While I was washing all the ski clothes and packing the goggles and helmets away until next season, Delaney made it very clear that she thought she was ready to hit the slopes! First Cole’s goggles and helmet, and then later, Franny’s boots. Thankfully, everything is now done and packed away, and we can now move on to the warmer weather sports that she can more easily participate in.
Like Franny, Cole started swim lessons when he was very young. He swam continually from ten months old up until two years, when time Delaney was born. At that point, we put swimming on hold and prioritized gymnastics, because it logistically easier to balance with Franny’s activities. Now, nearly two years later, Cole is finally back in the pool! He had his first swim lesson this evening and did great! While we were waiting on deck for his class to start, he told me I am going to say “hi, my name is Cole”. And, when they called his name, he walked right over to his class and told me to go watch from the spectator room. Maybe he was trying to be independent or maybe he was trying to do it all like Franny, but I was very impressed with him. He was very at ease in the water, went under without any trouble, and seemed to pick up where he left off. He later said that he thought it was a lot of fun, which made me happy. He’s such an incredible little kid!
This past weekend, Cole and Franny had their fourth and last ski lesson of the season. Despite extremely heavy snow fall, they both did a great job and had a really good time. Franny was on the chair lift again, and Cole spent his lesson on the rope tow. We also spent the night before at Collins Lake, which made for a longer, more relaxing trip to Mt. Hood. It’s a little sad that this was their last lesson, but we all look forward to next year and many ski trips to come.
Unfortunately, poor Delaney will have to watch from the sidelines for one more year before getting her turn.
This week has past incredibly quickly! Here are few additional pictures of our fun in Sunriver
Franny is so excited for her upcoming birthday! It is coming up very quickly—for certain, every day this week will be filled with preparations for her big day. I hope it is everything she is hoping for!
Today, I took Franny and Cole to see the stage production of Go, Dog. Go! at the Northwest Children’s Theater. They were both very excited to go—although Franny has been to a couple of plays and ballets, this was Cole’s first time at this kind of event. Our tickets were for the 3:00 show, and all day he was asking if it was time to go, yet. But, it was worth the wait—they had such an incredible time! They laughed and were smiling through the whole musical. Afterwards, they had fun getting some of the dog’s autographs in their programs. It was a wonderful show and I am so glad we went! I can’t wait to take them to another show sometime, soon!
Cole getting autographs from Blue Dog and Hattie
Intermission snacks
We always go to Sunriver during the summer—with little kids it has just always seemed like there would be limited things to do to justify a winter vacation there. But, with the kids getting a little older, we thought we’d take a long weekend and see how it went. As it turned out, we had no shortage of things to do. in fact, we all left wanting to stay and spend more time! The Sunriver Village is undergoing a facelift—among the things they have added is the Ice Skating Pavilion. Franny had a great time ice skating, and went every day that we were there. She really did a great job, considering she had only skated one other time, and that was a year ago! Franny was able to skate completely independently; although she did fall, she got right back up and kept on skating! I think she would have enjoyed it more if Cole was able to keep up with her, but she definitely enjoyed it, and it was really fun to watch her.
We take the kids a lot of places and do a lot of different things. They enjoy them all, but Sunriver is a very special place for them. It was not an intentional effort for us to establish Sunriver as our favorite family get-away, but it has become that. The kids love it, here. It is one of the few places they specifically ask to go, and they are always sad when we leave. It is hard to imagine a summer without spending time in Sunriver; biking, hiking, swimming—everything we love to do as a family is here. Sometimes I try to think of another destination to replace it, but then I wonder Why? –the kids absolutely love it and they are building incredible memories with our annual vacations we take there. Of course, we will continue to introduce them to new places, but as long as they love to come, we will make the time to bring them here. From a general overview, although it is located in a beautiful setting, it is not an exceptional resort by any means. But, it is their place, and they have strong and wonderful emotions tied to it. I don’t feel that I’m unimaginative by prioritizing Sunriver as an annual vacation—I feel exceptionally fortunate that it had become what it is…to all of us.
Delaney’s version of the morning coffee and newspaper—chocolate milk and Franny’s e-reader…
Delaney’s feet are finally almost big enough to fit into Franny’s old rain boots. But, almost has to be big enough, because when the big kids wear their rain boots, Delaney gets very disgruntled when she is forced to wear her plain old sneakers. I didn’t even have the chance to give them to her. I got them out of storage during her nap and left them in the garage. When she got up, she found them (unbelievably quickly, too!) and came running to me, holding them in her hands, and shouting boots, boots, boots! Now, she insists on wearing them everywhere, and I have to constantly remind her to put them back in the garage, or else she would wear them all day, inside and out. I must say, however, that it is fun to see her joy in splashing in every puddle she passes. And, if you are looking at this picture thinking that something isn’t quite as it should be, you are correct. Her boots are on the wrong feet, but she insists on putting them on herself, and I don’t have the heart to squash her independence. They are really such little joys, but they are so important to her. If only all of life could be so simple!
Ever since the new Curious George exhibit arrived at the Childrens Museum last month, I have been trying to find a good time to go. The exhibit gives the kids an interactive science, math and engineering-based experience. The kids were really excited to go, but weren’t that into the whole thing. Cole and Delaney were expecting to actually see Curious George, and when this was as close as they could get, they were ready to move on. I’m planning on taking them back again soon, because I think there was some fun things for them when they are in the right mindset. But, it was still a great morning and the kids enjoyed seeing their playgroup friends, not to mention having a fun pizza lunch! All in all, it was a pretty good Wednesday!
About a year ago, we converted all our CDs to MP3 format, and were thrilled that we no longer had to store them or have bulky stereo equipment to play them. We didn’t anticipate that the kids would have such difficulty leaving the iPod on it’s deck (which it where it needs to be to play). Cole and Delaney just couldn’t resist opening up the cabinet and pulling it out, which is really ironic, since these two love music and want to have it on all the time. Unfortunately, we actually stopped listening to music for a long time, because we just put the iPod out of reach as a temporary solution. Today, however, we decided to give it another try. All the kids had a great time dancing to the music, but Delaney was ecstatic! She jumped around, danced, waved her arms, and ran around in circles. I definitely hope we will be able to continue with the music, because I think we have all missed it.
For years now, Franny has always either tried to actually do my exercise programs or pretended to do them. Going to the gym, pilates, and Pure Barre have been a few. And, most recently ‘going for a run’. Today, Franny came down in this outfit and announced that she was dressed for a run, and insisted that Cole and Delaney join her, because exercise is important to be healthy. Our downstairs became their route for an afternoon jog, and while it was little chaotic for the duration of it, when I thought about it I was really quite impressed. She’s a pretty smart kid! If she can continue to have fun with the type of exercise she chooses, I will be thrilled. Happy and healthy—I really can’t ask for more!
Over the past couple of weeks I’ve noticed that Franny’s confidence in her writing has really taken off. First, I found a note she wrote to herself to remember to bring her library book back to school on library day. Then there were long lists of rhyming words, a get-well note to Cole, and random lists of things like an inventory of her stuffed animals. She also has started writing little poems—one about bunnies eating carrots and another about our upcoming weekend in Sunriver. This weekend, she wrote very sweet little notes to all of us:
Dear Dad. You make me happy.
Dear Mom. You are making me happy.
Dear Cole. You are funny.
Dear Delaney. You make me laugh.
These notes just make me think about the fact that I think all these things about Franny, too! She is no less than wonderful!
Saturday, Rick took the kids to Out Of This World Pizza to play. It’s been a while since the kids have gone here, and they were very excited. I did some grocery shopping and then met them there. When I arrived—two hours later—their faces were flush, they were out of breath, and they barely slowed down to say hello. I haven’t seen them this excited in a long time—Delaney included. She actually did a really good job navigating the big slide complex, and had a great time going down the twisty slides with Rick. She was very pleased with herself…
Today, the kids went on an afternoon adventure with Rick. They piled into the wagon expecting to go on one their usual routes—playing in the grassy area up the street and visiting Tigger the Cat (which is always a great time)—but they ended up also discovering a new trail that has been added to our neighborhood trail system. And, what an incredible time they had! They came home bubbling with excitement and couldn’t say enough about the fun they had. It was definitely a very special afternoon with Daddy, and I expect that they will visit this trail again very soon.
In April, Cole will be moving up to the 4 year old classroom—the Chatty Chipmunks. It may sound rather silly, but it is serious stuff to him! He has been asking about when he would be able to move for the last couple of weeks, and when I told him it was happening sooner than we expected, he was thrilled. I don’t remember the last time I saw Cole this excited about something. I think it will be a really positive move for him. He is definitely ready for some new academic challenges and new experiences. He should start visiting the class next week—I can’t wait to find out what he thinks about it all. I have no doubt that it is going to be great!
This week, while volunteering in Franny’s classroom, I was able to get a peek at some of her artwork. She never ceases to impress me!
Delaney really likes the usual cast of characters—Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Cinderella and the other princesses, Dora, and Lightning McQueen. None of these, however, compare with Clifford the Big Red Dog. Mainly, it’s the books she loves, but she also will also sit and watch Franny do her Clifford phonics computer game. Throughout the day, she come up to me with a book and ask Clifford, read? or climb up in my lap while I’m checking email, point to the screen and say Clifford! Without question, he is hands down the unrivaled favorite. Today, the kids’ playgroup went to Chuck E. Cheese, which is just a little old for her. But, there to save her day was Clifford. She went on this gentle ride with the ‘woof’ button all morning as Cole ran around playing games and collecting tickets. Our table was close to Clifford, so she was able to do her little ride, come back to the table, pick up another token, and head back. I don’t know if she is independent by nature or by necessity, but it definitely worked out well today, since Cole still needs help with a lot of the games he wants to play. Needless to say, Clifford was my favorite today, too!
It is always fun to see old things in a new way, or to see old things that we haven’t seen for awhile. Today, we took the MAX train downtown, and then rode the Portland Streetcar into NW and back, stopping for lunch, as well as some other places along the way. It is a little bit of a slower pace—we have to wait for the trains and do a little more walking than we would if we took our usual drive to the same places. But, by taking a new route not determined by ourselves, we saw some new things, as well as seeing some stores and restaurants we haven’t seen—or even thought about—for years. In our new perspective, we were also able to focus on the different architecture of the buildings as we rode along and some of the other things that are unique and special about Portland. And, it goes without saying that the kids loved riding the trains!
Today was a big day for the kids at Franny’s school. They had Pajama Day (Franny was very excited to wear her new pink kitty nightgown); they celebrated Dr. Seuss’ birthday (she took her copy of The Cat in the Hat Comes Back that was given to her Auntie Noelle in 1971 to show her teacher); and, it was Read Across America Day, which she spent reading with her Big Buddy (Big Buddies twice in one week is a big deal!) When she got home, she had a lot to say about her day, so I know it was a good one! I love days like this one!
Just days after Cole recovered from the virus that sidelined him for nearly a week, Delaney seems to have the same nasty bug. She would try to play or eat, but then just curl up in a little ball, lay her head down, and be done with it. She spent the afternoon cuddled up with her two blankets and seemed to be just hanging on until bedtime. I hope the sweet girl has a speedy recovery—our house has seen enough of this!
Still smiling!
Delaney giving me the not-so-subtle clue that she’s ready for bed
