Spring Tea

I had no idea what today was going to be about. Some sort of celebration at school called "Spring Tea". The children had been practicing for about a month for it and we even went out and got Ryan a special outfit and made cookies. It was AMAZING! When Jimmie and I got there, two of the older boys were handing out programs and were sitting the families. Each family had their own table with name tags and flowers. They were set up beautifully. Once all the families were seated, Pat thanked those families who were graduating and gave a little speech. Then the children entered, two by two, holding hands. They went and joined Pat in the circle on the floor. Once all the children were in, they began singing songs. They sang 6 songs and even had a small dance they did. Yep, not a dry eye watching. I was so proud of Ryan. He wasn't intimated by all the people at all. He wasn't feeling well (he has bronchitis) so he wasn't real bubbly buy that is ok. He looked a little nervous but gave me a smile each time our eyes met. When the songs were done, the children went to the table one by one and carried tea cups to each parent and then one for themselves. They each then got a plate of cookies and joined their families sitting down. Each family had their own little tea time. It was absolutely wonderful. It was so much fun. Once we were done, he was ready to go home. He was as pale as a ghost and you could tell he was done. I am so very proud of my little man. What a wonderful treat we had today.

We are still up in the air about Karate. We were going to visit a new school this coming Wednesday. However, with him not feeling well, I think we will push it back a week. He asks about Karate every single day and even told us he is not sick of it. We are working on the options. I just hope we figure it out sooner than later.

I'm sorry they ran out of trophies

Saturday was another Karate Tournament. We picked up Ryan from school on Friday and headed out of town. We stayed down in Chelmsford Mass. The hotel wasn't the greatest but we did get a little swimming in. Saturday morning we headed straight to Lowell for the tournament. It sure does make for a long day. Memere Boots and Auntie Shelley make the trip. It was wonderful to have them there. Ryan was so excited. He did great. He was focused and nice and loud. He won a beautiful new red trophy. He did opening ceremonies without me or Jimmie. He held onto his friend Amelia's hand and didn't even think twice about it. That is a huge accomplishment. He spent most of the day with all his friends, playing and running around. He was so comfortable there. It is so great to see him come out of his shell. It was a long day waiting for Jimmie's turn. I don't think he competed until 3:30. It didn't go as well as Jimmie hoped. Let's just say that on the way home, Ryan told Jimmie "I'm sorry dad that they ran out of trophies".

We had to tell Ryan about his Karate school closing on Sunday. I don't think he understands. We explained to him that they may re-open someplace else or that we may go to a new Karate studio with new instructors. He said that was good. Then he wanted to know who was going to play cars with him.

Out first Playdates!

Yesterday, a little boy named Graham and his mom spent a few hours at our home with Ryan and Pepere. Graham had a very hard time when he first started preschool and would cry and cry for his mom. Somehow, Miss Arlene thought Ryan would be a good fit with him and buddied them up. What a wonderful team they have made. Graham now loves preschool and they have become quite the good little buddies. Pepere had been trying to get them over for awhile now and they finally caved :). They had a GREAT time. Graham said he wants to come over everyday! Ryan was such a good little host. Pepere loved the adult conversation and made a nice new friend too. Mac tried to play with the boys but Graham is very quite and shy and I think her personality was a bit much for him at the time so she had to sit this one out. As soon as he left thought, Ryan ran next door and told her they were going to play outside. Ryan was running across the driveway and tripped over his new rain boots and took a digger. Good thing he had his helmet on. The only damage is a nice patch of road rash on his arm.

Today one of Ryan's other friends from school came over, Evan. His mom is wonderful and Pepere once again had a wonderful time. They played outside most of the time and really enjoyed themselves. Mac spent the afternoon with the boys and they were like 3 little angels. I am so glad that Pepere is willing to entertain all these woman. I am glad Ryan and Mac are getting a chance to play with lots of friends. I'm a little jealous I am stuck at work while everyone is having a great time though.

This age is just so much fun!!!!!

Just a brag

Everyday, I am so amazed at what we are doing/learning. I attribute a lot of what he has accomplished these past few months to the most wonderful school. I LOVE his school and his teachers and his friends and just everything about it. He is writing letters so well. He is writing out many 3 letter words on his own and can sound out almost any word up to 5/6 letters. I really don't feel like it will be long before he can take a simple book and read it all on his own. He is counting to 100 (so I'm told LOL) and is starting to write his numbers. He loves all of his friends so much and talks about them all the time. He is still in gymnastics and loves the people there. He looks forward to Karate every single day. He loves to sing and dance but he would be lost without his Thomas trains and cars. I can't believe how much he plays with that stuff. every. single. day. He loves playing outside and is already starting to ride his bike again. Him and Mac seem to grow closer and closer each day with her living at moms. This seems to be both a blessing and a hindrance. They definitely act like brother and sister. Mac has changed so much just in the past couple of months with her mom moved out. It's nice to see her smile! Our lives will definitely be a little emptier when she isn't there so much. Maybe we will just keep her!

Thank you God for the greatest family in the world. I can't imagine my like without Ryan and Jimmie in it. Thank you!!!!!

So proud... yet so sad

February 7th, 2009 was Ryan's 1st Karate Tournament. He did GREAT. He wasn't shy at all and did everything asked of him. He was just so cute. His friend Evan was in the same ring as he was so it made it a little more special. He got a huge trophy for participating. He carried it around all day. Even into the bathroom :). Jimmie did great also for his 1st time. Jimmie took 1st in forms and 3rd in One Steps, so 2 trophies for him It was a really great day. Just long. Ryan competed at 9:30 and Jimmie didn't compete until 2:30. At noon, Ryan told Jimmie that we could jsut go home because Jimmie wasn't really ready to compete and wouldn't do well. Great support system. We stayed the night before and got to do a lot of swimming. It was Ryan's first time to actually swim on his own. He had a swim suit float thing on and just went to town. He definately has developed so much more confidence in himself. It is so amazing to see. I am more and more proud of him everyday. I am so glad he is enjoying Karate because it is such a good thing for him.

Okay, now the sad part. I video taped the whole thing. I was so excited to go home an watch it. Mom and Dad came over and we loaded it onto the TV. Yep, you guessed it, nothing! When I thought I was recording, I wasn't and when I thought I wasn't, I was. I am beyond mad at myself for this. It was his only 1st competition. They have another competition in April. I will try to do better next time :(.

An Accountant or An Engineer

When mom pick up Ryan from preschool today, Miss Pat told Mom that her and Miss Arlene were torn... they didn't know if he was going to be an accountant or an engineer when he grows up :).

I'm loving this mom thing!

Christmas was wonderful! We changed our approach this year and spent it at home. Just us. It was everything we had hoped for. Ryan was so excited about Christmas and was so happy to see that Santa remembered that he wanted more train tracks. Even though we stayed home, it took almost a week to recover from all the excitement. I'm sure a double ear infection didn't help much either.

I took some time off before the holidays and we spent it outside on his sled. Once he got the hang of it, he loved it. We need to take him to a big hill and let him fly!

He started back at school this week. It will be his first week at 5 days. Well, it's supposed to be but it looks like another kicker storm headed our way so possibly no school tomorrow. I hope it's not like the one in December where we were out of power for 59 hours. It may not sound like much, but no heat and more importantly, no water, 2 3 year olds and 6 adults all hovered in one room. Not fun! We survived but I'm sure we all lost a couple years off our lives.

We had a rough couple of weeks sleep wise. I'm sure all the holiday fun plus being sick didn't help, but I am so glad to be back to our crazy schedule. Hopefully it will help with the new little attitude that seems to have erupted.