Last weekend we had the pleasure of attending one of my cousin's wedding. It was the first wedding in the cousin group that we all had attended as a family of 4, not including my brother's wedding (because he is not my cousin ;-) ). I think everyone had a good time, and I know our family had a great time. The kids got to play around with some kids their age and Trevor tried to hang out with two older women.
At the wedding ceremony, Gwen was very interested to see the flower girl and what she did. Just like the wedding she will be in in a few weeks, the flower girl was dropping petals out of a basket. The ring bearer was my cousin's son which she also knew, so she was always waving to whomever was coming down the aisle and saying hi to them.
It was a bit tricky to keep the kids from not running around up until the dance started, but once that did, it was a chance for the kids to really let loose. Gwen even got permission to teach the group her dance recital piece to "R-O-C-K in the USA". While I did not get any pictures of the occasion, I saw the wedding photographers snap a few so there will be some documentation of the event.
There were two events where each kid lost it once. One I could have predicted since it was the end of the night, and Trevor, not exactly being a night owl, crashes pretty fast after the 9 o'clock hour. During most of the night of dancing, Trevor was playing a chasing game with the older girls, and they would hide out in the girls bathroom. Well, shortly after 9:30, Trevor started crying because he thought the girls didn't like him, or were being mean (which I know they were not, like I said, Trevor was beyond tired at this point).
Gwen's was a bit of a surprise. She was dancing to the "Single Ladies" Beyonce song and then they did the bouquet toss. We had not said anything about a bouquet toss, so she had no idea what it was about. But she stood in the area where they were throwing the flowers and she saw the lady next to her get the flowers. I think she then realized that they weren't going to do it again and she didn't get the pretty flowers. And then she lost it. Dad saved the day by giving her what looked like a bouquet from a centerpiece of small wildflowers. She felt much better after that and made a full recovery.
In the morning, for Father's Day, the kids got to play in the hotel pool for a good 2 hours before heading out on the road home. It was a decent ride home and one where Russ got a surprise gift from his mom and sister who helped remove the remainder of the dirt to the dumpster for us. It was a very nice weekend for all!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Wow...what a week for Trevor
Granted, the week isn't over, and I'm veering off of my course of trying to recount the past few weeks and fast forwarding to this week. I will try to get back to things soon. I'm feeling like I'm finally getting close to getting caught up. If anyone follows my train of thought.
Anyway, this should have been an AWESOME week for Trevor. It was his first week back at the parks for the summer. Capped off tonight with a sleepover. Thankfully the sleepover is still on, but a lot has happened this last week: I think it may have something to do with a development or growth spurt. As I have learned, things can become a bit disorganized with Trevor during these times. In the past school year, he had two weeks (non-consecutive) where he seemed to be completely out of sorts. It was the only time of the year where he even seemed to approach bad behavior.
So this week thankfully didn't have any bad behavior associated with it, simply lots of injuries. Now that I think about it, I wonder which is worse. At least bad behavior can be dealt with immediately, whereas injuries take time to heal.
On Monday night we found some scrapes that looked more like burns (not that I think they are burns, but they look more like a rubbing scrape, ya know?) on his back. He had been complaining that he felt like his back was sunburned but I explained it wasn't possible unless he took his shirt off at the park, which he said he didn't do.
On Tuesday, Trevor asked to wear his crocs to the park, and while I explained that it was his choice it may not be easy to move around in them. Well, Tuesday night he said he wasn't going to be wearing his crocs anymore because the inside button scraped his foot. Eh, not that big of a deal.
On Wednesday, he had his field trip to the roller skating rink. I'm not sure if he doesn't know his shoe size or if the skates weren't tight enough on him but he came home with big scrapes where the sides of the skates rubbed against his legs.
So on Thursday, we were at Grandma's house, and Trevor came over after the parks to jump on the trampoline. Not more than 10 minutes later, he had landed on his foot wrong and rolled his ankle. Thankfully, I happened to see exactly what happened, and it sure looked like it hurt, but I don't think it is broken. We have since iced, adviled, and elevated the ankle as much as possible. When I went to take off his sock after he twisted it, I noticed that the had an infected toe, probably from a blister. Poor kid! The infection has been soaked and bandaged as well as aired out for most of the day today. So hopefully he is on the mend now. He was not able to go to golf today and he was not happy. He has been able to hobble on it which is more than he was willing to do yesterday, although we might have scared him to even try to walk on it. Another lucky thing is that we did have Dr. Kyrsten take a look at all his ailments and while he didn't let her touch much of his foot, she can take another look at it tomorrow and make sure he shouldn't be taken in.
Ah the joys of having such an active kid. Hopefully next week will be better. And hopefully his growth spurt/development spurt is done soon.
Anyway, this should have been an AWESOME week for Trevor. It was his first week back at the parks for the summer. Capped off tonight with a sleepover. Thankfully the sleepover is still on, but a lot has happened this last week: I think it may have something to do with a development or growth spurt. As I have learned, things can become a bit disorganized with Trevor during these times. In the past school year, he had two weeks (non-consecutive) where he seemed to be completely out of sorts. It was the only time of the year where he even seemed to approach bad behavior.
So this week thankfully didn't have any bad behavior associated with it, simply lots of injuries. Now that I think about it, I wonder which is worse. At least bad behavior can be dealt with immediately, whereas injuries take time to heal.
On Monday night we found some scrapes that looked more like burns (not that I think they are burns, but they look more like a rubbing scrape, ya know?) on his back. He had been complaining that he felt like his back was sunburned but I explained it wasn't possible unless he took his shirt off at the park, which he said he didn't do.
On Tuesday, Trevor asked to wear his crocs to the park, and while I explained that it was his choice it may not be easy to move around in them. Well, Tuesday night he said he wasn't going to be wearing his crocs anymore because the inside button scraped his foot. Eh, not that big of a deal.
On Wednesday, he had his field trip to the roller skating rink. I'm not sure if he doesn't know his shoe size or if the skates weren't tight enough on him but he came home with big scrapes where the sides of the skates rubbed against his legs.
So on Thursday, we were at Grandma's house, and Trevor came over after the parks to jump on the trampoline. Not more than 10 minutes later, he had landed on his foot wrong and rolled his ankle. Thankfully, I happened to see exactly what happened, and it sure looked like it hurt, but I don't think it is broken. We have since iced, adviled, and elevated the ankle as much as possible. When I went to take off his sock after he twisted it, I noticed that the had an infected toe, probably from a blister. Poor kid! The infection has been soaked and bandaged as well as aired out for most of the day today. So hopefully he is on the mend now. He was not able to go to golf today and he was not happy. He has been able to hobble on it which is more than he was willing to do yesterday, although we might have scared him to even try to walk on it. Another lucky thing is that we did have Dr. Kyrsten take a look at all his ailments and while he didn't let her touch much of his foot, she can take another look at it tomorrow and make sure he shouldn't be taken in.
Ah the joys of having such an active kid. Hopefully next week will be better. And hopefully his growth spurt/development spurt is done soon.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Medals and Trophies
Trying to catch up here....this is from way back at the end of May and beginning of June. At the end of May, before Gwen's dance recital dress rehearsal, they had their final practice. I had seen a sign-up for parents that wanted to get their kids a trophy for being in dance 3 or 5 years, or maybe even 5 or 7 years, I cannot remember. Obviously I knew we didn't qualify and neither did any of the kids in her class. But on her last class I was pleasantly surprised to find out their teacher was handing out one of these to each classmate. While this picture was not taken when she got the medal, you can tell how happy she was to get it. We have kept all of Trevor's medals on a handle in the play area, so she has seen and even worn them as necklaces for a good amount of time. She was so excited to have one of her own, AND it is different than any of Trevor's. So she has started her own collection and will probably unknowingly be adding to the collection in July or August during her first experience with T-ball which starts in a few weeks. It will be interesting to see how she does with T-ball as she has been wanting to be just like Trevor when he has his baseball games. However, when she plays indoors, she often doesn't quite get the concept of running bases. Perhaps that will be the first thing she has to learn.
Now Trevor does not seem to care a whole lot about medals, perhaps because he has always had a lot of them from being in youth sports since he age of 3. I don't think he dislikes getting them, but he does have a special spot in his heart for this trophy that he got for performing at the talent show the last week of school. I believe this is his 5th trophy and he knows he will be getting his 6th after he completes his golf lessons at the end of July. It could be perhaps that it is due to professional athlete games and their trophy's, but whatever the reason, when he found out he was getting a trophy, he was overjoyed. I MAY have known about him getting a trophy before he performed, but I didn't let him know about it. I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise for him. You can bet that the idea of getting another trophy is and always will be a motivating factor for him doing any event. That does mean you will see more of Trevor in the golf world, hockey world, and talent shows to come!Saturday, June 11, 2011
Last day of school
Again, out of order, but this was one I wanted to make sure I got all the details about:
Gwen's last day of preschool was the Thursday before Memorial Day, so she has been out a few weeks now. We have had her go back to the childcare side of preschool, which she identifies as another class, simply with another teacher. She does get that she won't see her usual teacher until September, but I think she enjoys being able to play at preschool with some of her classmates that are also in childcare at that time. I am prepared to bring her back for some random days during the summer if she asks, or maybe if it works out that I have something else going on, but otherwise she has a few weeks of activities, and mostly trying to enjoy the summer.
Trevor, has been a jumble of emotions this year. Because he was a first grader in a multi-age class, most of the year he had been told that he would be continuing in the same class as a second grader, and older helper in the class. His teacher also had her first baby the beginning of April so the class transitioned to a different teacher at that time for the rest of the year. Then we found out that Trevor was accepted into a gifted and talented class next year which will put him into a different class for second grade, not the same class he had originally planned on. So throughout all these changes, he has become a bit upset. For a seven-year-old, it is a lot to handle. He has had a great year, full of growth, blossoming, and yes: change. Thankfully, we do have the entire summer to talk about how he feels about the upcoming change, and he isn't changing schools, simply classrooms so he does get to see his teacher and class from time-to-time.
I have been trying to express my excitement at the end of school, and of being a first grader, but it seems as though Trevor has more apprehension, without the thought of which class he will be in for second grade. When I asked him why he wasn't excited to become a second grader, he said, "But mom, when I am going to second grade, that is a year closer to when I have to move out of the house. I'm going to be so sad when that happens." Oh Trevor, I've been known to be forward looking, but wow...10 years? Poor guy, I never would have thought that the possibility of moving out of the house at 18 was so troubling to a 7 year old.
Trevor also got his report card and yearbook yesterday as well. No surprises on his report card. Trevor knew what to look for, and he was satisfied with his "grades" as we were. He did increase his grade in music, as I thought he would due to his piano lessons. His teacher remarked on his report card as well as his yearbook how she thought he had great leadership potential. I am still surprised at the impression that Trevor continues to make on the adults he encounters. It does not come without challenges, but it is fun to watch his personality come out and grow in a school setting. We just need to control it to the point of using it for the good of the school and not be influenced by the dark side.
Congratulations Trevor, on a successful school year, and I can't wait to see what is next in store for you as a second grader.
Gwen's last day of preschool was the Thursday before Memorial Day, so she has been out a few weeks now. We have had her go back to the childcare side of preschool, which she identifies as another class, simply with another teacher. She does get that she won't see her usual teacher until September, but I think she enjoys being able to play at preschool with some of her classmates that are also in childcare at that time. I am prepared to bring her back for some random days during the summer if she asks, or maybe if it works out that I have something else going on, but otherwise she has a few weeks of activities, and mostly trying to enjoy the summer.
Trevor, has been a jumble of emotions this year. Because he was a first grader in a multi-age class, most of the year he had been told that he would be continuing in the same class as a second grader, and older helper in the class. His teacher also had her first baby the beginning of April so the class transitioned to a different teacher at that time for the rest of the year. Then we found out that Trevor was accepted into a gifted and talented class next year which will put him into a different class for second grade, not the same class he had originally planned on. So throughout all these changes, he has become a bit upset. For a seven-year-old, it is a lot to handle. He has had a great year, full of growth, blossoming, and yes: change. Thankfully, we do have the entire summer to talk about how he feels about the upcoming change, and he isn't changing schools, simply classrooms so he does get to see his teacher and class from time-to-time.
I have been trying to express my excitement at the end of school, and of being a first grader, but it seems as though Trevor has more apprehension, without the thought of which class he will be in for second grade. When I asked him why he wasn't excited to become a second grader, he said, "But mom, when I am going to second grade, that is a year closer to when I have to move out of the house. I'm going to be so sad when that happens." Oh Trevor, I've been known to be forward looking, but wow...10 years? Poor guy, I never would have thought that the possibility of moving out of the house at 18 was so troubling to a 7 year old.
Trevor also got his report card and yearbook yesterday as well. No surprises on his report card. Trevor knew what to look for, and he was satisfied with his "grades" as we were. He did increase his grade in music, as I thought he would due to his piano lessons. His teacher remarked on his report card as well as his yearbook how she thought he had great leadership potential. I am still surprised at the impression that Trevor continues to make on the adults he encounters. It does not come without challenges, but it is fun to watch his personality come out and grow in a school setting. We just need to control it to the point of using it for the good of the school and not be influenced by the dark side.
Congratulations Trevor, on a successful school year, and I can't wait to see what is next in store for you as a second grader.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Kicking off our summer cabin season
I know most cabins in the area are open around Memorial Day, but ours always kicks off for Kentucky Derby. It is the first weekend in May and my mom's family has been doing some kind of gathering for over 15 years, although it would be longer if it wasn't considered as organized as it is today. I think the story goes that my mom remembers her dad really interested in the race for a long time. Strangely enough we aren't a race-track gambling sort of family. We love our card games, trivia games, and dominoes as well as casino games, but horse racing with the exception of the Kentucky Derby isn't something we are interested in. However, every year, it is a party date for us. We have a book that my mom has kept of all the pictures she has kept throughout the years. Most years, we noted the winner, as we draw horses in a oldest-to-youngest fashion. It is completely random as to which horse you get, but strangely enough, a lot of the people in attendance are multiple winners.
We haven't kept detailed enough records to know how we did the drawings from year-to-year. Usually there are around 20 horses to be drawn. It had been a good part of the years before the grandkids could get in on the game. So I think there were some years where we had an adult winner and a grandkid winner. Sometimes we had a "win-place-show" year so more people could win, but eventually the grandkids and the adults got to partake in the game. A few years we had to draw two fields of horses to accommodate all the people, and because of that there had been one winner that drew the winning horse twice.
Such was the case this year. Also, this was the first year that a great-grandchild has made it to the winner circle. Unfortunately, there was some heartache involved, but plenty of sympathetic ears. Trevor had a horse that was in the front pack at the beginning of the race. So he was VERY excited. Unfortunately, as is the case many years, the front horses got tired and fell to the back. Trevor was very upset. I don't think it helped that his sister won either. However, we have a list of people that have not yet won a Kentucky Derby, my mom....myself...my brother....my uncle....So while Trevor wasn't really happy to have lost, at least he had some consolation for those of us that haven't won yet, in many more years than he has been alive. Maybe next year bud!
We haven't kept detailed enough records to know how we did the drawings from year-to-year. Usually there are around 20 horses to be drawn. It had been a good part of the years before the grandkids could get in on the game. So I think there were some years where we had an adult winner and a grandkid winner. Sometimes we had a "win-place-show" year so more people could win, but eventually the grandkids and the adults got to partake in the game. A few years we had to draw two fields of horses to accommodate all the people, and because of that there had been one winner that drew the winning horse twice.
Such was the case this year. Also, this was the first year that a great-grandchild has made it to the winner circle. Unfortunately, there was some heartache involved, but plenty of sympathetic ears. Trevor had a horse that was in the front pack at the beginning of the race. So he was VERY excited. Unfortunately, as is the case many years, the front horses got tired and fell to the back. Trevor was very upset. I don't think it helped that his sister won either. However, we have a list of people that have not yet won a Kentucky Derby, my mom....myself...my brother....my uncle....So while Trevor wasn't really happy to have lost, at least he had some consolation for those of us that haven't won yet, in many more years than he has been alive. Maybe next year bud!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Happy Mother's Day!
I am incredibly behind. I have a boatload of pictures to upload from the past month and many more stories to tell, so I may have many short snip its when I can remember throughout any given day. So here I start: Mother's Day fell on Kentucky Derby weekend, so actually I may have a post about that later, but I came across this scanned picture the other day and I had to write about it before I forgot the surrounding events. This paper was what I found at Gwen's preschool along with her classmates answers about their mom's. It is pretty cute how the perspective is at their age. I saw ages of parents from "really old" to 10 to 100 years. I especially loved the best thing about me. So I let Trevor look at it, and he was able to correct a few things. He knows his weight to be 63lbs. So he thought based on that, I was 75lbs. Thanks Trevor! He corrected that my favorite food is Shrimp Tagliolini from Ciao Bella (which has been gone for about a year now....so sad) and that I like to be in the sun when it is 80 degrees. I give Gwen a lot of credit that she pays attention to all the answers that I have given to these questions. Maybe I should ask her the same thing for Trevor...what would she say is the best thing about him?
Saturday, June 4, 2011
A pillar of strength
Because of my mom's family, where she came from a family of 5 other sisters and one brother, we were able to have big family gatherings. Thanksgiving primarily was our big event. We (and I in particular) had just been reminiscing a lot lately about all the things my group of cousins and I did during that time. I think a big memory for a lot of us was the haunted house we would make in the basement. I guess we caused a lot of nightmares and even some fears of movies like E.T. that have lasted into adulthood. Sorry about that!
One family in particular was very close with our family. Strangely enough, growing up the two sisters did not get along well. However, since having kids, my mom and her sister have spent a lot of family vacations with us. So again, there are a lot of family memories with my cousin that due to the fact that we are still vacationing in the same spot, it is very easy to reminisce about those fun times. We went on boat rides, we went rollerskating, and played at the beach and in the lake. I remember being typical teenagers or maybe pre-teens where we would giggle and laugh about what our future would bring us. Who we would marry, where we would live, how many kids we would have. Now we are in that time in our lives, and it is fun to be able to share with each other our continued lives. Really, other than my parents and siblings, there isn't anyone else I can share these similar memories with.
Unfortunately, an event has occurred during the past week which has deeply shaken our lives for the continued future. Thursday was supposed to have been the birth of another cousin-once-removed for our family. Baby Lucy's due date was May 25th, and the day previous brought a very normal day, complete with a heart beat monitoring of 150+ bpm. Their family was making the last preparations to become a family of 4. Her brother was getting excited to have a sibling join the family. My family was getting ready to head to our usual Memorial Day vacation to the lake house nearby my cousin's family home. As we were packing the car, I got a phone call from my mom saying that my cousin was heading to the hospital because they could not find a heartbeat for baby Lucy. While immediately I had a thousand questions, my heart went out to my cousin and her family for any peace and good thoughts that were going to happen.
We were kept up to date through my aunt, her mom as to what was happening. We found out on Saturday that baby Lucy was delivered into her mommy's arms at 11:30pm Friday evening, May 27th. Throughout this last week, preparations were made for her funeral. Unfortunately, because of my own family conflict I was unable to attend the event, but have been in close contact with my cousin on a few occasions. I cannot even begin to imagine what they have had to go through, but what I have observed, my cousin has been a pillar of strength, with the help of a very special group that has been with her from the beginning.
I saw my cousin last Sunday, when we were all over at my aunt and uncle's place nearby my parents cabin. At that time I was able to simply express my condolences and sit back and think what a remarkable family we both share. Baby Lucy was so loved from the beginning and will continue to be a part of the family to the end of time, watching down on all of us.
In writing this post, I wanted to recall my childhood memories of my cousin and remark at how unpredictable our lives have turned out. While she and her family have lived through the toughest week of their lives, you all are so wonderful and yes, a pillar of strength. You have reminded me to take the time to cherish our days together with our family.
One family in particular was very close with our family. Strangely enough, growing up the two sisters did not get along well. However, since having kids, my mom and her sister have spent a lot of family vacations with us. So again, there are a lot of family memories with my cousin that due to the fact that we are still vacationing in the same spot, it is very easy to reminisce about those fun times. We went on boat rides, we went rollerskating, and played at the beach and in the lake. I remember being typical teenagers or maybe pre-teens where we would giggle and laugh about what our future would bring us. Who we would marry, where we would live, how many kids we would have. Now we are in that time in our lives, and it is fun to be able to share with each other our continued lives. Really, other than my parents and siblings, there isn't anyone else I can share these similar memories with.
Unfortunately, an event has occurred during the past week which has deeply shaken our lives for the continued future. Thursday was supposed to have been the birth of another cousin-once-removed for our family. Baby Lucy's due date was May 25th, and the day previous brought a very normal day, complete with a heart beat monitoring of 150+ bpm. Their family was making the last preparations to become a family of 4. Her brother was getting excited to have a sibling join the family. My family was getting ready to head to our usual Memorial Day vacation to the lake house nearby my cousin's family home. As we were packing the car, I got a phone call from my mom saying that my cousin was heading to the hospital because they could not find a heartbeat for baby Lucy. While immediately I had a thousand questions, my heart went out to my cousin and her family for any peace and good thoughts that were going to happen.
We were kept up to date through my aunt, her mom as to what was happening. We found out on Saturday that baby Lucy was delivered into her mommy's arms at 11:30pm Friday evening, May 27th. Throughout this last week, preparations were made for her funeral. Unfortunately, because of my own family conflict I was unable to attend the event, but have been in close contact with my cousin on a few occasions. I cannot even begin to imagine what they have had to go through, but what I have observed, my cousin has been a pillar of strength, with the help of a very special group that has been with her from the beginning.
I saw my cousin last Sunday, when we were all over at my aunt and uncle's place nearby my parents cabin. At that time I was able to simply express my condolences and sit back and think what a remarkable family we both share. Baby Lucy was so loved from the beginning and will continue to be a part of the family to the end of time, watching down on all of us.
In writing this post, I wanted to recall my childhood memories of my cousin and remark at how unpredictable our lives have turned out. While she and her family have lived through the toughest week of their lives, you all are so wonderful and yes, a pillar of strength. You have reminded me to take the time to cherish our days together with our family.
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