I was not super thrilled about pool ownership, but honestly, it is worth it.  These guys spend HOURS every day in the water.  Sure, their hair will probably fall out by the Fall, but hey, at least we will be able to avoid lice once school starts.  Oh, the joys of childrearing...  Seriously, though, they have pretty much taught themselves to swim.  We did two sessions of lessons at the YMCA this Spring, but mostly what you see here is self-taught right in our own backyard.  Swim, little fishies, swim.

Trick or Treat: The Kids living the American Dream

I am pretty sure the kids think that Halloween is what we refer to when we speak of "The American Dream." Jonathan went to Gma & Gpa's this weekend, so he did his trick or treating in Bismarck, ND with the Ressler cousins. After the first house, where he received three pieces of candy, he ran back to Gma proclaiming: "They gave me three pieces of candy. This is going to be a fun night!" The other four kids pillaged our new neighborhood. Franklin was a good sport, letting us dress him up as a pirate to escort the Lost Boy, Captain Hook, and Tinkerbell around the neighborhood. They pulled quite the haul. I promptly stole the one and only Heath bar in the loot! Happy Halloween!!

Look out Single Ladies...These gringos think they can dance

Jonathan and Benjamin figured out how to plug in and turn on Jimena's clock radio. This is what I found them doing. Look out, Single Ladies...these gringos think they can dance! :)

My kid might be a genius...

Besides the fact that Benjamin is 2 and a holy terror right now, I am mostly enjoying his being in pre-school because it affords me the time to not only do my job, but also allows me time to simply observe Jonathan in action. I admit that I don't really know anything about childhood development and what is normal for kids at certain stages, but I cannot help but think that Jonathan is a phenomenon. Today he was playing a reading game on PBS Kids. I just happened to walk by as he answered the question: "Which word best describes the setting at the end of the story." The answer that he selected, correctly: Forbidding. Seriously??? I figured it was probably just a lucky guess. I mean, there were only four options to choose from anyway. So I asked him, "Jonathan, what does forbidding mean?" "Um, kind of like scary." Okay, sweet, I'll just get my yogurt and go back to my desk. You're fine on your own.

Recommitting to the Blog!

So, Mom quit Facebook, which has re-committed me to the Blog. I wish I had been more faithful to it over the past several years, but alas, such is life. We'll see how long this lasts...

Jonathan woke up this morning. Stumbled around the house looking for me. When he finally found me, the first thing out of his mouth? Not "Good morning." Not "Where's Ben?" But rather, "Mom, can we go on a coffee date to Starbuck?" Matthew's Aunt Lisa was babysitting for us this weekend while I was in Nashville for the Women's Half Marathon (more on that later). Apparently, yesterday, she invited Jonathan on a coffee date at Starbucks, complete with organic chocolate milk and a cinnamon roll! How could I turn down such a sweet offer for a morning date with the cutest four year old in the world? Only problem, I don't actually know where the nearest Starbucks is. Never fear. Jonathan does! He proceeds to give me directions, correctly using his right and left ("Mom, right is NOT an L!") all the way there.

So now we are having our morning breakfast date. I am attempting to do some work (obviously, distracted by writing this blog instead) and he is practicing his numbers in his Winnie the Pooh counting workbook (apparently he learned how to write his numbers somewhere along the way). I am seriously astounded by how ridiculously smart this kiddo is. Must get it from his Dad!

Once I figure out how to get photos from my phone to my computer, I will add a picture to this post. Maybe Jonathan can show me how...

Now to get some work done!! Happy Tuesday.

Charlie's Go-Go Christmas

Jimena's Jingle Bell Rock

Final Dance Party 2010 Video

More Dance Party 2010

Dance Party 2010

Last Sunday at home before we head to the wintry North for Christmas/New Years. The kids are keeping it real, breaking it down and rocking it out. Crazy to this that this time next week they will be freezing their badoobies off... Probably will be too frozen to dance, so we better get it in while we can!

PS. Matt, does this remind you of our family videos? Particularly me butt-checking you out of the video!!

Ben on the Move

Apparently Meredith cannot view my videos on Facebook so I am going to do my best to remember to post them on the blog instead. The rest of you have seen this, but this is a special post for Aunt Fizz. Benjamin on the move!!

Happy Valentine's Day

It has been a LONG time since we posted any new photos or videos, but life has been really hectic. Between battling the typical "winter" colds, second semester challenges of Jimena's learning to tell time, Charlie's State report (Pennsylvania!) and Franklin's science fair project, Jonathan's potty training, Benjamin's cutting his first tooth, Matthew's upcoming trip to Monterrey, Mexico, and my pending Masters field project, there has not been much time to blog. But I wanted to share these pictures from our annual Valentine's Day heart pizza lunch. It became a tradition a couple years ago and has just stuck. Here are the kids and the pizzas full of love from yesterday's celebration. Check out the photos at our Picasa Photo Gallery (look at the link to the right, Mom -->). Happy Valentine's Day to all of you. We might be far away, but know you are much loved and missed here in La Ceiba.

Love always,

Andrea, Matthew, Franklin, Charlie, Jimena, Jonathanasaurus and Big Ben

Vocational Training 101

Jonathan had his first lesson, preparing him for a future of summer income as a travelling orange peeler/salesman. Forget lemonade stands, kids, this is a serious business!!

Creative Self-Play

Jonathan has mastered the art of entertaining himself. While I toil away at the computer and on the phone, he spends the morning talking to himself, building a house for his Yaya and his stuffed animals, and "reorganizing" my bedroom. It is really fun to be working diligently on a project or trying to reconcile the Finca accounting reports and to suddenly hear, "Ok, oso, you go to Yaya's house. We eat pollo." This kid cracks me up.

Gingerbread Houses

So let's be honest. Making gingerbread houses was more about the fact that I wanted to eat gingerbread than the fact that I thought it would be fun for the kids. But the kids had a really good time, especially when I let them eat all the candy off the roof for breakfast yesterday.

My Little Pilgrim

I love elementary school. I think virtually every elementary school teacher will be canonized for their patience, creativity, and ability to help my kids learn things that I can never seem to get them to understand. However, I do not particularly enjoy being the mother of elementary-aged school children. It requires an ability and desire to be far more creative and crafty than I have ever been or ever will be. Take this week for example. Second grade is putting on a Thanksgiving play followed by a Thanksgiving feast. Now, Thanksgiving I can do. I host a huge Thanksgiving dinner party every year. I go all out. It is my favorite holiday. But Pilgrims, now that I do not do. My poor little Pilgrim, Jimena, is stuck with a mother who refuses to be good at things like making Pilgrim costumes on demand, especially when I know that I have to make, not one, but TWO angels costumes next week. So we scrimped and we scrounged, and the poor little dear will be a Pilgrim tomorrow. Perhaps the saddest looking Pilgrim in second grade, but a Pilgrim nonetheless. All I can say is thanks be to God for scraps of construction paper, a headband, leftover cloth from Franklin's embroidery project last year, Charlie's cloth belt, a nice little maternity dress that is floor length on a 7 year old, Enma's black hoodie, and a stapler. Put it all together and what do you get? Jimena the Pilgrim!!

Compare their driving

Jonathan vs. Benjamin. Personally, I think they are both pretty bad at this driving thing. But it is fun to compare them at this age, as for all those who think they look so much alike, I think they are TOTALLY different. Judge for yourself.

A New Phase in Toddlerhood

Jonathan entered a new phase of Toddlerhood today. The Playdoh Phase. Up until today, Playdoh had not been an approved part of Jonathan's life. He was introduced to it at a birthday party in September, when he and two other preschool aged boys effectively stamped Playdoh permanently into the clay tile floor of our dear friend Sophia's house. In his defense, Jonathan only stumbled upon the already-in-progress trampling of the city by Godzilla and King Kong, but once introduced to the joys of Playdoh destruction, he was an equal accomplice. I decided on the spot that we were not yet ready for Playdoh. But today, when Jonathan asked if we could make cookies (referring to his fond memories of making Halloween sugar cookie cutouts), I opted instead to get out all the cookie making tools and Playdoh. Turns out, he is ready to make pretend cookies, and pretend to eat them. No stamping or eating of Playdoh...YET! Oh, the doors of inventive hours of entertainment that are waiting to be opened...

Happy Veterans Day

While today is not a holiday in Honduras, my two little soldiers, Charlie and Jonathan, were very into their marching and singing of patriotic Honduran songs. Yes, this IS a typical after-dinner activity!

Happy Birthday McMerty-Brummer Family!

Today is the two-year anniversary of our family. That is, it has been two years since Franklin, Charlie and Jimena came to live with us in La Ceiba. While each of us have our own birthday, Matthew and I have our wedding anniversary, and other special days, November 10, 2007 will always be our Family Birthday. We have made it a tradition to celebrate our Family Birthday with our very own family birthday cake, sharing our favorite family memories. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family of such amazing kids! I will make sure to get some Family Birthday photos tonight with all the kids and the cake. Please keep our family in your prayers today and ask for some extra special blessings that the legal process of becoming a family by law keeps moving forward. While we know we are a family and nothing will ever change that, it would be nice to have the papers, too.