Back to the Blog!!!!

Hi Everyone!!  It's me . . . Jamee!  It's been a long time since I've written--in fact, almost a whole year.  My 4th birthday is just around the corner!  I can't believe it! 4 WOW 4!!

This has been a long year and a bit of a difficult one at that.  Mommy and Daddy and I have said a lot of good-byes with more coming just around the corner!  In July we said good-bye to Uncle Paul, Aunt Susanne, Arin, Sydney, Obi and Eli.  They moved to Florida where Uncle Paul got a full-time coaching job (Aunt Susanne got a Kindergarten teaching job in September).  I miss them all terribly but am soooooo excited to see them at Christmas.  I can't wait!  We also said good-bye to Che Che, Uncle Mike and Hayden.  They moved to Ohio where Uncle Mike got transferred to a new position.  Some of our close friends also moved away from the area--so this has been a season of change!  I don't think we Hoffman's like change to much!  We're hanging in there though and waiting to see what is down the road next for the Hoffman 3 (that's what Mommy calls us!).

Well, since it's been awhile, I thought you might enjoy seeing a brief photo summary of the year.  The photos are in random order.  Enjoy!

Mommy says I'm a budding artist!

Row, row, row your boat gently down Black Creek!  I love canoeing! 

My first day at Pearce 4 Kids!  I love school!!

 "Helping" the Kurtzes pack the truck!

Mommy cuts my hair--I think it tickles and have a tough time sitting still!

A Kurtz family photo before all of the moves.  Thanks Mr. Rivers for taking the photos!  One, two, three BAM!

I LOVE trains!!

The fam! 

My first ever ride on a school bus--it was taking us to the Lilac Festival!  The bus ride was awesome! 

Take me out to the ballgame!  Thanks Uncle Mike and Che Che!  We had a great time!  Why is Hayden eating the sun glasses? 

Trick or Treat!  So I was going to be James the train--but it was too bulky to wear.  So, Mommy whipped up a Sock Monkey outfit for me made out of Daddy's old socks!  It was very comfortable and I got to wear it all day at school!

At the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago!  Just call me Joey! 

I love the Adirondack Mountains!  A hiking outing with the Hoffman clan! 

The Hoffman family at Easter!   

Last year Santa brought me new ice skates.  I got to try them out for the first time at the Lake Placid speed skating rink.  I am going to be a really good skater this year!!! 

You're getting sleepy Pipi--very, very sleepy! 

There are not too may 3 year olds who can say they've ridden a camel.  Pretty cool!! 

NYC Time Square!  

I love Wilbur!

 The fam in Mimi and Papa's front yard!  A beautiful day in the neighborhood!

A great hike with Mommy, Daddy and Timmy.  A little cold but a great view! 

 My first caramel apple. Yum! Yum! Yum!

 Cutting down this year's Christmas tree with Daddy.  It's a beaut!

 Okay, so I'm into being creative with toilet paper these days.  If I'm quiet for too long in the bathroom Mommy or Daddy come check on me to see what I'm up to!  This particular occasion, I decided to do away with conventional clothing and try a more biodegradable approach!  Mommy was not too pleased but entertained enough to want to document my creativity!

I love a good puzzle.  Mommy got this Christmas puzzle for me to work on!  It's all done! 

My first play date with my best buddy Patrick!  Patrick hung out with me at Aunt Susanne's house from 3 months of age to 3 years of age.  I had not seen him since July.  We had a play date at Strong Museum.  It was the best time ever!! 

More fun with Patrick!

Mommy and Daddy put me in a Micro Soccer program for six weeks this past Spring.  It was so much fun!  I'm a pretty good kicker!

Love to you all!  I will try to do a better job with my blog!  It really has been way too long.  Stay tuned and don't give up on Little Hoffy.  I'll be back!

Love,

Jamee

Somebody is 3! and Someone is 2011!!

Jamee at 3 years old!

Jamee at 2 years old!




Jamee at 1 year old!

Jamee at 1 hour old!

Hello everyone!



Wow!!!!!! I have been busy these days--thus no posts since May! Well, I'm now a mature 3 year old. So far, I love being three. It's amazing the number of toys that are "not appropriate for children under 3." Well, I've arrived and those toys are now appropriate!! Yippee!







I had a wonderful birthday! The whole Kurtz family came--Oma and Opa, Uncle Paul, Aunt Susanne, Arin, Sydney, Obi, Eli, Che Che, Uncle Mike and Hayden. The weather has been "fall-like" this December so there were no traveling issues for anyone. The only hiccup to the festivities was that I was feeling a bit under the weather. I came down with a cold two weeks ago (on Mommy's birthday), that turned into bronchitis, got a prescription for an antibiotic, two and a half days later I had a full body rash--no more antibiotic for me. Anyway, I've been grumpy and miserable for two weeks. Finally by Christmas a.m. the rash broke and I was feeling more like my own self. Anyway, I still had a good birthday. And even better, I get to celebrate my birthday again later this week with Mimi and Papa and the Hoffman family!



Mommy made me a train cake. I thought it was pretty cool. Daddy even got me Thomas the Train plates and napkins. Anyway, thanks everyone for making my 3rd birthday a lot of fun. Now I can't wait to be 4!!



Just a few days after my birthday is Christmas! It's a crazy time in the Hoffman household. There is lots of baking, lots of wrapping, lots of decorations, lots of presents, lots of family and lots of fun. I even got to help with some of the presents this year.



This year, Mommy, Daddy and Opa took me to see Santa. I was a bit shy--you can never be too sure about strangers--even Santa. Anyway, I did tell Santa that I wanted a Wegman's truck and then gave him a hug. I think I might be more brave next year.





Christmas was great! We went to our Christmas Eve service and Mommy did the Children's story. She read Happy Birthday, Dear Jesus and gave all the kids birthday party hats so that we would remember that Christmas was all about celebrating Jesus' birthday.



When we got home, we watched the second half of The Polar Express. I love that movie. And then I went to bed. I did a pretty good job going to bed Christmas Eve. I wanted Santa to come to my house!!



Christmas morning Mommy, Daddy, Opa, Oma and I went downstairs and I saw that Santa had eaten the cookies and drank the milk that I left for him. He also wrote me a personal note, telling me that I had been doing a good job using the potty this year--keep working on it he said. And that I needed to keep working on listening to Mommy and Daddy. He did tell me that I did a great job saying please and thank you and that I also did a great job asking to be excused from the table. He told me that I had been a good boy!!





Daddy reading me Santa's letter.



After I opened my stocking from Santa, we all went over to have a breakfast birthday party for Jesus at Aunt Susanne's and Uncle Paul's. I got to take one Santa present over to the Kurtzes. I took the biggest one. After breakfast, all the kids got to open their Santa gifts. Since I was the youngest, I went first--and guess what--I got a Wegman's truck!! I was soooooooo excited!!





Eli and I at the Birthday party for Jesus! We had our own special table for two!



The Kurtz cousin and me Christmas morning in our new PJs!!





Opening my Wegman's truck!




After Santa presents with the Kurtzes, we went home and I got to open the rest of my Santa gifts. I got some really cool gifts including hockey skates! After all the festivities I was indeed ready for a nap!




I got hockey skates. Now Mommy, Daddy and I can skate at the Churchville rink!!

When I woke up from my nap it was time to head back to the Kurtzes for Christmas dinner and the family gift exchange. It was a lot of fun to all be together and to have Che Che, Uncle Mike and Hayden there.




Family Christmas dinner with the extended Kurtz family.



Hayden and I loved playing downstairs with Daddy--especially playing air hockey!! I'm actually pretty good at it! We had had enough of the adult present time so Hayden and I decided to hang out under the kitchen table! Hey, it was much more exciting than towels, clothes, coats, shoes and picture frames--I don't quite get why adults don't want toys!!



Merry Christmas and Happy new year everyone from cousin Hayden and me!!



Well, I'll try to post my next blog sooner than 8 months from now! Life continues to be pretty exciting. There is so much still to learn--but I think I'm making pretty good progress so far!


Don't forget why we celebrate Christmas!! Happy Birthday Jesus! I hope that everyone has a wonderful 2012!!



Love,



Jamee

On a Train, On a Train, On a Train! Part I

What a wild past two weeks! I've traveled internationally, been to a Safari, taken the train to Chicago, been to the Zoo and the Museum of Science and Industry! What fun!


Know that while we were traveling, I did my best to "carry my own weight." Mommy said it was very helpful that I carried my own backpack. I felt very grown up!

So two weekends ago I took my first international trip--to Canada. Mommy thinks they let us through the border with 150 t-shirts without going inside for more questioning because the lady in the booth thought I was cute. Hey, whatever I can do to help out. Mommy was going to Waterloo, Ontario for a youth conference. Daddy and I went with her and got to play the whole weekend while Mommy worked. Daddy and I had a blast. There was a pool in our hotel so we went swimming a lot. On Saturday, Daddy and I even went on a Safari! Wow, was that amazing--even if it was pouring rain the whole time. Below are some photos of our time swimming and at the Safari.























Pool side at the Radisson.



It was wet at the Safari. But there were not many people there either--which was nice. Daddy brought the umbrella and we had our raincoats on, so we were good to go!





















We could have taken our car on the Safari, but were advised by some friends to take the tour bus as the animals could "destroy" our car. Here's me on the tour bus.

We saw a lot of elephants. In fact I even got to ride one!


















Here the elephants are on their way to the water.

At the Safari they also had a train to ride. I love trains and this was good preparation for my big Amtrak trip the next week.

This is where Daddy and I took the elephant ride. It was fun!

Just yesterday morning Mommy and I returned from Chicago. I'm really good at saying Chicago! Oma and Opa were in Chicago for a week because Oma was judging piano students at Wheaton. They stayed at the Senior Center where Mommy's "Aunt" Helen lives. Aunt Helen is 92 years old! She's amazing and a lot of fun to be with. Look at the cool toy she had out for me to play with! I'll bet there are not too many like this. I played with this while Oma, Opa and Mommy visited with Aunt Helen.



Even more than the bunny carriage, I loved the singing canary. Every time I went over to see it, it sang to me. I tweeted back and we went back and forth for quite some time.

Our train was scheduled to leave Rochester at 11:00 p.m. on Friday, but did not end up leaving until 1:30 a.m. EST. I stayed awake until about 10 minutes into the trip. Mommy and I slept pretty well on the train. Opa met us at the train at 12:15 p.m. on Saturday. It worked very well.

Here we are at about 1:15 a.m.!

Our first Chicago stop was at the Swedish Bakery in Andersonville. We love going there every chance we have. After a quick bite to eat we headed to Downers Grove to check into our guest room at the Senior Center. We dropped off our luggage and then headed to Wheaton to pick up Oma. Then it was back to Downers Grove to have dinner with Aunt Helen--Chicago style deep stuffed pizza!! Yum!!

Here we are right before we ate our pizza--Mommy, Me, Oma, Aunt Helen and Opa!

I'll post photos of the zoo and the museum soon. Keep watching.

Love to all!

Jamee