It's been forever since I've written and so much has happened. We finished summer strong with 
a few days in San Antonio at the Hill Country Hyatt and then Jake's sleepover party in celebration of him turning 9. We had six boys spend the night and it went well. A highlight of the party was a show by Mr. Puppet, a ventriloquist who Jake had seen perform at Magic Camp.
I've included a couple of favorite pictures from their summer camps - one of Jake at Magic Camp and one of Sydney at Reunion Ranch in Georgetown.
The kids are back in school and enjoying their teachers and classmates. I continue to be grateful for the quality of their education and support for their needs at ou
r elementary school. I am hoping to get some more intensive intervention for Sydney this year to bring her up to grade level across the board. I am trying to find the right tutor to work with her a day after school as well.
In the meantime, we are signed up for more extra-curriculur activities than ever before, in the same fall we are having a baby - go figure! It's kind of funny how that came about. I have wanted Jake to play a team sport for a long time - in part because I just think it's good for a boy or man to know his way around a field, court, etc. and in part because I think the interaction and team environment will help with his social interaction skills. He did play a few seasons from ages 4-6 - first with soccer (he and his friend Max spent more time playing in the dirt and goofing with each other than watching the ball), then with t-ball, which he (and I) found a little slow-paced, and one more season of soccer where he was good at defense but still just didn't get into it. So, it's been a couple of years and he has announced during that time that he's not a team sports guy. He did tae kwon do from about ages 4 to 7, and that was wonderful for him in terms of focus and discipline, but requires a 2-3 day/week commitment that became more and more difficult. Then last year, he got a little tired of cub scouts and wanted to stop, but I told him he wasn't going to sit at home and play video games and so until he had another activity he wanted to try he wasn't quitting the one he was doing. That, however, was not the motivation he needed...
This summer, he started asking all kinds of questions about girls and specifically about what kind of boys girls like. I gave him what I hope were good answers - that it depends on the girl and that he shouldn't try to be something he's not to please anyone else and that he should be the best version of himself he can be in order to (someday) find the girlfriend that's right for him. But I also told him that a lot of times the athletes in junior high and high school are popular with the girls. I told him I was a little worried that he would figure this out and want to play a sport down the road but that other kids would have a 4 or 5 year jump on him in terms of learning the rules and plays and having experience - and that it would be hard for him to catch up. I truly believe that because Jake is a rough and tumble kind of boy and because he very much wants to be accepted and to be cool that he will want to play sports. So then - and this is key - I left the topic completely alone for a couple of months. When it was time to sign-up for fall sports, I casually asked him if he thought he might want to try anything and, lo and behold, he signed up for flag football. Ahhh, the power of the opposite sex - who knew it would start to wield its influence at the tender age of barely 9? I guess I'm partly to blame, but boy was he primed to take the bait :).
Sydney has played soccer for a lot of seasons now. Much of her team has been together year after year which has its ups and downs. Familiarity with each other and the coach means his job isn't easy because the girls have a tendency to spend lots of time giggling with each other and not necessarily listening or paying attention when they should. This season, for reaons she can't really explain, Sydney waffled on whether to play again or not. She finally said she wanted to play so I signed her up and then the next day she changed her mind and said she wanted to do cheerleading. Normally I would have made her choose one or the other - especially since she's doing Brownies as well. But, since she was kind of only 1/2-way committed to soccer and I want her to play well and give it her all, I told her that she had already agreed and was signed up for soccer and the only way I would add cheerleading was if she would give each 100% of her energy and effort while she's doing them. She agreed, so now she is signed up for both and pretty excited. I hope she comes through on giving soccer her all this season and gets into it again. When she's focused and trying she's a really good player.
Another exciting thing that happened is that Martin's brother, Andrew, proposed to his girlfriend Erin. We went to Dallas for a celebration with them and lots of t
he family and friends. We all went to a little neighborhood bar and hung out upstairs while he took her to dinner and pretty much strung her along. She knew the proposal was coming and had expected it for awhile so I think everytime they went out she wondered if it would be 'the night'. A few days before she had asked what to wear out that night and he said something like, 'I don't care what you wear, I'm wearing shorts and a t-shirt.' He said you could just see her deflate. That night, they did get dressed up and he took her to a very expensive dinner where they had the best seat in the house reserved with flower petals on the table, etc. Towards the end as she waited expectantly, he casually asked for the check and again she was thrown for a loop. So, when they got to the bar, she seemed totally caught off guard by so many family and friends being there. The proposal was great - down on one knee in front of everyone - and she was so excited. We were happy to be there and share that with everyone. Here is a picture with Martin's parents and brother on the left and Erin's parents and Erin on the right.
Finally, last weekend I went on a girls' weekend with friends that I met when I was practically a full-time volunteer with Austin Junior Forum back when the kiddos were babies. We actually stayed in town at Renee's house, but she planned great activities for us like a catamaran cruise on Lake Travis, a catered dinner by a wonderful local chef, and a day at the Lake Austin Spa. Below (thanks to Katie for taking pictures!) is a photo of the group on the boat, and one of my big belly as we were heading back in for the night.
a few days in San Antonio at the Hill Country Hyatt and then Jake's sleepover party in celebration of him turning 9. We had six boys spend the night and it went well. A highlight of the party was a show by Mr. Puppet, a ventriloquist who Jake had seen perform at Magic Camp.I've included a couple of favorite pictures from their summer camps - one of Jake at Magic Camp and one of Sydney at Reunion Ranch in Georgetown.
The kids are back in school and enjoying their teachers and classmates. I continue to be grateful for the quality of their education and support for their needs at ou
r elementary school. I am hoping to get some more intensive intervention for Sydney this year to bring her up to grade level across the board. I am trying to find the right tutor to work with her a day after school as well.In the meantime, we are signed up for more extra-curriculur activities than ever before, in the same fall we are having a baby - go figure! It's kind of funny how that came about. I have wanted Jake to play a team sport for a long time - in part because I just think it's good for a boy or man to know his way around a field, court, etc. and in part because I think the interaction and team environment will help with his social interaction skills. He did play a few seasons from ages 4-6 - first with soccer (he and his friend Max spent more time playing in the dirt and goofing with each other than watching the ball), then with t-ball, which he (and I) found a little slow-paced, and one more season of soccer where he was good at defense but still just didn't get into it. So, it's been a couple of years and he has announced during that time that he's not a team sports guy. He did tae kwon do from about ages 4 to 7, and that was wonderful for him in terms of focus and discipline, but requires a 2-3 day/week commitment that became more and more difficult. Then last year, he got a little tired of cub scouts and wanted to stop, but I told him he wasn't going to sit at home and play video games and so until he had another activity he wanted to try he wasn't quitting the one he was doing. That, however, was not the motivation he needed...
This summer, he started asking all kinds of questions about girls and specifically about what kind of boys girls like. I gave him what I hope were good answers - that it depends on the girl and that he shouldn't try to be something he's not to please anyone else and that he should be the best version of himself he can be in order to (someday) find the girlfriend that's right for him. But I also told him that a lot of times the athletes in junior high and high school are popular with the girls. I told him I was a little worried that he would figure this out and want to play a sport down the road but that other kids would have a 4 or 5 year jump on him in terms of learning the rules and plays and having experience - and that it would be hard for him to catch up. I truly believe that because Jake is a rough and tumble kind of boy and because he very much wants to be accepted and to be cool that he will want to play sports. So then - and this is key - I left the topic completely alone for a couple of months. When it was time to sign-up for fall sports, I casually asked him if he thought he might want to try anything and, lo and behold, he signed up for flag football. Ahhh, the power of the opposite sex - who knew it would start to wield its influence at the tender age of barely 9? I guess I'm partly to blame, but boy was he primed to take the bait :).
Sydney has played soccer for a lot of seasons now. Much of her team has been together year after year which has its ups and downs. Familiarity with each other and the coach means his job isn't easy because the girls have a tendency to spend lots of time giggling with each other and not necessarily listening or paying attention when they should. This season, for reaons she can't really explain, Sydney waffled on whether to play again or not. She finally said she wanted to play so I signed her up and then the next day she changed her mind and said she wanted to do cheerleading. Normally I would have made her choose one or the other - especially since she's doing Brownies as well. But, since she was kind of only 1/2-way committed to soccer and I want her to play well and give it her all, I told her that she had already agreed and was signed up for soccer and the only way I would add cheerleading was if she would give each 100% of her energy and effort while she's doing them. She agreed, so now she is signed up for both and pretty excited. I hope she comes through on giving soccer her all this season and gets into it again. When she's focused and trying she's a really good player.
Another exciting thing that happened is that Martin's brother, Andrew, proposed to his girlfriend Erin. We went to Dallas for a celebration with them and lots of t
he family and friends. We all went to a little neighborhood bar and hung out upstairs while he took her to dinner and pretty much strung her along. She knew the proposal was coming and had expected it for awhile so I think everytime they went out she wondered if it would be 'the night'. A few days before she had asked what to wear out that night and he said something like, 'I don't care what you wear, I'm wearing shorts and a t-shirt.' He said you could just see her deflate. That night, they did get dressed up and he took her to a very expensive dinner where they had the best seat in the house reserved with flower petals on the table, etc. Towards the end as she waited expectantly, he casually asked for the check and again she was thrown for a loop. So, when they got to the bar, she seemed totally caught off guard by so many family and friends being there. The proposal was great - down on one knee in front of everyone - and she was so excited. We were happy to be there and share that with everyone. Here is a picture with Martin's parents and brother on the left and Erin's parents and Erin on the right.Finally, last weekend I went on a girls' weekend with friends that I met when I was practically a full-time volunteer with Austin Junior Forum back when the kiddos were babies. We actually stayed in town at Renee's house, but she planned great activities for us like a catamaran cruise on Lake Travis, a catered dinner by a wonderful local chef, and a day at the Lake Austin Spa. Below (thanks to Katie for taking pictures!) is a photo of the group on the boat, and one of my big belly as we were heading back in for the night.
me, Wynne, Lindy, Shelly, Kristen, Renee, Caroline, and Katie
me at 7 months pregnant...
I won't let another month go by without an update again - I promise. We are officially 6 weeks from our due date and all is well with the baby and expectant parents!
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