Jazz Fest 2013

Another great year at fest! This year is was just the four of us making the trip and we stayed in a hotel we've stayed at in the past. Eli and Maddux were very excited about this because they remembered that the hotel has an indoor pool. Perfect for post-fest relaxation.

We arrived in time for a late dinner with Uncle Catfish and his family on Thursday night. The kids had a great time playing with Caleb and Emory (who just turned 3) while we ate. That night was the only rough bedtime we had - the kids were exhausted from school, the long drive, and the late dinner, and that mixed with big excitement over Fest the next three days was a bad combo for 'happy hearts'.

The next morning the kids woke up early early....a real struggle for us since it'd been such a late night. We ate breakfast at the hotel and then went for a drive. Unfortunately this was the one day we knew we'd be getting rain. It poured all morning but started to let up just in time for fest to open at noon. However, the temperatures did not let up...it was so cold! I'd warned the kids, so Maddux and I had sweatshirts, but Eli left his in the car. Guess who had to borrow Daddy's shirt! We walked around to a few tents and stages (through some pretty intense mud and muck) until about 4PM when we called it quits and left to get an early dinner. We even had time to visit the pool before bed!

Saturday morning was the complete opposite of Friday. The kids slept in a little longer and kept themselves very quietly occupied (together!) in their room while Lehr and I took our time waking up. (We had a two-room suite...thanks, D!) The sun was shining, but the kids still took their sweatshirts into fest; I guess they learned from the day before. We planned to be at the gates when they opened because The Revivalists were opening on the Gentilly Stage. We got there early enough to snag a front row area and also plant a chair back where they were allowed. It was our loose plan to stay at that stage for several bands. Maddux made a friend right away: a chef who lived in NOLA. He was so nice and totally helped entertain the kids for a few hours with hula hoops, face paint, flags, and more. An added bonus: he had pink stickers promoting his new popsicle line.

After about four hours, we left to find another stage. (Gentilly is one that leaves you in the sun the whole time, so we were pretty beat by this point.) The kids got their first mango freeze of 2013 and we stopped at a few tents while they ate. After we finished our last show, it was too late to try for any mainstream restaurant, so we went a little off of the beaten path to the burrito place where Chef Neal worked. We ate and then tried some of the famous popsicles - the kids were very excited about that!

Sunday was windy, but sunny again. We met Uncle Catfish's family for beignets before fest. The restaurant was located in a park, so we ran around with all four kids for a while before we ate. And after we ate. We arrived at fest just after noon and went to the Economy Hall tent right away so Maddux and Eli could use their umbrellas in a Second Line. After that we made our way to the big stage (Acura) to try and grab a spot for Trombone Shorty. Of course we were all of the way in the back, but given the muck still on the field, a spot on the track behind the field was a good call. I set up a blanket to sit down on and Maddux almost immediately laid on my lap for a nap. She got about 15 minutes before she woke up and cozied with Eli for a few songs. The two were tired, but very well behaved and happy. We stayed for The Black Keys, but not for Shorty. After hitting a few more stages and having one more mango freeze, we headed back to the hotel. The kids wanted to swim just a little more, so Lehr ran out and grabbed a pizza for dinner. All in all, another great year at Jazz Fest!

2013 05 NOLA Jazz Fest from Nicole Eliason on Vimeo.

The Moments That Count

What a day. Lehr has been gone since Friday morning on a camping trip, so the kids and I have been flying 'solo' this weekend. Friday was pretty normal with playing after school and PT, but we did go out for a special dinner. (The kids chose Doc Chey's.) Today the only scheduled thing was Eli's morning baseball game. We left just after breakfast and managed to avoid the forecasted rain throughout the whole game. The game was amazing - Eli's team was absolutely on fire with batting and field defense. Eli had several great plays in there, making at least three outs as pitcher and second baseman. After the game we hung around for about 15 minutes so Eli could play catch with one of his teammates.



When we got home, Eli played outside with a friend (baseball, of course) while I made lunch and Maddux started packing for NOLA. After lunch there was some more playing, but just with Maddux and Eli this time. Eli was really REALLY patient with Maddux and tried to teach her a few rules about whiffle ball. (This is not the norm for him.) After they finished, Eli asked to look up some information and videos on the Bermuda Triangle. (He's been very interested this week.) Once we were done with the computer, we I set up some paints outside so the kids and I could paint the wooden alphabet I bought for the baby's room. The kids loved doing this. They each painted one or two before I made them take a break so the work area could dry. I heard the two of them discussing what they were going to play and it was A-MA-ZING how well they cooperated and it blew my mind how accommodating Eli was. Maddux always bends over backwards to make sure Eli is happy and they do something he likes, but this time it was him working around her. He even went on the swings with her (she loves them; he's over them). In the end they decided to do a boot camp/obstacle course thing (her choice) first and then play kickball (his choice). Somewhere in all of this, Eli brought up his birthday celebration again. He updates me at least once a week on what he thinks he wants to do this coming August. Today he said for our family celebration he wants to play kickball and for his friends he wants to play whiffle ball. More importantly, he asked that Maddux be on his team for both games. Wow.

Once they finished, we painted a few more letters and then went to pick up pizza. I'd told the kids we would eat pizza while we watched a movie. They've been asking to watch "The Princess Bride" for about a month. Eli lost one of his very very loose teeth on the way, making his day even better. He told me at least a dozen times that 'this was the best day ever', and he even told me that I was a good mommy because I plan fun stuff. I do love that kid! Now the kids are sleeping (or close to it), both in Maddux's bed. Life is good.

2013 04 E&M Backyard Obstacle Course from Nicole Eliason on Vimeo.

Baseball

Eli's team has been on quite the winning streak! After a rough start to the season between rain, cold and many losses, they have now won six of the last seven games. As it is every season, it has been so neat to see the growth in these players....they have come so far in just a few months! Eli has become an all-around player, rotating to different positions almost every inning. He is often found at pitcher or second base. Eli really shines in those two areas; he's very focused on where the ball is, and he often assists in or makes a few outs each game. His batting is solid, but he's not a big hitter by any means. He can hit some great line drives that advance him one or two bases (he's not the fastest runner), and because he is able to control the bat and ball so well, the coach sometimes signals him to bunt.

What I've noticed more this time around than in other seasons is his on-field relationship with his teammates. Some of it is likely due to the 'growing up' of the boys, but also this team is made up of at least half of the kids we were with in the fall. Our current coach is amazing and everything Lehr and I could ask for in someone coaching our child. He really focuses on the right things, as far as we're concerned, and we have seen more high-fiving, congratulating, and over all team support on the field than in any other season.

Perfection

Oh that girl. I can't get enough of her. It's been a while since I've had an opportunity to spend some time with her and the camera, but during spring break we had an unexpected 'free' afternoon. There is a field near us that blooms awesome little yellow flowers (weeds) for about a month in the spring...I've been waiting since last March to shoot Maddux there, and this week provided that opportunity. She is amazing. She is crazy, she is silly, she is beautiful and she is love.....

Night Shoes Breakthrough

So finally, after wearing the original shoes for almost a month, and the 'new' custom shoes for a week, we had almost a full week of Eli wearing the shoes for at least eight hours each night. Wow. There were many times in the last month when I thought this would never happen. Even now, after a 'good' week, I know we are still not over the struggle....this is still a difficult thing for Eli every night, but at least his feet have accepted the shoes more than they've rejected them. I'll take it.

Eli-n-Mommy Trip

In the last year or so, Lehr has had the opportunity to take each of the kids individually to the beach. Then last spring, Maddux was able to fly out west with me for a one-on-one trip for us. Recently I realized that Eli and I are the only combination that hasn't taken a trip, and time is ticking!

The only time that seemed to work for a trip was during a spring break weekend because sports and photo shoots were on hold. However, that meant a 7-month pregnant Mommy, which limited our options for where to travel. After much deliberation, I decided on a little touristy town in Tennessee. Eli was so so SO excited.

We left on Friday, just after Eli got home from school. We arrived at the hospital only in time to grab some dinner before bed. The next morning we woke up, ate some breakfast and walked to our first destination. The weather in Atlanta has been so cold and rainy, so when we woke up to sun and 60-degrees, I decided we'd walk the almost-mile stretch from the hotel to the Titanic Museum. Eli LOVED that museum, as I knew he would. I struggled to find things to do on our trip that I could still do with my growing waistline, and I knew the museum would be a home run. We had some afternoon time after we finished, so we went to the pool. Eli had a blast going down the water slide and playing UNO with me (waterproof cards) on the pool deck.

We then hopped in the car and drove about 15 minutes away to hike a little in the Great Smoky Mountains. We only did a few miles, but it was nice to be out of the touristy part of the city. Back at the hotel, we stayed outside and threw the baseball for about 30 minutes - Eli was calling all of the shots and he loved it. Before we ventured out for dinner, the two of us spent about 30 minutes on the balcony of our room, reading. I bought Eli a chapter book at the Titanic Museum and he wanted to sit on the 'porch' and read. (Can't argue with that!)

The next morning we went to another indoor activity area (we walked again!) where Eli could do some VR rides, pitch balls and see how fast and accurate he was, and do an indoor ropes course. I would have loved to do the course with him, but they wouldn't let me because of the pregnancy. I was SO proud and SO amazed of Eli. Even though Eli was connected by a rope in case he fell, he did a portion of the course all by himself - amazing. It was several stories up; we were inside a very 'tall' room and he went up as high as the middle level while he was working through the course. I held my breath the entire time, and kept watching in awe as he maneuvered the insane course. I could tell he was scared, but he never cried or let go or anything. When he got down he told me he was scared, but man, did he impress me!

We took another trip to the pool that afternoon and then got dressed for dinner. I'd secured tickets to a "Lumberjack Feud" dinner show for us. Eli absolutely loved it. It was probably the highlight of his trip. The lumberjacks threw axes and competed in log chopping contests and climbing contests, dogs came out and jumped over water and logs...its was awesome. This trip is one neither of us will forget any time soon, I hope!

More New Shoes

So we've been working through Eli's feet challenges for a month now. He's been wearing UFO 'boots' at night to help stretch his calves/Achilles, but we have only had one night where the shoes have actually stayed on all night. Most others, they are off by 9PM, only to have me put them back on as Eli sleeps. And that is done in vain because they end up getting kicked off/taken off again before midnight. It's gotten really bad in the last week and I think we may get one hour each night at most.

A few weeks back we went to the orthotist to get fitted for custom boots. The thought was that if we go custom, they'll fit and feel better, so they'll stay on better. This last Monday the boots finally arrived. While they felt 'fine' to Eli, they still ended up off by 9PM, so lehr and I put them back on, but once again, they were on the floor in the morning. Ugh - defeat.

Yesterday afternoon I took Eli to his weekly PT session. We do exercises and stretches every day at home, but he goes in once a week to work with the therapist. I brought the new boots to see if there was anything else she could suggest. She put them on, just as we had, and talked to him, just as we had, about the reality of casting should his feet not show progress soon. (We've all reminded him that the shoes are vital to his foot stretching and showing progress.)

Before bed, Lehr and I talked to him separately about really working hard to not take his shoes off during the night. I've reminded him that it will be uncomfortable for a few nights, but once he gets past that 'hard' spot, it will get easier. He called me back in just before 9PM because he felt the boots sticking together (heavy Velcro), so i helped rubber band his pant legs over them. He fell asleep and they were still on at 10:30 when Lehr and I went to bed (for the first time in a looooong time). And let me tell you it was like Christmas morning when we woke up this morning and he still had both boots on. He was SOO excited (as were we!) and soo proud of himself. We talked about a few things that bothered him through the night and how we can hopefully fix that tonight. Then we celebrated with a big pancake, egg and bacon breakfast before school. Big time.

I know he did not get quality sleep last night as he was surely in and out of consciousness several times, but he made it.... So hopeful this is the start of success.

Shades

Eli wears my old sunglasses to his games these days (the ones that aren't cancelled due to rain, anyway). I bought this pair about 10 years ago for biking and I never liked the way they fit (too big). Somehow he's recovered them and decided they are perfect for baseball. He asked me, "Mom, do these look cool?" when he put them on before the game this week. I love that boy with my whole heart and soul...

Game Time

What a crazy 'spring' it's been. Eli has had more games and practices cancelled (to be rescheduled) than he's actually played; our weather has been cold, wet, and COLD! Today was a bright spot in the season of cold sleet as it was 60 degrees and sunny. And the weather couldn't have picked a better time to cooperate because Eli's team was playing against Drew's team (Eli's BFF). The boys were sooo excited, of course. They didn't have much interaction during the game except for one play. Eli was playing second base and Drew hit a pop fly/line drive right into his glove. Eli didn't even have to move his feet to catch the ball.

Maddux's Musical Performance

This morning the Kindergarten classes at Maddux's school put on a musical performance for all of the adults. Maddux has been practicing songs and hand motions in front of the mirror (and not in front of the mirror) for weeks now, so I knew many of the songs already. The theme was "Squirm" and the songs were all about animals that make people squirm (snakes, bats, worms, spiders). As in the past, when Maddux catches Lehr or I watching her practice, her performance changes (less outgoing and intentional), and today during the performance she appeared to be not as 'into it' also. Such a shame; I'll try to catch some video of her practicing at home when she doesn't know I'm watching.

Star Student

Maddux has been waiting all school-year long to be chosen as "Star Student". Most Friday afternoons, her teacher reaches into a fishbowl filled with names while the class does a drum roll, and the name selected is the Star Student for the upcoming week. I believe Maddux is the one of the last two or three to be chosen, given how late it is in the year. This last Friday she came bounding off of the bus, proudly holding the class mascot (Flick, a stuffed hummingbird).

Maddie carried Flick around all weekend, letting him help her with chores, practice her keyboard lesson (he even wore the headphones), drink hot cider one cold night, play a family board game, and, of course, he went in the car with us wherever we went.

Over the weekend we filled out a few questionnaires regarding Maddux. Some that Lehr and I filled out and one that Maddux got to fill out. This week (as it changes often), she likes the color gold, the book "Knuffle Bunny", ice cream, and she wants to be a teacher when she grows up.

Night Game

The only standing conflict I have for kids' sports this season is Thursday night at 7:30. And for two weeks in a row Eli has had make-up baseball games at 7PM, meaning I'm missing out more than I'd like. As luck would have it, tonight's game was a really good one too.

This game was a make-up from Monday's game. We got through 2 1/2 innings Monday afternoon before hail and a tornado siren cleared the ball park. The team we were playing is the one Eli has the most ties to also: he goes to school and is friends with three of the boys.

Eli's team did end up winning in extra innings (their first win this season), but as usual, the win is not what made it great. Lehr said there were many really good plays and Eli had two highlights: he hit the ball straight down the center line (almost taking the coach's head off) and he made an out by catching a line drive while he played second base. Thankfully Lehr took some video and snapped a picture.

PT Progress

Yet another update on the process we are currently in with Eli's feet.

This week I did some extra research and confirmed my theory that Eli is likely experiencing some of these relapse symptoms because of a growth spurt. What that tells me is that we'll have to keep up some form of PT (at home anyway) until he's in college. Not a bad thing, but information that I wish I'd known earlier so we could have stayed more ahead of it.

This last week was our first week of doing the PT exercises at home every day. Eli has been a really good sport, having a pretty happy heart through most of the sessions. Each time we go through our exercises it takes about 30 minutes. And these are not easy for him; in fact, some of the stretches are painful for him. Getting and staying motivated to commit to voluntary pain for 30 minutes each day is not easy for anyone, let alone a 7-year-old, so I do try to cut him some slack in the attitude department. We've only had one 'bad' session, but we still got through it. What I've not cut him slack on is actually doing the exercises. One way or another, we get through each and every one of them (though the 'bad' day did take almost an hour.)

Yesterday Eli was rewarded for his hard work when we went to his weekly PT session with the therapist. Maddux and I stay in the waiting room for about 50 minutes while she works with Eli. When they returned she said that he did great and his progress with balance is already considerable. (He exceeded her expectations for a month of therapy in just one week in that area.) She even rewarded him at the end by letting him ride the zipline into a ball pit - he loved that! His therapist will measure his flexibility next week, but she did warn us that we may not see much of an improvement given that he is wearing the boots for such a limited time each night.

Our schedule has been crazier this last week, so his daytime boot-wearing has decreased, and unfortunately it has not improved overnight at all. His custom braces/boots will be in about ten days from now; I'm hoping they are drastically different for him.

The Feet

Still struggling.

We have only had one (maybe two) nights where Eli's shoes have stayed on through the night. The other nights he either wiggles out of them or takes them off in his sleep. Before I go to bed each night, I check on him and they're always off, so I put them back on while he's sleeping. Even with that, I estimate that we're getting about four hours a night in the boots, and we need at least eight. We had an appointment yesterday to get fitted for a pair of custom boots. The orthotist thinks they will fit his feet better so they'll stay on better. (Fingers crossed!) They won't be in for another week, so until then we'll continue the UFO boots we have now.

I took Eli to the chiropractor last week; at this point I'll try as many things as I can that may help loosen up his feet. He enjoyed that, the manipulation of his feet and the hot 'laser' treatment.

Today Eli had his first PT session. It was mostly an evaluation where the therapist walked through a bunch of exercises and tasks to see how Eli's feet performed. Then she took a handful of measurements with his feet flexibility. She finished by giving us some stretches and exercises to work on at home. Most of the stretches were ones that we've been working on, but we have not been as consistent as we'd like. Eli tends to get frustrated, especially since we do many of the stretches at night (no other time in the day!) when he's tired.

When we finished this afternoon, we came home and I had Eli go through all of her exercises so we could get one day 'done'. He started out great, but definitely got 'bored' towards the end. I had to remind him what the doctor, the orthotist and now the therapist said: if things don't improve real fast (as early as two weeks from now), we will have to start casting again. That will mean no baseball, no swimming, no football...pretty much all of the things Eli loves to do. That would absolutely break my heart, so I'm pushing him hard with this therapy. Parenting is not for the weak, I tell you....

Eli, the Caregiver

Usually its Maddux that is all about taking care of the family's needs, but today Eli proved himself to be just as capable. I woke up during the night very sick and nauseous. When Lehr had to leave for church at dawn, he took Maddux with him, but Eli opted to stay home with me. He then proceeded to climb into my bed and snuggle for 20 minutes or so. Awesomeness.

Then he got up and got his night shoes (which haven't been staying on through the night, so we've had to log some daytime hours), Harry Potter and his Action Bible. He started to put on the shoes, then remembered the dog we are sitting hadn't been fed yet. He went outside, through the gate and took care of her. When he returned, he put his shoes on (by himself), and then read his Bible to me. (Nothing he did was because I asked him to - it was all initiated by Eli.) After a few pages, he read to himself and then switched to Harry Potter.

I was in and out of consciousness at this point, but at some point I do remember him going downstairs to eat breakfast (which he made and cleaned up after by himself). Then I remember him asking me if he could use Daddy's iPad to read something. The next time I came to, he was next to me, reading his "I Survived" series book about shark attacks in history, comparing them to the ones he found on a kids encyclopedia-type website we let him use. And through all of this, when he would see me open my eyes, he would ask me if I needed anything and tell me that he hoped I felt better soon. That boy is just amazing.

New Shoes

In months past, Lehr and I have noticed some signs of relapse in Eli's feet. In general, they've been less flexible and he's been walking a bit on the outside of his feet when he's not wearing shoes. Over the holidays I called in for an appointment, which didn't actually take place until this week. As I'd expected, the doctor (and two PA's) saw what I've been seeing and agreed that more aggressive measures needed to be taken. (After our last visit when I brought up seeing some of these signs some of the time, we started stretching at night and doing some barefoot activities, like gymnastics.)

For now, Eli will be wearing night shoes (not the same ones he had before) to help the flexation of his ankle/foot, and we are staring physical therapy ASAP. The shoes have not worked well; we have yet to make it a whole night with the shoes on Eli's feet. It's not his fault; he's been very cooperative and willing to do what it takes to avoid the next step (casting). Sometime while he's sleeping, the pressure of the shoes becomes too much for him and he either wiggles out of them or takes them off in his sleep. Because of that, I've been aiming for 1-2 hours of shoe-wear after school each day. This isn't the most fun, as he has to sit on the couch while he wears them, but at least this week has been very cold and rainy, so he hasn't been missing out on too much outside play anyway.

First Lost Tooth

Maddux has been working on her first loose tooth for several weeks. One of her lower middle teeth has been wiggling back and forth almost since the holidays, and recently has been barely hanging on. In the last week, when she smiled, it looked like the tooth was intact, but growing in sideways because one side of it had completely detached already. Mad Dog has had her hands in her mouth constantly, and she's listened to much 'tooth loosening' advice from her big brother, but the little guy wasn't coming out. Finally I told her yesterday that she should just let me pull it out (since it was already 99% out anyway). She said, "No, I want Daddy to do it." Not a surprise and not a problem!

After baths I was working on Eli's shoes in his room, so I sent Maddux to the big room to have Daddy 'help' her tooth. Less than a minute later, she came back with the tooth in hand. As suspected, all that it took was a slight push towards the back of her mouth and the tooth popped out.


Maddux was very excited to put that tooth under her pillow. While I was trying to get a picture, Maddux kept dropping the tooth. At one point we even lost track of it because it was so small. When she woke up to a $5 under her pillow this morning, she had a big jack-o-lantern grin :)

When Eli lost his first tooth, I took the kids for an impromptu cupcake celebration. Neither of them remembered that, but I still met them with the car at the bus stop so we could do the same. Maddux chose a red velvet cupcake (which she scraped the frosting off of) to mark the occasion. And she's already feeling another tooth start to wiggle.

Wow.

 We got a great report from Eli's teacher last week regarding his behavior. That was 'WOW' enough. But to top it off, this morning I got a follow-up email from her:  "Eli had an amazing week! He is such a JOY!"

 When you're week starts out that way, I don't think it's possible for things to get any better.

Say "Cheese"

The kids had picture day at school this week. They took both class photos and individual. We picked out some nice clothes the nice before and I came home early from boot camp to do something besides the standard ponytail with Maddux's hair.

When they got home I asked each how the pictures went. Maddux's response was, "The lady that took the pictures told me my smile was soooo nice. She said I was cute that she wanted to keep me and take me home." Oh, that girl.

So Much Maturity

What a week we've had with Eli. It's not been perfect...he's had his moments of frustration (always linked to fatigue), but all in all so so awesome. Two major things stick out:

1. We had a slightly later bedtime a few days this week due to some extracurriculars. Normally when we turn the lights out past 7PM, we turn off the kids' alarms so they can get some extra sleep in the morning. (If Lehr drives them instead of taking the bus, they get up to an hour extra sleep.) One of those nights we forgot to turn off their alarms, so Eli woke up at 6, like usual. Lehr didn't hear it, but when he went in to check him at 6: 30, Eli was reading. He then happily got up, dressed within five minutes, and crawled into bed with Maddux to wake her at 635. He then came downstairs and basically made his own oatmeal. Breakfast is something he's worked on with Lehr, but lunch is not. After he started the oatmeal, he made his own lunch. Amazing.
2. Every Friday Eli gets a 'Friday Folder' sent home from his teacher, which includes a weekly behavior sheet. This includes a spot next to several areas of behavior for the teacher to indicate "N", "P" (progressing), or "S". Eli always does well on this, but two areas in particular have never moved above a "P", even though he's been trying so hard. Last week he brought home all "S" marks and only one "P" and today, voila, ALL "P"!!! In addition, his teacher wrote a 'good' slip for him, commenting that he had a "WOW WEEK!", especially in the areas of integrity, cooperation, and effort. So so so proud of my boy and the amazing person he's becoming.

Big Plans

Our latest home project has been the backyard. We cleared it, leveled it, fenced it, and grassed it over the last nine months. Now we are in the process of moving forward with the garden creation. That requires lots of drawing, looking, thinking, measuring, and repeating (at least for Lehr and I). This weekend we walked through all of that yet one more time.

While we did this, the kids hopped the creek to another section of our land (land we only recently discovered was ours) and explored. Eli requested gloves, a trash can, and some 'cutters' so he could start cleaning the area up. While we were busy planning the garden, Eli was making plans for that land. It so cool to hear him talk about it, as he's been listening to Lehr and I talk through plans for other parts of the yard for the last year, he's picked up on some things that need to be thought through. At one point, he hopped the creek back to our side and leaned against the fence where I stood, telling me about what he'd been doing (mainly picking up some trash and cutting a few pieces of thorny weeds). Look out world: Eli's got big plans.

Happy Trails

The kids had a few days off from school this last week, so we did some biking and hiking. One day it was just the kids and I, so I loaded their bikes in the trunk and took them to the river. It's flat, but rocky and 'rooty' enough to give them adequate training opportunities for mountain biking. They had a blast, racing ahead of me and then coming back to check in every few minutes or so. Both found little hills off to the sides of the trail to challenge themselves with. I was amazed at how well they did with those, never having to get off and push. (Six months ago that wouldn't have been the case!) Towards the end of our time there, Eli and Maddux started pulling off the trail to the river bed where they'd hike down (100 yards, maybe) and check out the action on the water. The steep decent meant they had to hand-over-foot climb back up. Eli loved this and requested similar terrain the next time we went hiking.

Fast forward to this morning. Lehr got to stay home, so he joined us on a hike right around the corner. We go to Sope Creek a lot, but the kids had more excitement over 'climbing' this time than ever before. We went down the river, hiked and climbed along the river bed (lots of boulders) for a while and then hiked up a steep hill to return to the regular trail. Both kids found hiking sticks and had a blast. Good time :)

Big Brother Already

Obviously Eli was not old enough to be excited about or involved in the preparations for Maddux's birth. Since he wasn't yet two, the best I could get out of him was an identification of 'bee-bee' when he pointed to my large stomach. This time around though, he obviously gets it. And even though he was initially disappointed to learn that his newest sibling will be a girl, his excitement has remained since we first told the kids the news.

Now that I'm showing, he's reminded daily of her impending arrival, and he often pats or rubs my tummy and says something about the baby. Last week the kicks that I've been feeling for some time became big enough for others to see and feel as well. Eli was the first person to be able to feel her kick - he has been sure to tell others about this.

The absolute coolest thing so far happened this morning. The kids didn't have school today, so we spent some time this morning filling out the new baby book. Both kids were very involved in this and enjoyed giving me 'answers' to the blanks in the book. After we finished, Eli gave me his huge grin and said, "Mommy, I'm going to go to the store and buy something for the baby when she's born. I'll probably get Grandma Cathie to take me since you'll be with the baby, so maybe she can take me to Target and I'll use my own money and get the baby a stuffed animal or blanket. Or maybe monkey pajamas."

Be still my heart.

How awesome is he. And he even included the part about ELI being the one to pay for it, as we've often discussed this regarding gifts and how spending your own time or money on a gift makes it more special than spending Mommy or Daddy's money. Life is good.

Night of Worship

Eli has been preparing for months for our church's Night of Worship concert. Tonight a few of our standard (adult) worship leaders performed with many many up and coming worship leaders. The 'new' leaders ranged in age from Eli (7) to a staff member (mom-ish age). VERY cool experience and very cool to see so many musicians take the stage for the first time. Eli played one song on the drum set and several with other percussive instruments.

Regarding Eli's practice schedule, it was totally on his initiative. Lehr and Eli went to 3 or 4 total rehearsals at church over the last few months, but Eli came home from school every day and got on the drums for at least 15 minutes. I never once had to remind him...VERY cool.

Here is the video from his main song tonight.

2013 02 Eli - Night of Worship (Set only) from Nicole Eliason on Vimeo.

Father Daughter Dance

Last night Maddux and Lehr went to a nearby church/school for a Father-Daughter Dance. It's the same one they went to last year, and Maddux was VERY excited to get dressed up and go again.

The dress Maddux wanted to wear is one that Grandma Cathie bought her last Christmas. It fit perfectly then, so you can imagine how short it is on her now. Although it took some convincing, Maddux and I went to Target one day after school and picked out a new one, and some 'fancy' shoes (all she has is sneakers and winter boots).

Lehr got home a little early and brought Maddux flowers. (Sidenote: This morning I discussed with her why Daddy had done that, and how she should expect to be treated with the same respect he gave her last night on all of her dates.) I spent close to an hour curling Maddie's hair (only to have it fall pretty flat minutes later, despite hairspray), she put on fancy jewelry, tights and gloves, and the two of them posed for a few pictures before leaving.


Lehr said Maddux was in full-out 'Mad-Dog' mode at the dance; she knows many girls that attend the host school, so she felt like she was at a massive playdate. All in all they had a great time.

Another Tooth

Eli has lost yet another tooth. His last one was knocked out a little prematurely with the help of a football (and much wiggling by Eli). It did start to grow in after a few weeks, but those top front teeth are slow moving, so he still had a jack-o-lantern look about him. Today he took an elbow to the mouth during a playground football game and his other top front tooth (which he's been wiggling a lot lately) got knocked out. So now the boy that already had a hole in his smile has a bigger gap when he opens his mouth...

Name Game

This last week we had our 'big' ultrasound and found out that we will be welcoming another GIRL into the family in June. Eli was initially disappointed, but he's adjusted well and now both kids are very excited to talk about her every day. One of the main things they like to discuss is names. Maddux has thrown in the name "Charlotte" and Eli has settled on "Bellatrix" (from the fifth Harry Potter book). Lehr and I remind them that we want them to keep suggesting names, but ultimately we get to decide. For now, he and I are calling her "Brunhilda".

A Big Heart

I didn't think it was possible for Maddux to shock me anymore, as she finds new ways to surprise everyone around her each day. But in the last few weeks Maddux has shown some crazy empathy and proactive kindness and protection in unexpected ways. Yes, she gives her brother random candy 'prizes' she earns at church, and yes, she hugs the bus driver when she boards in the morning (just because), but she's taken this compassion to a new level. I've been trying to explain 'big heart' to her as I always say it to her, but she keeps asking about the physical size. So far, all I've been able to do for her is say that the love in her heart is big.

No doubts about it, Maddux will be a great big sister, she is already an amazing little sister, and one day she'll be the best mother any child could hope for. (Sidenote: when we talk about where Maddux was when Eli was born, I always tell her 'my heart'. She knows she wasn't in my stomach at the same time as he was, but she was already in my heart. The other day she told me she has 100 babies in her heart. I don't doubt it.) Also, she is a cool friend. Two things came up recently that she did on her own, with no teaching:

• A week or so ago, Maddux lent one of her prized Disney princess dolls to a friend (Merida - the newest 'princess'). She was happy to do it and offered the doll up on her own. When it came time for her friend to return the doll, her mother saw a small rip in the doll's dress and asked me if it was already there. I honestly didn't have any idea. The parents know Maddux very well, so they asked her (when I was not there) and Maddux hemmed and hawed a little, saying, "No, but it's ok...REALLY! It's not a big deal." Seriously? How does she know to downplay something like that to spare their embarrassment or bad feelings for having slightly damaged one of her toys? 
• Maddux has a friend in her class that gets a little anxious when her mom comes to visit. She loves the visit but does not love the departure. When said mom has come into the class to help in the past, Maddux has reassured her friend when she starts to cry, "Don't worry - you'll see her at home real soon!" This last week, she stepped up her game. The mom (a friend of mine) told me that her daughter was fine through the time she was there, but when she stood up to leave, Maddux immediately found a classroom task that needed to be done and called out to her friend to help her with it, almost as a distraction tactic. The mom even said Maddux brushed off another child who was offering to help since the little girl wasn't responding to Maddux. I wish I knew where she got it, and I wonder how much of it I can learn from her.

One Hundred

Friday was the 100th day of school for the kids. Maddux had to count and bring in her snack with 100 pieces (we did 100 pieces of cereal), and Eli was supposed to dress as though he was 100 years old. Love it.

We talked about his outfit for a few days, but as usual, didn't pull the actual outfit out until the morning of. Lehr helped Eli get a pair of pants (anything but jeans is what we went for) and a button up shirt, as we discussed. Then Lehr and Eli added Eli's great-grandfather's flannel hat (awesome) and a crossword puzzle. I did have to explain why the puzzle made sense when he got home from the school, but he still brought it along.

A New Leaf?

Don't get me wrong: I love, love, LOVE Maddux's independent and crazy spirit. However, it can cause some frustration when it comes time to focus. Not that she can't focus when she wants to, but we struggle sometimes when others (namely Lehr or Nicole) want her to focus.

This has popped up most recently with activities. She loved gymnastics, but she often goofed around at least as much as she did what the teacher asked, and (just like at school), she has a tendency to take other students along for the ride. When it came time to sign her up again, I declined and then told her why. We had a few serious talks about what was expected at certain lessons or practices. That doesn't mean she can't have fun with them, but when it's time to listen and/or follow directions, she's gotta get with the program. Since we still have a month or two before soccer starts again, I opted to get the kids back in the pool, as we usually do this time of year. Just to remember how to use our arms and legs to keep us afloat. Maddux knew what was expected of her before this lesson and boy did she deliver. She was amazing: listening, following every instruction, and not causing any disruptions. She still had a smile on her face, she still laughed and enjoyed her time, but she was a focused girl!! Amazing.

Yesterday she showed us another level of maturity that we didn't expect. For a few years now, Eli has accompanied Lehr to music rehearsals at church. He will usually sit right next to the drum set and read or listen or play along quietly. We haven't let Maddux do this yet because, well...she can't seem to sit still. And if Lehr is in rehearsal, he can't chase her around the church, or even around the auditorium. This Sunday we took a chance and let her go to church early with him, as she requested. Another amazing display of self-control and obedience. She sat in the SAME chair the whole hour of rehearsal and colored, read, and watched. The girl is growing up!!

Baby Talk

The kids are all about the baby. Every day they ask me and talk to me about all things baby: when the baby will be here, what we'll do with the baby, what the baby is doing right now.... My favorites recently:

• We were mountain biking as a family and at one point Maddux got off of her bike and waited for me to finish a single-track section. She commented how bumpy it was and asked if I liked it. I told her it was fun. She said (very seriously), "I know the baby had fun with it too."
• Eli asks me daily, "Are you sure you can eat that, Mom? You know, with the baby?"
• Several times when my shirt has lifted up to expose my growing stomach, Eli has giggled and said, "Mommy, I can see the baby sticking out!"
• Maddux often gets confused when she sees me eating something or thinks about me eating something. We've discussed that there are a lot of foods the baby can't eat for the first year or two, but most of the time she translates that to mean that I can't eat them now (since the baby is getting its food from me). 

Mountain Bikers

Long before we had the kids, Lehr and I spent plenty of time on the mountain bike trails. Unfortunately we don't get out there much anymore, especially not together. In the past few years we've discussed when the appropriate time would be to get them out there, but with training wheels, it seemed silly to frustrate one or both kids with a trail their bikes couldn't handle.

In the last year Maddux has graduated to her two-wheeler, and she's recently picked up a bunch of speed. Between that and Eli's new Christmas bike, we decided to give it a go this afternoon. We packed up Lehr's and the kids' bikes and drove to our favorite local spot. This particular spot is great because it has a very tame, flat-ish beginners loop (about a mile) in addition to two more advanced ones. There is also a flat approach 'trail' that links the three, which would also be an option for the kids. I opted to not bring my bike in anticipation of one or more kids needing extra assistance while halfway down the trail.

I could not have been more pleasantly surprised; the kids didn't need ANY help. In fact, I had to run REALLY fast to keep up with them! Both Eli and Maddux did really well, even with the one steep downhill halfway through the beginner trail. Maddux rocked it out, and Eli was quick to follow. They both rode it a few times, Eli falling once and taking a quick 'hurt break'. After we rode the trail, we took the approach section out to the more advanced trails. In the last few months they have built a new BMX trail. We sat and watched several more experienced bikers rock the trail before we saw a few kids. That was enough for Eli; he quickly talked Lehr into following him down the trail. He did great, not falling at all, but bouncing all over the place. We decided Maddux might need another few months riding before she takes a trip down the trail, but it is definitely in her future.

Both kids rode the beginner trail again before ending on the 'field' where there were several logs and bridges and jumps to practice on. Both kids really enjoyed it and really REALLY improved their confidence on their bikes.

Christmas 2012

Christmas was great this year. The kids and I discussed it was an odd pairing of excitement (over next year with the baby) and a slight sadness (over this being the last Christmas with the four of us). The good far outweighed the bad, as the four of us got to spend some quality time together, celebrating our family and the real 'reason for the season'.

I have to say that I was SO excited that this year, more than any other year, the gifts under the tree were not in excess (yay, extended family!!) We've struggled every other year with the amount of 'stuff' that gets wrapped up and delivered for the kids. Lehr and I stick to giving them each one gift and Santa delivers three (SMALL) things for each child. However, the rest of the loot that is usually found under the tree ends up so high in numbers that no one can even remember who each gift comes from. This year, while there were still plenty of gifts to go around, there was a more manageable amount. Yet Eli was still so in awe and in appreciation of what he got. He even commented later in the day that one of his friends that would be visiting later today "won't believe all of the stuff!". I love love love that he was able to look at the wonderful gifts he got and think only of how blessed he was to have them (rather than 'missing' what gifts he didn't get). I know if he'd walked through many other houses yesterday, his 'stash' would have paled in comparison, but (thankfully!) this year, he wasn't comparing his stuff to any one else's.

And when I tucked Maddux in for bed, I asked her how her Christmas had been. Her answer was, "Perfect." Again, with gifts that took up barely any space on the floor or on a credit card, it warms my heart to hear that her day was just as it should have been. I know she and Eli both know that Christmas is celebrating the birth of Jesus and they both know that Christmas is about spending time not money, but knowing and really getting it are not always the same, especially when you're a kid. But the responses of the kids this year really gave hope to Lehr and I that they just might get it.

Polar Express

The kids have loved the book for years, and last year I heard about a train in North Carolina that replicated most of the trip taken in the book. Scheduling and life got in the way last year and I completely forgot about it until just after Thanksgiving this year. Then it hit me that I have kids that are growing up really really fast, and the magic and awe around all things Christmas, including that book, may be short-lived. I quickly hopped online, moved a few photo shoots around and grabbed tickets for the four of us to take a holiday train ride. The only available time slot for the only day that worked for us was 8:30PM; that meant we had to stay in NC for the night after deboarding the train. Perfect for a quick family trip!

The day before we left, I told the kids to pack a small bag because we were going to drive to the Carolinas to take a train to find snow (no mention of the Polar Express at all). Our car DVD player, which only gets used on long car rides, failed us, so the drive up was a little more challenging. Eli has fallen into the habits of his mommy; he is a total bookworm. But Maddux doesn't have the attention span to do anything not involving talking or singing for more than five minutes, so the ride would be fine for a few minutes, followed by a few minutes of Maddux bursting out in a very loud singing voice while Eli loudly protested. Joy. We did stop a few times to do short short short hikes on the side of the road.

Once we arrived in town, we grabbed some lunch and checked into our hotel. We walked around town a little, but the cold and our fatigue at the *late* hour of 7PM made it less than fun to kill time before our later train ride (18-degree windchill!). We opted to drive around and look at a few neighborhoods of holiday lights before getting the kids dressed in their PJ's for the train.

Once we boarded, the kids woke up big time. We were able to sit in a 4-seat section, facing each other. Almost as soon as we were seated, we were served a small thermos of hot cocoa. The kids were in heaven. And minutes later, chocolate chip cookies. Seriously!??! The train drove through some woods, on the way to the North Pole, as a ticket checker came and punched the kids' tickets. Then a hobo (is that the right word?) walked through our car and said, 'hello'. After a few more minutes, they played a recorded reading of the Polar Express book and the car assistants walked around to show the book pages to those of us that forgot to pack our own book. Soon after that we arrived in the North Pole and could see the decorated houses of Santa, Frosty, some of the elves, and Rudolph. (The kicker here was that Maddux was a critic: "That's not REALLY Santa's house. But that's not REALLY Frosty's house. I don't think that is actually an elf's house..")

Once we passed the houses, we saw Santa and his reindeer outside of the window on the other side of the train. Joy....the kids were giddy. Santa was waving and the excitement in train was everywhere. A few minutes later, the train reversed and we started to sing some Christmas carols. The kids loved this, especially when we sang "The 12 Days of Christmas" and our family got to be the first day. Somewhere around the end of the song, Santa boarded our train car and entered from behind Maddux's back. She was the first child he talked to, and given her inability to speak to him, I think he caught her by surprise. She just smiled and he gave her a bell. When he asked Eli what he wanted for Christmas, he grinned and said, "A football". Life is good. He also got a bell before Santa moved on to another family.

Eventually we returned to our boarding area and we drove back to the hotel. The kids passed out pretty quickly, which was good because we had a full day on our drive home. The weather was much nicer, so we stopped for a real hike at Tallulah Gorge. The trail was about a mile around the top and then we opted to take the stairs down to the water and back up. 1100 all together (yup, half of those were coming back up). The kids did REALLY well. Eli even ran up most of them with me.

So so glad we took this trip because it will definitely be harder for the next few years, and as much as I hate to think about it, after that the kids may not crave that Christmas magic anymore.

The Big Reveal

So the news is out now: we are expecting another baby in June 2013. We held off on telling the kids until we were about three months around for a few reasons, one of them being the fact that once they knew, it would likely be public knowledge soon after.

The tough part (for me) was finding a time to tell them. During the week was basically out of the question because by the time Lehr gets home from work, we only have time for dinner, bath, and books before the kids have to be in bed. Since this was such big news for our family, I wanted to be able to tell the kids and allow some family time for it to sink in a little. That leaves the weekends, and those find me just running from one shoot to another these days. This last weekend we had another busy one, but I didn't want to wait any longer. The only way it could work was for us to skip church. (You might argue that we could just tell them after church Sunday and then have the afternoon together, but the weather is always so great on Sunday afternoons that we always end up playing outside with the neighbors.)

So Sunday morning we woke up and came down to have a big breakfast together (something I always miss out on because the three of them typically do that Saturday mornings when I'm gone). Before we started breakfast, we sat them down on the couch and I showed them the ultrasound picture. I was shocked when Maddux knew right away what it was (because she's seen it in her baby book). She thought it was one of herself though. I then explained that yes, it was a picture of inside my belly, and yes, there was a baby in the picture, but this particular picture was taken a month ago, not five years ago. Both of their jaws dropped right then and they grinned like crazy. Eli was so excited to find out that we would have a baby soon, and of course Maddux went into overdrive, telling us all of the things she will do with and for the baby.

Eli first thought the baby would be here in time for Christmas, and was a little disappointed to find out he'd have to wait until after school finished for the year. Next came lots of questions and concerns over what I could and could not eat. They quickly learned that the baby couldn't eat regular food for most of the first year, but for some reason, they translated that to mean that Mommy couldn't eat those foods either. The first thing they told me was, "You can't eat pancakes this morning then." I assured them that even though the baby is getting fed through the food that I eat, my body changes the food into baby-friendly food.

Have I mentioned how excited the kids are? Because they are really really excited. They had a million little questions and comments, but they were all really great and positive ones. As usual, right around lunch time we made our way outside and play ensued with many other neighborhood kids. Within minutes, our news was spread. And then next morning at school? Eli and Maddux told their teachers and friends right away.

Night and Day

This clip doesn't show the full extent of it (and it was taken over the weekend), but every morning Lehr gets to see the polar opposite ends of the spectrum with Maddux and Eli. Since I'm still at boot camp when their alarms go off (and up until they're on the bus), Lehr get to spend the morning with both kids, getting them up, ready and out the door. Eli has really matured in this area, getting up with his own alarm and often times waking Lehr before he hops in the shower. Then he gets dressed, makes his bed, and it downstairs, ready to eat (usually in a good mood too!!!). Maddux, on the other hand, sleeps through her alarm, stretches in bed for as long as possible, wanders to the bathroom, gets distracted on her way back, eventually pulls on clothes and makes it downstairs only after countless reminders, 'encouragements', and warnings from Daddy. One, totally up and at'em, independent and happy...the other, slow-to-wake, needing help every step of the way. The crazy thing is, she doesn't typically need as much sleep as Eli: he's the one that is a grouch when he is lacking snooze time. In fact, even though she didn't have to, Maddux was up by 6:30 last year more mornings than not, just because. Crazy.

Tree Shopping

What a busy Saturday! After the Kids' JAM yesterday, we grabbed a quick lunch and drove to our favorite local tree farm. Maddux was SO excited to cut down the tree herself. (She was under the impression that she was the one that got to cut it this year; maybe we told her that last year?) As expected, the minute we walked into the tree area, the kids started excitedly yelling, "THIS one! No, THIS one! No wait, THIS one!" We had barely moved past the parking lot before they'd each picked three or four that were perfect. We urged them to walk further in, towards the back where I like to take pictures. After a few snapshots, we returned to our shopping. Less than 10 minutes later we all agreed on a tree so Maddux got on the ground next to Daddy and started sawing away. The trees are so soft and have such small trunks that it is fairly easy for the kids to do the work. She didn't make it all of the way through, but she put a dent in it. Just like last year, the kids' favorite part was the tree shaker. (They both do their own impression of the tree being shaken too.)

Kids JAM

Eli had the MOST fun today. Our church pulled together some of the 'older' musicians to help teach and mentor some of the more up-and-coming kids today for a Kids JAM workshop. On Sundays, our kids go to C3 where all elementary kids hang out, worship, play games, watch and participate in a message just for them, and then they break into small groups. The worship band in that room varies from 9 year olds to grandparents. One of the purposes of the Kids JAM was to help some of the kids who want to be up on stage become a little more prepared.

Since Lehr plays in that room often, he led the drum portion of the day. Six wannabe drummers (some who have played before and some who have not) piled on the stage with him, all using a 3-piece set, and learned two worship songs. It was loud and it was awesome. Maddux (she is still too young) hung out and visited all of the groups (vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards, drums, tech). So so cool!!

Eli's Sports Morals

It's been another growing season for Eli. Not physically (the boy is still on the small side), but in so many ways related to maturity. And it's really really cool to watch.

Since the beginning of time, or at least baseball time, we've used as many opportunities as we could to remind Eli that, in a game, the referee has the final say. In fact, they really have the only say because arguing with them will not change their minds AND it is disrespectful. Eli's seen it on the field in his games, but he never comments on it or seems to notice much. This fall he's gotten much more into watching football on the weekends with Lehr. Obviously there are many opportunities for 'bad calls' on any given Sunday. This last weekend I walked in from outside to find Eli watching the (tivoed) Florida/Florida State game. He gave me a quick update since I had a vested interest. His exact words were, "Well, I don't want to say that the ref was wrong, but it didn't look like the right call to me. Soooo, Florida has the ball again." Cool, cool, cool.

Overnight Reader

Maddux learned to read FAST. For real!

I promise this is not just a case of parental amnesia. You know, where you forget how it was the first time around a particular milestone. "Surely Junior didn't walk so well so quickly." "No way was potty training this hard the first time." Nope...not the case this time. I really do remember when and how Eli came to be a reader. It developed slowly over his Kindergarten year, but at a very steady pace and it wasn't until summer or the start of 1st grade when he was really really reading.

Just this week it became quite obvious that Maddux is a reader. As in: now - this IS happening. At the beginning of the school year, she was reading through some BOB books, needing some prompting here or there, but mostly making it through the 3-letter words. But that was it. Then she progressed through more site words, but outside of that didn't yet grasp the concept of sounding things out and all. This week, she has started to really read when she and I go through a book together. Just the other day she sounded out the work 'funny': "f-uhhh-n. fun. nnnn-ee. funny?" Amazing. And then we came to the word 'alone' and she said, "ah-llll-ah-n. Oh wait, there is a bossy e!! Ahh-l-O-n?" That girl.....

Thanksgiving Play

Eli has been preparing for a few weeks for a class Thanksgiving play. He was chosen to play the part of Chief Massasoit, meaning he got to inform the audience that we'd be joining for a meal AND tell a few jokes. We practiced his lines at home and he was fairly comfortable with them from the get-go... It was amazing to me that he wasn't nervous. Well, I think he maybe was, because of the way he smiled wide through the delivery of his jokes and the way his leg twitched as he spoke, but he never mentioned his nerves.

The main responsibility for us regarding the play was creating a costume for Eli. We took a family trip to the craft store and got feathers, felt, a brown t-shirt, and a few random beads. Lehr was the mastermind behind much of the headdress, and Eli was very happy with how it turned out.

Snaggletooth

Eli lost two teeth last year, but nothing so much as a wiggle since then. During recess on Friday, Eli spiked the football and ended up with a mouth full of pigskin. Blood and a wiggly tooth later, he was released from the school nurse. He assured me there was no pain, but he talked very cautiously and wouldn't eat a snack that afternoon. A few times as we were doing homework and the such, he would hop up to grab a napkin due to his mouth bleeding again (totally due to him forcing the tooth front and back with his tongue or fingers). Then, just before Daddy got home, he extracted the front tooth completely from his mouth. His poor gums looked traumatized, but he once again maintained that it didn't hurt. So now we have a small little boy with a shaved head and a BIG hole in his mouth where a very little tooth used to reside.

Backyard

Because we like to keep our life complicated and full and always 'in progress', we started a backyard renovation last spring. Just before school let out, we had 14 trees removed from our yard, then we had the ground leveled and retaining walls built, then we added a fence and grass. Voila...now we can actually PLAY in our backyard. (A garden is soon to come...maybe spring?) A few weekends ago, we took the day to clean the yard (pine straw and leaves accumulate on grass much quicker than on ivy, or maybe it's just more noticeable....) and spread out some pine straw on un-grassed areas. Once we finished that, we made a temporary fire pit. Since it was so nice outside that weekend, we just HAD to try it out that night. Lehr got some marshmallows and the kids found roasting sticks. After dinner we sat on a blanket by the fire and roasted. Eli brought out the current Harry Potter selection and I read from it until there was no more light to read by. My conclusion? Fire pit=happy family times.

Parent Teacher Conferences

At the end of the first nine-weeks, our elementary school has parent-teacher conferences for all students. We've been through it twice with Eli, but this was the first time through for Maddux. With both teachers we have had some communication throughout the fall, so we weren't expecting any surprises.

Maddux was first and her conference went great. The teacher touched on her love of talking, at ALL times, but didn't dwell on it at all. She gave her rave reviews, academically, especially for being the youngest in the class, even commenting that she is one of the top few readers in the class. Her report card reflected the same, only dipping down in areas like 'self-control' or 'not monopolizing every conversation and/or discussion in the classroom'. Lehr and I inquired about her desire to be 'involved' with the other kids; we were curious if it ever came across like she was overstepping her bounds and starting to be bossy. The teacher assured us that Maddux's classmates LOVE having her in their group or at their table, and none of them have yet to see her interactions with them negatively. (So far, so good!!)

Eli's conference went well also. He is doing well in all of his subjects, especially reading and math. His teacher seems to really enjoy him and even when she told us about his tendency to talk too much at times, she did it with a genuine smile on her face. Our concern with Eli is his short stature and how he holds his own in a class of BIG boys that seem to want to control things on the playground. She said that so far he's doing really well with it and he's standing up for himself when he needs to.

Both kids with great report cards and teachers who seem to enjoy them: Life Is Good.

Gymnastics

My gym rats...Eli and Maddux are still LOVING their once/week gymnastics class. Maddux is a monkey out there, she can walk the beam, forward or backwards, often not even glancing at the beam. And Eli has come a long way with handstands, cartwheels and all kinds of 'hanging' things. They both look forward to their classes, but even more so, they are both constantly 'practicing'. Even in the driveway, they will do handstands or cartwheels in between tosses of the ball, or while raking the leaves in the yard.

Halloween Week

Hurricane Sandy blew up the east coast this week, leaving us with really windy and cold weather. Luckily, it was starting to die down by Halloween and the kids still had a great time trick-or-treating and enjoying outdoor festivities that day.

Two days before the holiday was Maddux's first field trip. Her class (and all of the other Kindergartners) got to ride a school bus a little north to Cagle's Dairy Farm. Maddux got to feed a baby pig and see all kinds of farm animals. She loved it, but she did say it was very cold.

The night before Halloween, we finally carved the pumpkins. We'd held off over the weekend in hopes of some warmer weather, but when that didn't come, Lehr and Eli just carved them inside. (Maddux had an incident at school resulting in her loss of 'carving privlidges' that night.) Eli REALLY enjoyed this. We let him do the actual carving for the first time this year, and his close attention to Halloween Wars on the Food Channel paid off. He was very focused and intentional about everything he did, and he even had a story to go with the pumpkin when he was done.

Halloween night found us parading in the neighborhood with our friends and then trick-or-treating home from the pool area. Eli did complain quite a bit about his costume once we started; he was wearing the costume, carrying his candy bucket and a light saber, wearing a mask and gloves. It was too much and I think we all decided next year we would go for a 'less involved' costume. We spent most of the night with our neighbors across the street, and no one had to pay the fee for running through other people's grass this year. (Our penalty is miss two houses and give mom or dad a piece of your candy.) The kids didn't even flinch when I told them to pick their favorite seven pieces at the end of the night because we were donating the rest to the soldiers. (We did that last year too.) All in all, another great year with the Wicked Witch of the West and Darth Vader!