Thursday, June 16, 2011

June 16, 2011

Actually, we are past the worst of the storm season but we started today off with a bang and it looks like it could start up again anytime. The nice thing is that it is a very cool day today, relative to what we have been having and also to what they say we are about to have for the next 5 days or so. It is suppose to be unseasonably hot here over the next 5 days or so but I think that is what they have been saying since summer got started around here so maybe this is how it is going to be all summer long. I am thankful for air conditioning.

I am also very thankful for our new house. It is quite lovely and it just feels like home. I really love the house and the neighborhood and hope we will be here a very long time. The boys can actually cross the street here by themselves, as the traffic is really very limited. They ran over to the neighbor across the street the other day and rang the doorbell to see if their little friend could come over and play. He had been here earlier in the day but the boys were out with the dad. He could not play that day but he was over a few days earlier and they all had a ball playing here at our house, both inside and out. I think the boys really like the new house and neighborhood too, although Ben said that when he grows up he is going to buy our old house and live in it.

Ben does not care for change much at all and he expresses himself quite well. When I had my long hair cut off, he made it clear to me that he did not really like it and then he said "that's OK mommy, it will grow back". When I painted my toenails on Sunday, he asked why I did that and let me know he liked them better the old way. A week or so later, he asked me how I would get the nail polish off and, after I explained, thought I should take it off then.

As Ben came downstairs the morning that the boys would go to gymnastics for the first time, Nick very excitedly told him they would get to go to gymnastics that day. Ben's response did not come close to matching Nick's enthusiasm and he said he thought he would just watch. As I reminded him of how he cried a little when waiting for his first swim lesson and thought about sitting out and watching Nick at the first soccer lesson, a small smile played around on his face and had fully grown by the time I finished. He did not say anymore about it and ran into the gym with Nick, very excited, when the time came. He has loved swim lessons, soccer and gymnastics from the very first lesson and has always looked forward to returning but he was uneasy about them all before the first lesson. He does not care for the thought of big changes or new things but he seems to adjust to them quickly when they come.

Nick has learned how to swing himself and can even get started on his own. He absolutely loves to swing too. Ben has not quite mastered it, although he tries hard and can keep himself going for a little bit. Sometimes Nick will push Ben and get him going and then he will get himself going so they can swing together. I love watching them do that. It is so sweet. They both love to sit with the dad with books like I Spy or Where's Waldo or any kind of search type book like that and search for the things together. So lately I have noticed that they will sometimes do this together when the dad is not home. They were actually doing it this morning when the dad was in his office. Nick usually holds the book because he wants to pretend to be the dad. It is really cute to see them huddled up on the couch together, searching through the book. I love that they have such a special friendship.

They are both very sweet boys and are really coming into a very sweet and more thoughtful age. I am really loving this age and I hope it will serve us well when officially starting Kindergarten in the fall.

So, what's new around here? The boys and I just finished reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and we all really enjoyed it. We are now reading The Indian in the Cupboard and we are also enjoying it. There are so many wonderful books for children and there are so many that I have never read. So I am enjoying our read-alouds as much as they are.

We now have bushes and stuff in our flower beds and they look so much better, as does the house and yard. We are still going to plant more, as the landscaper only did the foundational planting, but it already looks so much better. I need to take pictures again of the house inside and out and of the boys. It has been too long. I first need to find our camera.

We are mostly in and unpacked. I still have three boxes about which I have been procrastinating and then I found six more boxes of books in the attic the other day, after I thought I had unpacked them all. No telling what else is in the attic that still needs to be unpacked.

We had a small party here the other day to celebrate my niece's birthday. She invited some of her college friends, the dad cooked out on the grill and I made sure everyone had what they needed and clean up after. It was nice and everyone had a good time. The boys had fun and were meeting everyone at the door, shaking hands and introducing themselves. It was funny. We put the ping pong table out on the screened back porch and some were enjoying that also. Not sure how it will do out there though because it is not meant to get wet but it did during the thunderstorm the other night. Not sure how long it will remain out there but we'll see.

Two weeks and four days until we go get the newest member of our family, our new little kitten. I am looking forward to it. I really miss my Zoe and I think having a new kitten will help with that a bit. I am concerned about Dancer though. I don't know how he will handle a new addition to the family and what he may see as competition. Hopefully we can make him feel very loved so he won't feel as threatened. I hope and pray it will all work out OK.

I can't believe we only have two more weeks of July left. This summer is going by so fast. Kids start back to school here in mid-August so we are quickly speeding towards that date. I am working on our plans for starting school. I know it is 'only' Kindergarten but I feel that I really need to start off 'school' with the boys in a disciplined way. It is easy to let up later but I think it will be much harder to start off in a less disciplined way and then try to add more discipline to our day later. The other thing is that, because of their age (they just missed the cut off by 1 month (Ben) and 3 months (Nick) so they will be older K'ers) and that they are already reading at a 1st grade level (maybe beginning of 1st grade but somewhere in 1st), I feel we should be doing a bit more than a typical K program but a bit less than a full 1st grade program.

Well, time for dinner. Have a nice evening.

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