Happy New Year!!

We hope that everyone enjoyed their Christmas and are settling into the New Year.

Happy 2009 to everyone!!

The holidays were very busy for us. Diego and Jeferson had their first visit with Santa.

...decorating the Christmas tree...

We had a fantastic Christmas. The boys made it so much fun. We celebrated the weekend before Christmas with Joyce's family in Wausau.

We were home in Jackson for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. It was fun teaching the boys about Santa and the reindeer. As a tradition from when Joyce was growing up with her 7 brothers and 2 sisters, we kicked off Christmas Eve by each of us decorating a box like a train car, and then making a train with the decorated boxes, for Santa to leave the presents in.

They received so many great gifts, and toys, toys, and more toys. On Christmas morning Diego noticed Santa's footprints in the snow on our back deck. Since we don't have a fireplace, we left the back patio door unlocked for Santa to come in through the door. Santa also ate the cookies we left for him, and the reindeer took the apples we left for them. The boys wanted to leave 9 apples out - 1 for each of the reindeer, but I assured them that 3 was plenty, as the reindeer will share them.

Diego and Jeferson are loving the snow. This is a good thing, because, we are getting sooo much of it this year. They don't mind the cold at all, and love to skate, sled, and make snowballs and snow angels in the snow. They also like to eat the snow and icicles, which I am having a hard time convincing them that they shouldn't be eating snow. Today, the temperature was -13 degrees Fahrenheit, with a windchill temp of -24 degrees Fahrenheit. They wanted to go outside in the worst way, but I finally convinced them otherwise. School was cancelled because of the cold today, so there was no way they were going outside.

The boys are starting to speak more English. Jeferson is constantly asking "what is that?" and "what are you doing?". He speaks alot of English already. Since we listen to a tot's songs CD in the car, the boys are learning the words to many toddler songs. The other day, Jeferson surprised us by singing the ABC's song- although, he does struggle with the "l m n o p" part of the song. I remember this being a challenge for me as well as a child. We truely believe that both of the boys fully understand what we are saying, but it is difficult for them to speak the language. This is normal for anyone learning a new language. Diego is starting to speak more words, but mostly speaks in Spanish. And when the boys are amongst themselves, they are totally communicating in Spanish. They love to scheme up things, and think that we don't understand them. Boy have we learned how to read them when they are planning something they shouldn't be doing.

Joyce is not working yet, but actively looking for a new job. When she does start working again, Jeferson will go to a full day daycare, that incorporates a 3K program into his day. Diego is also going to start taking the bus to school everyday, so he will just need to go to afterschool daycare for about an hour everyday.

We spent a night at Chula Vista, indoor waterpark in Wisconsin Dells over the Christmas break. Joyce's sister Julie, and cousins Max and Arianna invited us to come with them. Aunt Carmy and Mariah and her friend also spent the night at the resort, and Diego went on every watercoaster and waterslide there. He had so much fun, and it was hard to get him to leave.

Many of you are wondering how our dog Ellie is acting toward the boys. Surprisingly, she is absolutely tolerant of them. The boys give her so much attention....in fact, sometimes more than she wants. Both Jeferson and Diego enjoy having the dog around. Ellie snuggles with them, and plays with them, and they can even boss her around. Below are some pictures of Ellie with the boys. Jeferson loves to share his food with her, so she hangs around him at mealtimes.

New Years Eve was also a fun celebration. We celebrated the New Year at 11 PM. We went to a new indoor playground/arcade to start out the evening, and then we came home, and made ice cream sundaes, with lots of sprinkles! Then we had the "champagne toast" with sparkling apple juice and welcomed in the New Year with confetti from our shredder, party hats and balloons.

We have also gone to a few more NBA basketball Bucks games. The boys love to cheer on the Bucks, but I think their favorite part is the popcorn!


Diego, Jeferson and Papi, making some banana bread. For those of you familiar with Bogota, you might recognize the Archie's Pizza aprons and chef hats.

Jeferson in the newspaper!!! We attended a YMCA family night, and below is a picture from the newspaper of Jeferson throwing snowballs into the pool as part of the event.

The boys visited the dentist this week. Neither one had any new cavities. The hygienist gave them each a new toothbrush, and for the 2 days after the appt, the boys brushed their teeth about 4 times each day. Jeferson even brushed his before he ate dinner one night. Both boys are very good about brushing their teeth in the morning, and of course at bedtime, they use it as an excuse to stay up just a little longer.

So now we are planning for the Christening of Diego and Jeferson, which will be on Sunday, January 25, and then Diego's Birthday on January 30. It has been so busy since the boys arrived here only 2 months ago, that once we get into February, we will probably be bored. It is hard to believe that they have been here such a short time. It seems like they have been a part of our family forever.

We wish everyone a Blessed New Year.

Love - Joyce, Eric, Diego and Jeferson