Say Cheese

Can you believe it's that time of year already....



and that is why Chloe May got herself all dressed -even picking our her own boots

yes indeed we are making our birthday #2 cards for our Dolly!

And why is this little guy all smiles, well it's frog season of course - and we just caught three in a matter of seconds!  (of course they were all released after being observed for quite some time).

Speaking of observing, Matteo is becoming quite the observer! Mattteo will find a worm or sit by a bush that is literally swarming with bees and just sit and watch them...listen, dare I say study (?).  Really quite interesting to watch and he has taught me to do the same.  Funny how most kids would run the opposite direction at the sight of a bee, and here is Matteo sitting and watching - I'll take a pic next time for future posting.

Movies and playdate

That's right folks, how many more days did you think would pass before we took Matteo to see CARS2!!!



Matteo and 4 friends went to the MOVIES today! I do believe this being Matteo's second movie his whole life added to the excitement of it all!

Later that day we were invited to our friend Joelle's house for a homeschooling playdate - we see our friend about one or two times a year and she is actually the woman who introduced and taught me signing - so obviously I am forever grateful for her friendship.

Goodbye Grandma

After a fun library program today and a walk through the "caves" - Grandma left mid-afternoon much to our dismay.  However having a backyard full of neighbors helped ease Grandma leaving - and with the promise of another fun day tomorrow, there were no tears this time (at least not on Matteo's part).

Down Port

With Grandma in town, we try to do what activities that Grandma enjoys best - this includes going down Port to watch the boats and the kids enjoy the water.

Remember how much a fish I told you Matteo was, well no different with a sprinkler! I love the photo below with a rainbow around Matteo.



Chloe May enjoyed some lap time with Grandma inbetween sprinklers.

Grandma treated everyone to ice cream - I love this picture, so picturesque.

And at night we invited our neighbors over for some sparklers - much to the children's delight!

Grandma's here another night, so check back tomorrow to see where our adventure takes us!

Soccer Sunday

I knew Sunday was going to be a whirlwind of a day and sure enough it was!  We started out with trophy day at soccer.  At this last and final game, the children played against the parents.  Well since Poppi was still in town, we took the opportunity to put him on the field and play soccer with Matteo.  There is Poppi in the picture below all the way to the right.

Funny thing is, Poppi really got into it - even kicking the ball halfway down the field to score a goal!

And I am proud to say Matteo scored two goals all his own -  making a total of 4 goals this soccer season!

It was another great season and funny how your team becomes like family - they will be sorely missed.

Sunday birthday and grandparents

Our next two parts of Sunday dealt with Matteo going to a neighbor's swimming birthday party - and let me tell you Matteo is becoming quite the little fish! He enjoys doing back flips in the water, learning to swim by watching other children and simply jumping in. Floating around lazily on a float - never! Matteo is all boy and just amazes and impresses me with all he does in the water. And no matter how cold or how blue he gets, he truly only comes out of the water when called.



And the last part of our Sunday had us visiting with both sets of grandparents - Poppi left and Grandma stayed.

I feel like our door is ever revolving :-)

By the end of Saturday evening, we had a new door and a backsplash (no grout).

Our kitchen is inches away from being completed!

Kindergarten

Today we had Matteo screen for Kindergarten after much coercing from the school district. As expected, Matteo was found to be above average and well suited for kindergarten. But really what child of 4.5 does not know their numbers and colors?  After this meeting and much back and forth Daddy gave  me a 20 minute nap which I much needed, I woke up with a clear head and ready to meet the rest of the day.  The decision of K would not be so difficult, if only I didn't love Matteo so much and want the best for him.

And with Wednesday evening came Poppi again - I think he's starting to enjoy the visits :-)



I know Matteo and Chloe May certainly are enjoying being his helpers.

40th celebration

Why are Matteo & Chloe May so beyond exhausted?

I think helping celebrate our friend's Daddy's 40th birthday with him was enough to wear anyone out!  From the kiddie pool (that never stops Matteo from jumping in), to the water balloons (always a hit), to some silly string (something new for this family), we left the party with full bellies and smiles on our faces.  All except for Daddy who stayed home and worked (blahhh).  No worries, goody-bags were filled with yummies for Daddy!  Three cheers for good friends, festive times and great friends!

No power

With workers cutting tree lines in the area, the inevitable of having the power lines cut did indeed happen. So for 3 hours we were without power and when Daddy works off a computer at home, well that poses a problem.



However we found joy in the situation with an ice cream party to help us stay cool.

Father's Day 2011

Happy Father's Day Daddy!



Why does everyone look so hung over - well because of yesterday's strawberry festival I believe.

After an hour or two of undeciveness I decided it best to go and visit our family - the children's grandfathers, so that is exactly what we did.

A visit with Gramps

and Poppi is how we enjoyed Father's Day 2011.

Cheers to you and your Dad.

Strawberry festival

For months I have always known I would "repay" Matteo & Chloe May for their coming to numerous kitchen stores with us and enduring the boredom that no doubt ensued.

Today was that day.

We went to our local strawberry festival, a first for this family and at the end I knew it would become a yearly tradition. The best 5 hours we have had in a long time!!

For $75 Matteo, Chloe May & Daddy rode the rides unlimited (though Chloe May didn't make the height requirement, if I chose the rides carefully no one said anything) for 5 hours.

No ride disappointed, no matter how small or slow.

And even a few rides Matteo & Chloe May went on alone.

And some rides Matteo & Daddy went on alone - not that Mommy doesn't enjoy the rides, but I'll keep my $25 thank you.

 

At this festival it was "no holding back" - I promised Matteo one prize and he "won" a sponge bob for the (what I consider) bargain price of $5 - and shared it with Chloe May - though really I'm sure the stuffed animal only cost about 50 cents!  I enjoyed a strawberry drink, Matteo & Chloe enjoyed their first slushie and Daddy a gyro.  A bit expensive with our total bill probably coming to $120, but I figured once a year we are entitled to splurge and live it up and today we did - everyone came home exhausted and a great time was had by all. Special thanks to our E family for informing us of such a festive festival!

And upon our return home, our Dear Neighbor helped Daddy to put the lights in the kitchen ceiling - to be honest I didn't know what to expect as we haven't had lights in the kitchen, probably in well over 8 or 9 months when our one sole light broke!  Pics to follow next week!  Still moving along with our kitchen, but to a lesser extent now.

Backsplash

Today we went to the tile store to pick out a back splash for the kitchen.  A chore I thought I would do come the Fall, however just didn't want to leave any loose ends and wanted to finish the job you might say.  Special thanks to Marisa who watched Matteo & Chloe May for 2 hours! 

After yard time with neighborhood children, I sat down to eat  and just let myself go mentally when Daddy reminded me about the Pirate School at library...to which I replied we'd skip it.  That was Ellissa talking.  Two minutes later Mommy (me) came back into play, to remind me what is important and no less than 15 minutes later we were all walking out the door to our Pirate School show - - complete with eye patches and skull bandanas (thanks again E family!).

NOW I'm tired :-)

Last day of school

Nine months ago we were here - first day of school

and then in the blink of an eye it is June - last day of school.

For Matteo's last day, he enjoyed sprinkler time with friends and more chips than his belly could handle, though he did try to fit in as much as possible as having chips is far and few in this house (except for parties).

The old cliche "time flies when you are having fun" is so true - I guess that is why it has been around all these years :-)  Though school (for me) was not always fun, I do indeed think Matteo had nothing but a wonderful time and he certainly has come a long way - now being able to write his name (upper and lower case), all the letters of the alphabet pretty much, use scissors and so much more he has learned along the way. 

And so we made a big to-do about Matteo being a "graduate" from 2 day preschool and now going to go to 3 day preschool as the free 5 day preschool does not apply to us.  I have mixed feelings about this, feeling as though a 5 day schedule would be good for him, but then realizing our friends who enjoyed that 5 day preschool last year missed out on many library opportunities that we enjoyed.  So no loss with 3 day and I'm sure next year will be action-packed anyway. Until then here it so catching fireflies, getting as wet as often as possible and just soaking up the heat :-)  Because like school, we blink and time flies.

I think I"ll keep my eyes wide open for a bit to avoid the passage of too much time.

worms

Worms are still very much the rage around here! 

Worms

Reaffirming my decision to let him be, Matteo spent about 45 minutes (no kidding) watching a worm crawl around the garden, and then insisting I find him more worms (which I don't mind digging for, brings me back to my own childhood days).

Yes, we have only minor tasks left in the kitchen, but she (the kitchen) is cookable.

I feel as though redoing a kitchen is something everyone should experience once in their life, just once :-)

Sink & counter

WE HAVE A SINK AND FAUCET - never will I take them for granted.  Also we have COUNTERS!



And following my school/lotto letdown, Matteo- ON HIS OWN ACCORD- took a piece of wood and wrote the WHOLE alphabet! I didn't even know he could! This just broke my heart in that I feel he would love the 5 days of school, but then turn around and say the 3 days of school will allow him that unstructuredness he will not be allowed for the majority of the rest of his days.  Three days it is!

And sure enough with today's heavy flooding rains, Daddy found himself on the ladders again.  Poor Daddy.