And so ends 2012

The year 2012 was a year of many firsts for Champ. He swam in Lake Michigan even though it was cold. He went to church almost every Sunday and by the end of the year would go even when I wouldn't. He became a little boy who loves to serve others and help whenever possible. He remained loud still even when I thought that he would grow out of it. He learned to ride a bike with training wheels. He learned to use a wrench, power drill, screwdriver and hammer. He learned how to remove the electrical covers and quickly learned how a spanking feels. He learned that he loves his sister and misses her when she is gone to school. He has learned not to kiss Tucker because he eats cat poop. He has learned what it means to be a nice friend and play together. He has learned to say "I'm sorry" when he breaks something by accident. He has learned how to say a prayer by himself and keep our family on top of daily prayer. He learned how to chew chewing gum and not swallow it. He learned that money is important especially when he can find it in the laundry. He decides what outfit he wants to wear each day and up till November it was shorts and a t-shirt. He learned that he wants to be just like his daddy and wear a tie everyday and nice clothes. He learned to write his name and identify numbers one through ten. He learned how to operate an IPad in one day and quickly taught his Pa Pa how to operate one too. He learned that Sundays are quiet days. He learned that he can sleep on my floor each night if he wants to. He also learned that his puppy Tucker has grown up and can now be tackled to the ground or layed upon. He has learned that Tucker is his friend and there to play whenever he wants. My list can go on forever. Champ has grown this year and I am sad to see the year end.

Rockin' out

Champ loves his guitar. It is one of his favorite toys from Christmas but what he loved even more was being able to play with his buddy and neighbor, Bob. Bob has a band in which he plays 50's and 60's rock songs. Champ loves this music and I often find him dancing to it in the kitchen when I have it on Pandora. I set up a playdate with Bob so he could help tune up the guitar. Bob tuned it up really nice and now it actually sounds like a guitar. After he did that they went back into the back bedroom where they rocked it out. My favorite song that I heard them sing was "Runaround Sue". I think that Champ and I both should have been born in that era because it has an awesome sound. I checked on those two boys in the back and peeked around the corner to see Champ facing Bob and them both singing and rockin'. Bob has cancer and probably won't live many more years so I was able to catch a video of Bob and Champ together for his wife Dorothy.  Our family always seems to find a neighbor that we love and loves us. Bob and Dorothy are the ones. I hope that Bob lives long enough to beat this cancer and Champ can grow up to share this love of guitar playing with him.

Wheeee! Sledding

Champ's first real experience sledding happened. Not one complaint came from him about being tired from walking the hill or being cold. He smiled and eventually climbed the hill and sled down all by himself. When he reached the bottom, he stood up and grabbed his sled and headed up again. We played for 45 minutes and had a blast, minus the complaints from Faith which I tried to ignore.

Goodbye nursery

Champ's last day in his nursery class at church was today. I'm sad to see him growing up so much. He is going to be a Sunbeam now ready to shine his light for all to see. It is here as a Sunbeam he will start his journey into becoming a missionary. Will he choose that later in life? I don't know. However, what I do know is that he loves church and is super excited to move into the Primary and become Jesus's little sunbeam. Champ has grown so much. I see him learning to sit reverently and walk in church. I see him learning to pray. I see him learning to read his scriptures. I see him wanting to serve others. I am so thankful for this restored church to the Earth. It is the true church of Jesus Christ filled with teachings of Him and lead by Him. Champ will miss his teachers, Sister Sutton and Sister Chris, but will still head for the hug when we come to church.

A first....ice skating

Champ thought that he wanted to go ice skating. He thought he would have fun. He thought that he could do it but he was wrong on all aspects of the activity. We spent more time getting ready for the skate than we did skating. Thank goodness we didn't have to pay for this activity. We popped in during parent/tot time and they chose to let us skate for free. Champ managed to walk in his skates around the carpeted area but could not keep his skates from moving underneath him when he did make it out on the ice. Even though he held onto a PVC walker type equipment he still struggled. He decided he was done after only a few minutes. I wish that we could have skated together however his inability to stand on the ice made it super hard. Bud tried to help push him around but his inability to skate made him unstable almost as much as Champ. It was an experience but not looking to do it again any time soon.

First snowfall

It happened, we had a white Christmas. It was only a dusting but the day after did it snow. A storm named Euclid came charging through and dumped about 4-5 inches of snow on us. Champ was super excited. I just couldn't keep him inside anymore, he was ready to go. So despite the blizzard like winds blowing we headed outside in our winter gear including snow pants and scarf to play in the snow. I knew Champ would not last long, however we had to get out because we were bouncing off of the walls inside. Champ chose not to play in the snow but instead helped scoop the driveway with Bud. He is such a helper. Whenever someone needs help he is always there willing. Bud and Champ scooped the driveway while Tucker pulled Faith on the sled. We scooped snow for about 30-40 minutes and Champ's cheeks looked like Santa's (rosy red like cherries). The next day the winds died down so we were able to head outside to make Frosty the snowman. The snow would pack but not roll into balls so we were left with snowball fight with Bud, Faith and Tucker. Yes, I did say Tucker. He loves being outside in the snow digging and smelling around. Snowball fight was great as we all attacked each other. Bud even threw snow over him as he layed on the ground. It looked like an avalanche.

First snowfall, Storm Euclid

A storm blew through yesterday and his name was Euclid. I guess hurricanes are not the only things being named anymore.