Winter activities

We are just about to head out of town for Winter break - and also for Spring break in another 6 weeks or so.  We have no shortage of winter activities that will be nice to "break" from.  Luke recently finished up his first season on the modified swim team. As it turns out, he did well in the  mid-distance freestyle and also in the 50/100 breast stroke.  I can tell he has fun on this team by the amount of antics I see going on while on the pool deck.  He floats between head locks and towel whipping with the other boys to chit chatting and flash mob dancing with the girls.  Evidence of swim team:

The overall feedback for the mod swim team was that it was much easier and much more fun that club swimming.  I couldn't agree more - I'll take the 1 hour in-and-out meets over the the 2 day, 3 session, 8 hour club meets.  Of course we are still doing those as well since Adrienne is still club swimming.

Adrienne is in the midst of her swimming competition season.  For her, this season as been all about the 50 free and the 50 butterfly.  She really enjoys meets but not so much, the practices.  Most days she's trying to fly under coach Laurie's (very sarcastic coach with no filter) radar.  She's also been practicing her first love, lacrosse 2x per week at a facility very far far away :(  I've been indoctrinated into the world of tween pop music during our cozy car rides.  Shhh...don't tell the kids I steal some of their songs for my own playlists.

Coco continues to love gymnastics and play dates, and snuggling.  She thinks she's ready for sleepovers but we are definitely  not venturing down that rabbit hole yet.  We've only just now gotten to the point where Adrienne's sleep overs don't drive us completely insane...they just wreck the house.  Coco has not quite grasped that there is a difference between kindergarteners and 4th graders...she sees herself as no different than her older siblings.   On other fronts, she's really doing well with her reading and we've had so much fun reading Dr. Seuss type books every  night at bedtime.   And the best part is that depending on if either Matt or myself is on her good side, she'll "award" us with getting to put her to bed.  She often tells us who is the better snuggler and who she read more pages with.

And for Matt and I....we are recovering from celebrating my 40th birthday.  We had many celebrations with friends and family- a great birthday all around.  Who doesn't love the opportunity for so many celebrations!!  And I'm already plotting my revenge on Andy for the lovely shirts he produced at my expense!  I'd say 40 was worth it!  Now let's just halt the birthdays going forward - I'm happy to stay this age right here!

It's a new decade!

When the last decade started 10 years ago, we were living in Chicago, I was about to turn 30 and we were expecting a 2nd baby. It seems like a whole lifetime ago. It was a whole lifetime ago - quite literally, Adrienne's lifetime, and  Coco's lifetime plus some.  And at the same time, it seems like it was just a few months ago.  Time is such an abstract concept.  We rung in the New Year with takeout and a quite evening at home- it was so serene and I loved every minute.

We had two full weeks off of the usual school and activities schedule throughout the holidays and it was such a nice break.  We fully unpacked all the Christmas gifts, put away all the decorations, and had time to do whatever we liked.  Luke and Matt headed to Orlando, FL for a lacrosse tournament - Luke was invited to play on his club's national tournament team.  The sunshine agreed with him - he played well!.  The girls enjoyed multiple play dates and loved sleeping in my bed with me while Luke and Matt were away.

Two weeks into 2020, we are now back in the full swing of things.  I can only hope that this decade is as fulfilling as the last!

3d National lacrosse team tourney:

Ice Skaters on Christmas Eve:

Girls just hanging out over break:

Fall Recap

 We are two weeks away from Christmas so it’s probably fair to say that I can now recap the fall.  Consistent with life of the past 12 years, we were very active.  I would say busy but the word busy is so overused that I’m not sure it really conveys anything.  Luke started modified sports this year which is actually a relief from youth sports.  He played volleyball during the fall season since we wouldn’t allow him to play football.  With lots of grumbling he came around and actually enjoyed the game of volleyball itself.  His team was a bit challenged with a lot of kids who have never played organized sports before but I think all in all, he learned some life lessons.  I’ve even caught him practicing volleyball on his own.   He also had 3D lacrosse all fall - much better with dad coaching his team now!

Adrienne had her first season of club lacrosse with Aces Elite.  I’m in awe of how good her team is!  I honestly can’t imagine what this team will be like in the years to come when they actually grow into their bodies and refine their hand eye coordination.  Adrienne is a transition midfielder - she did very well being a play maker but not necessarily always scoring the goal.  She’s bonded with the girls on the team and if all stays the same, I think she’ll have many exciting years ahead. 

Coco is back to gymnastics where she’s been moved up a few levels.  She still does not enjoy stretching but she loves the “choice” time they give at the end of practice.  Most recently, she’s starting to work on back handsprings.  We even held her 6^th birthday party at gymnastics. 

We had a great 2019 Halloween.  The kids came to visit mom at the office and promptly took over my setup.  The went out with friends in the evening and took in quite the haul of candy.  We did have to remove the candy from the house because it appeared as though it was being used as the breakfast of champions. 

Matt and I took a little trip to Miami just as the snow was starting to fly in NY.  We enjoyed the beach and the warm water as well as all the bars and restaurants.

As for mid-December, we are currently working the party circuit, the musical performance circuit, and of course the holiday shopping circuit. 

Kindergarten

Coco loves Kindergarten!  She finally is of status to be "Pet Helper!" in her Montessori classroom.  The special jobs are reserved for the Kindergarteners and they take them very seriously.  She has also enjoyed being the "Snack Helper," the "Rug and Pencil Helper," and the "Towel Helper."  We get a detailed daily rundown of the what the classroom turtle's diet entails.  Lots of meal worms in case you were interested.

Coco is still not a big fan of circle time, which, by admission of her teachers, is an exercise in sitting still.  Although sitting still is "boring," her date and weather recitation skills are quite on point! Gotta learn something from that circle time.


The other responsibility bestowed only upon the Kindergarteners in her classroom is the "Contract."  Now the contract is really just an outline or checklist of tasks/lessons they must accomplish but it makes me giggle when I hear her talk about her "contract."  Such a serious word for such a small being.

And last but certainly not least, the other momentous change for Coco this year is RIDING THE BUS!  She really, really loves the bus.  There are only three kids on her bus and many times, she's on it alone but she has the nicest bus driver.  She's not aware that she'll start hating it in a few years time so we'll take the bus love while we can get it.