The Zorio Family

John was off on December 23rd, and it was unseasonably warm! The kids wore shorts and short sleeves most of the day and had fun playing outside. You'll notice them barefoot in a lot of our Christmas pictures because it was so warm!

This year we were very, very fortunate to have our Christmas celebrations spread over several days. Usually it's such a challenge when every family gathering is on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, so this was perfect! It also made Christmas a lot more fun for the kids because it was a three day long celebration! They got to enjoy each gathering and the presents they gave and got there before going to the next event. On December 23rd, Christmas Eve Eve, we celebrated with John's family. We went to Nana and Grandad's house for dinner. The kids got to see Nana, Grandad, Cousin Drew, Cousin Zoe, Emily, Eric, their great Uncle and Aunt-John and Beverly, and their second cousin Valerie. We had a delicious dinner followed by great gift giving and receiving!

The kids had fun playing with Zoe.

Nana and Grandad gave Carter light up shoes. I didn't know what he was opening, but I happened to have the camera ready to capture this reaction. He was so excited with his light up shoes.

Dawson was proud to be able to read who each gift was to and from this year. So he had fun handing out gifts!

Carter had great expressions while opening all of his gifts. He was so happy!

So was Dawson!

Happy Birthday, Jesus Cookie Cake!

Dawson, Carter, and Nora Kate with Nana and Grandad. Christmas 2015.

Nora Kate, Dawson, Zoe, and Carter.

Zoe's first Christmas.

Our big boy turned six and a half in November, and he seems so grown up! At 6.5 he LOVES kindergarten! He has never once told us that he didn't want to go to school, and thankfully he hasn't had to miss any days this school year! Dawson enjoys his time at school, and gives us a full report in the afternoons on how funny he thinks his teacher is (he really likes his teacher!) and how the other 18 friends in his class were. Some of his favorite parts of his school day to talk about are Writer's Workshop (he is becoming quiet the writer/speller! I'm continually impressed with the progress he has made), STEM (this is a special so they only go to this class every few days, but he always has fun telling me about the fun projects they do in there...the other day they designed an app and he was thrilled! His STEM teacher sent me the info, and he is thrilled that I have promised we will attempt to make our own app this weekend the same way he did in class!), and, of course, recess! I LOVE the stories he comes home from school to share! I think he enjoys having his own separate time from us at school-I can tell that it makes him feel like a big kid. He usually packs his lunch unless the cafeteria serves breakfast for lunch or pizza, and he's super excited that after Christmas they are allowed to start buying dessert/ice cream in the cafeteria once a week! (These things are a big deal to a kindergartener!)
The friend Dawson plays with most frequently outside of school is Carson, and at school Dawson seems to play with EVERYONE! Every day he comes home to report who he played with on the playground and I'm certain he has played with every kid in his class...I can never guess who it will be! He probably talks the most about playing with Alexa and Dillon on the playground.
Here are a few of his favorite things:
Favorite Show: Curious George
Favorite Toy: Since I'm delayed in posting this update a lot of these favorites are toys he got for Christmas...his drone (he loves flying this with Daddy), nerf guns, his workshop, his playset outside, really just playing outside in general, his remote control Jeep, and Legos! I think this is the first Dawson update I've ever written where I haven't listed his John Deere Gator as a favorite toy-he does still love riding this, but he has gotten so tall his knees hit the steering wheel and it doesn't go as fast now that he weighs more. He does really enjoy riding his bike, I think because he can control the speed. (Carter enjoys driving the Gator now, so this works out well.)
Favorite Outings: Dollywood, walks, the mountains, the zoo, bowling, the park
Other things I want to remember about Dawson at 6.5:
-He is amazing at chores! Dawson now has six chores to do daily. He NEVER complains about these and is happy to do them and check them off his chore chart. He gets a $4 "commission" on Sundays if he has completed all of his chores (and he always has!). His chores include making his bed (which he does PERFECTLY!), feeding the fish, getting the mail, sweeping the kitchen floor after dinner each night (this is a new chore we have added for him lately, and he's getting REALLY good at this!), cleaning the playroom, and wiping down the kids' bathroom counter and sink each night after everyone has bathed and brushed their teeth.
-Naps...I'm only including this because I've discussed napping in all of Dawson's updates for forever, but obviously he doesn't really nap anymore...EXCEPT on Sundays. We decided back in the summer that every Sunday everyone had to nap. Dawson knows this is his one day to have to nap and isn't thrilled with it, but he surprisingly still falls asleep and sleeps about an hour (a few times he's napped about 2 hours). This works great for keeping Sunday's lowkey and helping him be rested before the week starts. I'm always surprised, but even after napping he doesn't have a problem going to bed on Sunday nights!
-Sleep: Dawson's bedtime on non-school days/weekends/summer/Christmas break is 8pm and he sleeps until 7:30 (when the owl turns green!). On school nights he goes to bed at 7:30, and he has to wake up at 6:40.
-Siblings: Dawson and Carter have always been close, and they still are...BUT what I really wanted to mention in this post about Dawson is how he has started to have a special little relationship with Nora Kate. She loves him so much, and you can tell she feels special when he plays her things with her! I think he's realized that she watches and listens to him, so he likes to show her things..then she runs to me and reports, "Dawson teached me that!" The boys are still best buddies and love sharing a room. Dawson once told me in a surprised way, "Some people at school don't GET to share a room with anyone!" Sweet!
-When I grow up...Dawson still talks about being a farmer all the time. He wants a red barn, animals, AND crops. Of course, he says he will have John Deere tractors. He loves to talk about all the plans for his farm!

From age 6 to 6.5 have brought big changes with Dawson starting school, but I'm beyond happy with how easily he adjusted and how much he seems to enjoy and do well in school. Although it doesn't seem like it was 6.5 years ago that we brought our precious 7pound 13ounce baby boy home from the hospital, we are enjoying watching the big boy he's growing to be. We love you, Dawson!

Here are just a few of my favorite pictures of Dawson from the past six months.