Ok, So This is the Last Post

Julia is number 11. At the end of the movie she scores one of her many goals this season. :-)

This was the second to last game of the season. The last game was last weekend and it was the "Championship Game". It was J's team against the only other team that had only two losses, to Julia's team earlier in the season. J's team won the game 7-1 and she scored 4 of the 7 goals! She did a fake on the last goal where it seemed as if she was going to use her right foot to shoot and instead used her left and scored! She really loves playing and the girls on her team are so nice and really coming together. Coach Sharee is standing next to me and directing the kids, I tried to keep quiet since I was taping, but it was tough. Go THUNDER!!! :-)

Trying to Catch Up

So much has been happening since I last posted. Too much to write about. A friend and I have challenged each other to get our blogs moved by August 31st. There are sites that allow you to turn your blog into a book. Since I have never found the time, energy or enthusiasm to scrapbook, despite having a lot of materials to do it, I figure that moving the blog to this different site is my best option for turning this into something the kids can hold onto and look at from time to time if they wish to do so. Anyway, if you read this blog and want to keep visiting the site, send me an email at babblinbrookie@yahoo.com and I'll let you know when the new site is up. This'll be my last post here.

In the meantime here's a brief summary what's been going on with photos:

After 6+ years of sucking her fingers Julia was able to quit. As a result, Oreo the GIANT European Hamster has joined our family and brings lots of joy to the kids and a bit more work for me. But goodness she earned her Oreo. She did a great job and was such a big girl about this. We're really proud of her.

Brendan has a wonderful Pre-K teacher, Miss Marisa, who has taken the class around the world. They have learned so much and have had a great time visiting a plethura of different countries. Along the way got to make Indian Saris, pyramids, painted their bodies and ran around as if they were natives in Tahiti. (They have done even more but it's late and my mind is turning to mush.) Parents gave their time and came in to talk to the kids about their experiences while they lived in Haiti and China, and brought native foods for them to try. They had a cheese, grape and "wine" tasting in class on the day that they went to France. Brendan didn't eat the grapes or cheese but loved the sparkling cider.

One of the kids across the street, who the kids play with a lot, turned 9 in late May. We went to celebrate. It was their first lake swim of the season and they had a blast until about 20 minutes into it Brendan came out, teeth chattering, lips blue, finally admitting after I'd asked multiple times, that he was cold. :-)

Another neighbor let us borrow her boat on Memorial Day. We had a blast out on the lake with some of the kids cousins. The weather was great and we're so appreciative of the opportunity to get out there in a boat rather than having to do all the work in the canoe. :-)

Julia went from being a Daisy to becoming a Brownie. Here she is with some friends from tonight's ceremony. My mom asked me why they're Daisies instead of "muffins" since they move to up "Brownies", which I thought was a good question.

The soccer season has been a lot of fun. The kids love to play. B is a goal scoring machine and is learning the finer points of sportsmanship on the occasion that we play teams with more skilled players. Julia has had her share of goals as well but also likes to play defense and goalie. She plays soccer each day at recess at school with the boys. In the beginning they wouldn't let her play with them, because she's a girl, but since some of the boys played her team a few seasons ago when the teams were co-ed, some of them respected her game enough to convince the others to let her play with them. :-) As a result of her daily games at school her skills have improved amazingly and she loves to get out there at practice and during the games to dribble around everyone, pass and just play the game.

Julia's coach is awesome and her team has really come together this season. They've enjoyed an undefeated season and have learned so many skills from their talented coach, who is also an amazing single mom of quads. She has two boys and two girls, so she coaches both teams and the kids scrimmage at the end of each practice. It has been a great experience for all of them to play together, and the firmness, encouragement and knowledge of Coach Sharee has made the season a great success.

The kids and Andy made me a tasty, and very cute Mother's Day cake! It was their idea! We enjoyed a really nice day together.

We went canoeing a few weeks ago and caught a paint turtle! The poor thing slid off the log it was on and made the mistake of landing in a bed of branches that allowed me to reach right in and pull her out. Julia decided that she was a girl and Brendan named her "Sandwich Man" because I told them to hold her like a sandwich. It was very exciting for them, not so much for Sandwich Man, but we took her home, took photos, dropped by our friends house to show her to the kids friends who live near where we found her, and let her go. I'm sure she'll be more careful where she chooses to go next time she sees people.

My dad made stairs for the zip line in our back yard. They're amazing because not only are they beautiful but you can adjust height of each of the legs (which is important when you have to navigate uneven ground and tree roots) and there are handles for the kids to hold onto as they're climbing up. They stairs are also heavy enough that there's no way these guys can move the stairs and zip without one of us out there to help, so we are zipping more, and more safely. Thanks Dad!! :-)

Oh, one day I was cleaning the kitchen and decided to fill the sink with soap suds for B to play with. Silly me to think that he would be happy standing on a chair playing with the suds. Before I knew it he was begging me to let him climb into the sink, so I did, and told him all about bathing him in the sink when he was a babe. Then Julia wanted in on the fun. When all was said and done they had a blast and I thoroughly cleaned the sink. How much longer will they fit in the sink? Who knows but I'm sure they'll ask again at some point and we'll find out that they don't. Bittersweet.

I always get at least one toy for each of the kids at the consignment sales each season. This spring I was able to pickup for Brendan a Clone Trooper hat/mask that he loves and that cracks me up. He reminds me of the Rick Moranis character "Dark Helmet" from the movie "Spaceballs" with his giant head/mask and tiny body. It's even funnier to see him when he's just running around in his little boy underpants (which are funny enough on their own) and with that crazy mask on. Of course you can press buttons on it and it makes all sorts of noises. It's just what the little guy loves. He's very much into Star Wars and even waved at the TV the first time he saw Luke Skywalker on the screen. He waved and whispered "Hi Luke" which came out as "Hi Wuke." I almost cried. It was too cute. :-)

Oh and we made cookies during the blizzard...at least the little Caps fans in our house did.

Brendan will "graduate" from pre-k later this month and Julia is about to finish a GREAT year in first grade. She's at the top of her class, and is well-prepared to continue on to second grade. It all comes so easy to her which is great. Both kids simply love to learn which I think is in large part due to the creativity and enthusiasm of their teachers. Julia's especially amazes me with the spectrum of kids in her class, from one autistic child, to two completely non-English speaking kids, to everyone in between, she is able to meet Julia at her level and keep her going, challenged and interested! There is also a gifted teacher who pulls kids out of class for further instruction and Julia benefits from that. If you aren't familiar with ThinkFun and Mindware games, check them out. They're so fun and wonderful for the brain. They each have several that are appropriate for their ages and want more. A good friend who is an administrator in our county's gifted department, overseeing all gifted program curriculums, used them when she taught in the classroom and recommended them to me. Julia's gifted teacher uses them and she was begging me to buy some, so I did and some of them are even tough for me! Though, that shouldn't be too much of a surprise.

Brendan will go to a new school in the fall and then the following year will enter kindergarten at Julia's school. Although he's "academically ready" to go now, being an early-September baby and knowing that in this area most people are holding their boys back, we felt like it was the best thing for him to give him another year to mature, learn more casually through play as well as learn more "academics" prior to entering kindergarten. You don't want your child to be the smallest in the class and then later on the latest to hit puberty, drive, etc, so we're postponing.

Our school has a K-1 program that we think will be a good fit for him in Fall 2011 after having had this year of further academics at the new school as well as lots of play-oriented learning. He'll miss his friends but all of his friends are moving on to different schools anyway. He would have felt "left behind" so off he goes to a new place, with new adventures and he will make new friends.

Life is good. We are very lucky.

Snow Photos

I will write more later, once the kids are asleep, but for now here are photos from our current blizzard. And yes, it is an actual blizzard this time, not just DC hype. :-)

The farthest photo down is the family room window downstairs. We usually have a lake view out of this window. Not today.

The one at the top shows our snow shovel deep in the snow in our front yard. At least our street was plowed this morning. After passing our house a bulldozer and two large dump truck plows got stuck in front of our next door neighbor's house.

As a result of all of this, we have ice damming and our front window is leaking, a lot. Thus, Andy spent over an hour on the roof last night shoveling snow to try to help alleviate this. The ladder remains in our kitchen so that we can get to it more easily to continue to get back on the roof once the storm has passed and the wind has died down.

Oh, and Julia lost her two front top teeth!
Going to make cookies now with the kiddos. :-)

The Three Little Pigs

Last Thursday Julia's class did three plays. Julia was the narrarator of one of them. The Three Little Pigs. Although she had her lines in her hand, she seemed to have her lines, and most of the others, memorized. She did quite well and we're very proud of her. It was "funny hair and funny hat day" at school as well, which explains the funny hair and hats on the kids.

It's a Blizzard of Snow Pictures!

Run for your lives! It's snowing!!! Or just stay home and have fun in it, as we did this morning. Playing in snow = napping children. Aaah, snow, sweet snow. :-)

Waterford Fair

Earlier this month we went to the Waterford Fair. "The Funny Guy" performed and chose Brendan as a helper. We ate funnel cake, we walked around, and the best part was that we got to pet 3 day old lamb triplets that were so sweet and cute. Their poor mother put up with quite a bit that day.

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school.

Julia got the teacher she was hoping for.

Brendan moved up from the 3's room to the pre-k room.

Julia had a great day.

Brendan was bitten on the back by a boy who is 5, and who he has never gotten along with on the playground.

Up to this point they have been in separate classes, but would be together sometimes on the playground. I'm not sure why a 5 year old is biting. I thought that mostly much younger kids, who had problems verbalizing their frustrations did that. Like in the 2 year old room.

I warned the pre-k teacher that Brendan and this boy don't get along. He told me he'd watch them.

There's a giant bite mark on his back. You can see exactly how the boy's mouth was turned when he bit Brendan. I'm not at all happy about this, which is a huge understatement.

Brendan is Four!!!

Brendan turned four shortly after we returned from the seaside. He is a wonderfully sweet, active, thoughtful, curious, busy, bright and amazing boy. He makes us laugh so much! He's a clown who can be so outgoing one minute and shy at other times.

He's all about his daddy and all about good guys, bad guys, sword fighting, reading, riding his bike and scooter, construction equipment, and of course SPIDERMAN!!!! We talk about Green Goblin throwing pumpkins, we talk about Dr. Octopus and Dr. Doom and all of the bad guys. We play a lot of good guys against bad guys.

He loves to play Guitar Hero and Rock Band and has such pride if he gets through a song without being booed. He refuses to play "bars" and insists on playing "dots" and loves the "eyeball songs" which are the harder rock songs.

He had a birthday party at the College Park Aviation Museum with his BFF, Eamon. They had a great time with their friends.