Happy Holidays!!
The kids are
constantly changing and continue to keep us on our toes. They are now getting to the ages
where their personalities are leading us to get a good sense of their future
careers. We just thought we
would share a glimpse of what may be to come…
Avery (a.k.a.
“Wild Thing”) - Stunt
Pilot / High Wire Performer
She is only 20
months old but it is clear to us that she is a world class multi-tasker. Not only can she balance on one foot
perched atop a highchair while drinking a bottle and doing her crazy wiggle
dance, she can do it in such a stealth manner that her parents don’t hear her
until after she cracks
her head on the floor. Shelly
and I are really hoping that her big brother or sister decides to become a
cardiovascular surgeon because this kid is going to give one of us a heart
attack. In the meantime, we got
her a helmet and crash pads for Hanukkah.
Avery is always
trying to keep up with Jake and Peyton.
Although she doesn’t speak in full sentences, she is quite a chatter
box (like her Mom and sister).
Her hobbies include gymnastics, watching (talking / reading about,
coloring or anything else that remotely has to do with) Dora the Explorer,
folding laundry (don’t ask) and
dancing.
Peyton (a.k.a. “The Princess”) – Singer
Sadly, she got
stuck with my monotone singing voice.
But that’s not enough to stop her. She is not shy either – she will sing anywhere. In the car…sure. In the
bathroom…absolutely. In
the shower…well, who doesn’t.
Out in the movie theater where everyone is quietly waiting for the
opening scenes to a new film…. of
course, I mean, how do you expect her to be heard if she has to wait until after the movie has already started. As a matter of
fact, she is so committed to her favorite artist, Brittany Spears, that she
politely asked the cantor at our temple to sing, “Oops, I Did it Again” while
her class was practicing their Hanukkah songs.
Peyton is not
even five but I am already frightened for her dating years. She loves to talk on the phone, wear
make-up and will fight tooth and nail with Shelly about the day’s
outfit. To Shelly’s chagrin, she
also has my fashion sense, so those battles aren’t pretty. Pink “spinny” dresses and
cowboy boots are often at the heart of the debate. If she didn’t get such a kick out of her own gaseous
exploits, you might consider her a real girl’s girl. Even Jake has the courtesy of at
least faking it with armpit noises.
Other than that, she attends pre-school everyday and ballet /
gymnastics once a week. She has
also begun to take up skiing.
Jake (a.k.a
“The Pinball Wizard”) – Race
Car Driver
I was just
kidding… He’s a lot of talk –
you know, fast cars, fast women and all. But he wouldn’t go near a racecar. He doesn’t even really enjoy the
speed of the dragon car roller coaster ride at the town fair. But man, can this toothless seven
year old, second grade kid play video games. He beats the pants off of his dad at any video related
endeavor. Now all we’ve got to
do is figure out how to turn this gift into a scholarship worthy skill.
He’s in a new
school and doing very well.
He has done a great job balancing homework time and playtime this year
and we are really proud of his development. I don’t remember having this much homework at that
age (maybe I had it and just didn’t do it). Jake has been involved in a lot of activities this year –
baseball, skiing, tennis and tae kwon doe. Prior to retiring from the martial
art, he had earned his yellow
belt and won fourth place in a tournament.
Since the move,
it has been really interesting to watch the bond between Jake and Peyton
strengthen. They even have Avery
in on the act – particularly when it comes to our evening wrestle-mania /
pillow fight matches where the three of them gang up to provide me with
painful beatings while Shelly cheers them on. The good news is that they have a great time playing
together. The downside is they
are really a force to be reckoned with in the home. Jake is the key representative for the kid vote in the
family and is very persuasive with the other two. What they fail to understand (but I learned a long, LONG
time ago) is that Shelly has super voting shares within the household and
prevails even in the four-on-one battles.
We hope you have
a wonderful and healthy 2003!!
Enjoy your holidays and please stay in touch.
Love,
Shelly, Jake,
Peyton, Avery and Jon
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