HOLIDAY LETTER 2009

Thank you for taking the time to come read or holiday letter for 2009. In an effort to reduce our paper consumption we decided to do a virtual letter this year. This is also the new family blog site so if you'd like to check out what we are up to over the course of the year you can come back as we update frequently.


December 2009

December 2008
It's been a "Wild" year!!!

The wild child in our lives really sprang into action this year. Wil has added a new level of crazy in our lives :) I say this with love but this boy has a way of always finding mischief to get into. He climbs, jumps, bounces, throws, hits and spins himself into a whirlwind of action. Wil has a handful of signs and is now building his verbal vocabulary. He loves to make the sound of animals upon request. He is obsessed with Mickey Mouse Club House and is lucky his big sister is flexible about what she watches. Wil loves Bailey and if we would let him would strap a saddle to his back and ride him around the house. Bailey and Wil are both looking forward to lax season.


Eric coached lacrosse at North Kingston High School last spring. A good switch for him from coaching middle school. They didn't have an outstanding season but they did have a great time.

Emma had a fun summer and got to go to day camp for two different weeks this summer, she loved it. Emma started preschool this September at The Emmanuel Day School here in Newport. She is soaking in as much as she can. She is now speaking french to us as we look back at her and nod and both smile since Eric and I both took Spanish we have no idea what she is saying :) She recites the cutest pledge to the flag see the clip below

I know it's sideways but it's about what she's saying :)

Emma is still our lover of everything princess, she sings non stop and isn't afraid to shake it! She really is a joy to have around and loves her little brother to pieces and checks on him when he wakes up in the morning. Wil just needs to steer clear of her baby dolls that's where she draws the line.





Part of Emma's Christmas program at school

Jillian is still hanging home with these wild ones. She has started up a small sewing business. Her store can be found at http://www.etsy.com/shop/IslandSewn right now it's only t-shirts but after the holidays she has a few new surprises to add to her store front.

We hope you all are doing well and we look forward to visits from or to many of you over the next year. Happy Holidays!!!!

Thanksgiving in Virginia

We spent a great week down in VA for Thanksgiving this year!!!

Emma and Wil had a blast playing with Tristan and Adalin at Grammy's house.
here are some photos taken over the course of our stay.

We were also fortunate to get to visit with our old friends Tracy her husband Dave and their kids Meghan and Grant. Emma and Grant used to play together as babies here in Newport. Their family just moved back from a tour in Japan and ended up buying a house just miles from Eric's mom. It was great to get together and we look forward to seeing them again next time we are in VA :)




L to R - Emma, Grant & Nora

Warm Spell

We thought the warm weather had headed south for the winter but we've been lucky to enjoys some great days over the last two weeks. It' s been nice to be able to hit the beach and playgrounds a few more times without having to be all bundled up. The warm weather has also made leaf raking not so miserable, we still have a long way to go but the kids have been having fun helping us. Emma decided that we shouldn't wait for the leaves to fall out of the trees, instead she started pulling leaves right off the branches and putting them in the leaf bags :)

A GREAT NEW ENGLAND SUNDAY!

We had a great family Sunday, New England style :) Eric and I took the kids apple picking at one of the local orchards. Nanny & Poppy and Auntie and Mike joined us for our outing. The kids had a great time picking their own apples off the trees and filling up their bags. We were lucky to have the all terrain stroller with us to carry back the 35lbs of apples that we collected. We now need to get busy and start making our apple pies, apple sauce and apple butter!

After apple picking we swung home to pick up Bailey and headed down to the beach so he could take a swim before it really starts getting to cold.

The kids had fun despite the strong winds. Emma was quick to loose her shoes and we rolled up her pants and she was off and running in the surf. Wil was happy to follow suit, though he forgot to take off his shoes and roll up his pants. He was a wet sandy mess by the end and was happy to get back to nanny & poppy's house to strip down and get dry. Bailey had a blast and was nice and tired after retrieving his ball out of the water a good two dozen times.

Home we headed for a hot meal of pasta, fresh baked meatballs and home sauce.

All and all a great New England Sunday :)

SCHOOL DAYS : Apple picking!

Emma had her first field trip with her preschool today!!!! Emma, Wil and I headed out to Sweetberry Farms one of the local farms here on the island to meet up with her school.

The gang had fun running in the big open field, climbing on the tractors and checking out the pumpkins while we waited for everyone to arrive. Wil and Graham had fun being set free for a bit while we waited they too ran, climbed on pumpkins and were looking so cute hanging together. Take two of the Arner/Krause gang is ready to start getting into their own trouble together :)

The kids were taken around the farm by the "farmer", who show them how pumpkins grown and some Indian corn. Then he marched the troops down into the orchard. He asked the children where we get our apples from and one small voice bellowed back "the grocery store." That got a good chuckle from the parents :) He talked to the children about how to pick and apple and what the different varieties tasted like. Then we set out to pick our brown bag full. Emma had a blast picking while Wil was reluctantly strapped in to his stroller so mom could help Emma.

Emma enjoying her hard work. She ate the entire apple. She would have literally ate the whole thing but when she started biting into the seeds I explained that we don't eat that part :) That is what you get when you always cut up your kids apple for them.

A nice class picture ended our trip to the farm and we packed them back up in our cars and headed back to school!

My Wild Child

Emma was such a easy going baby, you'd almost forget she was around because she was so content just playing on her own or watching me go about the house doing house work. So when Wil came along and was such the opposite, it was a little crazy. He was a crier from the beginning, needed extra cuddles and didn't want to be left to his own devices. He is still like this, he is always on my hip, actually moves faster then I do these days. If I get out of my chair to grab something he is up and sitting in the chair or trying to climb on top of the table to bang on the laptop or reach for his favorite remote. He is always into something and if he doesn't get what he wants he will let you know with a loud wail. He has really started using signs, has just over a handful. Thank goodness because if he didn't at least have those I'm not sure I could take the whining. The mischief he get into every 5 minutes is driving me bonkers. I try and start each day off with the mentality that I am going to embrace his mischief as an adventurous spirit and curiosity, but I tell you by the end of the day it's really hard to remember this philosophy. I've named him my "WILD CHILD" with great love. Each day is exciting and I'm learning new ways to harness that energy and direct it in a positive manner, I'm just not sure I can keep up at this pace for the long haul, I'm hoping he settles down just a little bit once his vocabulary increases :)

WIL TAPPING INTO HIS ARTISTIC SIDE

WIL IS INTO STRIPING HIS PANTS OFF
RANDOMLY AROUND THE HOUSE.

Water Park

We had a great time on our trip to VA to visit with Eric's family at the end of August. Emma was very excited to get to spend an afternoon at one of the local water parks. She, Wil and their cousin Tristan had a blast. Above is a little video of Emma and Tristan having a blast and below is pictures of all the kids. Emma is a beach kid so the pool was a big thrill.

Fall is upon us

We have quickly made the transition from summer (if you call that a summer) to fall. We are very busy like usual.

Emma begins preschool at the Emmanuel Day School next Wednesday. She is very excited to be going to school in a castle (really a church). We are off to meet her teacher tomorrow at orientation. Emma is also gearing up to play soccer. It's our first go at "organized" (I'm picturing numerous 3 year old and organized is not a term that comes to mind)sports.

Wil is going to be hanging home with mom this fall. He will be hitting the library story time, and play gym while his big sister is in school. I'm really looking forward to some one on one time with Wil, to be able to take him to these activities that I really did religiously with Emma but haven't done with him yet. Wil got his first haircut this past Tuesday, his golden curls now reside in a zip-lock bag. Wil is keeping my hear racing these days with his climbing skills. He has no problem with the climbing up but he still needs to master the dismount. As you can see from the photos he has been using his face to help break his falls.

Time for a change!

TIME FOR A CHANGE

Hello everyone! It's time for us to make a change from our old baby website to this new blog site. I hope that you have enjoyed following us on the previous site. It will remain active for a little bit, while we make the transition over to this new site. I hope you will all enjoy our new page and check back often to see what we are up to!