It started sometime in the last couple of weeks, we're not exactly sure when. But now, each night the pattern is the same. We close the door after putting him to "sleep," he climbs out of bed, opens his drawer, takes out a pair of socks, and puts them on his hands. Who knows why?! He's called them his fire gloves, his baseball gloves, and some other unintelligible things. We may never pin down his inspiration for this silly little habit.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Another one of his little quirks . . .
It started sometime in the last couple of weeks, we're not exactly sure when. But now, each night the pattern is the same. We close the door after putting him to "sleep," he climbs out of bed, opens his drawer, takes out a pair of socks, and puts them on his hands. Who knows why?! He's called them his fire gloves, his baseball gloves, and some other unintelligible things. We may never pin down his inspiration for this silly little habit.
Spring Break
We opted for a "low key," stay-in-town Spring break. Leading up to the break, I genuinely looked forward to doing some of the things that we've missed doing since Matthew started going to school full-time. Unfortunately, I lost sight of the reality that, though it seems we did more fun activities when Matthew wasn't in school all day, those activities generally were spread over several weeks, not packed into one. So, even though we didn't travel any great distance or go anywhere super exciting, I was still pretty exhausted by the ended of the week.
Here's the recap (Sorry there are so many days sans photos!):
Monday - Hands down the least exciting day of the week. I scheduled to have our brakes replaced thinking that we'd have decent enough weather to ride bikes and maybe do some letter boxing around Bellevue. It rain, hailed, and supposedly, according to Grandmother Ruthie, even snowed a little. But we did get a spend time with Grandmother Ruthie, survey Phantom Lake between rain showers, and watch way too much TV. At least starting the weekly so dismally gave us lots of room for improvement.
Tuesday - The sun shined enough to allow a trip to the zoo. Both boys are pretty familiar with the zoo, but we had gone consistently since last fall. The boys enjoyed their favorite exhibits (penguins, elephants, gorillas, the family farm); but being spring break and all, we splurged and got ice cream at the zoo.
Wednesday - After sickness forced us to cancel an much anticipated play date, we headed to the Aquarium. Since I detest paying for downtown parking, we opted to ride the bus. After meeting Jon at his office for an early lunch, we trekked down to the Aquarium. I really pushed the limit of Seth's naptime, so he was really pretty ornery from the start. But he did really enjoy the shallow petting pools . . . for splashing. Matthew did pretty well at putting up with Seth's antics and we were able to see everything in the Aquarium, at least superficially.
Thursday - At this point in the week, I was pretty exhausted. We headed to the gym like usual in the morning, but did spend the afternoon playing at a newly refurbished park in our neighborhood with some friends before heading to Matthew's evening t-ball game.
Friday - We headed out with bikes to a new park that we'd never visited with a gentle "skate park" section and paved "track" with plenty of room to ride. Unfortunately, Matthew got pretty frustrated with the "skating" section of the park, having a hard time making the tight turns required. Seth actually quite enjoyed the skate section, choosing to push his bike down the ramps and laugh hysterically when it crashed. Both boys' style of "riding" become pretty hazardous when other kids showed up, so after some fast talking, the boys agreed to ride around the park instead. Matthew did great riding around and lapped us several, especially since this is how Seth choose to "ride" his bike:
I don't know why our boys have been such reluctant riders. It makes me crazy! But, despite my frustration, I think the boys had a good time and we'll definitely look forward to visiting that park again.
So, it may not have been the most exciting/eventful/awesome Spring break for Matthew, but we did have fun and I survived. And now I have a little more confidence that I'll be able to survive and probably even enjoy the summer . . . at least until "little sister" arrives.
Here's the recap (Sorry there are so many days sans photos!):
Monday - Hands down the least exciting day of the week. I scheduled to have our brakes replaced thinking that we'd have decent enough weather to ride bikes and maybe do some letter boxing around Bellevue. It rain, hailed, and supposedly, according to Grandmother Ruthie, even snowed a little. But we did get a spend time with Grandmother Ruthie, survey Phantom Lake between rain showers, and watch way too much TV. At least starting the weekly so dismally gave us lots of room for improvement.
Tuesday - The sun shined enough to allow a trip to the zoo. Both boys are pretty familiar with the zoo, but we had gone consistently since last fall. The boys enjoyed their favorite exhibits (penguins, elephants, gorillas, the family farm); but being spring break and all, we splurged and got ice cream at the zoo.
Wednesday - After sickness forced us to cancel an much anticipated play date, we headed to the Aquarium. Since I detest paying for downtown parking, we opted to ride the bus. After meeting Jon at his office for an early lunch, we trekked down to the Aquarium. I really pushed the limit of Seth's naptime, so he was really pretty ornery from the start. But he did really enjoy the shallow petting pools . . . for splashing. Matthew did pretty well at putting up with Seth's antics and we were able to see everything in the Aquarium, at least superficially.
Thursday - At this point in the week, I was pretty exhausted. We headed to the gym like usual in the morning, but did spend the afternoon playing at a newly refurbished park in our neighborhood with some friends before heading to Matthew's evening t-ball game.
Friday - We headed out with bikes to a new park that we'd never visited with a gentle "skate park" section and paved "track" with plenty of room to ride. Unfortunately, Matthew got pretty frustrated with the "skating" section of the park, having a hard time making the tight turns required. Seth actually quite enjoyed the skate section, choosing to push his bike down the ramps and laugh hysterically when it crashed. Both boys' style of "riding" become pretty hazardous when other kids showed up, so after some fast talking, the boys agreed to ride around the park instead. Matthew did great riding around and lapped us several, especially since this is how Seth choose to "ride" his bike:
I don't know why our boys have been such reluctant riders. It makes me crazy! But, despite my frustration, I think the boys had a good time and we'll definitely look forward to visiting that park again.So, it may not have been the most exciting/eventful/awesome Spring break for Matthew, but we did have fun and I survived. And now I have a little more confidence that I'll be able to survive and probably even enjoy the summer . . . at least until "little sister" arrives.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Easter
This year the Easter bunny decided to come on Saturday, so we could try to focus on real meaning of Easter on Sunday and so that the boys wouldn't go to church on Easter morning on a total candy high.
We must not have reminded the boys that the Easter bunny was going to visit that night because they actually slept until their normal wake up time. Jon stayed them off for a little bit so he could position himself with the camera.
Hunting for eggs . . .
Matthew was in need of a new baseball glove; fortunately the Easter bunny is omniscient. So, to go with the theme, the Easter bunny also brought Seth some baseball equipment, including a tee for the boys to share.
And the tee provided the perfect spot for an egg . . .
We must not have reminded the boys that the Easter bunny was going to visit that night because they actually slept until their normal wake up time. Jon stayed them off for a little bit so he could position himself with the camera.
Hunting for eggs . . .
Matthew was in need of a new baseball glove; fortunately the Easter bunny is omniscient. So, to go with the theme, the Easter bunny also brought Seth some baseball equipment, including a tee for the boys to share.
And the tee provided the perfect spot for an egg . . .
Sunday, April 17, 2011
One Shoe, One Boot
Early this week on the way to Matthew's bus stop, I asked Seth whether he'd like to wear shoes or boots. He responded by saying "Shoes AND boots." I tried to convince him otherwise, but insisted that he could wear both. This was his solution:
and he's been wearing one shoe and one boot all week long. Thankfully, towards the end of the week he figured out how to make sure that he wore a right foot and a left foot. It's hard to run with two right or left feet.
Though challenging and very opinionated at times, we sure do enjoy Seth and his little quirks!
and he's been wearing one shoe and one boot all week long. Thankfully, towards the end of the week he figured out how to make sure that he wore a right foot and a left foot. It's hard to run with two right or left feet.Though challenging and very opinionated at times, we sure do enjoy Seth and his little quirks!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Around the World - Ukraine
From nearly the beginning of the school year, the mother of one of Matthew's classmates has taken upon herself to come into the classroom on a weekly basis to present a lesson on the language, art, culture, and history of various countries from all around the world. A Spanish teacher by trade, this amazing and ambitious mom spends countless hours preparing lessons, slide shows, and art projects. It's not surprising for most kids, this weekly segment is the highlight of the week. With the help of other parent "experts," the class has traveled to Mexico, Spain, Japan, China, Australia, Italy, England, Ireland, France, South Africa, and most recently Ukraine!
This Thursday Jon volunteered (okay I volunteered him, but he didn't mind) to come in a do a little presentation on Ukraine. He had about an hour to give the kids a little overview of the country, eat some homemade piroshky, and do a little art project. Knowing that he probably couldn't hold the kids attention babbling on about Ukrainian culture, he enlisted the help of a former Ukrainian mission buddy by setting up a call on Skype. We both were a little nervous about the call; not only the mechanics of it (would the connection be good, how long could we hold the connection) but also about whether the kids would enjoy talking to someone halfway around the world. Thankfully, everything went smoothly connection-wise, and the kids loved asking their (sometimes ridiculous) questions to Jon's friend.
Jon also got many compliments on his piroshky and the kids loved decorating their own felt matryoshka dolls.
Jon enjoyed breaking out his collection of Ukrainian souvenirs and reminiscing about the old mission days in preparation for the lesson.
Matthew loved having Jon (and the rest of us) in his class.
And we all enjoyed spending weekday afternoon together.
This Thursday Jon volunteered (okay I volunteered him, but he didn't mind) to come in a do a little presentation on Ukraine. He had about an hour to give the kids a little overview of the country, eat some homemade piroshky, and do a little art project. Knowing that he probably couldn't hold the kids attention babbling on about Ukrainian culture, he enlisted the help of a former Ukrainian mission buddy by setting up a call on Skype. We both were a little nervous about the call; not only the mechanics of it (would the connection be good, how long could we hold the connection) but also about whether the kids would enjoy talking to someone halfway around the world. Thankfully, everything went smoothly connection-wise, and the kids loved asking their (sometimes ridiculous) questions to Jon's friend.
Jon also got many compliments on his piroshky and the kids loved decorating their own felt matryoshka dolls.
Jon enjoyed breaking out his collection of Ukrainian souvenirs and reminiscing about the old mission days in preparation for the lesson.
Matthew loved having Jon (and the rest of us) in his class. 
And we all enjoyed spending weekday afternoon together.
T-Ball
Matthew started playing t-ball this year. He didn't have much experience before the season and he has come a long way. It is a lot of fun to watch his team play; sometimes it's a comedy of errors, but the kids always have a good time.
T-ball gets relegated to the worst fields available to the league. Most of the fields that he plays on don't have benches for the teams. Instead, the kids all have their own 5-gallon bucket that they sit on while they wait for their turn to hit.
Hitting has been the hardest thing for Matthew as it is for most of the kids.
His biggest problem at first was dropping the bat before he had finished swinging (i.e., throwing the bat at his coach's feet).
He has since overcome that and now pauses for a second after hitting the ball before he drops the bat and runs. Speaking of running, that is something that he was familiar with before the season started.
With the exception of the pitcher, most of the positions don't see much action. Here is Matthew in his "ready position" (knees locked, standing up straight, and glove down).
Sethie really wants to play even though he's much too young. He is a good sport to hang out at all of the games. We do play with him on the side as much as we can while still watching Matthew.
Seth also likes to look the part, taking Matthew's helmet and putting it on whenever he can.
We're all having a fun time at Matthew's games with an undefeated season (no one keeps score, so we've never lost!), and we're looking forward to the time when Seth can go out an play.
T-ball gets relegated to the worst fields available to the league. Most of the fields that he plays on don't have benches for the teams. Instead, the kids all have their own 5-gallon bucket that they sit on while they wait for their turn to hit.
Hitting has been the hardest thing for Matthew as it is for most of the kids.
His biggest problem at first was dropping the bat before he had finished swinging (i.e., throwing the bat at his coach's feet).
He has since overcome that and now pauses for a second after hitting the ball before he drops the bat and runs. Speaking of running, that is something that he was familiar with before the season started.
With the exception of the pitcher, most of the positions don't see much action. Here is Matthew in his "ready position" (knees locked, standing up straight, and glove down).
Sethie really wants to play even though he's much too young. He is a good sport to hang out at all of the games. We do play with him on the side as much as we can while still watching Matthew.
Seth also likes to look the part, taking Matthew's helmet and putting it on whenever he can.
We're all having a fun time at Matthew's games with an undefeated season (no one keeps score, so we've never lost!), and we're looking forward to the time when Seth can go out an play.
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