Jungle John Visits the BJE with a few friends

Jungle John is a local celebrity that comes to visit the children at their school each year, bringing along different exotic animal friends each time. He is as funny as a stand-up comedian, which makes his act fun for the parents to watch too. I showed up over at the school a little early on Tuesday since Alex is still not feeling quite right after his weekend bought with the stomach flu (which he generously shared with Jeff, resulting in three days of missed work).

Alex and classmate Alessandra volunteered to help Jungle John out with the ferret. The ferret was a bit stinky...
...and Alex was not interested in smelling him up close.
However, he did enjoy watching it turn all the way around in its tube.
Up next was Bubba the Frog, the only non-jumping frog I have ever seen.
Alex visiting with the most laid-back, kid-friendly dog ever
Pat the Bunny!
Wings the owl is very smart.- he flapped his wings whenever his name was said or even spelled! The new readers of the Kindergarten class enjoyed taunting him a bit by yelling out the letters.
I am glad I got to share this performance with my sick little boy!

Zhu Zhu Pets

Alex and Elena received the Zhu Zhu pet slide from Grandma Liz for Christmas, but every store in town was sold out of the actual pets. Grandma Sandy remedied that situation this weekend when she and Elena were out on a Target shopping date together. The kids are now proud owners of Winkie and Scoodles and are having a lot of fun playing with these LOUD toys. Thanks Grandmas!

Elena in Action

Elena is at a very fun age right now, and loves to be silly. She does something every single day that makes me laugh.

She grabbed a straw be sure she could drink and eat every last bit of the watermelon.
She made Valentine's Day cards (with extra glue) for just about everyone she could think of, including "the Robot," our Roomba vacuum cleaner.
And she put on my mittens to play hand puppets.I am looking forward to seeing what this joyful child does next.

More Monkey Joe's

After hockey practice Saturday morning, Alex attended a birthday party for his friend Ryan at Monkey Joe's.He was very tired after such a busy morning!

Alex's Shabat Nosh

Friday night was the Shabat Nosh program for Alex's class. We began the evening with crafts, including making a family tree and planting herbs. Then the kids marched up on stage to sing a few songs. Although Alex loved to practice the songs at home, he was a little shy up on stage. But he did a great job!After singing the final song about recycling, he joined us at our table for a little snack and prayer. It was a very nice evening!

Alex's Playdate

One of Alex's favorite friends, Jack, came home with us after school today to play, The boys don't get to hang out as much this year since Alex is in Kindergarten and Jack in in Junior-K. It was fun to watch them together, even if they did play the Wii most of the time.

Christmas Stockings

When the kids came downstairs Christmas morning, they were surprised to see the fireplace open, the cookies gone, and their stockings filled with presents.
Darth Vadar isn't so scary when he is filled with M&Ms.
Elena tried on her empty stocking to see if it would fit.
After opening stockings and eating breakfast at home, everyone brushed their teeth and headed over in their pajamas to the hospital to see what Santa brought.

Unwrapping Christmas Presents at the Hospital

Most of Santa's presents for Alex & Elena were delivered to Elizabeth's hospital room. This made Elizabeth very happy since this meant she got to watch them unwrap their new toys from the comfort of her ICU hospital bed.

Elena cheered as Alex unwrapped his first, very big present.
The Star Wars Tank!

Elena took her shoes off to try on her new bunny slippers. Her favorite doll Anna also got a matching pair.

Santa's big present to the family was the Wii. We were on the last families we knew without one. We told Alex he needed to learn to read first, which he has been very motivated to do the last few months!



Elena was excited to show Grandma her new pink engraved ipod. It came loaded with her favorite Laurie Berkner songs and books on tape, and will be nice to listen to at bedtime.
Alex was excited to see a Captain Rex figurine.

For sibling presents this year, we visited Borders Bookstore where each child selected a book. Alex picked out Olivia Acts Out for Elena, and Elena picked out a very cool Star Wars pop-up book for Alex. When Elena saw her book, she said "This is my favorite book ever. How did you know Alex?" and spontaneously gave him a hug. It was very sweet. Unlike this look a little later on.
After all the unwrapping excitement, the kids and mom were pretty worn out. Jeff and Liz packed everyone up and headed home for lunch and a nap. It was nice to spend Christmas together!

A Lazy Christmas Afternoon

The kids had a fun, lazy Christmas afternoon playing with their new toys.

Elena wore new pink cupcake pajamas from Grandma Sandy while playing with the princess make-up center from Grandma Liz. Her smile tells it all!
Elena loved painting her nails with her new polish, and was even allowed to paint Grandma Liz's nails green!
Now that the Wii is connected, Alex and Jeff have been working together to get to the next level on Lego Star Wars. Alex is pretty determined to beat the whole thing.

No Grumpy Santa!

Every Christmas Eve we read the kids a book about how it is important to be nice to Santa and give him cookies and milk so his grumpies disappear. The kids were excited to participate in this ritual once again this year.



However, they were not so excited when it was time to go to bed. :(

Sledding with Grandma Liz

There wasn't very much snow on the ground, but the kids were excited to play in it anyway. Grandma Liz bundled them up and headed to the back yard hill for a little fun.

Whee!Crash!
Again!
Top of the Hill
Elena Pulling Grandma Liz
Alex was very excited to give Grandma Liz and Elena a little push.

Grandma Day at Monkey Joes

While Elizabeth has been in the hospital, Grandma Liz has been in town from Michigan to be help with Alex and Elena. On Saturday, Grandma Sandy joined Grandma Liz and the kids for some fun at Monkey Joes, a local bounce house.
Alex going SUPER fast
Happy Elena having a blast
Surprise! The Robinsons were at Monkey Joes too!

Alex Lost a Tooth!

Alex has had a loose bottom tooth for weeks. He poked and wiggled it constantly but it continue to hang on by a thread. Yesterday morning, he woke up and his tooth was gone! We could not find it anywhere. Alex went off to school to share the exciting news with his classmates and teachers.

Since we never did find the missing tooth, Alex decided to write the tooth fairy a letter instead. This worked like a charm- the tooth fairy left $2.00 in quarters in place of the letter. Alex is very excited to buy gum with this money. Maybe that will make another tooth loose?

Sponge Bob Square Pants x2 heads to bed

Walker Day!

We had a combined celebration for "Walker Day" on December 9th this year. The 9th is the day that Elena officially joined our family. Alex's day, November 25th, unfortunately occurred over Thanksgiving while Jeff was in Michigan with the boys at their Annual Deer Camp. So we celebrated the occasions on the same evening at the kid's favorite place: Arni's. After gorging on yummy pizza, we ordered a super special dessert. Alex took his usual one bite and declared it delicious, but he was full and didn't want anymore. His ability to turn away amazing desserts right in front of him is a trait I wish I could adopt! He returned to coloring while Elena dug in. His newly missing tooth is slightly visible in this photo.
Elena's pleasure at the ice cream/ chocolate cake/ chocolate chip cookie/ hot fudge concoction was obvious to all sitting nearby.
She even tried to lick to bowl clean.
We are very blessed to count these children as part of the Walker family!

Santa's Lap

Every year we visit Santa at Keystone at the Crossing so that the kids can share their wish list with him.
This year, Alex told Santa he wants a Star Wars Turbo Tank and a Wii. Elena wants bunny slippers for her and her doll Anna. And really, really big stroller. I wonder what Santa will be able to deliver?

Trader Joe's Balloon

Alex and I went to Trader Joe's together today. As usual, Alex picked out a balloon at the end of the shopping excursion. When we got home, he had a little trouble reaching the balloon when it hit the higher family room ceiling. Never one to give up without a fight, he gathered pillows to help reach the balloon.

Not Quite...
Elena Helps Out
Success!