Riley is 5!

Well, it may be a little late, but things have been very busy here - especially in celebration mode!  I can't believe that I am saying this already but we celebrated Riley's 5th birthday!  I can honestly remember so vividly the day that he was born and it is crazy to think that it has already been five whole years!

In the past, we have had family birthday parties but this year we decided to let Riley have his first 'big' birthday party.  We let him invite friends from both last year's class at school as well as this year and at the end of the day, we had about 20 kids at the JCC for Riley's sports party.  I had fun being creative with the details of the sports party and enjoyed putting together the concession stand.  I don't think the kids got the idea but I thought it was cute and made for some good pictures!

The kids had a great time playing on the playground, taking part in the group activities and of course, eating cake!  We lucked out and the weather was absolutely perfect so we were able to spend the whole time outside.  It was exactly what Riley wanted with his friends and everyone had fun.

In lieu of birthday gifts, we requested that the kids bring in sports equipment that could be donated.  The families were all so generous and we had bags and bags of things to share.  We brought them to Jewish Family & Children's Services and they accepted them for the Refugee Services department and said they would have great use for them.  We were so proud of Riley for sharing his gifts and I think the idea of donation and giving to those who have less is really starting to sink in.

Believe it or not, Riley is already starting to plan his 6th birthday, but we are just enjoying every day of him being 5!

Back to school

After a brief hiatus, things are back to normal and everyone is back home.  Chris got home from Israel and 10 days later, I was off to Scandinavia & Russia for two weeks.  In my absence, the boys all had a great time together, but I know that having everyone back home and together works well for us all.  The boys are happy having both of us around, we are happy to have each other back and the daily operations run a little more smoothly when we have all hands on deck.

Last week, the boys started back at school and each had a great first week!  Asher is in the Tots room with Ms. Kathy and Riley is in Pre-K with Ms. Elif.  They are back to their regularly scheduled program rather than camp and have made the transition easily.  

On the first day of school, Asher's teacher gave him a paper cup with milk.  I told her that he had a sip cup in his bag and she said "no, we use regular cups now" - who knew?  Asher has been doing a great job (mostly) and has only come home with a new outfit once so far.  His speech is also improving and he is learning new words every day.  We were a little concerned with his lack of vocabulary but not only can he say mama and dada but also has words like bubble, waffle, uh oh, baby and just today, said his own name.  I think he will be using sentences before we know it.

Riley is working on letters and words and is getting pretty good at it.  He came home on the first day of school and could spell "bee".  I think he has forgotten already but it's not something that we will give up on.  He loves reading and the more we work on letters and words, the closer he will get to being able to read on his own.

The boys each start swimming lessons next week, Riley in level 4 and Asher in level 1.  I am so impressed with Riley's swimming level and how comfortable he is in the pool.  Asher loves being in the water and hopefully learns to swim just as well as Riley.  Who knows?  We may have the start of a swim team on our hands.

My month as a single mother

Today marks the start of the last weekend of Chris' month-long hiatus!  I always approach his time away with apprehension because not only will I miss him while he is gone, but it also means that our parenting game plan changes from man-to-man defense to two-on-one offense.  I approach his month in Israel as a challenge (because it certainly is) but if you get in the right headspace and just take one day at a time, everything is manageable.  I am happy to announce that with only three days until his return, I am proud of the way the month has gone and it wasn't as terrible as some people think it would be.

Sure, there are times that I am counting down the minutes until bedtime or stressing to walk Addison before the rain starts and I have to get the boys from camp, or I forego dinner and just wait until the house is quiet to eat some cereal - but as a whole, the time has gone pretty quickly and we have had a lot of fun!

We have had lots of fun playtime at home in the backyard, we went on adventures to the pool, the Children's Museum, the grocery store and birthday parties.  We have watched movies, had dance parties, read hundreds of books and watched our plants grow.  We have waited for garbage trucks, walked the dog, done art projects and watched the rain.  We have really all enjoyed each others company and I think I can say with a pretty high level of confidence that the boys had as much fun with me as I had with them.

Would I choose to do this on my own all the time?  Of course not!  But if you approach each day at a time and not look at the month as a never ending chunk of time, you can do anything in little pieces.  That being said, the boys and I are all really looking forward to Chris' return in just a few short days!

Asher is 1 1/2

If you need an indicator to confirm that time is flying by, just think for a second that Asher is 1 1/2!  It is crazy to think that he is that old already but sure enough, he is no longer a baby but every day he is more and more a little boy.

And to prove that he is no longer a baby, he is showing the growth charts who's boss.  He is now at the 90th percentile for height and 75th percentile for weight.  I measured him to Riley's growth chart the other day and he has at least an inch on where Riley was at 18 months.  I even told Riley that I think Asher might be taller than him one day, but he was pretty skeptical of the thought.

At 18 months, Asher is very, very active!  He is able to jog (or really fast waddle sometimes), he loves to swim at camp, he has favorite foods (these pictures showcase his love of waffles) and his absolute favorite thing is to play baseball.  We go in the backyard and he either watches Riley and I play or we set him up with the tee and he can take some swings himself.  He says 'baseball' and gets pretty upset when I don't let him go in the backyard and play as soon as we get home from camp.  Try explaining a rain delay to this one - it does not go over well! 

The doctor was a little concerned that he didn't have a lot of words yet, so we are going to talk to a speech therapist and see what steps can be taken.  His is super communicative and gets his point across - we just play around a little until we get there sometimes.  And he has a mouth full of words just bubbling at the surface, and I know that as soon as he figures out how to get them out, he is going to have a lot more to say!

Bath beauties

These boys are my everything!  It takes such willpower not to take pictures of them all day, every day.  I think they are just so cute and these younger years are just flying by.  Don't get me wrong, I love who they are growing into and I can't wait to do even more with them, but having them little and snuggly and needing me is precious time - time that I plan to make the most of.  So in order to document and remember these moments, I will rely on my camera so that one day we can look back and I can remind them how little they once were.

Goodbye to Grandy

I can't believe that this is the second time within a month that I find myself writing a "goodbye blog" but I guess that's just what happens sometimes...

This weekend, we lost Grandy and he will be missed by many.  It is bittersweet, however, as we just visited a few weeks ago and had a great time with him.  He was feeling well, in good spirits, talkative and happy to see us and the boys.  With Chris out of the country for work and me heading out in a few days, it just wasn't feasible to get down for the funeral.  That being said, I am content with our last visit and am very lucky that we got to have that last positive interaction with Grandy.

Not only have the boys had the chance to visit many times over the past 4 years, but so many of my childhood memories are with the family in Birmingham.  He was such a strong individual and I have learned so much from him.  I will make it my goal to pass along his memories and lessons, and hope to increase my thirst for knowledge in his honor.

Sharing is caring

If you're contagious and you know it clap your hands (and foot and mouth)!  

Turns out, there has been a case of Hand, Foot and Mouth disease going around the JCC - a viral infection that can be passed from kid to kid. And lucky us, Asher is pretty good at sharing.  Sharing food, sharing toys and sharing germs.  Pretty much, all a kid has to do to share this is cough on his friend, and poof - another case is born!

Asher will be staying home from school this week in an attempt to keep the infection from spreading.  For now, he has some blisters on his feet, a rash on his legs and a few spots in his mouth and on his tongue.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will be a mild case, especially one that moves along quickly and doesn't cause him much discomfort.  For now, he is still eating pretty well, smiling a lot, taking naps and listening for airplanes flying overhead!