Happy 7th!!

My first born is 7! Every year...

*she is less reliant on me and more independent
*she grows taller and will soon pass her mother in height
*she looks less like a little kid and more like a big kid
*she astounds me with her knowledge

I still relish the moments she wants held and cuddled, the times she wants to curl up on my lap with a book, the times when she wants to hold my hand as we walk to the car after school, and the times when she just wants "mommy time". I know these moments are becoming more limited with every passing day.

This is her. Her look. Her eyes. I want to permanently implant this picture in my head. We love you birthday girl!


We did the family celebration this weekend. Tonight, just the 5 of us. This weekend, the friend celebration. Schuyler wanted a Lion King cake. This was my most challenging cake ever. I'm just thankful it resemebled a lion. When I first started, it was questionable.

We had conferrences this past week for Eli and Mack. Mack in on the verge of some big things. She has really taken off in the classroom. I had a suspicion this was happening b/c she has been showing me some of her work and has been extremely proud of it. She couldn't wait for us to got to conferences. She spends a lot of her time doing math and sound work. She has also matured quite a bit since last fall.

Eli also continues to make progress. He is the policeman of the toddler room and lets the teacher's now when something is not right. However, there is no one to police him as he still needs reminders to not climb on furniture.

Happy Birthday Dad!

We celebrated Dad's bday last night, a day early, with a grill out of hotdogs and hamburgers over at his place. The kids help me make an apple spice cake for dessert. And, with some convincing, I took the camera for a very mini photoshoot in hopes of getting dad with my kids. It took some doing but I finally got 1 = )

Happy Bday Dad! We are so thankful to have a gracious, loving father like you. You are always there for us and the grandkids. Patient, always giving, and never expecting anything in return.



We finally had a beautiful day for Schuyler's soccer game = ) The girls are improving every practice and game! Schuyler played very well scoring 2 goals. I'm amazed as her foot skills continue to develop. I was very disappointed in the type of play by the other team. Being physical is somewhat expected. However, these girls were blatantly pushing and pulling shirts. For example, Schuyler was dribbling towards the goal and a girl came up and pushed her straight in the back. She made NO attempt for the ball. Schuyler went flying face forward. This was just one of the many incidents. The refs started to take notice and made appropriate calls. We were awarded several penalty kicks. I don't think the girls had a clue what was going on. Schuyler got to take one (she had earned it from all the pushing she took)! She didn't score but sure gave it a good shot for her first penalty kick ever. It's just frustrating that coaches are teaching this at this young age. The shirt pulling will happen at a high school level. But, at this age, the kids need to learn the fundamentals.

After the game, Schuyler and daddy caught a little bit of the spring game = )

I have to mention one cute thing about Eli. Every night, we have to do Itsy Bitsy Spider and Little Bunny Foo Foo. He giggles wich such delight everytime!

when a child hurts, the parent hurts...

I will say that I continue to learn the true meaning that when a child hurts, the parent hurts along with the child. You may remember me saying that Schuyler has been struggling with the friends who are not being good friends at school. Unfortunately, it came to a head this week. When I picked her up from school on Wednesday I noticed a small chunk of hair barely attached. I asked her what happened and she said *Mary pulled her hair. I asked her to describe the whole situation. Apparently, it occurred on playground at recess. Schuyler wanted to play with Mary and **Sarah, but Mary said no; she could not play with Sarah. Schuyler responded that it was not Mary’s choice but Sarah’s. Then, Mary pulled her hair! I was able to confront all parties, Mary, Mary’s father, and Schuyler away from school. I still didn’t get a clear picture of the incident but there was no denying that hair was pulled.

* and ** - names have been changed.

Mark and I have talked to her and her teacher has had a one on one with her, letting her know that this person is not being a “good” friend and there is a difference between tattling and telling a teacher when there is something wrong i.e. she is getting hurt! We are proud of her for being the “better” person by ignoring and not retaliating but we want her to stand up for herself. She did come home with an apology note from Mary the other day = ) I really hope these incidents stop.

Mack got her dance costume the other day and she is beyond excited! We went to get her bag from the classroom and the teacher pulled me aside to tell me a funny story. She said, “If you want a good laugh, put McKenzie in a room with a mirror, her costume, and music. Let her put her costume on all by herself. Then, she will proceed to dance around the room, checking herself out every so often in the mirror. One time she went right up to the mirror, did a little pose and said, “I look SO BEAUTIFUL!” Now, is that Mack or what!?!

I’m thinking spring is here to stay! That makes me happy = )

Mack and her BFF.

It's been 10 days since...

I last blogged! Oh my! So much can happen in a day let alone a week!

Rewind back to the weekend before last. Schuyler's soccer game was only slightly better (in terms of play). Once again no subs and it was 26 degrees with a wind chill of 10. I understand soccer is played in less than ideal conditions. I remember the sleet, the rain, the chilly temperatures from the days when I played. But, I was older, like high school. Poor girls! They were troopers. This weekend's game was much better. We say some passing, control of the ball, and a general idea of positions! I worked with Schuyler on how to do a goalie kick and she had a HUGE one in the game. Way past midfield and over everyone's head = ) A final score of 3-2, which is their first win in the rec league = )

Poor Eli got another bruiser. Mack tried to use his face as a soccer ball. Okay, it wasn't that bad but she did kick him in the eye. Apparently, she was kicking a balloon on the ground and Eli went for it. Would you know it happens when I step out of the room for one second to use the bathroom. Seriously, when can a mother pee in peace? The week before we sent Eli to school with a limp. Now we send him with a black and blue eye!

As I have mentioned, Schuyler has been struggling with the whole friend thing, girls being caddy, etc... So, it was the perfect time for her to reunite with her best bud from the Montessori for a playdate. It was so good to see her laughing and having such a good time!

It was a week for playdates b/c Mack had her best friend come over on Friday. I'll try and post pictures later this week b/c those 2 are so cute together!! Nothing but smiles and giggles.

Schuyler had her first overnight birthday party as well as her first volleyball game. Schuyler has spent the night with family and once with our neighbor across the street. They had most of the girls in her first grade class. That is one brave (or insane) mom =) I didn't see the volleyball game as I thought it would be a better choise to get the younger two some naps before the easter egg hunt. In Schuyler's words, "It's not really like a vollegball game. I wish it was more sporty!" In her mind, she's ready to go spike the ball. Silly girl!

The Easter Egg Hunt was indoors due to winds. I went with Mack and Eli, which from the sounds of it was the more relaxed egg hunt. Schuyler's group K - 4th grade, sounded very intense with people pushing and leaping over chairs. The 3-4 year olds were supposed to be in a different area than the 2 and under but since there were hardly any 2 and unders, they invited her to join us. (Which is good b/c then I didn't have to send her by herself.) Eli's age is so fun to watch. It's not a contest about how many eggs you can stuff in your basket, but more a curiousity of what are these eggs in what is inside them. Eli would pick one up, open it, examine it and once he figured out it was candy, try and get the wrapper off. I had to encourge him to find more eggs = )

One last word of caution. NEVER stick a 3 inch disk into a regular size disk slot on your computer. Further more, after the realization that you can not get it out, do not stick a regular size disk in with it. Then, both will become stuck!! I'm not going to point fingers at the guilty party since that person already feels bad. I missed my IMac dearly but it is now home, safely and soundly where it should be = )

Back to the basics of capturing my kids...

I LOVE sunflare. Wanted some muted colors with this one.


See, we practice safely at all times by encouraging the kids to where helmuts while swinging = ) Notice the little scrach on his eye!


A little chalk fun!

Tiny Dancer

That's what I think of when I look at these pictures. Mack absolutely adores her dance class. She practices her routine for us. She teaches us what a saw-shay is (I have no clue how to spell that but you get the idea). Schuyler got her costume last week and Mack did not. In her words, "This is not fair to me and not fair to the friends in my class. They (the costumes) should all get here at the same time".

Schuyler had her first soccer game of the season last week. I think "learning experience" would sum it up! First time on the big field, we've added 3 new girls to the team, and we had no subs. The team we played had definitely played before, not to mention when they would sub, the entire team would come out and a fresh bunch of players would enter the field. Schuyler has decided she wants to learn to play goalie. So, second half, she went in. I had no idea what expect. Well, she was a little animal. Diving on the ball even if a player was about to kick it. I think a mouth guard might be a good investment = ) Mack has been tagging along to practice and sits on the bench to watch. After the team does their warm-up run, Mackie does her run. She joins us for toe touches and does her own dribbling drills. It will be interesting to see how she responds in the fall when she's on her own team. One of Schuyler's teammates has a little sister the same age as Mack so they will be on a team together.

Oh, I will get schedules to everyone. After this weekends game, they will be divisionalized and then I will know when they actually play = )

Eli took a fall from the ladder of the bunkbeds last week. He was limping around up until a day or two ago. Mark and I are pretty sure he sprang his ankle.

I took a day of PTO on Tuesday and spent it with the kids. We rearranged both Eli's room and the girls' room. The new furniture arrangment makes the rooms appear more spacious. Eli's got a good spring cleaning, going through old clothes, etc... Now, for the girls' room.

Are you looking for someplace a little different to eat? Maybe some place eclectic with some flair? Mark and I ate at South Chargrill this week and the food was great and reasonably priced. Check out their website.

Bunny hop anyone?




Waiting her turn...

I LOVE March Madness!

Anyone out there with me? As long as Mark and I have known each other, we have always completed brackets and had some kind of bet. Now, I have a work bracket and one just for fun. I don't really have a favorite team, although I do have to say I like Duke basketball. So, it will be a weekend of basketball watching, hopefully some good games, a few upsets, and maybe a beer at the end of the day.

Schuyler has her first soccer game tomorrow. She should get a lot of playing time as 2 of the players are gone leaving us with one sub.

School conferences were last night. Schuyler continue to excel in all her studies and enjoys all aspects of school. I think her biggest challenge is finding that good group of friends. Unfortnately, it seems girls start being caddy at a young age. I'm proud of Schuyler b/c she's making good choices, not participating in this stuff, but then she feels excluded. Her personality is also to seek just a few good friends, so she really gets her feeling hurt when those 1 or 2 girls don't include her.

Today, Mark and I are going to watch her music class as they have a performance. We will both join her for luch afterwards. I had an assembly line going this a.m. as I made 5 pb and jelly sandwiches = )

It's been a while since I shared some of the boy. Going back to my roots and just trying to capture the kids as they are now. Documenting who they are and what they like to do.

Climbing...


Jumping... (love the movement blur of his foot)!


Hanging!

Yes, he is a drooly mess! Still working on toning those muscles in his mouth!

Happy Friday the 13th!

Who said Friday the 13th was bad?! It's food day at work, jeans day, and pay day! And, I get date night with my husband, no kids!! We're going out to eat. Not sure where yet but I'm sure we'll find some place yummy!

Eli had his 6 month review with LPS. I was hoping he might be dismissed/discharged (not sure of the correct terminology) but it appears we will continue with meetings. It is truly amazing what he has achieved when we look back at notes from the beginning. He had approximately 5 words. He was frustrated and was banging his head on the floor (what ever the floor would be). Even just a month or 2 ago he was biting himself in frustration sometimes. Fast forward to today. He has a multitude of words. They were impressed that he could use past tense correctly, such as went as well as possesive, such as Eli's. He has the hard 'k' sound such as the sound in his sister's name, Skye. He uses 2-3 phrases and has an extended vocabularly, like "trouble". That's one of his new sayings for his sister. "Mackie in trouble". We will work with him to continue to use 2-3 phrases.

Schuyler has completed her cheer club at school with a little preformance yesterday, along with the drama club. It was nice to watch. Mack has pretty much picked up the whole cheers just by watching her big sis! Next week soccer will begin. I'm hoping it warms up as I'm dreading cold games and practices.

Mack has been learning a lot at school. I've noticed her writing A LOT more. She seems to pick things up very quickly. Completely opposite of Schuyler who is very methodical. She's very excited about entering kindergarten in the fall. So much, that she can't wait for kindergarten shots and she does not like shots!

Guess what? I get to be godmother to my niece. I'm so honored!!

Proud cousin!


Followed by proud grandma.




One of Mack b/c she loves the camera and the camera usually loves her back = )