Tallyho friends and family...

That time of year again for the next installment in the Dawes family portrait. I do have to say it gets easier each year. For awhile there coordinating a photo of young children plus two adults was, well I don't know, difficult? I guess it gets easier when the kids are old enough to fully understand bribes, and the youngest old enough to follow the older siblings.

It is hard to believe another year has passed...Here's the latest:

Grayson, IIIII III, passion for video games finally seems to be waning (only slightly and maybe only measurable by his parents' optimistic hopes). He has recently discovered Lego's and now will spend hours creating his own sets (he's not a fan of the boxed kind with directions) and then counts the pieces then hunts down prices on eBay to see what it might be worth. In typical fashion his favorite are the minfigures, which Lego of course doesn't sell individually. He continues on with TaeKwonDo and is now a red and white belt (2 belts from his jr. black belt, he won't be eligible for the full black belt until he is 15). He is a kind individual, and is amazing at getting his sisters to cooperate and motivating them to do things, especially chores he doesn't want to do. He is a voracious reader and when he isn't creating Lego set ups he can usually be found bouncing on the trampoline or reading (or sometimes both). He still runs from one place to the next and has really developed a great sense of humor.

Emerson (Eme), IIIII I, has really grown into her own. She still wears p.j.s exclusively, but in the last couple of weeks has starting substituting pajama tops with t-shirts, so this long lived phase may at last have run it's course. She has also joined one of the local swim teams and is learning how to play violin. She also continues to be a prolific artist. She spends every free moment with a pencil and paper in hand sketching. I am constantly amazed at how she will redraw the same scene over and over and from different angles and views. Her pencil seems to have a mind of it's own and most of the time I have to get on her about finishing her school work it's because she found something interesting on the page and has decided to develop it further with her artistry. She is an amazing helper to me, and is growing into her big sister position, a big change from the past when she seemed more comfortable as Grayson's little sister.

Anna, IIII, is on the verge of the transition from little kid to big kid. She continues to collect wayward bugs and finally I have gotten through to her the thrill of capturing, studying, and then releasing before they die is the proper scientific way. She loves to pick flowers and loves even more to give them to everyone she meets. She gives away hugs the way most people give away waves of the hands. She socializes every chance we get and loves to share stories about her "friends", though she doesn't really remember any of their names, that's not important she says. She continues with TaeKwonDo, and has decided that Soccer is her thing. She just finished one session of Kidz Love Soccer through the parks and rec and is eager to start again. She was the only little girl and had the most adorable field presence (though I might be slightly biased). Anna has such a loving passion for life and is able to make the greyest day sunny.

Neve, II, is a power of her own. She runs the show most of the time (though I at least like to think that she doesn't know it). She's able to recognize all her letters, can count to 20, knows all her shapes, and colors - in english and spanish, and loves chocolate. This last might not be a surprise to most, except I loathe chocolate and the thought that anything that is remotely related to me liking chocolate is just uncomprehensible. Her vocabulary is extensive and her memory is phenominal. Sometimes I am frightened by her drive to know/learn things and I keep waiting for her to slow down. One of her favorite activities is to tell me a word and then have me write it on a piece of paper and then carry it around and show everyone. She also loves to swim and can now pretty confidently swim the length of a pool. She is well known at the pool because she almost always has on her zoomers(fins) and goggles, even when she is not swimming. Neve is fiercely independent, and her favorite saying is "No I do it!".

Paul, (way too many tally's to put here)is still working and traveling all the time for iControl (www.icontrol.com). When not at the office can be found tinkering away with all the cameras and security stuff we have around the house. I feel like I am on one of those reality shows. He is still taking TaeKwonDo with Grayson one day a week, running, and swimming when he can. Plus he manages to find time to build Legos with the kids and pamper me. On top of all this, he is now the primary grocery shopper in our house, and he manages to do it with at least 3 of the 4 kids with him.

I (whos' counting anyway) have had a year of big challenges. The homeschooling continues to be a passion for me, as is parenting as a whole. I know I say this every year, but maybe only because I am so surprised myself, that I love being a mother (I know not particularly original). I feel like I am one of those lucky individuals that has found their calling, and I look forward to each day of my life. My challenges have come in the way of having to make grown-up decisions, there were many opportunites this year for me to wish that someone else would take care of some difficult decisions to realize that as a grown up I actually have to do it (this doesn't mean I didn't complain about it the whole time). I still continue to sew and knit in my free time (because I just have so much of it) and most of the reading I do these days is trying to figure out what makes boys boys and girls girls, how to motivate kids to learn and be passionate about things, how to talk to my kids, and how to foster great sibling relationships. I know, a mothering geek if ever there was one.

One of the biggest changes for all of is that our housekeeper Rosie has moved on after 5 years. This has just become final in the last week, and we find a lot of adjustments going on. Mainly I am surprised on how little I use to do around here when I thought I was doing so much. I used to tell people how practical our tile floor is because you can never tell when it is dirty, to find out that without Rosie that really only is true for about a day. And I now finally understand why people who have children hate stainless steel.

I hope this blog finds everyone well and if ever in the neighborhood give us a holler! Happy New Year!