Kate's knees. Thanks basketball!

Funny Jake

Some friends posted pictures while in London. I told Jake we were looking for Big Ben. After we found it, I scrolled to the last picture. Jake held up his hands and shrugged as he said, "Me no find Big Drew."

Jake Dabbing at BHS

Jake dancing at BHS

Jake got deputiized

Jake and Reagan

Kate's 12th Birthday Stats

Weight: 105

Height: 64.5"

Daddy's shoes

Phelan Kid Update

Ben played in his second ever soccer tournament. He had to play goalie some and defense the rest of the time. He played great except for the first half of the first game when it was very cold outside and he just couldn't shake the cold feeling.  They only got to play 2 of the three games because his Sunday game got cancelled due to rain. 

Ben is struggling with basketball because he is standing and watching when he doesn't have the ball. He did the same thing in soccer early in the season until he learned to keep moving. We hope he will learn to keep moving in basketball too!

Drew played three games in the soccer tournament. He played just about every position on the field and was a vocal leader throughout the tournament. Drew got hurt during a hard tackle in the first game and wasn't able to play much in the second game. However, he faught through the pain and played in his basketball game that night - and managed to score 19 points including his first in-game 3 pointer. His team lost, but when they were down by 6, he almost pulled of a Stephen Curry style pull up 3 pointer from beyond NBA range. It hit the front of the rim straight on - just a tiny bit short.

Drew had to play Sunday morning because his game was before they cancelled everything. His game was at 7:45am and only Chris took him because it was 40 degrees with constant rain and wind. They froze.

Kate only had 2 basketball games this weekend and played well. I am most proud of how she is being a leader and encourager. She is having to be the main scorer, rebounder, and now the point guard after the other point guard just stop showing up. Kate continues to practice with the Brookwood 9th grade team every day and she's now big enough that she fits right in with the team and is even one of the bigger ones. I think she's about 5'5" or a little over now. She is getting closer to my nose. She wears a 10.5 women's shoe now.

Cute Jake things: Every time I see a parent from Jake's class, he/she tells me that Jake is their child's best friend. Tonight, a parent told me that her daughter "called" Jake on her baby monitor and had a long conversation. 

I keep telling Jake that we get presents at Christmas because God gave us Jesus as a present. Each time, Jake says, "Jesus give me presents."

We rode by some Christmas lights tonight and a house had lots of lights along with inflatable animals and a nativity scene. We asked Jake what he saw and he said "God".

Ben had to start wearing his patch again because his vision got a little worse at his last eye check-up. When he started wearing the patch again, he had trouble seeing his schoolwork up close. We have increased the doctors recommendation of 1 hour per day up to 2 hours on our own, and Ben is not fighting the patch because he has "seen" for himself how his vision has changed without the patch.

Go cubs

Kate the baller

Jake the clown

Jake Quotes of the Day

Ben had his eye appointment this morning and he has to go back to wearing his patch for 1 hour every day because his eyesight slipped a little over the last three months when he didn't have to patch. He also had to get his eyes dilated and he mentioned a few times tonight that his eye was hurting him. When Ben sat in a chair in the kitchen rubbing his eye, Jake noticed and said, "Ben eye hurt kiss it" and he went over and kissed Ben's eye. 

At indoor soccer today, Drew and Ben kicked their ball such that it was stuck in the net above the wall where they couldn't reach it. When Chris went over to help, Jake said, "Yay Daddy. Get Drew Ben ball dowwwwwn!"

Two Little Jake Things

"Jake, do you want another bite of your oatmeal?" "Second, Mommy, read book."

"Jake come over here so I can change your diaper." "Just second, Mommy."

This "just a second" stuff is so cute - we just need to teach him when it's ok and when he needs to come right away!

Jake loves for us to read to him more than anything. When he sits in my lap to read, he almost always holds on to my right wrist (and sometimes my left) for the whole book. When I reach to turn the page, his hand keeps holding on. If I reach to scratch my face or something, he keeps holding on. I wish it would last forever!