Hockey

It's official...Matt loves being on the ice and will be playing every weekend from now until February. It's a "Learn To Play Hockey" clinic where they will be running drills the majority of the time but they will get to pass around a puck later on. Also, towards the end of the clinic, the kids will be playing in a 3 game Jamboree.

So far, Matt has been on the ice four times. Five, if you count the one time we took him to public skate two years ago. There has been some definite progress just in the past two weekends so I'm really looking forward to the comparison between now and February.

Here's Dad giving him some pointers on the ice...

He's not the smallest kid on the ice. There is one other boy that is much smaller but that little guy still hangs out down at the far end of the rink with the kids who are less sturdy on their skates and still use the walkers. Of course Matt wanted nothing to do with that so he's been with the bigger and faster kids since the first practice.

He's holding his own and seems to have finally figured out the drills that they run although he's still easily distracted by the kids skating past him or anything else that catches his eye. So although he'll never be singled out to play on the house team, it's good to see him enjoying this new experience.

Here he is with a little rock music backing him up...

Peanuts

Maybe someone out there can help me to answer this question. It's something that's been gnawing away at the back of my mind for a while now and I just can't quite figure it out.

At what point did my voice change?

I'm not talking about the change boys go through during puberty although I'm sure my voice dropped a little back then as well.

No, I'm talking about something no one ever taught me in health class. I'm referring to the way that whenever I speak to my two oldest children my words morph into an episode of Charlie Brown. You know the ones I'm speaking of. The ones where when any adult speaks it sounds like a muffled trombone "wah wah wah wah wah" sort of noise.

Well, should I?

Should I care that my 6 year old came home from school yesterday proclaiming that all the kids played "choke the chicken's neck" in gym class? (The game consisted of rubber chickens and ringing their necks while passing it on to the next kid in line. And no, I don't know what physical benefit they may have gotten from this activity.)

Is it wrong that I laughed like crazy and thought about how I couldn't wait for her to tell Daddy about this when he got home? Is it wrong that I'm not at all offended by this in any way?

Hey, the kids absolutely love the gym teacher there and if this is his way of having a little fun at their expense without them even knowing it, then have at it. Maybe I take no offense to this because it would appear that he has the same twisted sense of humor as we do.

But I wonder what after school conversations consisted of in the homes of the other kids in her class. I guarantee that there are some frigid individuals out there who wouldn't see the humor in it. (Probably the same parent that I observe every day speaking to their children with a very "childish" voice .) Because, GASP, this is Catholic school after all and we shouldn't be speaking of such vulgarities in the presence of children!!

Hhhhmmmm...I guess I'm not a very good Catholic then, am I? But then again, I already knew that.

He's sleeping with his hockey stick!

Need I say more? Matt is already obsessed and he hasn't even started playing yet. The clinic begins this Saturday and Sunday for the next two weeks and if he likes it he'll then be signed up to play until February. I'll be sure to take pictures and if I can sneak into his room at night without waking him, I'll include one with him snuggling up to his new "security blanket". What's next? Full gear and a puck under his pillow?

Just you and I buddy

The kids are officially in the swing of the school year and now it's just Robert and I together during the day. What a completely different dynamic when it's just the two of us. Sometimes he plays quietly and other times it's obvious that he is looking to be entertained. But that's what happens when you are the youngest and have only known having other siblings around to help entertain and amuse you.

The part about being with him that I love the best is when he takes a break from the toy that currently holds his attention and he toddles over, laying his head against me and then looks up with a smile on his face. He then wanders back to whatever he was doing and it's as if he just wants to remind me that he loves me.

One is such a good age. He is learning so much, growing like a weed and changing constantly. There are of course the occasional melt downs and tantrums but not like the "terrible twos". Besides, the unconditional love that he gives makes up for those times and the sense of humor that he is developing is a lot of fun too. You can see the happiness on his face when he does something unintentionally to make you laugh. Which of course prompts him to try it again.

Yep, we're in a good spot right now. Talk to me again around his birthday next June and I might be singing a different tune. But for now...all is good.

Off on a new adventure!

Last night was spent packing book bags and lunch boxes for two kids, making sure that I wasn't forgetting any last minute items for either one of them (note to self: create some sort of bulletin board in the kitchen because the fridge just isn't going to cut it now with multiple kids in school) and laying out school outfits as well. Although Megan wears a uniform to school, the pre-k students are exempt from this so I was under strict instructions from Matt not to pick out anything "dumb" for him.

Matt was his usual goofy self and didn't show any out of the norm signs of excitement or anticipation for his first day. He played around as usual, climbing the walls (literally) and fell asleep quickly when we tucked him into bed around 7:45pm.

He awoke in the morning with smiles and went through our new morning routine as though this was the same thing he did every day and still there were no signs of Matt not being himself. When we prepared to walk out the door, I of course wanted to snap a few pictures of his first day, so out onto the deck we went. A few quick shots later and we were on our way to school.

His backpack was filled with the last minute items that he would need for the year, like a blanket for rest time, his art smock, a change of clothes, folders, etc. so I was not able to fit his lunch box in the bag too. I offered to carry it for him but was quickly told, "no, it's my lunch box so I'll carry it." We walked up to the school and because they stagger the pre-k arrival time from the regular students, we kissed Megan goodbye and she took off for her day as we hung outside to wait a few minutes before we headed down to his classroom.

When it was time to head in, again he grabbed both of his bags and took off for his classroom. He's definitely a determined little boy and I held back the urge to offer help again even though it looked like he was going to topple down the stairs with his little load.

Matt is used to this routine because he has the same teacher and is in the same classroom that Megan was in two years ago. He's walked this route before and is definitely comfortable in this new big kid role.

We walked through the door to his classroom and I swallowed the huge lump in my throat as I took in all of the excited kids and apprehensive parents standing nearby. (I'm a huge sap - thanks Mom - and cry at the drop of a hat but managed to contain this one. After all, I'm not a first timer here and I still have one more to go. Save it for the really sappy moments!)

Matt found a cubby to put his things in for the day and immediately started playing. I hung out off to the side for a few minutes and then asked Matt if he wanted Robert and I to beat it. Of course he said yes, so after I kissed him goodbye, told him I'd meet him up in the lobby after school, I scooped up Robert and we headed out.

Have you noticed the new "tight lipped, closed mouth smile" kind of thing happening here...
Note to Robert: Go right on ahead and get comfortable in a classroom setting too buddy. Certainly make it easier for yourself to break away from Mommy in a few years. But I guarantee you that no matter how content you are when that time comes, I'm sure to be a babbling fool.

Their last day alone together...at least until the next school holiday!

Megan started school last Thursday but Matt doesn't officially begin until tomorrow. The school likes to stagger the start date for the pre-k students to avoid a few things. The first being the usual back to school crush of the older kids and the second is that some of the kindergarten students still experience some anxiety and they'd like to keep the pre-k kids from seeing that. By giving those kids a head start on the school year allows the pre-k kids to miss some of that chaos.

So Thursday and Friday of last week were spent with the boys here at home with me after we took Megan to school. It's definitely a different dynamic when one or more of the kids is missing from the equation and with Megan gone, it was nice to see Matt in his "take charge, older brother" role. It will be interesting to see what happens when I'm down to only one at home tomorrow...