Here is a checklist for kids entering first grade in 1979 (Victor's age). Man have things changed!
http://www.metroparentmagazine.com/blogs/kitchentable/1979-vs-2015-the-expectations-placed-on-a-6-year-old-300820241.html
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
First Grade Expectations
Here is a checklist for kids entering first grade in 1979 (Victor's age). Man have things changed!
http://www.metroparentmagazine.com/blogs/kitchentable/1979-vs-2015-the-expectations-placed-on-a-6-year-old-300820241.html
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Baseball
Erik decided about one year ago that he was done with soccer and wanted to play baseball instead.
He is in his second season and does pretty well. He is a good hitter and usually gets on base. He loves the position of catcher and is pretty attentive when there. In the outfield though, boy he spends quite a bit of time dancing (or kicking the dirt - if in the infield). Ha!
I love Erik's enthusiasm for the sport! Although, I admittedly wish he still loved soccer as I don't really consider baseball to be exercise. It's more of a mental exercise than physical in my mind. I think I have convinced him to do la crosse or soccer in the fall then baseball in the spring. (Although, I haven't let him know my preference is that he do something more active and will support whatever sport he ends up pursuing.)
He is in his second season and does pretty well. He is a good hitter and usually gets on base. He loves the position of catcher and is pretty attentive when there. In the outfield though, boy he spends quite a bit of time dancing (or kicking the dirt - if in the infield). Ha!
I love Erik's enthusiasm for the sport! Although, I admittedly wish he still loved soccer as I don't really consider baseball to be exercise. It's more of a mental exercise than physical in my mind. I think I have convinced him to do la crosse or soccer in the fall then baseball in the spring. (Although, I haven't let him know my preference is that he do something more active and will support whatever sport he ends up pursuing.)
Spring Nuttiness
With four kids I am pretty sure I signed myself up for pure craziness for the next 18 years.
I want my kids to all be active and well rounded people.
Well, in order to make that happen, Victor and I have to be good taxi drivers and cheerleaders. In addition, to finding a way to keep ourselves active and well rounded people. (Wish us luck!)
Winter is pretty slow in regards to activities.
But spring and fall are crazy!
This spring we have -
baseball (twice a week)
gymnastics (twice a week)
piano (once a week)
soccer (once a week)
Awana (once a week)
Dance (1-2 times a week)
And our county doesn't allow you to request certain days for sports - so baseball is basically a crap shoot. You sign up and hope for the best. Well, one of Erik's baseball practices land on the same night and time as his dance class; and leaves only a 15 minute gap between piano and baseball.
Thankfully, all three activities are within 3-4 miles and after 4 weeks, the baseball schedule changes. But for now, one night Erik has piano, dance, and baseball. (Which goes piano, baseball, dance, back to baseball.) Lainey has dance that night too. Aww!!
I want my kids to all be active and well rounded people.
Well, in order to make that happen, Victor and I have to be good taxi drivers and cheerleaders. In addition, to finding a way to keep ourselves active and well rounded people. (Wish us luck!)
Winter is pretty slow in regards to activities.
But spring and fall are crazy!
This spring we have -
baseball (twice a week)
gymnastics (twice a week)
piano (once a week)
soccer (once a week)
Awana (once a week)
Dance (1-2 times a week)
And our county doesn't allow you to request certain days for sports - so baseball is basically a crap shoot. You sign up and hope for the best. Well, one of Erik's baseball practices land on the same night and time as his dance class; and leaves only a 15 minute gap between piano and baseball.
Thankfully, all three activities are within 3-4 miles and after 4 weeks, the baseball schedule changes. But for now, one night Erik has piano, dance, and baseball. (Which goes piano, baseball, dance, back to baseball.) Lainey has dance that night too. Aww!!
I see lots of this in our future.
Kyle -20 months
Oh my silly boy!
I am so happy to say my grumpy boy seems to have turned a corner!
He has been SO much more enjoyable during the past 4-6 weeks! Hallelujah!
It really started improving in February, but drastically got better during the past month.
He is still a little firecracker, but the constant screaming has stopped.
Kyle is funny!
That boy has a wicked sense of humor and is truly a little rascal.
He does naughty things with a BIG sparkle in his eye and grin on his face.
He does make me laugh!
He is animated and fun!
He LOVES to sing and sings along to whatever we play in the van.
He has some songs memorized and although can't talk fully, he gets a few words in at the right time.
He is full of life!
Really, really happy OR really, really mad/sad/etc.
I think he gets this from Victor (right!).
He is a climber - almost climbs out of the crib; climbs onto the counter, up the ladder on Lainey's bunk bed; up a tricky ladder at the playground; etc.
He loves animals. He loves our kitty (still have him) and really loves this wonderful Golden Retriever at our bus stop. She is only one, but has SUCH a wonderful demeanor. She lets Kyle lead her on the leash (doesn't pull at all). She lets him give her big hugs and rest himself on her. She's an amazing dog! (In a year or two we will have one of our own, maybe.)
He is attached to me!
He freaks out if I walk to far from him on the playground/bus stop.
He is back to screaming like a banshee when I leave for work.
On the weekends though his loyalty switches over, and by Sunday refuses to go to me and only wants Victor. During the weekdays though, Victor is chopped liver. Silly kid!
He is a silly, playful, animated little guy.
Keeps me on my toes and a smile on my face!
He is a lovely, little boy!
We are so thankful for him and love our rascal deeply!
I am so happy to say my grumpy boy seems to have turned a corner!
He has been SO much more enjoyable during the past 4-6 weeks! Hallelujah!
It really started improving in February, but drastically got better during the past month.
He is still a little firecracker, but the constant screaming has stopped.
Kyle is funny!
That boy has a wicked sense of humor and is truly a little rascal.
He does naughty things with a BIG sparkle in his eye and grin on his face.
He does make me laugh!
He is animated and fun!
He LOVES to sing and sings along to whatever we play in the van.
He has some songs memorized and although can't talk fully, he gets a few words in at the right time.
He is full of life!
Really, really happy OR really, really mad/sad/etc.
I think he gets this from Victor (right!).
He is a climber - almost climbs out of the crib; climbs onto the counter, up the ladder on Lainey's bunk bed; up a tricky ladder at the playground; etc.
He loves animals. He loves our kitty (still have him) and really loves this wonderful Golden Retriever at our bus stop. She is only one, but has SUCH a wonderful demeanor. She lets Kyle lead her on the leash (doesn't pull at all). She lets him give her big hugs and rest himself on her. She's an amazing dog! (In a year or two we will have one of our own, maybe.)
He is attached to me!
He freaks out if I walk to far from him on the playground/bus stop.
He is back to screaming like a banshee when I leave for work.
On the weekends though his loyalty switches over, and by Sunday refuses to go to me and only wants Victor. During the weekdays though, Victor is chopped liver. Silly kid!
He is a silly, playful, animated little guy.
Keeps me on my toes and a smile on my face!
He is a lovely, little boy!
We are so thankful for him and love our rascal deeply!
Sword fighting with Carson.
These two little guys are buddies!
Baby Capp came to visit us this week.
It was such a fun visit.
This poor baby, is in the hospital tonight though with high fevers.
The think it is due to a UTI, but also ruling out sepsis and meningitis.
Please be praying for her!
Always climbing something
Playing a game at nap/bedtime!
He likes to be wrapped up tight in his blankets.
Recently though, he had been sticking his feet straight up in the air
and then giggling and giggling because I can't wrap him up like that.
So funny little guy!
Whacking Carson in the chest
Almost got it!
Strongwoman
Lainey is such a strong little girl!
She easily climbs to the top of the rope in gym class (only 2 kids in her grade did this fall - 120 kids in kindergarten), can do pull up after pull up; flips around a bar easily; and well, look at that bridge.
She has been in a "floor gymnastics" class all year and I recently put her back in level one gymnastics through the park and rec. I do think gymnastics might be her thing. She is good at it and it is climate controlled (she hates being too hot or cold). Ha! We will see where she goes with this!
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Mr. Kyle
Kyle is a funny baby!
I have been sick for the past 10 days - cold turned pneumonia (mild). I started myself on antibiotics after it settled into my chest and quickly improved after that. Because I was sick, there has been a fairly large supply of cough drops.
Kyle knows he isn't supposed to have these but thought he would try one anyway.
There are multiple kinds - ranging from tolerable to completely awful.
He grabbed one from the completely awful category.
I saw he had something in his hand, asked him "Kyle, what do you have?"
He yelled, with his hand in the air, "STOP!" and ran off as fast as he could!
I trailed behind him, realizing it was a cough drop.
Thinking this might be a good lesson for him, I decided not to take it, but did offer up the warning that he had a cough drop and it was "yucky!" I asked him to give it to me.
He franctically shook his head and popped it in his mouth.
I chuckled and shook my head back at him.
About 30 seconds later, he bit into the tolerable portion, releasing the completely awful syrup inside.
He immediately started crying and scraping the cough drop/syrup off of his tongue frantically.
Trying not to laugh, I looked at him and said, "I'm sorry buddy. That's yucky isn't it."
He looked up at me and scowled.
I picked up the pieces he had scraped off his tongue, handed them back to him, and asked if he wanted to put them in the trash.
He ran, fast as his chubby legs will go, and got rid of that awful thing.
I haven't caught him with another cough drop since.
Haha!
I have been sick for the past 10 days - cold turned pneumonia (mild). I started myself on antibiotics after it settled into my chest and quickly improved after that. Because I was sick, there has been a fairly large supply of cough drops.
Kyle knows he isn't supposed to have these but thought he would try one anyway.
There are multiple kinds - ranging from tolerable to completely awful.
He grabbed one from the completely awful category.
I saw he had something in his hand, asked him "Kyle, what do you have?"
He yelled, with his hand in the air, "STOP!" and ran off as fast as he could!
I trailed behind him, realizing it was a cough drop.
Thinking this might be a good lesson for him, I decided not to take it, but did offer up the warning that he had a cough drop and it was "yucky!" I asked him to give it to me.
He franctically shook his head and popped it in his mouth.
I chuckled and shook my head back at him.
About 30 seconds later, he bit into the tolerable portion, releasing the completely awful syrup inside.
He immediately started crying and scraping the cough drop/syrup off of his tongue frantically.
Trying not to laugh, I looked at him and said, "I'm sorry buddy. That's yucky isn't it."
He looked up at me and scowled.
I picked up the pieces he had scraped off his tongue, handed them back to him, and asked if he wanted to put them in the trash.
He ran, fast as his chubby legs will go, and got rid of that awful thing.
I haven't caught him with another cough drop since.
Haha!
My Kyle
"Rascal!"
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Jamaica
 |
| Selfie at 5 AM in DCA |
Victor and I were lucky to be able to schedule a last minute
trip to Jamaica.
My mother-in-law planned to visit up in early April.
I called my mom about two weeks before her trip, to
see if she might be able to come too.
Lucky for us, she was willing and able, so we were able to sneak
away for 5 nights!
 | |
| Taken from the John Hancock lounge in Chicago |
We were really only planning on being gone for 4 nights,
but our flight out of DCA was delayed by over an hour.
When we landed in Chicago, our flight to Jamaica had just left.
And there were no more flights from Chicago (even with stops) to Jamaica until the next morning!
Luckily, we were able to quickly fix things so our trip in Jamaica wasn't cut short by a night!
(I called Sandals and they moved our reservation back a night, I talked to my manager at work and she quickly agreed to rearrange my patients for that Wednesday, Victor found a helpful customer service rep who rescheduled our flight the next day AND fixed our return flights even though it was with a different airline.)
Once we had that all arranged, we headed out for a day of fun in Chicago.
We primary did a lot of walking! Haha!
But we ended the day, watching the musical "Book of Mormon."
It was a hilarious spoof on religion.
Recommended for those who are able to make fun of themselves.
 |
| Chicago selfie - still going strong |
We did finally make it to Jamaica.
My luggage went to Texas instead of Jamaica but I was smart and
had packed essentials in Victor's carryon (contacts and noise machine).
It had been 10 years since we had taken a luxury vacation like this (without kids).
Lets just say it was 9 years too long!
Victor and I spend every second of our lives catering to 5 other people.
It was WONDERFUL to be waited on hand and foot for a few day!
The people of Jamaica are wonderful!
I'd highly recommend that location, if you are looking to book a trip.
(We stayed at Sandals - Montego Bay)
 | |
| View from our room |
Silly Boys
I was trying to take a photo of the boys.
Carson kept taking HUGE bites of bananas when
I was taking the photos.
I told Carson, to stop taking bites.
Kyle heard me, and then took a HUGE bite of his banana too.
(Mr. Sassy!)
They sure did think they were funny!
(I thought so too.)
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Calvert Cliffs
It's spring break this week. We haven't done anything too special with the kids yet, but it's been nice to be home. School mornings go smoothly but a lot has to get done between 6:30 and 8:30. Herding 4 kids through that process on my own each morning (V goes to work before that) is just fine but definitely requires a fair amount of energy immediately upon waking. :)
So to have a week with a few quieter mornings has been nice. Today, I took all 4 kids on a 4 mile hike. Kyle rode in the stroller but the other three walked/ran the whole way without complaint. It was a lot of fun! I love my sweet, active kiddos!
So to have a week with a few quieter mornings has been nice. Today, I took all 4 kids on a 4 mile hike. Kyle rode in the stroller but the other three walked/ran the whole way without complaint. It was a lot of fun! I love my sweet, active kiddos!
So, baby Kyle is not happy in this photo.
Being a great mom, I had all four of them stand on this log holding hands.
I then took a photo (which my phone didn't save for some reason) and soon afterward Kyle, then Carson fell off of the log and ended up with a face full of sand.
He wasn't too happy to be back on the log. Haha!
Kyle - 19 months (And a new 'do for my dude)
My sassy little baby is 19 months old!
He is still a spunky little fellow.
He is very attached to me and when he doesn't have my full attention he lets me know how upsetting that is to him. He does a lot better during the school days, when it is just him home or him and Carson.
When all 4 kids are home and I am busy trying to help with homework, get snacks, breakfast for all four, packing backpacks, etc. he doesn't like that very much. His method of letting me know he is upset still consists of very (very) loud crying and screaming.
I think he is partially bothered by lack of attention on him and partially bothered by the fairly intense noise level when all four are home! I have found that stopping what I am doing and spending 10 minutes solely focused on him helps him regroup. That's not always possible, so when he is throwing a fit, and won't calm down when I pick him up (and try to continue my tasks) he then gets to spend 10 minutes in the pack and play with his "plug." That works pretty well too.
He loves to be outside though and is always happy and content when outdoors. Thankfully, it's been really nice outside so we've been able to spend a lot of time outdoors lately. Also, the gate on our deck has a lock, so he is able to go out on the deck by himself which is nice too.
Kyle is a great eater and eats a wide range of foods without complaint. He sleeps fairly well. To be honest, he wakes at least once most nights, but if he cries less than 10-15 minutes, he gets ignored. 90% of the time, he gets himself back to sleep.
He is a good talker and his vocabulary continues to expand. I have heard him say all of our names, including Kyle at least once which is cute! I have heard him put 2 words together a number of times too although that's hard to understand.
He loves our kitty that likely needs a new home (yes, I'm waffling again as the kitty didn't bother Erik today, and I overheard Erik telling Potter that he loves him).
Anyway, our rockstar little boy has wild, crazy hair. It has multiple cowlicks and just goes everywhere (Thanks to his Dad's genes!). Since he has a rockstar personality too (meaning he has quite an edge to him) I figured he could handle a mo-hawk. A friend pointed that out to me today too, so we went for it, and I love it.
(Side note: I texted Victor and told him that we had a surprise for him when he got home. He said, "A dog?!" I responded, " How did you guess?!" And he said, "Really?!" I do have a tendency to be a bit impulsive but I promise I'd clear that with him first. Ha!
He is still a spunky little fellow.
He is very attached to me and when he doesn't have my full attention he lets me know how upsetting that is to him. He does a lot better during the school days, when it is just him home or him and Carson.
When all 4 kids are home and I am busy trying to help with homework, get snacks, breakfast for all four, packing backpacks, etc. he doesn't like that very much. His method of letting me know he is upset still consists of very (very) loud crying and screaming.
I think he is partially bothered by lack of attention on him and partially bothered by the fairly intense noise level when all four are home! I have found that stopping what I am doing and spending 10 minutes solely focused on him helps him regroup. That's not always possible, so when he is throwing a fit, and won't calm down when I pick him up (and try to continue my tasks) he then gets to spend 10 minutes in the pack and play with his "plug." That works pretty well too.
He loves to be outside though and is always happy and content when outdoors. Thankfully, it's been really nice outside so we've been able to spend a lot of time outdoors lately. Also, the gate on our deck has a lock, so he is able to go out on the deck by himself which is nice too.
Kyle is a great eater and eats a wide range of foods without complaint. He sleeps fairly well. To be honest, he wakes at least once most nights, but if he cries less than 10-15 minutes, he gets ignored. 90% of the time, he gets himself back to sleep.
He is a good talker and his vocabulary continues to expand. I have heard him say all of our names, including Kyle at least once which is cute! I have heard him put 2 words together a number of times too although that's hard to understand.
He loves our kitty that likely needs a new home (yes, I'm waffling again as the kitty didn't bother Erik today, and I overheard Erik telling Potter that he loves him).
Anyway, our rockstar little boy has wild, crazy hair. It has multiple cowlicks and just goes everywhere (Thanks to his Dad's genes!). Since he has a rockstar personality too (meaning he has quite an edge to him) I figured he could handle a mo-hawk. A friend pointed that out to me today too, so we went for it, and I love it.
(Side note: I texted Victor and told him that we had a surprise for him when he got home. He said, "A dog?!" I responded, " How did you guess?!" And he said, "Really?!" I do have a tendency to be a bit impulsive but I promise I'd clear that with him first. Ha!
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