I'm 2 1/2, no wait I'm 3!

Yesterday we celebrated Kennedy's big birthday. It was a full day, starting with breakfast and ending with cake and ice cream at our house. I can't believe how a little girl can have such a big day! Tara was great and planned every detail for the parties, from presents to the Curious George cake - everything worked out perfectly.

For Kennedy's birthday activity this year we ended up going bowling as a family. Kennedy recently saw her pal, Curious George, go bowling and she wanted to have her turn. It was a lot of fun as my entire family came and knocked down the pins with us. I can't say much about the level of play, but Liam (age 3) got the third highest score. We only got one game in, as I guess bowling is a limited attention grabber. I think the kids were just as excited by all the video games as they were the bowling...

After a short nap, Dede was ready for her presents. It was great to see her get so excited as she tore into each new gift. Of course, she was totally spoiled, but I was happy to see that Tara and I were able to pick a couple of winnners for our little girl. The dress up clothes and music box were a big hit for Dede the Diva. I can't believe what a drama queen Kennedy has turned into. I think Tara is scared to death that Kennedy is a "girly girl." Oh well, I'm glad it was a great day for our little princess. Happy Birthday Kennedy!

For Your Birthday

Kennedy,

As the day closes, I am so happy we had such fun celebrating your 3rd birthday. More than the events of the day, it was great just to spend time with you. It is so much fun to enjoy your laughter, your excitement, and your love.

This year, more than in the past, you've developed new character traits and parts of your personality are showing forth. You have such an overwhelming presence; when you enter the room everyone knows it. That can be a blessing and a curse, but you have the ability to make everyone recognize just how special you are.

I know that the next year will bring more changes, as you continue to "get bigger". School, Primary, friends, will all be big parts of your life this year. As sad as I am to watch you grow and start trying things on your own, I am excited to watch you blaze your own path. You will always be a leader and I know that you can help others go in the right direction.

I love you little girl. You brighten my days and make me smile. Whether it's your kisses when I leave for work, or my hugs when I get home, I know you're my special little friend. I hope you had a great birthday and I can't wait to spend the next year with my Silly Dede!

Daddy

Semester Sabbatical?

About a month I was informed that the College of Education didn't need my services for the Spring semester. There are a lot of factors, none of which involved my performance, which led the college to make the change. I have some mixed emotions about my extended spring break. It will be nice to be around the house more and spend extra time with the kids. Lately I've been gone 3 or 4 nights a week with teaching, scorekeeping, and bishopric-ing and I miss Kennedy and Alex a lot.

Still, it's been fun to teach a group of students again. I've gotten used to teaching teachers, but the chance to work with students has been a welcome change of pace. I love that they are just getting started in education and that I have the opportunity to help them get off to a good beginning. There's so much to be excited about in teaching and I've found great satisfaction in opening students' eyes to the bigger world of technology and learning. Sure, we'll miss the money as well, but I'll miss the interaction with students much more than a few dollars.

Hopefully enrollments will increase so the college will need a second session of the technology class and I'll get another chance. Even so, it's been a great opportunity for me and I'm glad I had the experience, even if it was only for 4 semesters.

Lights, Action....Wait Something's Missing

For the past two weeks Kennedy has been talking non stop about her dance concert. She absolutely loves going to dance class (there have been a few moments, but we all have our moments). So, last night was the big performance at the Rose Wagner Theater. We made planned to make a night of it: riding Trax downtown, eating at a restaurant, having family come along. Everything was perfect.

I was really excited to try out the new camera with some good indoor, action shots of Kennedy dancing. I actually practiced by taking a few shots of other dancers before Kennedy's performance. Finally, it was show time. Kennedy started across the floor with her snowflake in hand, ready to dance her heart out. I took a couple of shots and suddenly, without warning, the camera went dead. Yep, we were out of batteries.

Still, no worries, we would have the video recording that Kristin was working on. In a moment befitting Murphy's Law, the video camera ran out of juice 10 seconds into Kennedy's routine. There would be no evidence of the winter dance concert. I can't tell you how upset we were with ourselves for not checking the batteries before we left.


As mad as I am for the photo faux pas, I am even more upset that I let the camera get in the way of enjoying my little girl dance across the stage. Kennedy was incredible and she did such a good job remembering her routine. I had my reservations when she started taking dance - was she too young, too shy, too uncoordinated. All of these fears are gone. Kennedy loves to dance and I love to watch her, regardless if I have any pictures or not.

Deck the Halls

It's taken us an extra couple of weeks to get our Christmas decorations up this year. A week ago we headed down to Tara's parents to pick up our little tree and after a week of trial and error it's finally up. I thought we were in the home stretch a few days ago when we began putting on the lights. Important note - we all love the live tree, we all hate putting the lights on the tree. This year, I drew the short straw and started stringing lights. An hour later, and several pricks to my hands, I had to quit because we ran out of lights. Two days later Tara bought 2 new strands of lights and picked up the cause; however, it was short lived as she ran out of lights 30 minutes later. Another 4 sets of lights and two days later we finally finished the lights.

Of course, everyone wants to help put the ornaments on the tree. We spent a good portion of last evening watching the tree come to life as red balls, metal moose, and gold snowflakes adorned the various branches. Even Alex took a break from pulling ornaments down and eating them to place a few precious trinkets on the tree.

So, I guess the Christmas season has officially hit our home this year. I think we're all pretty happy about the result. Well, I guess not everyone's happy....