Soccer pictures

Another soccer season has ended and I wanted to post a few pictures from Jonah's final soccer game (Thanks Debbie, for taking these great action shots!)

Silver Lining

It was Sunday afternoon at our house. From the basement playroom drifts the sound of Toby wailing. After a pause we hear Jonah's voice "I'm sorry, ok?" Footsteps pound up the stairs and a tearful Toby appears in the kitchen to announce, "Jonah hit me in the face with a cushion... on purpose!"

Nothing out of the ordinary at this point.

Still crying, Toby allowed himself to be led into the bathroom to clean up his bloody mouth. Jonah followed after a few minutes and offered a sincere apology (!), at which point he did a double-take and exclaimed, "Toby, open your mouth again. Toby, your tooth is missing!" Toby confirmed this by looking in the mirror and his tears dissolved into a big wide grin. As he has seen his friends lose their first teeth for the past two years, Toby has anxiously awaited his turn.

The missing tooth was recovered by Jonah, the tooth fairy visited, and the best part for Toby was that the tooth that was knocked out wasn't even the one that's loose!

Jonah's First Job Application

Fourth-graders at Loring Elementary can apply for school patrol duty. The orange vests and traffic flags have captured Jonah's interest and he decided he would really like to be chosen for patrol duty. Here is his first-ever job application. He is hopeful . . .

Double Digits!

Happy birthday, Jonah! Turning ten is a milestone!! You have informed us that 10 marks the beginning of your "pre-teen" years; I have started to see glimpses of your coming teenage years; sometimes you are pure child and at other times, I am surprised to see some complexity and maturity emerge.

How do I describe my ten-year-old Jonah? You are still active and agile: you've added skateboarding and roller-blading to your favorite activities this summer. You are happiest when you're in motion outside: flipping on the trampoline, swimming and especially diving from the high dive, riding your bike, climbing a tree...

Your other big love is reading and if I'm looking for you, I usually need to look no further than your room where I can find you curling up with a good book. You are still my sensitive introvert and reading has provided a great way to relax and unwind.

It has been fun to watch your piano playing over this past year: you find a great deal of happiness sitting down and playing and you've learned some really fun music lately. You surprised us this spring when you announced that you would play piano in the school talent show: this performing is a new side of your personality, and your self-confidence has grown immensely through piano.

Soccer continued to be your big sport this past year. This spring and summer you decided to play traveling soccer which opened up a whole new world of sports to our family. Your first experience with traveling soccer was so positive that you opted to sign up for a fall team as well.

You have grown immensely over the past year. Third grade was challenging for you and with the help of an amazing teacher who believed in you and refused to listen to excuses, you have developed some positive work habits and pride in your accomplishments.

You've challenged your parents greatly this year. You and I clash far too much and you have a stubborn streak (where ever did you pick THAT up?!) In those rare moments when I can keep a cool head, I see that much of the conflict you and I experience stems from our similarities.

I enjoy watching you interact with others: you are friendly and social with adults, and you make friends easily with other kids. It is fun to see you with younger kids: you have a gentle way about you and your fun-loving nature is a magnet.

You have started developing your own friendships and I've enjoyed this development as well. You just celebrated your birthday by having your 3 closest buddies and your cousin at our house for an overnight (NOT a sleepover, since sleep was such a small part of the night). Observing the social interactions of a group of 9- and 10-year-olds was instructive and gave me a glimpse into the next few years.

I love you, Jonah, and I hope this marks the beginning of a fantastic year for you!

Summer days. . .

School started for teachers last week, and while Ken went back to work, I took a week off to enjoy a bit of summer with the boys. Here is how we spent our time during that week: bike rides to the park ... school-supply shopping ... baking ... swim lessons ... canoeing ... birthday planning ... sleeping in .... Added to that the boys' trampoline-jumping ... skateboarding ... legos. We also went out for lunch twice ... read the first half of "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" ... hung out at three different pools ... watched Harry Potter 4 ... (and for some of us, "Godzilla") ... shopped for new school shoes ... and spent time in our backyard. What a great way to spend some of the last days of summer!

HAPPY GOLDEN BIRTHDAY, TOBY!!!

(just a little bit late...)
Dear Toby,
It is amazing to me that it's already been seven years since you came into our lives with your sunny smile and warm hugs.

The past year has been a big year for you as you've learned to cross-country ski, swim, play chess, ride a scooter, cook, and so much more. First grade was a great year. It has been wonderful to watch your reading abilities move from "learning to read" to "reading to learn." I can't tell you how many times you spout out some new fact and when I ask you how you know it your answer is "I read it in a book at school." You love school and have many friends. This year you developed the confidence to embrace activities like soccer, basketball, canoeing and swim lessons. You pride yourself on being able to follow rules and expectations and some of your biggest frustrations are when others are not following the rules.

You have become a social butterfly and love having playdates with friends! Your favorite activities are swimming, jumping on the trampoline, making crafts (origami!) and playing with legos. I'm glad that you so enjoy reading books together at night; all of the Magic Tree House, A to Z Mysteries, Nate the Great stories, and science and nature books we've read together this year. You love non-fiction and it is fun to learn from you. This year you've been very interested in sharks and talk about becoming a marine biologist.

For the first time in your life, you went on adventures without us this year: first spending half a week at Pilgrim Point Camp, and then a week with Grandma and Grandpa Cook. You loved both experiences and felt very independent! You also love to travel: you were so excited about our vacation to Michigan and loved planning activities and charting our progress on the map. You are already looking forward to next year's vacation!

You're still my talker: you love to explain how things work and report on all your adventures. I am sometimes surprised at how articulate you are: that is a gift! You are developing a way of talking yourself through your fears and anxieties. For example, I've watched you step into a boat or canoe ever so hesitantly those first few times this summer, not at all certain you could do it. You are able to communicate your fears and explain the big butterflies you're experiencing (prehistoric mammoth butterflies, really) and how you're calming down.

You enjoy playing piano and singing and this year you've also developed a love of performing. Your speaking part in the Christmas pageant at church was a big accomplishment for you, and you were thrilled to play a role in the "Free to Be: You and Me" performance this spring. You do get nervous but you are able to move past that and shine in performing.

I so enjoy your calm and engaged presence and the way you still melt into me when you need cuddles. My heart swells with pride when people tell me how much they enjoy being with you.

Your golden birthday (7 on the 7th) was a milestone you looked forward to for months! Happy birthday! You are my sunshine and I love you, Toby!

The Capriciousness of an Almost-Ten-Year-Old

The sign on Jonah's bedroom door reads:

Private Property
NO TRESPASSING!

P.S. Come in if you need something.

Yesterday we watched Jonah and Toby play piano. They have been practicing and looking forward to the recital for months! They were both nervous: it is a strange (and new) feeling to watch one's children experience nervousness. Jonah was fine until we arrived at the building. Toby was a bundle of nerves and sat rigidly until it was his turn. They both played beautifully and it was delightful to see them perform!

First Grade Writing

The end of the school year brings with it many papers from school. Two of Toby's recent writing assignments follow. The first example was an assignment to write a friendly letter to someone. I've been curious about this since Toby told me that he chose to write to President Obama:



It's no surprise that Toby chose to write about his favorite vacation to the Black Hills. I knew that the 1880s train and his "special rocks" (polished rocks he found in a Badlands gift shop) were highlights and my family all knows how much he treasured playing with his step-cousin Zoe! I love that he chose to share this with President Obama!

The second is more recent and the assignment was to write how to do something. Toby chose to explain how to play "Capture the Flag:"

Roots, Leaves, and Flowers

Last week, Toby's teacher, Mr. Forsline, took his first-grade class on a field trip to Minnehaha Falls. The field trip was developed and organized by Robin and Starla Krause, the "Sisters of the Loring School Garden." (These two wonderful women, with the help of volunteers, have created the Kids' Cook Garden at school and every child in school gets to participate in the growing, tending, harvesting of the garden, learning about cooking and nutrition in the process.)

The lesson of the field trip was "Roots, Leaves, and Flowers," and involved hands' on learning about the various parts of plants that we eat:
roots: carrots, radishes
leaves: lettuce, arugula, bok choi
and flowers: broccoli, tomatoes

The kids prepared a tasty salad with fresh salad dressing, prepared and grilled fresh fish (donated by a local seafood market) with herbs, salt and pepper. Rounding out the meal was bread with radish butter, and rhubarb lemonade to drink. Hard-boiled eggs with herbs provided a tasty protein snack.

Toby and his classmates hiked and explored the falls and trails, drew pictures and wrote about their day. They picked dandelion leaves and tasted them in their salad. They toured the Sea Salt Eatery, a restaurant specializing in fresh seafood, and learned about the different kinds of batter for fish. Kids sampled (and loved!) calamari and fried clams.

One of the regular garden volunteers, Charlie, brought his guitar, some drums, and a rain stick, and all the children had a chance to make music together: singing, dancing, drumming, and strumming. There was plenty of time for climbing on rocks and running around, and just before the end of the day, everyone enjoyed an ice cream cone, courtesy of the Sea Salt Eatery.

The day was amazing! Every child was engaged and involved; everybody learned or experienced something new, whether it was eating a new food or playing an instrument. At the end of the day, when Mr. Forsline asked each person to thank someone in the group who made the day special, there were many heartfelt words, smiles and even hugs!

It was an incredibly special day that I spent with Toby and his class and without a doubt the best school lunch served anywhere in the Twin Cities that day!

Cats!

Just before Easter, we visited the Humane Society and came home with two kitties, the newest additions to our family!


Bella is a four-year-old part Siamese cat who is very sweet but was pretty traumatized by her experience in the animal shelter. She is gentle and loves to cuddle and is gradually learning to trust us.

















Jazz (or Jazzy, or Jasmine) is a three-month old kitten, who, like kittens everywhere, is very playful, very curious, and very cute. She is very social and not at all shy! The boys love watching her chase, pounce, and scamper! And because she is tiny, she is easy to pick up and cuddle!












Zoey (the dog) has been quite gracious about sharing her home with new feline friends and a couple swats on the nose when she has gotten too close are the most she's had to endure.

XC Skiing!

One of our new favorite winter activities has become cross-country skiing. After Jonah began learning to ski in school this winter, we decided that it was time to invest in a new hobby. We familiarized ourselves with the local used-sporting goods stores and found skis for all! We have been very lucky this winter with great snow and relatively warm spells. Toby has been taking ski lessons through the Minnesota Youth Ski League every Sunday and we've been out several times as a family to ski.



Through trial, error (lots of error), tips from the boys' lessons, and careful observation of other skiers, Ken and I can hold our own and have learned to mostly stay on our feet, and perhaps more importantly, how to get back on our feet after falling.



The boys both signed up to do the MinneLoppet, which is a kids' event in an annual weekend of ski races in Uptown/Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis. Their school coordinated a bus to the event and 28 Loring School kids participated. Jonah did the 2K version and Toby skied a 1K race. There were medals for all participants and cookies and cocoa at the end of the race.

Winter Fun and Family

It's a little belated, but I have been wanting to post some photos from the holidays as well as winter fun and family time. We are enjoying the snowy winter in Minnesota!