Tiger of the Week Story

Each week in Orion's Kindergarten class one student is randomly selected to be the "Tiger of the Week."  That student gets to make a poster talking about themselves and their favorite things.  Then, each day of the week they have a special activity to do, which allows the kids to have their own personal time to "shine" and helps the kids get to know each other better.  This week Orion gets his turn and he is INCREDIBLY excited.  Sunday night we sat down and made his poster, and Monday he proudly carried it to school to share with his friends.  Tuesday he got to take his favorite book to share with the class, so he took a story called Lights Out, Night's Out which talks about different kinds of night animals and also has some fun "animotion" tricks in it that make the animals appear to be moving.  For Wednesday, parents were asked to write something for their children.  It could be a letter talking about how special the kid is, tell a funny story about them, or write a story using the kid as a main character.  We decided to combine real life with some adventure-style story telling to create "Adventures in Legoland."  Orion will hear it for the first time in his class today, so I'm excited to hear what he thinks.  Here is the story we wrote: 

Adventures in Legoland

Once there was a boy named Orion.  This boy loved adventures, smiling, and making people laugh.  He was a boy of many talents.  He could run fast as a cheetah, kick soccer goals like Zusi, and ride a motorcycle by the time he was five.  One day, Orion and his parents decided to go on an adventure.  They got into the car and began to drive, passing fields and hills, cows and corn.  Orion thought the trip was going to take forever, but soon they came to a giant river.  Across the water, Orion saw skyscrapers taller than he had ever seen before.  His parents stopped the car and they all got out and began to explore this newly found city.

While wandering, they stumbled upon the land of a local tribe who called themselves “Legos.” His parents weren’t sure what to do, but Orion said he knew the way.  As they entered the land of Legos, they found themselves surrounded by tiny brick buildings, randomly falling snow, and strangers who were laughing and building in every corner.  Orion saw new friends all around him and ran about, making people laugh, helping to build cities, and looking around.  As he was exploring, Orion came upon an enormous castle surrounded by giants. Orion bravely battled through the giants, past some bats, climbed giant hurdles, and faced off against the mighty wizard to save the town.  The king of Legos was so thankful, that he declared that Orion was a hero.  His parents were so proud. 

Eventually Orion and his parents went back home because Orion had to go to school.  Yet every once in a while, they leave the city to find a new adventure. 

The End…..of this adventure

The rest of the week continues with some more activities for Orion, including having someone as a lunch guest with him, and taking show and tell.  It's fun to see him so excited, and it's nice to give him a chance to be in the spotlight for a little while. 

Happy 5th Birthday!

Five years ago today my life changed completely as I welcomed my beautiful son into the world.  I couldn't imagine then how much my life would change forever.  Each and every day has been incredibly interesting, sometimes remarkable, and sometimes challenging, but always completely worth it.  Orion is the most exceptional, extraordinary person I have ever met.  His smile can warm the hearts of strangers, and his laughter is contagious.  He is so kind and loving, even towards those that I have a hard time appreciating as an adult.  There are definitely a few things that my son has taught me.  He has helped me to become a better person.  There are not nearly enough words to express how much I love this boy.  But today is his day.  We will eat too much, play too much, and laugh as much as we can.  Happy birthday, Orion.  You are the greatest thing that has ever happened in  my life.  You encourage me to a better person.  Happy birthday, Bubby.  I love you!

Thankfulness -- Enthusiasm

Today I am thankful for the enthusiasm of my son for the world around him.  His sense of joy and appreciation for the world around him never ceases to make me proud.  Hearing his tiny voice shout out in excitement when he sees something new or exhilarating always puts a smile on my face.  Today, we left the house early to go grocery shopping (exciting stuff, I know) and as we were driving home, we saw about a dozen wild turkeys crossing the road in front of our drive.  We stopped and watched them until they were safely across the street, and then continued to pull into our driveway.  As we approached the house, we saw more and more turkeys in the yard all the way around the house.  I couldn't help but think that Thanksgiving had brought itself to my house, but Orion was SO excited to see them all.  He would sneak around the corner of the house and watch them jumping up on the fence and pecking around.  He would search the small piles of snow we have left until he found turkey tracks and try to figure out where they went.  We probably spent 30 minutes outside in the chilly morning air, giggling and watching the turkeys wander around the yard.  At one point we counted, and there was well over 30 of them...not including the ones that had crossed the street on our way home. Orion was so excited and when they finally decided to leave the yard, Orion waved his arms and yelled "Bye Turkeys!  Thanks for coming!!"  I love that boy so much, and seeing how excited he gets over the little things helps me remember to find my own type of joy in the world.  Today, I'm thankful for his excitement.

Daddy's Face

Orion's quote of the day made me laugh like crazy.

Today we were playing with Seth, tossing stuffed animals at him while he pretended to ignore us. Orion told me to throw it at his face so I, of course, threw it at his butt (butthead he he).  Orion looks at me straight faced and said "No mom.  His face is between his mustache."  I laughed so hard I thought I was going to be sick.  It's little moments like that which make my days better.

Photobooth Selfies -- A Favorite Past Time

Tonight Orion and I got to spend the time as just the two of us.  We ate supper and ice cream, watched some TV, and of course took some time to take Photobooth selfies with my laptop.  It's one of my favorite past times with Orion, watching his face change and seeing him laugh as he makes faces at himself.  He's such a cute boy and I love taking pics of him.  Here are tonight's highlights:

Always my little cheeseball 

Feeling artsy 

Going Thermal

Mom has lost it 

I think I have jaundice

Bug eyed beauty

Cheesin chipmunks 

This is Love

Hugs

Seeing Double

Fall Adventures

Autumn is a time that seems to be full of even more adventure and excitement for Orion than the summer had.  The last few weeks have been non-stop and this weekend was pretty much the same.  We had a visit from Aunt Jaime and a trip to the Pumpkin Patch.  He loved running around the ranch and seeing all the people.  He also seemed to really enjoy finding the exact pumpkin he wanted to take home.  We could tell (by his snarky attitude) that he was getting tired by the end of the evening for sure, but I'm glad he had a good time.

He also has more frequently began to talk about family and how much he misses them.  When he's not talking about anyone specific, he calls them his "ancestors."  I'm not sure where he came up with this term, honestly, but I think it's adorable.  He has also attached himself to his cousins (my step-sister's sons) and frequently tells me that he misses them.  Very few days go by that he isn't telling us that he misses one family member or another, be it Aunt Ashley,  Little Grandpa, or just his Ancestors in general.  He's such a sweet kid and loves his family so much.  It's a very interesting development in him and I couldn't be more proud of the loving boy he has grown into.

Catching up...again.

At this point, it's quite obvious that I fail at being a regular blogger of any sort.  I have no excuse, other than the chaos of life, family, work, school, and all the other activities that take up so much of our time. We have been very busy through the summer, and the fall doesn't look like it's slowing down any time soon.  Here are some of the highlights of the last few months: 

Orion has taken to talking on his phone.  He tends to talk with his hands and it makes me laugh a lot. 

He still loves hanging out downtown and is getting so big.  We just had to get him new clothes because his arms and legs are too long for practically everything.  

He has become such a sweet kid and has learned to enjoy some time by himself, whether it's playing or just watching the lake.  He's such an amazing kid.  

We do still sporadically take pics together, just because it's fun.  

We visited Lauritzen Gardens again, which is a beautiful park with tons of flowers and walkways.  It was a beautiful visit and we hope to go back again in the spring. 

We also attended a PowWow to explore some Native American culture.  It was very interesting and Orion loved the teepees and all of the drumming. 

Sue came to Omaha, to the Durham museum, so we decided to pay her a visit.  Orion is obsessed with dinosaurs and can spout more facts about them than I can.  He frequently shows off to strangers and makes me proud of his brain.  

 Of course we visited the zoo a few times and rode both the train and Skyfari for the first time.  We were nervous to have O up so high, but he did a great job. 

We have also frequented several local ethnic festivals, including the Greek, Italian, and German festivities.  It's great to live somewhere that we can expose Orion to diverse cultures. 

In July, Orion went to spend a few days with my parents while Seth was out of town for a conference and I was busy with work. We stopped at the Kool-ade museum in Hastings on our way home, which was an interesting experience. 

I have also made friends with a lovely woman who has two little girls about Orion's age.  They play together super well and are adorable together.  

We've spent a lot of time at Fontenelle Forest lately and I love the beautiful environment out there. 

Orion likes it out there too. 

We went to Octoberfest with the Kyles and that was a lot of fun. 

We also went on a horse & buggy ride down town 

Big Grandpa came to visit us, so we got to go to supper with him. 

We also went to the local fair.  

So as you can see, we definitely haven't been spending much time sitting at home with nothing to do.  It's been crazy busy.  Hopefully someday I'll be able to realistically keep up with things on this blog again....but I'm not gonna hold my breath.  I hope things are well with you all.  Have a fantastic day.