Party!

Today we had a party for Griffin at the park near our house. We had everyone bring a bike or tricycle and we cooked hot dogs out on the grill. We had a great turn out, beautiful weather, and a very fun afternoon!

FOUR!

Today Griffin turned four! It's hard for me to believe, and I wonder if I'll ever stop thinking of him as "the baby." He will be the first to tell you that he is no baby, but I guess it's always hard for mamas to let go of that last little one.

As much as I hate that Griffin is growing up so quickly, he is just thrilled to be four. After a small birthday celebration on Saturday with Papa and Ronnie, Griffin said, "So now am I four like Marten?" When I told him that his birthday was still a few days away, he replied, "But, Mom, I already blew out my candles!"

Griffin has grown into such a fun little guy. After a couple of rocky tantrum-filled years, he is so pleasant to be around now. He's sweet, cuddly, and funny. He loves hanging around with his brother, sister, and friends. He definitely has his own ideas, and as long as we all cooperate, we get along just swimmingly! ;-)

I did a little birthday interview today, and here are his answers:

Favorite color: red and pink
Favorite food: macaroni
Favorite movie: Bolt
Favorite book: Puff the Music Dragon
Favorite song: Paralyzer
Favorite game: Lego Star Wars
Favorite thing to do: play some Wii
Favorite toy: wooden sword
Favorite place to go: Sonic
Best friend: Marten
What do you want to be when you grow up: a dog
Favorite birthday present: X wing
Favorite thing about birthday: sprinkle cupcakes with icing

He concluded the series of questions by telling me, "I'm done interviewing" and scampering off to play. Typical Griff; everything is on his own terms!

Spring ball

Spring has sprung and it's time for t-ball again! Rhys is playing for the Sidewinders this season and his having a great time so far. We followed last season's coach over to a different league, which means that Griffin gets to stay with his little t-ball buddy, Zachy. Those two are like two little Star Wars-obsessed peas in a pod.

Rhys has been playing lots of pitcher this season, as well as some short stop and various other positions. It's so fun to see how much he really loves it. He has practiced a lot at batting, and the improvement is obvious. It's so nice to see him work so hard for something he really enjoys.

Soccer

Griffin just finished up his first class ever -- a soccer class at the YMCA. We weren't sure how he'd do, since he has a...um...strong personality and likes to be in charge. But he did so well! He listened to Coach Dan (who also happens to be his good buddy's grandpa) and participated in all the games and drills in class. He had two little friends in his class -- Axel and Harper -- which was fun. We can't wait to do it again!

Home repair hell

We've been very busy the past month with major home repairs. Thanks to the clay soil found in our area and the major drought of the past year, our foundation needed some serious work. We ended up having 22 piers installed around the perimeter of the house, which meant days and days of jackhammers and lots of workers in and out. Then, as if that wasn't enough, we needed some post-foundation repair plumbing work. It's been a long--and expensive--month or so, but I think we're all finished save for cosmetic repairs. (Knock on wood!)

Vegas, baby!

For my birthday, Bill and I went on our first kid-free vacation since Avery was born and spent four fun-filled days in Las Vegas. Mamar and Doc kept the kids for most of the trip, but our good friend Courtney stepped in to help and kept the kids one night. I think the kids had as much fun as we did -- with the exception of Rhys, who got sick the first couple of days. Poor little guy. He was a trooper, and Mamar took good care of him.

Bill and I had a blast seeing the sights and sounds of Vegas, but I think the best part for us was having our time be all our own again. It's been a long time since we've not had to worry about hungry or tired kids! But four days was just perfect; by the end, we were really missing those little monkeys.

The highlight for both Bill and I were the two Cirque du Soleil shows that we saw. At the MGM Grand (where we stayed), we saw Ka. The stunts and set were incredible! I've never seen anything like it. Then we saw LOVE, which is the Beatles show at the Mirage. Wow, that was the best show I've ever seen. The set, costumes, dance, music...I could go on and on. Just amazing. We also saw an exhibit of Titanic artifacts that was really amazing. There sure isn't a shortage of things to see in Vegas!

Toothless!

What homeschooling?

We have had several wild weeks that have involved very little home or schooling. We had our foundation repaired all last week, and we've had lots of other commitments lately that have driven us out of the house and all over Austin. That's not to say that the kids haven't learned a much. If nothing else, I'm pretty sure they've learned just how far Mama can be pushed before breaking. But I digress....And despite our crazy month, the kids have done all sorts of neat projects and activities and learned a ton.

In science co-op, they have continued their study of the human body. The kids learned all about blood and circulation, did some edible activities to learn the components of blood and the route it takes as it circulates, and toured The Blood Center. (The Blood Center was definitely not Avery's favorite field trip destination. She's still recovering from the horror of seeing all those bags of blood.) They also spent one afternoon making latrines.



In our history co-op, the kids made dioramas with scenes from the lives of Anglo-Saxons, created some illuminated manuscripts, made a giant three-dimensional dome (modeled after the Hagia Sophia), and painted frescoes. Rhys told me, "Every week history gets better and better. I love it!"

Avery is learning a lot about music, as she is busy studying for PSIA Music Memory, in addition to taking her weekly lesson from Elizabeth and learning new pieces for the Austin Youth Orchestra. She is also making big strides in sight reading, which is a huge accomplishment.

And we can't forget the historical impact of the swearing in of our 44th president. The day before the inauguration, Bill and the kids participated in Obama's National Day of Service by pitching in with a park clean up.



For the actual inauguration ceremony, we got together with friends for a viewing party. I think we all will remember it for a long time to come.



(All photos courtesy of the Woodland School, whose historian never fails to forget her camera.)

7 months old!

Christmas Day

We had a lovely Christmas. It felt really low-key this year, which was perfect. We had some nice family visits, but most of the day was spent quietly playing with all the new loot!

Rhys was pretty excited to get the Dangerous Book for Boys from Avery.


And Avery was thrilled to get the new skateboard she was hoping for. She spent quite some time practicing outside, while Rhys played with his new baseball bounce back.




We also enjoyed all of our indoor goodies. Rhys settled right in with his new Clone Wars activity book, and Avery immediately started reading a new Christmas book. Griffin and Daddy spent a long time working with his new tool set, then later, Griffin tried out some other toys and Bill and I played many rounds of Quirkle.





The day was completed with a family jam session, thanks to the Guitar Hero World Tour that Papa and Ronnie brought.

Christmas Eve

As always, we spent Christmas Eve with the Waller branch of the family. This year, we went to Mamar and Doc's for a fabulous Christmas dinner, visiting, and more presents than I can count!





Before leaving, we tried for quite some time to get the obligatory Christmas pajama shot. As those that were there can attest, we're lucky that I managed to get Griffin in the shot at all!



The rest of the pictures were some version of this:

January re-cap

As happens every year, I spend about a month recovering from the birthday/Christmas extravaganza that is December. Not only did I need time to recoup, but we had some setbacks this month.

First, we received some sad news. Bill's grandmother had a stroke earlier this month, spent a few days in the hospital, then passed away. Bill was able to make it up to see her one more time, and I know he'll be forever thankful for that. She was a wonderful woman, and will be very sorely missed. We spent a couple of weekends visiting family in Lampasas, remembering and celebrating Meme's life.

Also, Rhys had surgery earlier this month to repair an inguinal hernia. He was a trooper, and aside from feeling bad the first day, he bounced back immediately. In fact, by nighttime on surgery day, I had to remind him not to jump on my bed! He spent a long two weeks restricted from running, jumping, or acting too wild. He's very glad to have gotten the green light from the surgeon this week to resume his normal activity.

So, between those things and just trying to regroup from Christmas, we've been quite preoccupied. We're finally getting back into the swing of our spring schedule, so hopefully my blog will be better kept up to date!

TEN!!

I can hardly believe my baby girl turned ten today. Double digits! Wow!

In lieu of a party or big present, Avery and I went with her best friend Maya (whose birthday is the day after Avery's) and Maya's mom to see Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy at the Long Center. The show was fantastic! We were both amazed and a little nauseated by the acrobats. After the show, we took the girls for pizza at Mangia's.





Then last night, we had Papa, Ronnie, Nonnie, Poppie, Maya, and Benjamin come over for pizza and cake.



Maya and Benja stayed for a sleepover, and the kids had great fun watching movies, jumping on the trampoline, and playing. They woke up to Dunkin Donuts this morning, and Avery had a pretty steady stream of calls and visitors all day. She's a pretty lucky girl to have so many people that love her!

Finished!

Almost nine months behind schedule, I finally finished Griffin's 3rd birthday quilt. It has been about an hour of work away from being finished since his birthday, but I just couldn't get motivated to finish it. Part of my procrastination could be traced to Griffin's attitude toward the quilt. "I don't want it" and "I don't like it" has been his mantra since I unveiled it at his birthday. (Aren't three-year-olds adorable?) Well, he doesn't hate the finished product, and even though he'd never admit to it, he seems to enjoy sleeping with it. I'm happy with the way it turned out too and proud that I finally finished my first quilt!

Chuy's Parade

The Chuy's Parade is one of our favorite annual Austin events. The Saturday after Thanksgiving, the we always get up early and head downtown to get a good spot on the parade route. Well, this year, Griffin threw a wrench in the whole plan. We've been having trouble getting him to get dressed to leave the house, and parade day was no exception. He flat-out refused to put on his clothing, even with the parade held as a carrot to encourage him to dress. We lost a lot of time in negotiations with him and, in the end, just threw him in the car in his pajamas and grabbed some extra clothes. Long story short, the sight of the excited children waiting for the parade was enough to entice him to get dressed and leave the car, but by the time we made it down to Congress, the parade was starting. Needless to say, we didn't manage to procure a prime spot. It's hard to see much when you're a kid stuck behind several rows of ADULTS in chairs. So our parade enjoyment was hampered. We watched for a while, then donated our toys and headed out to eat lunch. Too bad, but hopefully Griffin will cooperate a little better next year. That, or we'll start dressing him the night before!

Crazy kids

San Antonio Getaway

We are all very proud of Bill, who got a promotion last month. He is finally, for the first time in almost eight years, working a normal Monday through Friday work week! As if that wasn't enough, he was given a week off before transitioning to the new job. We felt like we'd won the lottery! We took advantage of his free vacation and we spent a couple of days in San Antonio with Mamar and Doc. We played and shopped on the Riverwalk, swam at the indoor pool at the hotel, ate yummy Mexican food, and visited the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch on the way home.