Okay, so I just realized it has been a LONG time since I
wrote an entry and I have no excuse except this. We are having way too much fun
to stop actually having the fun and write about it. We have spent the last
couple of months swimming, hiking, reading, kicking, shooting, tossing and
reading. If it involves any sort of movement, count us in. The beauty of having
4 boys who are getting a little older means that I am more comfortable going
places by myself. The first of those is the POOL!! My boys love the pool. They
willingly let me slather them with sunscreen every hour (yes, every hour people
– I married Casper and had his children and NONE of them got my skin) and wait
patiently for me to get the puddle jumpers on them and off they go. I actually
got a picture of my legs propped up in a pool lounge chair while all the boys
were swimming the first day we went. The water was too cold for Mommy but not
them! Of course, I am never out of eye sight or even arm’s reach really but it
is nice to know that they don’t “need” me in the water with them. I got tired
of being a personal flotation device for 3 toddlers last summer. See, another
thing people without multiples don’t think about. Last summer they were just a
little too small for their puddle jumpers so if they wanted to go in the water,
I went with them and had to help them balance themselves and learn how to
float. Last summer, Chase was just learning how to swim and now the kid got his
yellow band at the YMCA (swam half a length with no assistance or goggles,
jumped in and went under water and then tread water for 30 seconds). Big deal
because it means he can go on the water slide at the YMCA even though he isn’t
tall enough. He can also swim (not with perfect strokes) up to 250 yards (10
laps total) by himself. He is smart about where he goes and if he gets tired he
heads to the shallow end and hangs with the littles. All three of the little
boys have progressed to jumping into the pool standing on the side. Anthony was
the first to take the leap (no surprise there) and then Jack joined in the fun.
Graham really wanted to but was hesitant so we started with him on the steps
jumping by himself and then moved to a seated position on the side of the pool
and then finally standing and jumping toward me and the grand finale was a jump
all by himself without me there to catch him. All of this is possible because
of the puddle jumpers (flotation device they wear). I have heard people comment
that wearing them means they don’t learn to swim on their own. Well guess what,
I don’t have enough arms to have them swim on their own right now. It would be
easy if I only had one kid to hold on to or take to a swim lesson but there are
just too many at the same age for that to happen so I do what works for us.
They don’t seem to mind and I am at ease because they are safe and having fun. Sorry,
I’ll get off the soapbox now but sometimes it aggravates me to hear people make
comments about how I do things with my boys when they don’t live my life. What
works for me, works for me so butt out.
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| Strolling the beach - while they don't love the ocean, they do enjoy the beach itself |
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| Yes, Mommy gets to sit poolside this summer for the first time in over 6 years! |
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| Getting ready to jump! |
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| Splash house at Grandma's pool |
Then there is our love of anything sport related. I wish I
could say that this is just about Chase but Anthony has the bug worse than
Chase does! And Graham isn’t afraid to mix it up either. Jack is a little more
reserved but in the last couple of weeks has decided that his brothers are
having way too much fun without him and Mommy isn’t always that interesting (I
guess dishes, laundry and ironing have a place in my life!) Chase is amazing
with the boys and somehow knows that he can be SUPER competitive with Anthony,
a little less with Graham but not at all with Jack or he will get upset and
leave. He will play to each one’s level and make it enjoyable for all of them.
Along with soccer, basketball, Frisbee and baseball (which all the boys can hit
being pitched to and not off of a tee) they have now decided that cornhole
(beanbag toss) is AWESOME and golf is pretty cool too. For Chase’s birthday, he
got new golf clubs from Popi and Meme and the Aunt Lindsey, Uncle Nate and the girls
sent him a golf flag. Needless to say we have been practicing our putting and
chipping in the backyard on a regular basis. (plastic clubs and wiffles balls
for everyone except Chase who gets to use his real clubs)
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| Yep. They are old enough for soccer at the YMCA so they are now athletes too, trophies and all! |
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| First year playing t-ball but it was actually coach pitch and he rocked it! He now spends his free time pitching to the littles and they then try to pitch to him. Makes my heart melt.... |
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| Golf camp - birthday gift from Mommy and Daddy |
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| Hit it to the green from the tee! (about 80 yards I think I was told) |
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| Golfing with Daddy on Grandma's 9-hole course |
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| Tennis lesson for his birthday - he now thinks he can "beat Grandma!" |
We go hiking around Falls Lake when it is too hot outside
without the cover of the trees. Go to the library for preschool story time and
to check out library books. Chase will check out 9-10 books that he is able to
read himself and then finish them that night. When he is passionate about
something, it sticks. We read a book before bed every night and the person who
picks the book rotates on a nightly basis. Chase has been picking his library
books to read to all of us which is great and the littles have sets of books
that they “read” to us as well. They are short stories that we have all heard
so often they are memorized but I think it is sweet when they “read” to us.
They each insert their own personality into the story-telling and it melts my
heart.
The biggest news around here is Chase starting Kindergarten!
UGH@ how did that happen! I can honestly say that having him in the
Transitional Kindergarten last year was THE.BEST.CHOICE.EVER! He was ready for
this next step. I was confident in his ability to succeed in this next step and
it has been less traumatic than I expected. The first week went off without a
hitch. He is in a modified year round charter school which means he starts in
July and goes to school for 9 weeks and then has a 3 week break. This continues
all year long with adjustments for holidays and such. The charter school part
of it means that it is still a public school in terms of no tuition and public
funding but he wears a uniform, doesn’t have a cafeteria so they eat in their
classroom and he is exposed to higher levels of learning, smaller class size
and more one on one attention (should he need it). We are now in week 2 and
there have been some tears in the morning – not happy tears either. The novelty
is wearing off, he is tired and this isn’t all fun and game, but school, so you
actually work and have to sit in a chair for most of the day (except when he is
changing classrooms). I am hoping this phase will pass quickly because my
excited, chatty boy is solemn and teary-eyed on the ride there in the morning.
He is fine when I pick him up so I am hoping that once he gets into the
building things get better. He has also mentioned that he misses me and his
brothers (sniff, sniff) and is afraid he is missing out. I spent so much time
this summer trying to go and do and make memories that I didn’t think about the
impact of that when he was “left out” or so he thought. Needless to say we have
been talking lots about what we do during the day and I explain that Mommy is
home doing laundry, cleaning, running errands – all boring to him and he is
having more fun at school. Not sure if it will convince him but I am trying.
Will keep you posted on how that goes.
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| First day of Kindergarten, July 2014! Still excited even though it is EARLY! |
I will end for now but only because I have a birthday post
to write about a certain 6 year old! Hang in there friends, I promise to try and get it
done sooner rather than later!
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