The Gymnast

I don't think Dexter is going to make a career out of gymnastics or anything, but he's been doing classes for three years now and he still ADORES it.  So I think it's a sport we will stick with for a while.  It's excellent for his strength and coordination, and it's FUN.  I always giggle when I watch him because he does everything with such enthusiasm.  Erin thinks gymnastics is awesome, too, so I will bet that she may be starting some classes when fall rolls around.

I didn't take Erin to gymnastics yesterday.  John was home waiting for the garage door repair guy, and the garage door estimate guy for some new garage doors.  So Erin stayed home with Daddy.  And I took a camera to gymnastics so I could take some video.

Here's the link for Dexter's gymnastics video

I've been on a roll with videos this week.  So if you're interested, here's a couple more:

Our Lake House vacation from 2014

Fun in the snow last weekend

We're taking advantage of FREE babysitting services at the YMCA tonight to go out to dinner, while the kids play in Child Watch and stay up past their bedtime.  Everyone is excited.  Hopefully it will go well and we can make this a fairly regular kind of thing.

Have a happy weekend!

FINALLY

Finally, finally, after a few unsuccessful attempts, John pulled Dexter's ridiculous top tooth out of his mouth this morning.  So now his smile looks cute and gap-y instead of frightening with a tooth threatening to poke your eye out.

BEFORE

AFTER

AFTER

Much Warmer Fun in the Snow

We had snow yesterday, and it was still snowing in to the evening, but finally turned to freezing rain later.  This morning it was a heat wave - almost 40 degrees!  John and Erin went to Lowes to find some things to fix our mailbox that got plowed down last night.  So Dex and I went out to play in the snow.  This is my kind of snow day.  Warm.  I took my hat off, and usually had my gloves off.  We sledded.  We made a snow tunnel.  We made a snow man.  We pelted each other with snow balls (ok, this is a lie.  We threw snow balls at each other, but we both have terrible terrible aim.  So I am not sure any snow balls actually hit anyone).  We had a lovely time.

This is why no snow balls hit their mark.  We both throw terribly.  Especially left handed.

Dex was making snow tunnels, and then he wanted to make a snow fort.  I have zero idea how to do that, but we muddled through.

With Daddy gone, this was the best I could do.  A snow arch.

Dex was hungry.  Don't eat the yellow snow!

Hello, cute snow man.  Buddy tried stealing one of his arms.

Sledding wasn't as fast as we had hoped - a little too slushy

Have we discussed this tooth yet?  This very wiggly but very stubborn top tooth that is poking out of Dexter's face like this?  I think John is going to try to pull it out later today.

So hopefully later the super wompy top tooth will join its friend, the missing bottom tooth, in Tooth Fairy heaven.

Erin would also like to show you her wiggly teeth.  Which are not really wiggly, but she likes to do everything the same as Dexter.  

Fun in the Snow

We are having a little snow storm here today.  And John isn't even out snow blowing the driveway because 1)  we're not going anywhere and 2)  it's supposed to rain tomorrow, so why bother.  We did convince the children to go outside to play in the snow, though.  Dex was all for it.  Erin took some convincing, and stayed out for about five minutes before saying she was cold.  It was a little chilly, and windy, and it was snowing pretty hard.  But I still think she's a bit of a wimp.  :-)

She had just wandered outside.  This is how Erin "plays" in the snow

Daddy did convince her to get in a sled and go for a ride in the driveway.  And on her way inside she said "I had soooo much fun with Daddy!"

Dex actually had a tough time sledding til we got a track made.  The snow was deep enough that his sled would not budge.

Snowy!

Buddy likes playing in the snow

I love how she looks adoringly at her daddy

Woo-hoo!  Dex made it partway down the hill!

He gave up sledding and now is getting pelted with snowballs

This looks like trouble...

And even bigger trouble

Seemed like a nice day for a fire.  I think it was the first fire in our fireplace for the season.

Both boys were pretty fascinated.  Erin wanted to know if Daddy was going to make a snow fire.  I think she meant a fire in our fire pit outside.  And, no.  No, Daddy is not going to make a snow fire.

Fortunately we have nowhere to go tomorrow.  And hopefully the roads will be cleared before school on Monday.  Because Dex missed ALL WEEK of school, between sickness and a holiday and snow days and a day off Friday because it was too cold.  So, c'mon, school!  We miss you!

Swimming

I only had one kid in swimming today, as Dexter stayed home with John.  He was up all night throwing up, so he spent all day hanging out in bed and watching his IPad.

So.  Anyway.  I only had one kid at swimming today.  So I thought I'd take some video of Erin swimming.  She usually has Ms Mike for a teacher, but she was not there today.  So she had Ms Clara instead (who Dexter had for a teacher last session).  She ADORES swimming, and typically spends most of the week pretending she is the swim teacher for various stuffed animals.  She has no fear (except for floating on her back and putting her head back.  She does it, but it's not her favorite thing), and she is doing an awesome job.  Thought you'd like to see her swimming - she's a little fish.

Click here to see the video

Yestertime

In the last week or so Erin has started using the word "yestertime."  Which I think is a combination of yesterday and last time.  She has zero concept of time, so "yestertime" actually works out pretty well.

Yestertime it was my birthday.
Yestertime, at Child Watch, someone screamed.
Yestertime Grandma gave me emma-emms.
Yestertime I was sick.

Yestertime.  I like it.  I might start using it myself, actually.

Tooth Three

Dear Dex,

We've been watching your very wiggly top front tooth for a while, but we completely overlooked your very wiggly BOTTOM tooth til about yesterday.  When it was almost falling out of your face.  Daddy finally pulled it out this evening before bed.  You were very brave.  Your top tooth is still hanging in there.  Crooked.  Pushing forward out of your mouth.  But still there.

The tooth fairy should be making the third visit to our house tonight, and hopefully will make visit number four in the not-too-distant future.

Thanks, Valentine

Dear cute quiet little girl in Dexter's class:

Amidst all the store-bought and Pintrest-worthy home-made valentines that came home on Friday with Dexter, yours stood out to me.  Head and shoulders above the rest.  It was a simple, hand-made valentine on a piece of folded white paper.  Written with crayon.  With a Tootsie Roll taped to the front.  It was by far my favorite.

Thank you, dear sweet quiet little girl.  Thank you for taking the time to make a special valentine for a quirky little boy who likely doesn't remember your name if you are not wearing your name tag.  Thank you for noticing his interests, and remembering, and caring enough to make a valentine that was truly just for him.  You certainly know how to make a mom cry.

Happy Valentine's Day!  We stayed home and did not much of anything.  Erin was almost back to normal, although I am not sure she ate anything other than chocolate and M&M's all day long.  We got a little snow and a LOT of wind, which blew all the snow away.  Where did it all go?  We have no idea.  We haven't left the house to find out.

My favorite VD picture, featuring Erin in mid-couch-cannon ball.

My Funny Valentines

Dexter was excited to go to school today for his Valentine's Day party.  Did he actually create valentine's for his classmates?  No.  No he did not.  But he is excited to receive.

Erin is tired and grumpy.  She had a tummy bug and was throwing up all Wednesday evening.  She had a fever all day Thursday.  This morning she was her normal self for about an hour after breakfast, and then whined her way over to the couch looking for a snuggle.  She just wanted to "sleep in my hands."  She is currently napping.  At 10AM.

Crossing my fingers that 1) Nobody else gets sick and 2) Erin feels better soon

Oh - Dex was looking for red pants, too, but they were in the laundry basket.  So he settled for blue with an orange stripe.  Because "you just add yellow to red and you get orange.  So orange is almost red."  Any attempt I had at telling him that red and orange really don't match fell on deaf ears.  So he is what he is.  Red.  And almost red.

Happy early Valentine's Day!

Six

Dear Dexter,

You turned six last week.  SIX!  It's hard for me to believe I have been a mom for that long.

You and Daddy visited the Air and Space Museum at Dulles Airport the day before your birthday to fuel your ongoing love of space and rocket ships.  The real space shuttle Discovery is there, along with many rockets and other space-related things.  I was not at all expecting that your very favorite thing in the museum would be the Black Bird airplane.  The SR-71, a military plane used for spying and surveillance for many years, holds the record for the fastest flight from Los Angeles to New York City.  One hour and four minutes.  I learned this on Friday when you told me all about your trip.  It sounded like you also enjoyed the shuttle, and the I-Max movie about space.  But maybe not so much the flight simulator.  It was too loud.

The Norman family visited for the weekend and enjoyed a very yummy rocket ship cake, plus a dinner of hot dogs and mac and cheese.  They took you out for dinner at Applebees on Saturday, where you ordered your favorite meal (Kraft mac and cheese) and inhaled it, along with everyone else's french fries and also a hot fudge sundae.  We had a little Super Bowl party with Nonna and Grandpa on Sunday night, watching the Patriots play the Seahawks.  You and Erin giggled hysterically at a Mt Dew commercial where dogs, chairs, pictures, and coats started dancing.  Fortunately we have a DVR so we could watch it again.  And again.  And again.  And again.

You like building things.  Snap Circuits are your favorite right now, along with huge huge LEGO kits.  You have an entire LEGO city on your desk in your room right now, with a hospital and a police station and lots of cars and trucks and a huge helicopter.  You also got a kick out of a magnet kit we got you for your birthday, and you built some fun stuff with Kinnex.  When you are not building, you are reading.  Books about space.  Chapter books.  And it warms my heart that you enjoy the very same Shel Silversteen books that I read as a kid.  A Light in the Attic.  Where the Sidewalk Ends.  The Growing Tree.

Your very favorite thing right now is ROCKET SHIPS.  We made a space shuttle cake for your birthday, and a rocket ship cake the following week.  We read lots of books about space and planets and books that astronauts wrote about being in space.  You told me the other day that when you grow up you want to be a person who works at Mission Control for rocket launches.  I think that would be a pretty cool thing.  Aunt Jeanne got you some bungee cord-launched rocket ships to play with in the back yard.  Best.  Present.  Ever.  We were all thankful it was warm enough yesterday and today to go out to play with them.

You continue to love gymnastics, and it's fun to watch you get stronger and more brave.  You are the fastest fish in the pool during swim lessons, too, and I am glad that your love of the slide has overcome your fear of the sun spots.

At school you get pulled out almost every day for Social Skills, Friendship Group, and Speech Therapy.  Normal kid's parents might be concerned that you miss class time.  We have no such concerns.  Academically you are far ahead of your class mates.  I loved hearing you describe the game "Beat You to 15 Cents" to me today, and hearing you work out how many cents you would have if you had a nickle and two pennies.  You brought home a list of Sight Words that you are supposed to know by the end of the year.  Parents were supposed to look at the words that their kid didn't know yet, so they could work on those words at home.  We've got nothing to work on.  You know it all.  You're reading this blog post, at age six and one week.  We are not concerned that you miss class time.  We want you to learn the things that are hard for you.  How to approach kids your age.  How to have a two-sided conversation.  How to keep calm even when things make you angry.  You've made HUGE strides in these thing in the last year, and I know these things are difficult.  I'm proud of you for how hard you work at keeping yourself "in the green."

Your sister adores you and everything you do.  She loves to repeat everything you say.  She loves to mimic every weird hand gesture you do.  She loves to jump on you in bed.  She loves to demand a kiss from you every night before bed, and then run away giggling with her hand over her butt as you chase her, trying to kiss that very same butt.  She loves to demand a hug from you before school, and she loves to ask you your favorite thing about school when you get home.  When she is sad in the car she often cries that she wants Dexter.  She wants her sister.  (She can never remember that you are her BROTHER).

Happy Birthday, Dexter!  Here's hoping your seventh year is your best one yet.  I love you to the moon and back.  And yes, I know.  You love me more.