My Baby in Kindergarten!!

In two weeks, Gus, who just turned five, will begin kindergarten. He will attend the Twin Cities German Immersion School in St. Paul full days, five days a week. He's been working with a German computer program for a few months, and enjoys it, although his only concern so far has been will he be able to speak English at all at school. My concern is the two-hours+ drive Susanna and I will take every day to get him there and pick him up. I wasn't really thinking that through when we made the decision!

But so far we've been really impressed with the school. It's a charter school that's in its sixth year with students in K-6. There are two classes for each grade, so it's about the size of the elementary school I attended. The community is very active and welcoming; the PTO meets at a local bar. I know we're German, but I think that's way awesome. We have an open house next week to meet his teacher and see his classroom. Every day it seems more real.

I know Susanna will miss him, or at least be upset that she can't go to school. We have a few incidents last year at preschool where Gus would cry because he wanted to go home and Susanna would cry because she wanted to stay! I think we will enjoy our time together though; she's kind of my mini-me.

Sean has started traveling again for work. He alternates between southern California & San Antonio. I'd love to go with and make a long weekend out of it sometime because I have friends in both areas. I'm teaching my third class this year, which will be over at the end of the month. We didn't do much this summer because of weather and time, and I didn't get the kids involved in anything because I figured this is our last summer before school starts and we get caught up in activities. So we just hung out. Susanna likes to read books to herself and Gus likes to make up stories and have me film him on my pocket video camera. I'll have to figure out how to upload them better. They mostly involve Rudolph, his stuffed reindeer, Mr. Hat, Rudolph's reindeer father, and Zebrey, Rudolph's zebra grandfather. Don't ask!

It Might Be Spring

Despite a generous amount of snow still on the ground, it's warm enough that we can start walking to the library. That means spring must be on its way! We spent last weekend in North Dakota. My grandma entered the nursing home in Beulah in January and has continued to suffer an increasing number of small strokes. She is comfortable, but her movement and speech are limited. She is 89 years old, and though it's hard to see, I'm comforted that she's lived a long, good life.

We've finally made the decision to star Gus in kindergarten this fall. We hesitated quite a bit because he won't be five until July, and his social behavior still needs work. But he is incredibly smart, and his teachers feel his squirreliness doesn't hinder his learning, so it would be worse to bore him with another year of preschool. We've also decided to send him to a German immersion charter school in St. Paul. I'm sure it will be an interesting experience for the whole family. Gus has a German program on a little laptop, and he loves learning words. He'll probably surpass my language proficiency by Christmas.

Susanna is still just a tiny little thing (not even 24 pounds) as she heads toward two and a half, but nothing ever stops her. She follows Gus everywhere and talks nonstop. She desperately wants to go to school as well, but she has to wait until next fall.  She and Gus share a room, although she is still in her crib. They love to chatter and laugh at night when they are supposed to be trying to go to sleep. Gus is a little rough on her sometimes (and she encourages it sometimes) but if someone messes with his little sister, he's right up in their face.

I've been teaching a class one night a week since January and will continue until the end of next month. Sean still slogs away in our basement, where the continuous sound of the sump pump keeps him company!

Happy New Year

December went by very quickly, although we didn't go crazy with holiday activities. We took a toy for Toys for Tots to our favorite TV station, KARE 11, and Gus was excited to be on TV as the weatherman interviewed some of the people who came with the big checks. We survived the blizzard just fine (only 17 inches of snow...nothing great).

We are 0-2 for Gus behaving at his Sunday School Christmas program. He didn't run off or start crying, but he was under the manger playing with the hay, dipping his fingers in the baptismal font, sitting down when everyone was standing up, and although he could sing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" perfectly, we could not get him past the first verse of "Away in the Manger." His teacher from last year said, "He did good...for Gus." Is that a compliment? Another woman said, "That's why people come to these...to see the funny things the little ones do." Maybe...but it's a lot more funny when it isn't your kid!

We spent Christmas Eve at Scott & Shannon's, joined by Ron & Vicki. We had a lovely dinner, opened presents, and played Kinict. We went to late church, where Gus fell asleep in the pew and Susanna was removed to run amok in the Fellowship Hall. We had a quiet Christmas Day with piles of new toys and Ron & Vicki coming over for fondue.I got the gift I wanted, a pocket video camera, so except loads of video clips soon.

We spent New Year's Eve at home with Julie Davis, on her way back from visiting her family in Arizona. She let the kids have their first sip of Guinness and was heart-broken that Susanna said yuck and Gus spit it back in the cup. I guess they are more Norwegian than Irish!

Return to Semi-Sanity

Thanksgiving weekend took us on the road, through weather that only Minnesota/NoDak can provide! We rented a Jeep Liberty 4x4, which tackled the drifts on the roads quite nicely. We spent two days at my parents' in Jamestown, then west to Dickinson to stay overnight and see my grandma. The kids are a hit at the senior center, but it's hard to keep them occupied in small spaces. We were back in Jamestown for a night and finally got home yesterday after a stop at Julie's in St. Cloud for tea & cake.

Gus is excited that it is now "officially" Christmas and I'd better get out Concord, our Elf on the Shelf, to watch the kids' behavior for the next few weeks.  We saw Santa Claus in Dickinson. Gus warmed up to him after a few minutes and revealed he wants a black Ferrari (full-size or Hot Wheels? We're not sure). Susanna would have nothing to do with him. Not sure when we'll get to decorating, but no hurry since we're using our small fake tree. I still don't trust the kids not to pull down a full-size real one!

Daddy Returns

Sean came home last night after a week working in Pittsburgh. The kids love to ride to the airport, so we always enjoy chauffering people out there, since it isn't very far from our house. When we got home, Daddy indulged the kids in one of their favorites activites. He set a single mattress on the stairs and they slide down into a pile of blankets and pillows. No...Mama is never that fun!

The kids both have colds. Susanna's cold settled in her ears so she's on some meds and feeling much better. The meds also helped clear up her face. Gus is being indulged with tea. He likes the British tea I buy for myself, with milk and sugar. He will be all set up to live in England someday.

I gave a presentation today at my Germans from Russia chapter meeting on social networking and genealogy, while Sean took the kids to the model railroad show in St. Paul. Gus is coughing so much that we'll probably skip Sunday School tomorrow, and just rest up until the Vikings-Packers game, and our friends Angie & Jen come for an old-fashioned German-Russian lunch of fleischkuekla and kuchen. No, I didn't make it; my mom brought some frozen from Jamestown. But Angie hasn't had any in 20+ years since she lived in Beulah, so I think still enjoy it quite a bit.

So long, Daddy

Sean is leaving today to spend the week in Pittsburgh.  He's been there for business before, but the group of guys (yes, they're all guys) that join him there are from Britain, and they want to drink until 2:00 AM (pubs close at 11:00 in England) every night. So it'll be a rough week for Daddy. And I'm sure I won't go crazy alone with the kids, right? RIGHT?? 

Susanna has a cold, and since she's fond of wiping her runny nose all over her face, it's really exaserbated her eczema. Poor baby with her crusty, red face. But she's happy having pretend phone conversations with her best friend Margaret and taking Scooby Doo for a ride in her stroller. Gus wants to go to the library to get some new videos, play on his German computer program, and get back into the snow before it melts.

Welcome

A saying I heard recently is sticking in my mind: the days are long, but the years are short. Since so many of our friends and family are far away, I thought I'd start this blog to let everyone in on our daily lives, and as a place to show photos and videos of our quickly-changing children.

Today we are getting our first snowfall of the season in southeastern Minnesota. We took the kids across the street to sled down our neighbors' backyard hill. It was Susanna's first sledding, and she did quite well, with Gus sitting behind her and holding on. It's pretty wet and sloppy, so we're staying in the house now, going through the kids' extensive book collections and digging out all the winter stuff. Stay warm, and stop back soon.