White Christmas

Tooth Loss

My younger sister list a tooth and received a note from the tooth fairy that she had spoken to Santa and was on the "nice" list. The next day at taekwondo I pulled out one of my teeth. Mom thinks that I pulled it out (even though it was only mildly lose) so I could find out if I, too, was on the "nice" list.

Here is the photo of S and me showing off our opposite list teeth. (And yes, I did get a note and it did say I was on the "nice" list!)

9th Birthday

From my birthday that we celebrated as a family. I had a party at the Bricks and Minifigs store but we all went out for dinner on my birthday where I was given several Dr. Who themed items from Mom and Dad.

Santa Visit and Christmas 2016

Mom scheduled our Santa visit like last year. We all went down a couple weeks before Christmas to the mall to see Santa. I went first at the request of my two sisters. The youngest, little BB, was very nervous and I had to show her it was no big deal.

I went to sit on Santa's lap and he immediately said, "What do you want for Christmas little boy?" My response, "I really want to answer that question but first, I have a couple questions for you. How are you? And how is Mrs. Claus?" He answered and when we were all done with our visit he told my mom I was the politest kids he had met. Later I told Mom, "There's no way Santa's skipping our house after the impression we made on him!" I was right - I got exactly what I requested - the big Dr. Who lego set.

I made Mom and Dad a snowman ornament from a light bulb and wrapped it in a snowman bag. I also wrapped up a couple other things for them (finger puppets and the money was to go toward the repair of our van stereo system) and there's the photo of the Dr. and Tardis S made for me. Mom crocheted me the 11th Doctor, too.

Class Party and Graham Cracker Houses

Mom volunteered to be a class party planner and the teacher assigned her the holiday party. She recalls an amazing Christmas as a 1st grader when she got to make graham cracker houses during a party. She wanted to do the same thing for me. She had some moms help her pre-assemble some houses which were hot glued together. Then she brought them into the class with packets of frosting glue which she made from egg whites and confectioners sugar. Everyone pitched in a brought candy and we decorated. There were three stations and the houses were one, a penguin water bottle craft was another, and then a games/snack station was the last. The games/snack one was a big favorite as she had one of our Jewish families run an intense game of dreidel. That was a huge hit!

Mom was crushed when I did not bring my house home. I threw it in the trash because I was concerned it would get crushed on the way home. So when S's gymnastics class was canceled due to the heavy snow fall, we stayed home and made some houses together as a family. When we all get together to do something, because we are now a large family, it's like a party. So we had a gingerbread house making party at home. Mom even made me some blue frosting at my request so I could made a Dr. Who tardis.

Holiday Program

This year the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades did a combined holiday program for our school.

I was selected for a speaking part - third year in a row I have been given a speaking part in the school program. I was the Norwegian boy. My dad's grandma Besta would have been proud since she was 100% Norwegian. I even tried to do an accent. The program was called Love in Any Language and was written and directed by my music teacher. And I even danced - just a little.

Here are some photos from the event.

First Day of Third Grade...

I am super excited for this year. I already set my goal of "Be challenged". I was super nervous about who my teacher was going to be and Mom had to talk me into seeing the class list before the first day of school but when I saw who it was I was all smiles. She has a son named "Cooper" which is my best friend's name and a favorite name of mine. And she's about Mom's size - small. So two things I really like about her. Upon first meeting her I was excited to tell her I was having a baby brother in a couple months. (I am really excited about that!) 

On the first day, I switched out the clothes Mom laid out for me because I felt I need to dress up more than she had me dressed so I added the collared shirt. It was a good day and I was excited to tell everyone where I visited during my vacation - Hawaii!!!

So far, I seem to like the routine of school and also seem to be juggling taekwondo and Scouts pretty good. Here are some photos from that first day of third grade:

Family Vacation 2016

Mom and Dad totally shocked me when they told me where we were headed on family vacation.

I just started Cub Scouts at the beginning of summer and was really looking forward to volunteering at the local food bank. However, that was the same week as our family vacation. I asked Mom if we could reschedule our trip. After all, we can go to North Idaho any time. When they insisted they could not reschedule I was pretty bummed. Then they told me we were going to Hawaii to swim with sea turtles. I was truly speechless - mouth open, no words. That's rare for me!

It was SO much fun!

It was the first airplane trip I can recall. I made a couple as a tiny baby but none as a remembering child. I thought the airplane ride was fine (8+ hours is a long time) and any time I had to sit next to someone I did not know I was unhappy but I did fine.

I LOVED snorkeling and diving. We saw SO many fish. I spent nearly all my beach time in the water. I could not quite get the swing of boogie boarding but I was able to master body surfing which was great fun.

Uncle Doc and Aunt T happen to be on Maui while we were there and stopped by. We played football together and I really enjoyed that. He had some water balls that bounce on the water. Those were super cool and I had to find one of those to bring home, too! I also purchased a shark tooth necklace which I really wanted. And I did enjoy real Hawaiian fruit snacks.

Did I mention how much fun it was?!?

With My Second Grade Teacher

From my book that Mom makes me - photo of me with my teacher from second grade Mrs. D-J.

New Desk

We've been trying to re-arrange my bedroom. We've played around with a new bed or just changing me to a different room. In the end, Mom found an awesome Ikea desk for $30 on Craigslist and it is perfect. They threw in the chairs and end table and it's like a new room. Here I am enjoying my new room set up.

Flat T

Here is my Flat T that I sent to Ms. M in Arizona during our Flat Stanley unit at school this year.

Interview

My principal at school asked me to do an interview for a district video that will be shown to teachers at the beginning of 2016-2017 school year. I was very excited and honored. The main question I was asked was to tell what I liked best about my favorite teacher. My reply, "She has ways of teaching me so that I can learn and she's nice." I refused comment on exactly which teacher I was describing, though.

Arctic Wolf Project

For my research project during our Arctic region studies I chose the Arctic wolf. We have a family friend who is involved with wolf recovery and I have heard her talk about them and am impressed by them as family units and predators. Here are some photos from my project. I gave mom quite a lecture about it being second grader work so she was only allowed to help me with the hot glue gun.

I did a diorama at home and poster in class. I was also graded on participation and presentation (I got bonus points on my presentation - I'm becoming quite the public speaker). I ended up scoring 92 out of 100 points.