the BEST mean face, ever! The first night they were here, Anne was having to reprimand Jon at the dinner table and he gave her the DIRTIEST look ... it made me laugh so much I had to cover my face because I knew he was in trouble (not for the look--for hitting or something like that). I wish I could explain it ... it's like he's SUPER pissed, but there is also a little pout there, like he could break into tears at any second. It's a look of utter, innocent defiance. Maybe one day I'll be able to capture it for you. The cutest thing EVER! Here's Jon determined to get some water out of Anne's bottle at the park, and one of the pictures from a little photo-shoot he and I had at the house (have I mentioned that I'm in love with this kid?!?):



Where Abby looks like her mom, Jon is his dad through and through! If you compare Jon's to any of Jason's baby pictures, the main difference is that Jason had dark hair when he was born that slowly turned to blonde, but Jon's has been blonde from the start. When we were in Farmington Hills for Jason's Ordination, my Dad took a picture of Jon hanging out with Jason while he was practicing for worship:


The kids love their cousins, and the feeling is mutual! Anne's mom said that Abby kept saying, "I need to see MY Nicholas and Paige!" before we got to AJ's wedding ... even with a few years between them, they have a special bond! Anne is expecting she and Jason's third child (in February) so we'll all have to make room in our hearts for yet another one ...


There's room!!

Summer, HERE WE COME!!!

On May 27th, Mrs. Morey (who teaches only AM kindergarten) had an end-of-year picnic at Brookschool Park. We brought our own food and Nicholas was able to play with his classmates, then Mrs. Morey had a graduation ceremony for the kids. Nicholas was last (although one of three “W”’s!) and they all seemed so proud of their accomplishments! Here are a few pictures from the ceremony:

Nicholas gets his Diploma

Mrs. Morey talking to her class

Nicholas with his friend, Sarah

Nicholas & Mrs. Morey

So, the school year is over and our sweet Kindergartener is now a big 1st grader! I can hardly believe how quickly the year has gone. Nicholas really grew under Mrs. Morey’s watchful eye—he now reads and loves math. He’s matured, too—in some ways better than others—but overall, our boy has grown up a lot! Here is a picture from Nicholas' first day of school, back in August 2008, and one of him on his last day of school a few weeks ago; he looks more grown up to me now:

August 11, 2008                                                               May 28, 2009


I know I’ve mentioned it before, but she’s just so good that it stands to be brought up again. MRS. MOREY IS THE BEST TEACHER EVER! Nicholas was SO blessed to have Mrs. Morey for his teacher this year—she’s kind and loving and treats our son with such love and compassion! The first few weeks proved to be a tough adjustment for Nicholas; the way Mrs. Morey eased him into it loved him through it all won us over immediately. I say Nicholas was blessed to have Mrs. Morey but it was really a blessing to our entire family—it made the transition so much easier on us all! When I told Nicholas that we should buy Mrs. Morey something nice to give her for the end of the year, I asked him what he thought he would like to do for her. He replied, “Oh, how about a nice ring or something?” I told him that wouldn’t be super easy to get for her but we could try to find a necklace (he’s really good at picking out jewelry, as evidenced by both his grandmother’s birthday necklaces!). Here is the necklace he picked for Mrs. Morey—I took a picture because I thought it was so appropriate—he didn’t even know what a great choice he made!

Last but certainly not least, Paige’s last day of school was on May 28th, as well. She picked out some very colorful flowers for her teacher, Mrs. Gue, who has also been an excellent teacher this year! We’re hoping that there is a chance Mrs. Gue will “move up” with her class and also be Paige’s teacher this next year, which will be Paige’s last year of preschool. Here is Paige with her beautiful bouquet—a bouquet that completely exhibits her personality; I’m sure Mrs. Gue would agree!!