May 2017 Happenings

May was a pretty big blur of parties, celebrations, etc. First up we attended Evy's Troll themed second Birthday. The weather took a strange turn and was freezing all morning but that didn't stop the kids from having a blast playing together. Kieran was having a particularly hard day and when he wouldn't stop being ridiculous I made him sit on the retaining wall where he continued to cry and tell anyone that would listen about the outrage he had over having cake served at a party instead of cupcakes.

Reed's school hosted a Moms and Dads day complete with a keyboard performance and gifts for the parents. Jon was out of town for work, but luckily I wasn't called in for jury duty and Reed had one parent in attendance!

Once a year Grandma, Auntie M, Aunt Penny, and I meet up with some of my friends that live in Southern California for a girls trip. This year the destination was Palm Springs and it was so much fun!!!

Reed's last day of school they had a breakfast for lunch party and got to wear pajamas. Since Reed was having lunch before I picked him up I took Kieran to a restaurant in town and we had a Mommy and Me lunch date that was so fun. The last day of school was a little rough for Reed. He realized all of his friends won't be at the same school next year and kept breaking down crying all afternoon when he thought of it. Sometimes his sensitivity drives me a bit crazy but I couldn't help but feel his pain on this one. We pretended the next morning was the last day all over again so I could take official pictures in his first day of school outfit for comparison purposes.

The boys had been asking about a slumber party for weeks and I had told them that we could do it on a weekend soon. Once school was over we went ahead and setup the blow up mattress in Kieran's room and let Reed sleep in there. They loved it so much and did such a great job sharing a room that they ended up doing it for 10 nights in a row. They are back in separate rooms now but we've promised they can do it again soon and are considering getting bunk beds for K's room.

We closed the month out by attending the Memorial Day service at the cemetery Jon's Grandparents are buried in. His Grandfather was always very involved with the Memorial Day event and Auntie P and Aunt Margie have continued on the tradition. I think it's important for the kids to understand the meaning of our holidays and love when there is a personal connection they genuinely are interested in learning about. We hunted down their Great-Grandfather's flag and everyone was surprised when Reed noticed the last name was spelled incorrectly (no one else has ever noticed this in all the years they've been attending).

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Reed had a great first year experience playing baseball. It was amazing to see his improvement as the season went on. By the end of the season he rarely needed the tee brought out for him and even had a couple of games where he got a hit off of the coach every inning. His running the bases also greatly improved as the season progressed. One of the first times he got a hit he was so excited he ran through the middle of the field. Once he figured out first base he got upset a couple of times when he was tagged out. Apparently that was all it took to motivate him to run faster because he really did kick it up a notch and start pushing harder to get to the base faster, plus he was often rewarded by being safe which only reinforced the need to hustle. I think fielding might be a next season thing. He really just didn't have the attention span to keep an eye on the ball and even when he decided to run after a hit he had no idea where he should throw the ball (despite the coaches often telling him before the up where the play would be). Of course Reed had a big fan base with Nonna, Pepe, C, Tio, Lyla, Zach, Grandpa, and Grandma (who got Reed to his warm-up every Tuesday so I could work a little bit later) all making it to some of the games. We had a great time cheering him on and are very proud of his hard work. We are also very thankful for some very kind, patient, helpful coaches that made this such a positive experience for Reed!!!