Shafer Kiddo Update

We think it is about time for a little Shafer kiddo update!  We have been in North Carolina for just over 4 months.  For some reason it seems like longer!  There has been SOOO much jam packed into a short amount of time!!

The kids started school right when we got here and are all flourishing.  Here we are at their school's Christmas program where all the kids performed. Here is a little update on each of them with some pics of their performances:

Isaac (5) is in pre-k (he will be in kindergarten next fall) and goes 5 days a week/ half days and is loving it!  He really likes his teacher who has a very relaxed personality and adores Isaac.  Isaac is currently into superheroes and has a great imagination!  He spends a great deal of each day after school drawing masks, playing dress-up or coming up with his next "good idea"!  He often starts many sentences with the phase "Mommy/Daddy, I have an idea..".  He likes to watch superhero shows but is still into a lot of the preschool shows that the girls enjoy too.  

HE has LOVED having the moving boxes around and has turned them into ships, houses, cars and whatever else he can come up with.  He also LOVES staying home...if we suggest that we might stay home ALL day and have a JAMMA day he gets super excited.  He loves his sisters and is always including them in his play ideas (although, they are not always as excited as he is).  He likes the small town that we live in and calls it "our land." Isaac is really doing well and still talks about our friends in the Netherlands and really misses them!  He wants them to come to "our land." :)

 Ava-3 (on right) is in preschool on Tues./Thurs. mornings.  She makes us laugh everyday!  Ava is not really a morning person and loves to snuggle when she wakes up.  The rest of the time she wants to be where the action is and wants to be in the middle of it!  She moves from one thing to the next like the speed of light.  Ava has a huge vocabulary and can say anything.  She is very perceptive and has a great memory.  She is always reminding me of things at the store that I need and amazes us with the some of the insight she has on things.  She loves everyone in their preschool class but she is good friends with Ava R (yep, there are 2 Ava's in her class).  She has a shirt that she calls her "kitty cat shirt" and she would wear in every single day.   She refers to our Dutch house as our "white house" and has lots of memories from there!

 Isabella-3 (on left) is in the same preschool class. She is so sweet.  She loves to be held and loves one-on-one time.  She is almost always our first up in the morning! She is quiet but very sneaky.  Her and Ava are quite the pair and the conversations they have together are hilarious!  I love to hear them talk and interact.  Isabella loves her baby dolls.  She often wears her jewelry around and is always on the hunt for a pair of sunglasses!  She asked a little boy, Ethan, who is in her preschool class to come to our house and play the other day.  She is already a Party-Planner! :)  She also has her favorite clothes and would love to wear her striped shirt everyday.  She loves to pray for everyone at night and almost always includes our friends Gwen, Kyle & Fifi and always adds Jenny & Jason (their parents) at the end.

We are so blessed with wonderful kiddos!!  

More updates to come...