Traverso Christmas Letter

I didn't have my act together early enough this year to send a letter out with our card so here is what I would have sent...


David Letterman's Top 10 Crazy Things the Traverso Family Has Been Up To This Year:
10.  Jack-of-all-trades-John learned that while pruning trees is not as difficult as it seems, getting rid of the resulting loose branches takes far more ingenuity.  If it hadn't been for Erin's dad's help and the threat of actually- gasp- paying to have the branches removed, our back yard would still be an obstacle course.  You will be happy to hear it is safe to send your children over to play now.

9.Following in his father's footsteps, Samuel, 6, took on the wonderful world of wrestling.  He won a whopping 1 match but smiled his way through each and every pin.  When questioned on his feelings about wrestling Samuel replied, "Well... I don't like it as much as I like school."  That, ladies and gentlemen, says it all!

8. In June, the entire Traverso clan (plus a Winch, an Andrus and a trio of Clarks) invaded Myrtle Beach, SC.  While natives were in hiding for the infamous week, the Traverso's managed to enjoy the water park, the beach and the amusement park without leaving too much damage behind.  And John would like to remind all of you that he and James won the go-kart race, in case you forgot.

7.  James, 4, became aquainted with the wonderful world of preschool this year.  He releases Mommy from his custody for three mornings a week so that he can learn his letters and make crafts with the best of them.  Upon discovering how much he loves school, James accused Mom, "Hey, how come you didn't send me to school last year?!"

6.  Samuel took the world, or at least Nether Providence Elementary School, by storm this year as he entered first grade.  He is bright, well behaved and adored by his teachers who actually requested that we send more sweet boys their way.  I don't think they will be expecting James (our little mischief maker with the angelic smile)! 
5.  John finally had a restful Sunday.  Just one though.  Right after he was released as a high counselor the Stake Presidency called him as stake clerk.  We are still shaking our heads over that one!  I think they just wanted an excuse to have him nearby so they can keep their eye on him!  =)

4.  Erin proved that she can do more than one thing at a time when she answered the call to be the new stake music chair mid-Messiah rehearsals.  She showed that she can hold a baby, run a rehearsal and sing in tune (or close enough) all at the same time!  Who knew?

3.  Samuel almost became the newest inmate at the zoo.  In the first grade play, "Animotion," Samuel was a seal.  He bobbed his head and clapped his flippers with the best of them!  His seal impersonation was so lifelike that zoo keepers were actually called.  Luckily we were able to persuade them that he is a pet.  =)

2.  James has become the foremost expert on Christmas music.  Between practicing the songs for his preschool Christmas program and singing along with Mommy and the radio, James can sing and do the action for almost any Christmas song.  You should see this kid in action!

And the number one craziest thing we, the Traverso family, did this year was...
drumroll please...
ADDED TO OUR RANKS! 
Matthew Ryan was born on August 7th.  He looks almost identical to his brother James' baby pictures except for one thing: Matthew is growing at record breaking speed.  At four months he was 16lbs and 2oz.  He is already in training to be the next big linebacker for the Eagles as they so deperately need one!  We have already struck a deal as we know the coach!  =)

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a fabulous New Year!
Much Love,
John, Erin, Samuel, James and Matthew  

Halleluia!

Christmastime is my favorite time of year (despite the cold).  One of the reasons I love Christmas is because I LOVE Christmas music.  I would start playing Christmas music the day after Halloween and continue on until Valentine's Day if my husband would not completely disown me for it.
One of my favorite traditions (despite all of the complaining I do about it) is our church's Messiah Sing Along.  We just had the Sing Along tonight and it went fabulously well.  This year was unusual as the powers-that-be entrusted the entire mess (I mean production) to my somewhat crazy self.  Rachel Johnson, who had been running the circus (I mean production) for the previous three years, was finally released from the task about half way through rehearsals.  Luckily we had most of the framework in place at that point.

A couple of my favorite points about this year:
--pulling soloists from our amazing choir we have.  This year we used several of our stellar choir members as soloists.  They enjoyed the opportunity and the audience was treated to a bevy of new and fabulous voices.  It was so cool seeing them really shine up there!
--finding our bass soloist via Facebook.  We could not find a bass soloist despite our best efforts.  Our usual bass was otherwise engaged this year.  So in desperation I called my brother, Tyler, in Boston and begged him to come down for the weekend to sing.  He turned me down but said he would see if Rebecca could help with her connctions in Philly.  Becca posted our need for a bass on Facebook.  Two more of her friends from Philly picked up the post and put it on their pages and the next day I had a bass soloist.  He was really amazing, too!  Thanks Rebecca and Florrie and Harriet... and Jeff!!!  And thank you, Facebook!
--hauling Matthew around at each and every rehearsal.  Matthew became a sort of mascot or pet for the Messiah choir members.  He was passed around from person to person and completely charmed each and every one who held him.  After all, he is the worlds most pleasant baby when he is being held.

And just for fun, my friend Julie posted this alternative version of Handel's Halleluia Chorus on Facebook.  I had tears streaming down my face I was laughing so hard.  Maybe I just need some sleep...

Four Months Old!

Matthew hit the four month mark on Monday.  Weight check:  16 pounds 5.2 ounces, 26 inches long!  He is smiling, giggling, trying to roll and sit, teething and reaching for toys.  You know, all the fun stuff they start doing at this age.  On Friday we are going to introduce him to cereal- I am sure there will be many funny pictures to follow! In the meantime, here are a few of my big boy:

churchisms

A couple of funny comments from after church yesterday.

James:  Mom this is the snack basket for my class.  Whoever brings the snack gets to be the leader that day.  They say the opening prayer and the... not-the-opening prayer.

later-

Samuel:  Mom, what is the shortest story in the Book of Mormon and all the other stories?  You know, the Pearl of Great Price, the Old Testimony, the New Testimony...

I love my boys!

Today as Samuel was teaching James the songs from his first grade play, he decided to help James write a song about his best friend, Gracie.  Honestly, I am not sure what the melody was but here are their original lyrics (as written by Sam):

1. Wen she smiles at me
its Gracie
its Gracie.
2. and Wen she sits with me
its Gracie
its Gracieeeeee.

I recorded a movie of them singing because it was so stinkin' cute!

New Moon Review *spoiler alert*

Last night I gathered at the movie theater with the book club ladies and saw the next installment of the Twilight movies:  New Moon.  It was... better than I expected.  I tried not to listen to any reviews prior to our showing.  I did, however, grudgingly hear one review late Friday afternoon when NPR gave its report.  They evicerated the entire film, cast and series.  Of course, what do you expect when a teenage vampire love story is being reviewed by a grumpy old man!
What I carried away from New Moon is this:  I now like Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart both a little better in their roles as Edward and Bella; I am not completely sold though.  Taylor Lautner seems to have added to his acting ability along with his 30 lbs of muscle and teenage angst.  I really loved him as Jacob.  In fact, I am offically setting up camp on the Team Jacob side of the line.  There were more than a few oohs and ahhs from girls and moms alike as he strode around with his shirt off- even some that were not instigated by Sonrisa.  =)
I think this director did a much better job than the first.  There were significantly fewer ridiculous close ups and awkward shots and the cg work with the wolves was pretty cool -regardless of the fact that when the black wolf first showed up on screen I started having Neverending Story flashbacks.  I loved watching the Bella/Jacob relationship develop, enjoyed that Bella narrated her emotional state through emails to Alice and am thrilled that they preserved my favorite part of the book in the film-the three pages which simply say October, November, December.
As for the end, well, as I was waiting outside of the theater for some friends before the show I overheard a rather loud group of teenage girls say, "And you know at the end that Edward proposes."  (Yes, I restrained myself and did not drop kick them for spoiling the end of the movie for me!)  I was glad to see that the director decided to remain faithful to one of the critical points of the book, despite webchatter to the contrary. 
My grade for the movie:  a solid B+ (It would have been an A- if Jacob had kept his shirt off the whole time.)

3 months old and growing like a weed!

Matthew officially hit the three month mark on Saturday.  As he was sick and the big boys had their final soccer games I didn't get any pictures taken.  Smack me now.  But poor Matthew looked so pathetic with goo leaking out of his eyes and the constant runny nose and he was so miserable it really wasn't the time for a photo shoot.  So I took some pictures of him last night.  He was still feeling a little sick and was exhausted but still as sweet as can be.  The picture with the pumpkin hat was from a few days earlier.  Gotta love that smile!

I took him to the doctor on Saturday to make sure his cough wasn't settling into his lungs.  I put him on the scale while I was there:  15 lbs 2 oz.  What do I do when he hits 20 lbs at 6 months and is too big for his infant car seat???

And here are some cute pics of Sam and James and their soccer teams.  They both had a great season!

conversations with James

Most people probably don't know that James (4 years old now!) even talks because he gets so stinkin' shy in public.  But this kid doesn't stop talking when he is with me.

Last week in the car:
James:  Mom, when did the dinosaurs die?
Me:  A long, long time ago.
James:  Were there people then?
Me:  Nope.
James:  But Mama, that is just terrible!  If there were no people, who took care of the dinosaurs?

Tuesday at lunch:
Me: Sam and James, thank you for letting me take a nap.  I wasn't feeling very good this morning.
James:  You're welcome.  It was no problem.  We just played.

This morning:
Me:  James, I am going to take a shower.  Do you want to watch tv upstairs in my room or downstairs?
James:  I think I will be alright downstairs, thank you.

James really makes me laugh!