Another fun year has come and gone in the Moore household...
Ellie (9) worked hard this year to memorize 4 Christmas songs on the piano. This year she also started doing ballroom dance through the school. So she gets up early twice a week to go to her dance class. She loves to come home and practice with Dad (Steve took ballroom a couple of times at BYU, once earlier in his education--he thought it would help him woo the girls and then a second time with me--unfortunately, I don't remember much of the class, guess I'll have to start practicing).
Lila (6) has the opportunity this year to participate in a singing and dancing company that performed at the Festival of Trees and she had a solo at the Christmas recital. She continues to amaze us at how much Chinese she is learning and how well she is reading (this skill has revolutionized bedtime for me--everyone in bed by 7:30 reading for a little bit).
Andrew (2) loves to sing and dance with
his sisters. He loves to play Just Dance Disney on the WII with the
girls. He has quite the vocabulary, we call him a parrot because he
will repeat anything you say and then use it correctly the next time.
One thing he says often comes after we ask him to do something or stop
doing something; He'll say, with a teenage dramatic flare, "Oh, fine."
(think he got that from one of his sister's--ahem, Lila). He also loves
to help me cook and will call everyone to the table for, "bweakfast."
Steve has a policy of no Christmas music, decorations etc before Thanksgiving. Well that is kind of hard to adhere to when the kids are learning Christmas songs in their music classes. So with all of the above going on we have been hearing Christmas music since September. That seems to be how life goes, you make a plan and then do your best to adapt to what actually happens. I didn't think I would be having a baby this late in life, but we are excited to welcome #4 in February. I thought for sure it was a girl and the doctor said something to that affect at one of my appointments so we decided to find out and make it an early Christmas present--I was shocked and quite excited to find out we'll be having another boy. I imagine he and Andrew doing karate classes and such together as the girls do gymnastics and dance stuff together. The kids are growing and learning so fast it continues to be the highlight and sometimes the drudgery of our life. Steve and I joke about how we've extended our retirement age by having another baby, but we love our little family and are so grateful for each of their little personalities and the light they bring to our lives. We are grateful for this time of year to reflect and sing Noel about the Birth of our Savior.
We wish you all Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
