Snow Day!

 Mike got his wish -- enough snow to sled in the cul-de-sac!

Mattie's Tiger Day

 Mattie's Child of the Day day was on Tuesday, and he had a tiger theme.  (Mike went with him because I was sick -- boo-hoo!)  They actually ended up having an early dismissal because of the cold weather/potential snow, but that was okay -- they still got to have his favorite snack, read selections from his Mike the Tiger book, and do his selected craft (tiger masks made out of paper plates).  Mattie was happy with his day!

More B-Ball

 At basketball this week, the boys learned about defense.  (As the last step of defense, the coach told the kids to "show the fire in their eyes", which led to a hilarious sequence of facial expressions from James in particular.)  Mattie and James have improved from last time (especially James, since he actually did some dribbling while playing in the cul-de-sac).  Mattie was a bit frustrating to us because he wasn't always paying attention to the coach -- if he'd listen a little more, he'd probably pick up on the skills faster!

James had fun at the end of practice playing with a full-size ball!  (Mattie, in contrast, was lying on the chairs asking when he could go home.)

The bottom picture shows James's slide to get the ball -- he's a little too fond of that move!  I'm sure it's fun, but probably not regulation play.  :)

Child of the Day

 James was "Child of the Day" at preschool today.  His theme was puzzles.  (Ms. Kim, the head of the preschool, was very pleased that it was "age appropriate" -- apparently there were some that she did not like as well!  Ms. Jane warned me in advance that Angry Birds might not be a good choice, but James had already picked puzzles by then.  Of course, the Angry Birds graham crackers that we brought for snack were a big hit.)

He had a fun time picking out a big class puzzle to do, and his classmates enjoyed the craft project (popsicle stick puzzles).

James shared his "about me" poster with the class, and then the kids had a chance to ask questions.  James mentioned that his dog Stanley hurt his back, and about half the questions then were about Stanley!  ("How did he hurt his back? What did he jump off of?  How high did he jump?  Maybe he hurt it on the stairs.  Maybe he landed on his back.")  Who knew that an injured dog would be such a fascinating subject for four year olds?

Not Too Many Daves

 On Monday, we had a visit from the boys' other Uncle Dave and Aunt Emily.  We were the last stop on their Snowbird Tour.

We had nice weather, so the boys showed them all the fun stuff they could do in the back yard. (Mattie and James wanted to go barefoot -- they won't be able to do that next January up north!)

On the way to preschool yesterday, Mattie said, "I'm sad Dave and Emily have to leave.  I wish they could stay three days!"  Us too, kiddo!

Family

 Aunt Ann, Uncle Dave, and Cousin Chris braved the ice and snow to come for a visit.  It was great to see them!  (Daniel was pleased to teach Chris several new games.)

VA for MLK

 Grandma is visiting Cousin Daniel, so we thought we'd crash the party.  :)

No Cavities

The boys got a clean bill of dental health on Tuesday (which was rather a relief, given that Matthew drinks more apple juice than he probably should, and Jamesie prefer to brush without toothpaste).  They were very well-behaved, and the X-rays showed that their adult teeth looked good.  (Mattie does have a chip on one of his front teeth, but the dentist says it's not a problem.)  Yay!

(The chickens shown here were a project they did with babysitter Ruth.)

Westside with Milo

We only made it to "Grandma's playground" once while we were visiting, on a chilly day!  James was glad the merry-go-round was back, and Milo seemed quite content being all bundled up.  :)

Basketball

The boys had their first session of YMCA basketball this Saturday.  (It turns out that the acoustics in a basketball gym are terrible!  Even with his FM system, I'm not sure how much James could hear.)

It was a fun time -- although I think Matthew's favorite part was the beginning, when they could just play with the basketballs without worrying about the rules.  :) 

Neither one of them really had the hang of dribbling, although they're improving.  James did manage to make three baskets, though (including a hilarious one where they were supposed to be lining up to do something else, and he went around behind the coach and took a shot!)

Some of James's teammates are about a foot taller than he is. Fortunately, four year olds don't seem to notice that kind of thing too much.

We got the boys their own smaller-size balls and let them play in the cul-de-sac this afternoon.  Of course, that didn't get off to the best start when James's ball got lost down the drainpipe under J & Y's old driveway!  (If we can't figure out a way to get it before then, it should come out on its own during the next big rain.)