Flower Children

One of my favorite parts of spring are the flowers.  A few years ago I planted daffodils and tulips in the yard.  Daffodils have always been my favorite flower.  There's just something so "sunshiny" about them, I can't help but smile.  Both the kids love to go searching the yard for the first signs of the daffodils.  This year they were a little later than usual because of all the snow.  And then they didn't last very long because we had a really hot week.  C'est la vie.

You can see 4 little tips of daffodils trying to poke out of the snow in February.

Jeffrey hasn't been much into flower pictures this year.  He just doesn't have the patience to sit and wait while mommy takes way too many silly pictures.  He was willing to sit for a few though.  I've tried every year to take at least one or two pictures of the kids sitting in the daffodils.  They're linked here.

2006

2007

2008

Apparently I didn't put up any from last year.  Let's see. . .

And here are some cute shots of the kids enjoying our flowers this year.

Don't you just love this last one?  That's my goofball at his finest. 

Spring Break!!

 

Well, Spring is here!!  And Gone!!  We've skipped spring and jumped right into summer.  Whew.  Given all the snow we had over the winter, I'd say we're due a few gorgeous days.  Here they are!!

That snow also ended up shortening Spring Break for the kids.  We missed so many days of school, the school board decided to take away 3 days of spring break instead of tacking on several days to the end of the school year.  We still made the best our of our break.

The kids are always begging to go out and ride their bikes.  So Friday morning, I loaded their bikes into the van and we headed into town to a park that has a nice paved path that runs by a river.  It's pretty flat and just right for bike riding.  We went on about a 1.5 mile ride/run (mommy ran along).  By the end, Erin was getting really comfortable letting her bike build a little speed down the slopes.  After our ride we hung out at the park, played on the playground and had a picnic by the river.  It was a great morning.  Although I made the fatal mistake of packing one pack of chocolate cookies and one pack of sandies.  Let me tell you, we almost had WWIII over the pack of chocolate cookies.  Sigh.  After our romp by the river we stopped by the gym for a quick swim.    They LOVE swimming, so we take every chance to get a swim in.

Saturday we hit a local candy dash (see previous post) and then the kids came with mommy to her soccer game while daddy had a brew day on the deck.  When we got home we spent more time hanging outside, and even dyed our eggs out back.

Sunday, we spent a relaxed and laid back Easter.  It was great.

Monday morning, we headed up to DC for a few days.  Erin's been studying about national symbols at school so we decided to take a trip into the city.  She had the class "pet" Jonas with her for the weekend.  We introduced Jonas to the Washington Monument.  Erin explained to us why exactly the monument is 2 colors (2 different quarries) and counted 50 flags around the base.  We then decided to wander into a few of the museums.  Erin wanted to see the Star Spangled Banner and Jeffrey wanted to see dinosaurs.  So we hit both those spots.

On the way we actually stumbled across the presidential motorcade taking Obama to the National's game to throw out the first pitch.  Jeffrey liked all the motorcycles.  Erin thought the big limos were cool.

Before heading back to Noni's the kids caught a ride on the National Mall Carousel and splashed in the fountain outside the National Gallery.  If you remember, last year we spent part of Spring Break in DC as well.  And we needed to buy new ski caps.  Let's just say the ski caps were not needed at all this year.  This year we needed to find the fountains to cool off.

Tuesday AM we headed to the National Zoo.  The kids love the zoo, and its one of my favorite places as well.  The animals were all really active, which surprised me since is was so unseasonably hot (close to 90 actually).  The lion was prowling around, the otters were sunning, the panda wandered his environment, the baby gorilla was swinging like crazy, and the orangutan even crossed outside above our heads.  We took our time, wandered through the misters to cool off.  The kids picked out some new sunglasses and ball caps to keep the sun off.

Since school was back in session this morning we had to leave Noni's after dinner last night.  We had a great few days playing tourist and seeing Noni, Oma and Grandpa.

Hoppy Easter!!

Hoppy Easter everyone!!!  We've had a gorgeous few days here in the 'ville.  For the first time in several years, Erin didn't have to wear her spring sweater over her Easter Dress. 

We began the weekend with an egg hunt.  Well it was billed as an egg hunt.  What it really was was a mad dash across a soccer field to grab as much candy as possible.  There weren't even plastic eggs!!!  The kids loaded up and brought home a haul of close to 2 lbs of candy each.  Later in the afternoon the kids came with me to my soccer game.  They had a great time running around the sidelines and cheering mommy on.

Sunday morning we awoke to another beautiful day.  We headed to church to worship as a family.  We had a special treat too as a local farmer had brought a lamb to church to greet the children.  They fell in love with it.  Erin even fed it from her hand.  After service we had another little egg hunt there.

At home I took some pictures of the kids - well Erin really, Jeff wasn't in the mood - while Tom hid the eggs outside.  They had a blast looking for our eggs at home too.  We spent much of the rest of the afternoon relaxing.  Jeffrey took a much needed nap.  Erin sorted her candy again and again.  Tom and I took advantage of the gorgeous weather to sit out on the deck and read. 

It was just a gorgeous day to celebrate our risen Christ.

Update

A quick update on the swimming.  The kids started another session of lessons this week.  They have a new instructor, which was a little surprising.  Jeffrey's been with the same instructor for almost a year.  He doesn't always deal well with change, but took to his new teacher well.  There was one BIG difference in the lesson though.

Jeffrey would ONLY swim on his back.  Something must have clicked last week and he became obsessed with practicing it this week.  He's doing more of a scull stroke (we call it chicken-airplane-soldier) than a traditional backstroke but it's pretty impressive.  Friday when I took the kids swimming in the afternoon, he did a full lap of the pool (about 25 meters) all on his own.  And the look on his face when he got to the end was pure pride.  I had the same look.

Still Swimming!!!

Both kids have kept up with the swimming lessons we started last year. Jeff has taken them pretty regularly throughout the year. Erin has not had quite as many months (chose gymnastics one session) as he's had, but they're both still blooming as swimmers. I can't believe that at this point last year, Erin was terrified to get her face and hair wet. Now she's swimming 25 yards at a time and working on actually developing her strokes. She tries to remember every step. I'd never realized how complicated swimming actually is. There's the kicks (straight legs), the arms, the breathing. Erin's working on breathing to the side.

Jeffrey is progressing as well, but not quite as quickly. His favorite part of lesson time is diving after the dive sticks. He's been able to retrieve sticks from about 7 feet down!!! When he puts his mind to the swimming he's really great at it. He's just tends to concentrate so hard on step 4, that he forgets about steps 1-3. Natural for his age though, so we're not worried. Our ultimate goal of knowing he'll be "OK" if he accidentally falls into a pool or lake are well on their way to being quieted. Of course I'll still watch him like a hawk.

They were tested recently, and both kids are at at level 4 meaning they are developing their strokes, but are capable of "swimming" completely on their own. Erin's biggest recent achievement is her interest in learning how to dive. She's had a couple of beauties already. Jeffrey's newest thing is being willing to try swimming on his back. He's never, ever, liked being on his back. He even started sleeping on his tummy by the time he was 4 months old. So last week he decided he'd give the back stroke a try. And he was able to work with his instructor to get an entire lap done. I was so proud of him for trying.

We'll keep swimming through April, but probably take May off. There's just a few too many things going on in May. Since we've got a family membership to the gym, we can use the pool as a family anytime we want during family hours. I'm looking forward to a summer of fun at the pool and the lake. Maybe we'll even get in a quick trip to the ocean!!!

It's Official - he's growing up

I registered Jeffrey for Kindergarten today.  One of our friends commented on Facebook that she remembers when he was smaller than a puppy.  Yep.  Honestly sometimes it feels like that could have just been yesterday.  Other days I struggle to remember the little bald guy army crawling across the floor trying to grab Drake's tail.

He's been "ready" for Kindergarten for a while.  Since it's at the same school Erin goes to, the building and people are familiar to him.  So when we showed up to register for school there was no awkwardness.  He just walked right in.  While I filled out the bazillion forms and wrote out his entire name maybe 25 times he scoped out the scene in the cafeteria.  As I was finalizing the papers with one of the administrators, Erin's kindergarten teacher tapped me on the shoulder.

"I've got Jeffrey.  We'll be back in a few."

Off he hopped, holding on to Miss. S's hand.  A few minutes later she came back to get me.  I'd had some fears that he would try and show off by being silly with her.  He'd try and tell her purple was orange because -- hey wouldn't that be funny?  Apparently not.  He chose showing off by acing every question she asked, and even sounded out a few words for her.  We got a few minutes to talk about his learning style - that he responds so well to positive reinforcement.  And how he can shut down if he feels he's disappointed someone.  She raved about him.  Said he's definitely ready for school.  We're crossing our fingers that she's still going to be at the school next year, because she'd be the best teacher for him. 

I really am amazed at how much he's grown in the last year.  He loves reading and is willing to sound out words.  He gets excited about learning.  My little army crawling guy will be heading off to Kindergarten in just a few short months.  Sniff Sniff.

Oh yeah, and by the way.  He's officially taller than his 1st grade sister.  And towered over most of the kids at registration too.  So growing up physically too!!

Flashback to My Playground Days

I have very vivid memories of jump roping during recess in Elementary school.  I went through a jump rope phase when I was about Erin's age.  Maybe a little older.  I remember jumping at school, and on the sidewalk in front of our house.  I'd try jumping forwards and backwards.  Jump at different speeds etc..  I loved it.

Erin's school has done a jump rope for heart the last two years.  It's a fundraiser for the Heart Association and the kids get to practice during PE class.  The more money the kids raise, the sillier things the PE teacher will do.  So far Mr. B has spent the night on the roof of the school, worn a Mohawk,  and the kids are currently working on earning enough money to duct tape Mr. B to the walls of the cafeteria during all three lunch sessions. 

So Erin has been practicing her jump roping at home a lot.  We have a old rope that she got as a goody bag, or something from Easter.  Honestly we're not certain where it came from exactly.  She spent a large amount of the weekend trying to "beat her record" which I think stands somewhere around 45ish right now. 

She's also taken the opportunity to practice her math skills.  I mean what could be more fun than jumping and doing math!!!  She likes to count her jumps, but can't just count by ones.  First she counts by ones.  Then asks me to help her count by twos (she gets to 12 just fine and then the counting/jumping combo get too tricky).  She moves on to 5s and then 10s.  So while I'm making dinner I'll hear "45 mom!!!  By 5s"  or "23...1s!!"  On rare occasions it's "10 by 10s" in a sad voice.  This morning she asked me to teach her to count by 4s.  I tried to explain it, but honestly, math was never my strong suit.

I love seeing her get so excited about something I remember so fondly as a child.  I look forward to each dinner prep time and hearing my next "Hey mom - my record!!!  55 by 5s!!!!"

A New Hope

The battle between the Rebel Alliance and the evil Empire surges on in the family living room.  Luke and Leia valiantly take on the sinister Darth "Daddius".  Complete with newly invented Reindeer and Tree bombs, this next installation of the epic Saga is not to be missed.

Really Rosie

For the past few months Erin has been involved with a theater workshop. It was run by the same people who direct the plays we generally do, but was almost entirely participant driven. They worked on a short play called "Really Rosie". Erin was Buttermilk The Cat. She loved the roll and got to crawl around on the stage and meow and rub Rosie's ankles.

The kids got to learn a lot about producing a play. They talked about costuming and set design. They did much of the blocking and choreography themselves. They learned about publicity and got to design a poster for the play.

This was the first thing that Erin's done that we haven't been involved in. She thought that was just the coolest thing. She walked into each rehearsal just like she hops on the bus every morning, without looking back at mommy. Then I'd get some of the low-down on the ride back home. She taught me some of the dances (in the living room of course) and let me help her learn her lines.

 

 

It was a very special experience Sunday though, to attend a show and be able to watch her from the audience. Usually we're with her on stage, or peering from backstage. So we don't really get to watch her. This was the first time we just sat back, relaxed (except for the first few moments, when mommy realized Erin was wearing the wrong costume) and enjoyed the show. It was fantastic!!!!

My little girl certainly is growing up.

Wacky Tackies

Both the kids had Wacky Tacky days last week.  They were very excited to be able to dress up silly for rehearsal (for Erin) and school (for Jeff).  Let me tell you though, it's much easier to wacky tacky up my girl than the boy.  First things first, the selection of clothing is much greater, especially since 90% of what he wears is solid or wide stripes.  Secondly, she's got hair, he just got his cut.  Lastly, the boy is very picky about his appearance, and especially how things feel.

Erin went all wacky for her rehearsal.  We layered polka dotted leggings with some blue plaid pants, a printed undershirt and with a striped T.  She loved looking all silly.  She wanted her hair in lots of pony tails, so I think we got 6 in there all together.  She happily bounced into rehearsal sufficiently tacky.  I'd forgotten all about the wacky/tacky though when we headed into Target after rehearsal.  She certainly got some smiles from the folks around.

She had so much fun when she got herself dressed for school on Tuesday she had on much the same outfit.  I "almost" let her go to school like that, but figured I might give her a warning first.  "It's not wacky-tacky day at school.  You can wear that if you want, I'm just letting you know."  She opted to tone it down a little. 

Jeffrey is a little more complicated.  He's got on a tie-dyed shirt  - backwards - under his red flannel.  We've got pants on backwards, which you couldn't really tell.  Then mismatched socks and shoes.  All Tuesday long, he kept telling me that he was going to let me make his hair spiky for Wacky Tacky day.  That's our running joke.  He's very particular about his hair and HATES it when it's in the slightest bit spiky.  The stylists always tease him when they're cutting it, that they might leave it spiky for him.  He generally gets somewhat angry and explains that "I like it flat."  So I was so excited that he was going to let me spike it.  But Wednesday morning brought about a change in heart.  No spiky hair :(  He did humor me and put his had on sideways, but really, that was just to humor me.  It got turned straight almost immediately.

So there we have my silly willies.  My wacky tackies.  Don't you just wanna hug em!!!!

Our little trooper

We took Erin for an MRI yesterday just to make sure her headaches aren't being caused by something other than being tired or dehydrated or, most likely, her Uncle (we love you always Uncle Jon, even if you did "share" your migraines).  Our pediatrician is not one to generally push for tests, but neither of us want to be the doctor/parent who two years down the road wonders, well why didn't we do the test?

Since the MRI required Erin to be still for 40 minutes while laying in a frightening space, we all decided that a sedated MRI would work the best.  The hospital would put in an IV and then give her some medicine to make her sleep.  This made mommy very nervous, but running the test would be worth it.

We talked for a week or so ahead of time that Erin would "get a shot" in her hand.  This would allow the doctors to give her medicine to make her sleepy.  She was pretty nervous and had a difficult time falling asleep the night before (as did mommy). 

We woke up Tuesday morning and gave her a glass of water for breakfast.  I had packed up a bag of activities for her to keep her occupied while we were waiting at the hospital.  Tom took the morning off to be with us.  Once we were there things moved very smoothly and rather quickly.  We easily got registered and headed back to the pediatric MRI waiting room.  Erin and daddy colored and read "Frog and Toad".  A nice nurse came out and talked to Erin about what would happen and put some numbing cream on her hands (for the IV). 

About 20 minutes later we went back.  Erin sat on daddy's lap in the cool yellow chair.  We brought her frog Webkinz and she held tight to her.  I knelt on the floor and tried my best to distract her, but she just HAD to watch while the doctor put in her IV.  Let me tell you, Erin still has a great set of lungs on her.  She screamed her head off.  BUT she held amazingly still.  It only took less than a minute for the IV to be put in place.  Thank heavens she doesn't have her mommy's veins.

We then went back to another room.  Erin got to see the MRI machine, and the tech promised to show her pictures of her head when she was all done.  We pulled off her snow boots (yes there's still a ton of snow).  In order to distract her while they put some medicine in the IV, Erin was handed a ball that lit up when she shook it.  She treated it as if she'd never seen anything so cool in her life.  But it did the trick.  She refused to let go of it.  When they started the sleepy medicine they said it would work quickly.  Boy, did it.  We tried to get her to count or sing us a song, but nope.  She was OUT.  Still holding fast to the ball.

Daddy and I went back out to the waiting room during the test.  About 30 minutes later, the nurse came back to get us saying she was waking up.  She was still pretty disoriented but insisted on sitting up and reaching for daddy.  He scooped her up.  We tried to show her the pictures of her head, but she wasn't all that into it.  We took our time and headed out to the waiting room to get her settled again.  I had to finish filling out paperwork.  Erin saw the nurse and perked right up.  Hey, she gave me that cool ball.  That was a really neat ball.  The nurse smiled and excused herself for a minute.  She quickly returned with a light-up ball for Erin to take home. 

We spent the rest of the day pretty low key.  Erin wanted to go out for lunch and ice cream.  They warned us she might seem a little silly and she was.  She had a little trouble walking and was just talking and talking and talking.  Not sure what about, just silly talking.  We told her how proud of her we are and how brave she was.  It's pretty impressive.  She certainly was a trooper.  

Back to Normal??

It's been almost 3 weeks since Jeffrey has been to school.  And in the past 2 weeks Erin's only been one day - and it was a two hour delay.  That's just how things go here in the Mid-Atlantic when we're hit with a mountain of snow.  Today they're both at school (but still under a two hour delay).  And it's supposed to snow/ice this afternoon.  What will tomorrow bring?

Needless to say, we're all a little stir crazy.  We've done our best to get out.  Thank god for the gym or we'd be more than stir crazy.  But everything is on it's head.  Tom has had to work from home a few days because we couldn't get the car up the hills.  That means the basement is off limits during the day.  There's been some sleeping in.  Some staying up later.  Lots of Wii Sports and Super Mario Brothers.  Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs seems to be on repeat play. 

And of course when you all spend so much time confined there's the inevitable fights.  He took my computer!!! She won't share!!! I wanna play the DS!!! I don't want to nap/read!!!! 

There's been lots of extra time to finish making Valentine's (which Jeffrey still has work to do).  Our "things to do" boxes are getting empty.  The crayons are wearing down to nibs.  There's paint on the table from making model cars and airplanes (which have already broken). 

So I guess you can say we've survived the Blizzard of '10.  Sometimes it feels like just barely.  And I'll fully admit I'm over the moon that they're back in school today -- even if Tom has taken over the basement again.

Story Time

This is just precious.  Erin is my little reading queen.  She loves to read.  The other night Jeffrey kept asking Tom and I to read him this book, but we were busy.  I came downstairs and found this . . .




Just melts my heart :)

Girl Time

Erin's school was canceled again today because of flood waters over some of the back roads.  Since the buses couldn't reach all the students, school was canceled.  Jeff had a playdate with a buddy from school.  They've been looking forward to this for a while, so he spent the whole day there.  That gave Erin and I a chance to have a girls days.

We started by heading into the gym.  Mommy did some cardio, and Erin got to hang with the big kids in the kid zone.  After the gym we headed to her favorite restaurant for lunch.  That's right.  We hit Red Robin.  She even got her own freckled lemonade :)  I'd been spending the morning trying to think of something really special and girly we could do.  I finally decided it might be fun to stop and get our toes painted.

I went for the full pedi since it's been 6 months or so since I've had one.  Erin got to sit in her own fancy pedi chair next to me.  They turned on the massage and got her a drink.  She picked out a super bright bubble gum pink nail polish.  The woman also put some cream and buffed the bottom of her feet.  She felt like a little princess.  She just giggled and giggled.  Since mommy's was taking longer they offered to paint her fingernails too.  Same bubble gum pink.  When they were dry, the woman came back with some other colors and put little flowers on her thumbs and big toes.  Talk about making a little girl's day. 

It was so great to be there with my baby.  Watching her still be a little girl but growing up a little.  And basking in some special time with mommy - who was glowing from her special time with her big girl.

Forehead Aches

My sweet girl has been suffering from what she calls "forehead aches" recently.  Actually she's complained about them for a little over a year but recently they've been getting worse.  Sometimes they seem to hit her when she's overtired or we've been too busy.  Sometimes they just come out of what seems like nowhere.  The last few we've had to deal with have been whoppers.  They wake her up in the middle of the night.  She's crying and shaking and just wants to be held.  Sometimes a cool cloth on her head helps.  Usually, I'll give her some Motrin and that will kick in after a while.  Unfortunately the last two have been so bad they've made her physically ill, and she's thrown up from them. 

Given all that we took a trip to talk with the pediatrician today.  She asked her all the questions a 6-year old could be expected to answer.  We talked about possible triggers.  Foods?  Dehydration? Family cases of migraines - (yes her Uncle on Mommy's side and her Aunt on Daddy's side)?  She got to stand on one foot and stick out her tongue and make some silly faces.  The basic neuro testing went fine.  We did decide to run a few blood tests.  This was her first time having to get her arm poked.  She was pretty miserable about it, but held nice and still.  She got a shiny band-aid and got to choose 3 stickers.  When we got home, she then got to watch one of her new Shirley Temple movies from her Oma. 

We'll find out more in the next day or so.  I'm going to talk to her teacher about bringing a water bottle to school and keeping it with her so she can drink from it throughout the day.  I certainly hope we're able to find out what's going on and make my little girl feel better.  We certainly hate seeing her hurt like that.