Fish in Water

The kids have been waiting anxiously for this day-the start of swimming lessons.  Sophia took lessons last summer and loved it.  Andrew has not taken lessons before but was equally excited, thanks in no small part to his sister's enthusiasm.  It didn't help that their lessons aren't until 12:45-they asked all morning long when we'd be leaving for their lessons.  I love to see that excitement!  I'm hoping to get a picture of them tomorrow in their goggles-I was prepared with the camera and video camera, only to discover when I went to take a picture that the memory card wasn't in there.  I stationed myself between the two of them and bounced back and forth like a ping pong ball to make sure I saw both of them in action.  Sophia did great!  There was really only one thing that prevented her from passing last summer-her backfloat.  Despite the fact that she struggled with it yet this summer when we practiced, she nailed it today and may be recommended to move up a level tomorrow.  Andrew was in his glory today.  Foss is expensive, but the payoff is that the class sizes are small.  Sophia has three in her class-Andrew has one.  That's right-he gets one-on-one attention for 30 minutes.  Today he worked on getting his face wet, kicking and moving forward.  Every time I look over at him, he had a huge smile on his face.  I can't wait for tomorrow to watch them in action again!

Goal!

All good things must come to an end.  Last Saturday, Sophia wrapped up a very successful soccer season.  We couldn't be more proud of her.  I will be the first to admit that going into this season, I was worried about how it would go, given her past history with the sport.  No need-she loved it and it showed every time she was out on the field. Just look at her in the above picture-she's right in the middle of the action.   I am actually sad to see it to come to an end, but she'll be playing again come August. 

See these two dollars?  My mom couldn't make it to the game but told her she'd pay her $1/goal.  She's lucky she only had pay out $2 because Sophia was on fire and was close to scoring on several other occasions.  Each time she scored, she held up the running total on her fingers.  She was playing hard regardless of getting money but she was certainly aware of the added incentive.  On a side note, we've learned that Sophia is definitely better on offense.  Defense leaves her with too much time on her hands.  In fact, one of the goals she scored in this game was while she was supposed to be playing defense. 

Congratulations, Soph!  You've come a long way from the inaugural 2008 season!  We are so proud of you!

And She's Off!

Either she's a quick learner or I'm just a great teacher.  I think it's probably the first reason, but regardless, Sophia now knows how to ride a bike without training wheels!  We went out one hot afternoon within the last week to practice with the training wheels raised, but I quickly decided that leaving the training wheels on wasn't going to work.  Sophia didn't like riding, not knowing when the wheels would hit the ground so we took them off altogether.  She worked on her balance and could ride for a few seconds.  She was one determined girl!  We went out one other afternoon to practice but Sophia just wasn't in the mood and her confidence was lacking.  It turns out that the third time's the charm!  Yesterday, I tried a new strategy.  I had her push off and then raise her feet, but not put them on the pedals (hoping this would help her find her balance).  After about 5 minutes of this, she tried riding and was successful!  I couldn't believe how quickly she picked up on it.  She is by no means completely stable yet and she brakes even when she's doing just fine, but she's well on her way (and very proud of it).  Way to go, Soph!

Fishing Fun

 Three years ago

 And today

I knew I had to get this shot today and it worked out perfectly.  Sophia and her grandpa, walking hand in hand over to Round Lake for a fishing contest.  This time, Erik, Andrew and I joined them.  Thinking they might stay interested for an hour or so, we were there for close to 2.  Sophia and Andrew were the leads in their age group up until the very end.  Final: Sophia came in third place with a 6.1 oz sunfish and Andrew followed CLOSE behind with a 6.0 oz sunfish.  They had a great time!

Tiredness Wins

Kindergarten has taken its toll on our daughter.  She is often worn out by the time she gets home and on many occasions this year, she has asked to go to bed early.  Tonight was one of those nights.  It started with her listening to music in the other room.  As I watched her from the kitchen, it looked like her eyes were already fighting to stay open.  She looked so solemn that I thought I'd entertain her with a little dance to put a smile on her face.  That didn't work-she only asked me to leave her alone.  It was then that I realized she was thinking about the next day-the last day of kindergarten.  At the dinner table, the tears started.  She didn't want to leave her friends, her teacher, her school...she didn't want to leave kindergarten.  It broke my heart.   After dinner, she wanted to go to bed so we cuddled and read a book together.  I asked her again afterward whether she was sad or tired.  She said it was the latter.  Then I kissed my kindergartener goodnight.  She was asleep in no time.

Soccer Superstar

A lot can change in a few years.  Sophia has played soccer two times before.  She was a rock star the first day of year 1.  After that, things kind of went downhill and runs turned into leisurely strolls around the field. So when Sophia decided she wanted to try soccer again, I was a little worried about how long the interest would last.  I'm happy to report that we are almost at the end of the season and Sophia still loves it!  How could she not with a fancy jersey with her name on it, new soccer ball, shin guards and cleats?   A few games back, one of her coaches congratulated her on a goal and she replied, "Actually, I scored two goals."  She scored again in the last game. Go Dolphins!

Let the Good Times Roll!

Summer has finally arrived in Minnesota!  I finished up my school year last week (insert sigh of relief) and Sophia goes a week a longer.  This means that Andrew and I get to enjoy some 1 on 1 time this week-something he doesn't always get as the second child.  So what have we done together so far?

1.  Walked Sophia to the bus stop and greeted her upon her return each day.  I know that doesn't seem like a big deal, but I've missed out on that all year since I leave for work before her.  So, to me it is a big deal (and Andrew likes it too).

2.  Planted a garden.  Yesterday, in 90 degree weather, we planted our garden of tomatoes, carrots, onions and squash.  The above picture is of Andrew with all our supplies.  We finished up the peas today (all except a few that Erik took care of once the honeybees drove Andrew and me away).  After planting the garden, we treated ourselves to Caribou for some smoothies to cool down.
3.  Went to storytime at Choo Choo Bob's followed by ice cream at Izzy's.  

And it's only Tuesday with a whole summer ahead of us!  Have I mentioned how much I love having summers at home with my kids?

Speaking of Andrew-I laughed outloud when I checked on him during this nap this afternoon.  Look below and you'll see what he added to his outfit before falling asleep (click on the picture to enlarge it).  He even insisted on wearing it to the grocery store.  

Sophia is only a kindergartener for two more days.  Then she officially becomes a first grader.  This really hit home a few nights ago when I was checking on her before bed.  She always looks so angelic sleeping and I often find myself wondering where the past 6 years have gone.  This year has been one of such amazing growth for her.  She turned things around at school after a bit of a rough start, began writing stories, can now pick up a book she's never read before and read it to me and wants to do math problems for fun.  Her latest test scores put her in the 94th percentile for math and 98th percentile for reading.  I am so incredibly proud of her and while I love watching her grow, I don't want her to grow up TOO quickly. 

 This picture is of Sophia and her kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Plager.