Abby Do It!

Such an independent little thing she is, wanting to carry her own bag chair to Alex's t-ball game yesterday! Abby's also been doing "Abby's school" during the week at the library while Alex does a little summer review with his teacher. Abby's school consists of stickers, coloring, and flashcards :) She also likes to pick out books and movies at the library and talk with the over sized stuffed animals on display.

Field Trip Friday

Friday the kids and I hit up the Brookfield Zoo, again. We have gotten quite a bit of use out of that membership this year and are grateful to Jackie and Scott for such a useful and clutter-free Christmas gift!

Last week was such a chilly, 60 degree week that we didn't get to swim, instead opting for playing at parks and the zoo. Crowds were surprisingly low and the kids got in to see their favorite animals. Abby's request was to see the monkeys and gorillas while Alex really wanted to hit the underwater dolphin exhibit and penguins. We were home by 1 :)

What We've Been Up To

Enjoying summer break!

Alex has t-ball practice on Tuesday nights in downtown Plainfield, which happens to coincide with the weekly classic car show. After much pleading by the kids, we took them for a sweet treat after practice. They really enjoyed looking at all the older cars and listening to oldies music :) I fear we've started a Tuesday night trend...

We've spent plenty of nights taking bike rides to the park along the bike trail, plenty of days digging in the oversized sand pit, and plenty of mornings/evenings cheering on Alex at t-ball games.

Swim Lessons

This summer Alex took swim lessons at the outdoor pool for the first two weeks of the summer, everyday. Now they are over, phew! Typical of Chicago weather, it was super hot the first three days then chilly and in the high 50s/60s other days. So chilly in fact that I let him skip one day and the others Abby and I sat on the side in jackets. Alex did very well jumping in and swimming from side to side in the pool. He improved a lot in these two weeks and is looking forward to practicing all summer long! The last day the instructors took the kids on the "big slide" and caught them at the bottom, encouraging them then to swim to the steps on their own. He definitely has more self-esteem in the water now :)

Swim Club!

We joined a local swim club for the summer and have been trying to go everyday at least for a little while. There is a large sandbox area, a water playground, and a zero-depth entry pool with water slides. Alex is taking swim lessons this week and next each day as a refresher course and did awesome today at lesson #1. It was great to see him jump in and swim across to the instructor on the other side. He is motivated by the fact that if they can swim across then they can use the largest of the water slides and he can swim in a section other than the baby part with Abby. So far, Abby's favorite part of swim club is the sandbox and Alex's is the water playground. We have to drag Abby out of that sandbox each day and there is sand all over her!!

Last Day Of School

Who takes a picture in the middle of the street anyway??

Alex's last day of school was on Monday, a two hour make up day from the Blizzard of 2011. Very exciting to go to school and not take a lunch box!

First T-ball Game

Last Saturday was Alex's first T-ball game and he did great! He had good form hitting off the tee and rounded the bases each time. When he was in the field, he raced to get the ball with enthusiasm and threw it to first without fail. He even scored the first run of the game for his team! This is certainly going better than soccer ever did, but I'm thinking there is a big difference between a 4 year old and a 6 year old when it comes to sports! Abby, Brooke and I cheered him on from the sidelines and after 50 minutes, it was over. Short and sweet on a hot day = perfect!

2011 Corporate Challenge Race

The Thursday before Memorial Day, Brad and I participated with his company in the Corporate Challenge Race in downtown Chicago. This was the second year that we participated and we were eager to shave a few minutes off our time from last year. It was a chilly, damp night so we were all ready to run, eat, and get home. The mist from Buckingham Fountain would blow over us each time a good gust came in off the lake, and it was really bitter cold. It didn't help that we were lacking hats/gloves for race night, guess I didn't think to pack that for a May 26 race!!

Over 23,000 participants from 635 companies showed up for the 3.5mile race so it was a bit crowded from the start. It is hard to run when you are tripping over everyone in front of you! Clearly we are not "runners" by any means, but we took 3 minutes off our time from last year, finishing within 5 seconds of each other at 34:15 and 34:20...sad considering Brad walked some of the race and I ran the whole thing. My last minute attempt at passing him by failed me again! We were proud of our times though and look forward to running next year!

Kindergarten Graduation

Alex and his wonderful Kindergarten teacher Ms. Gomez!

Alex's Kindergarten graduation was held last week and the kids did a great job singing songs they had learned and reciting a poem. Each was presented with a certificate and the parents/grandparents were invited back to the children's classrooms for pictures afterwards. We are so impressed with how much Alex has learned in Kindergarten! Learning sight words and practicing word families and phonics early in the year led to reading by Spring! He also does well with addition/subtraction and reading comprehension. By the end of the year he was bringing home papers where he had created a picture and then written the caption to go along with it. He was the model of good behavior at school and followed the pledge to be "respectful, responsible, and peaceful", remaining on green the entire year! We could not be prouder of Alex!

Alex's 6th Birthday Party

Alex was born on Memorial Day, 2005, meaning his birthday always seems to fall over the holiday weekend. Some years, only a few friends have been in town, and some, like this year, all of his friends from school and the neighborhood were available to share in the fun! We enjoyed visits from Grandma Eileen, Grandpa, Grandma Kathy, and a very pregnant Aunt Karen and Uncle Chris. While rain prevailed over the weekend (and thunderstorms kept us inside for the party), Monday was warm and sunny. I think swimming on your birthday is a great way to spend the day, and so did Alex! Alex's teacher had given him a birthday crown on the Friday before and he insisted on wearing it most of the weekend.

Can You Spell "Calm"?

Alex: "Mom, I know how to spell "calm"."

Me: "Oh yeah, how?"

Alex: "C-O-M"

Me: "You mean "C-A-L-M"? Like when I tell you and Abby to calm down?"

Alex: "No, like in "dot com" Mom!"

Party Prep

Let the crayon peeling begin!
Melting and stirring...

I was determined to be organized and start prepping for Alex's birthday party a few weeks early this year. I'm sure our friend Brooke was thrilled to find out we'd be melting down crayons to mold rockets and astronauts one Sunday afternoon. Here she'd planned on a nice lunch with the family...

We used the tips we found online regarding crayon recycling and got to work sorting, soaking, peeling, melting, pouring and waiting. The hardest part is definitely peeling the crayons, but after a good soak in ice water, the paper usually comes off in long bits.

While I do think the results were adorable, I'm not entirely sure how useful these crayons will be. Parts of the crayons were very delicate and thin making them brittle when squished into little hands for coloring. This project, though, definitely turned out better than my attempt at chocolate rocket ships, which later became Rice Krispie Treat Shuttles! Alex and Grandma Eileen also had fun tearing up a foam mattress pad to make "moon rocks" for the moon rock relay.

T-Ball!!

Alex has been playing T-ball this spring and is really enjoying it so far. He has practice one day a week and games on Saturdays. Brad has been helping him toss the ball in the evenings which has helped his form tremendously. It is a co-ed team and I would venture a guess that Alex is one of the oldest in the group. He didn't really want to play a sport that required a helmet, but since he only has to wear one when he is at bat, I think he is OK with it. Most practices have been pretty chilly so to be able to wear short sleeves with no jacket is a treat!