Baseball Season

We've officially stared baseball season!  We are so lucky this year that Timo's school has a coach pitch team so he gets to play with some of his buddies in class.  And each Friday, at school announcements, the team is recognized and cheered on for their game the next day.  Go Argonne Wolfpack!

Timo was super excited for the first game of the season, ready to play!  I'm really surprised how focused he is this year...a big difference from last year.  His catching is much more improved, accuracy and hitting are all way better than previous years.  What a difference between 5 and 6 years old.

We got to pick out numbers for our child's jersey this year and I couldn't help but pick my old track number, #24...he, he, he.  (just fyi, I asked Timo what number he wanted and he was pretty committed to #10947, so I made the decision for him.) And since he's still in Coach Pitch ball, they only play three innings, everyone gets a chance to hit, no one gets out and there is no score.  It's kinda nice, I think Timo would still have a hard time dealing with getting out or not crossing home plate each time...

We have great coaches this year, all dads of boys on the team.  Each one is high energy, enthusiastic and really takes their time with each player.  They expect a certain level of respect and ask each boy to give 100% each practice and game.  I'm so grateful for all they are investing in our team!

We went out to celebrate after the first game...

It was a long day and everyone was feeling silly by the time dessert rolled around...

Timo got to be catcher for the 2nd game and loved it.  He kept saying he was Buster Posey.  I love the little catchers outfit that fits them, he was so cute!

What's a game without a bloody nose?  All par for the course with our little allergy boy.  But he was back up and ready to go in no time...ready to hit it out of the park!

Here's a video of him hitting at the first game...I didn't expect him to hit it on the first pitch so I was just pressing the record button and missed the pitch, but you get the idea.  This was the last inning and the coaches told the kids they were too clean.  They wanted them each to slide into home plate to get a little dirty...something Timo had no problem with!

The Ins and Outs of Life

Just a few "Ins and Outs" of our daily life...

The kids did great on their report cards and parent teacher conferences so we went out to celebrate at our favorite Mexican restaurant, Tommy's!

To say we LOVE our bean bags would be an understatement.  It's their new reading spot.  I love working in their school library on Fridays, I get to check out 6 extra books each week!  I try to do three story/easy reader books and 3 science/non-fiction books, so we have a revolving door of new books each week. Friday afternoons/evenings tend to be quiet in our house....

But not forgeting rainbow looming...they have figured out how to watch you-tube to learn new ways.  Most videos are a little too advanced for them (or they pick the more advanced ones), so I think it's just an excuse to use the tablet...

Saturday morning cartoons have become a norm lately...or just an excuse to snuggle with Daddy...

Who says Cameron doesn't play with dolls??  She loves her Avengers Dolls!!

I had a wonderful afternoon with my daughter a few weekends ago.  I had a baby shower to go to and decided Cameron was old enough to go along too.  We left a little early and had a hot chocolate before walking over. She was so excited to be going to a "grown up party".

There was "diaper decorating" there and Cameron made a special one for baby Arrianna.  It says "you are cute" with a little smiley face.  She did so well at the shower, but was almost just as excited when Daddy and Timo came to pick us up, she does not like being away from Timo for too long.

We had a full moon the other night and Daddy got out the telescope!  It was so cool to see the moon so close!!

In case you ever wonder what we do on weekends?  Well, it isn't house work!!  This is what our living room typically looks like at the end of a weekend, chaos.  But that's what Mondays are for, right?

Music and Dance

It's not secret that we love music in our house.  Well, now the kids go to a chorus class once a week in school and have really enjoyed learning new songs...oldies to us parents. As they are practicing at home, I start signing the words with them and I get a looks of shock "Mommy, how do you know the words??" Here are two of the songs they performed for us.  Young found the music online and played it along for them...now all we need is a karaoke machine!

And Cameron, our music lover, is showing us her moves that Daddy taught her....Daddy would be proud of her "clubbing dance" moves!

Basketball!

I'm finally getting around to Timo's basketball season...now that's it's over.  We signed up through the local YMCA because one of our friends was on the team and I think it was a great choice for him.  First off I love the values the YMCA tries to instill in it's kids.  But they also have smaller teams so each player gets lots of game time and lots of personal attention from the coach.  Timo had a great season, had so much fun and really learned a lot.  I think the most valuable lesson, aside from ball skills, was to work as a team.  The beginning of the season the kids thought it was all about getting the ball and shooting and trying to score.  By the end of the season they were all passing it around, looking for who had the best shot.  It wasn't all perfect but you could tell they were starting to grasp the concept of working as a team.

Grandpa was visiting for Timo's first game back in Dec...so special!  Each game was so much fun, watching all the little kids try to run and dribble at the same time.  Timo might not have been the best player on the team but he was for sure the most energetic!

Here a little sample of his shots at the last game...a great finish to a really fun season. We're already rallying our friends to join the team with us next year!

Hearing Test, 6 Year Check Up and Health

It's a been a while since I've written on the health of the kids...mainly because they have been pretty healthy, knock on wood!  We've been dealing with one minor thing with Timo, his hearing.  Back in December we noticed that he wasn't listening to us or would ask "What did you say?"  At first we thought he was just distracted and not being a good listener, but then I noticed he wouldn't respond to me even if I was standing next to him.  Only if you were looking face to face or very close to his ears could he hear you.  His teachers also noticed his lack of response to them.  So I scheduled an appointment with our pediatrician and had a hearing test done.  It didn't go so well.  This is a picture of him waiting to hear the sounds even though the sounds were going off, it was so sad for me to watch.  After an exam, Dr. B found fluid built up in his inner ear, probably caused from his bad allergies, constantly being stuffy.  We were to double up on our allergy meds for two weeks in hopes of drying it out and come back for a follow up.

Yeah!  Good news, he could hear again...or at least at the loudest tone.  All the fluid was gone but there was a slight discrepancy in the right ear, enough to concern Dr. B.  She sent us to the Audiology Dept for further test.

I'm happy to report that he passed his hearing tests!!  The formal test was fun, they hooked up this device to his hear and measured his ear drum and reflex hearing.  Then he was put in a sound proof room and for the hearing part.  The great doctor played sounds, pitches, asked questions, etc...all he heard except at the highest pitch.  She said that's somewhat normal in some kids because the ear drum doesn't turn up until about the age of 7...hum, who knew?  So even the fluid build up in his ears would go away once his ear drum turns up.  We just need to be aware if he gets a head cold or allergies flare up again that he will have slight loss of hearing.

In between all the hearing test, we had our 6 year check ups and everything looks good.  Cameron is still in the 1% for height and weight and Timo in the 15%.  This was the fist time they had to wear the little paper gowns which Timo did not like at all.  He's a modest little boy and was quite embarrassed by the gown. Cameron, on the other hand, wanted to take it home and wear it to school!

And we've had a bout with a few little illnesses in Feb.  We ended our long 6 year run of no stomach bugs with Timo getting sick for the first time.  It was the first time he had ever thrown up and we really taken back by the whole experience.  I'm still not convinced it was a bug, he only got sick twice, around 4pm and was hungry again by dinner.  I think something he ate for lunch didn't agree with him.  A few weeks later he caught a nasty cold that went into his chest which turned into bronchitis.  We had to go back on the inhaler, fought a pretty high fever but he bounced back fast.  It was one of those nights where his fever was high, he was having trouble breathing, his heart rate was up and I was contemplating taking him to the emergency room.  I would check on him every two house throughout the night (no sleep for mommy) and by morning he sprang out of bed ready for the day like nothing was wrong.  Wish we could have that kind of turnaround recovery!

February Friend's Birthdays

So much for trying to keep two Saturdays a month open for family days with no plans.  Our February was packed each weekend with birthday parties.  I know I could have opted out of some of the parties but I personally LOVE birthdays and think each year of a child should be celebrated to the fullest.  So if we are invited to celebrate a friend, I try my best to attend the celebration.

I'm not sure why all the birthday hit in the same month, I feel like we went the whole fall without a party...but more than made up for it in February.  Not to mention our own birthday party was this month too!  The first party I don't have pic for because it was Timo's first "drop off party" for his best friend Kane.  It originally was a party in the park but because of the rain it turned into an indoor party as their house...and because it's a small house, drop-offs were encouraged.  Timo had a blast but I'm not so sure how Kan's mom faired with 13 5/6 year olds cooped up in their house for two hours!

Next was Cole's House of Air party with was basically wall to wall trampolines!  (I can see a Timo and Cameron party here in a few years)  I have to give my kids props...all the other kids exhausted themselves after about 30-45 mins and had to go sit down, but not my two!  They were the last ones left and had to coaxed off the trampoline's to go have pizza and cake!  You can see in the video, one or two other children meander in and out but Timo and Cameron are still going strong.

Angalie's rock climbing party was our most anticipated party...Cameron excited and Timo apprehensive. Cameron loves rock climbing but Timo not so much.  He kept saying he wasn't going to climb but once we got there and he saw all the other kids climbing he decided to give it a try...and he made it all the way to the top!!  He felt so proud of himself!

Cameron zipped up and down the various climbs they had and really wanted to do the harder wall the older kids got to do.  As you can see from the picture, it a slight bump in it as opposed to the flat climbing walls for the beginners.  It took her a little long but she made it!

 Happy Birthday Angalie!!  We all loved her mint chocolate chip cake...green lips!

Cameron had her first girl party...Isabel's Frozen theme party.  I don't know about your little girl, but mine is going crazy for Frozen these days.  She can't get enough of it.  We sing the songs, read the books and are waiting and waiting for the DVD to come out.  Cameron couldn't wait for this party and it was so much fun. Isable's parents did such a great job on decorations and activities.

Our last party of the month was Franklin's acrobat party which included the a zip line!  Timo, again hesitant, had a blast on the zip line.  He wanted to start out slow but zipped faster and faster each time.  Franklin is a little boy in Timo's class so it was mostly his classmate but his mom generously invited Cameron to come too. She had no problem making new friends at the party!

I took a peek at the birthday walls in both classes last week and noticed only two birthday in March...so I hope we'll have a mellow month this month!