It's Us on a Train

…and that's Papi's house and that's Russia. (Russia in black on the left, Papi's house in the middle, and us on the train on the right, spread out over two pieces that h asked be taped together.)

Visiting Papi has been on Hans' mind a lot lately.  He asks almost daily if we're going to the airport to go visit Papi.  And Russia?  Well, all I can think of is it does tend to be one of the countries we speak about the most often just because it is so big and catches their attention when examining a map.

Swimmer

He's better and better each week, swimming further and further on his own.  It's pretty amazing to me to see him swim before he's even three.  Time in the pool makes a huge difference, and its very obvious with the second child.  Having him around water and the pool on a regular basis as well as surrounded by kids who are already swimming has been a huge motivator.  He's quite pleased with himself, and I love seeing him so proud.  

Soccer Stars

Soccer has started!  The boys have been excited about it for a few weeks, but on the forefront of Hans' mind was whether he'd get a special t-shirt.  The fact that Freddie had gotten a baseball uniform and he had not evidently did not sit well with him, although he never brought it up until he asked if he'd get a special soccer shirt.  My boys are definitely about the accessories and gear.  They take after their dad on that one.  

My plan was for Hans to do soccer, but since Freddie's age group is on the field at the same time I went ahead and signed up the both of them.  Seemed perfect until Hans realized Freddie was in a different group.  There were lots of tears and reluctance to join his buds on the field.  He finally participated some, but half hearted at best.  He didn't really take his hands out of his pockets as he gave the ball some kicks into the goal.  

To be honest, it was a little chaotic because so many parents were involved and that didn't help Hans' reluctance.  I get that it's hard to watch your kid not know exactly what to do but waiting for a little redirection and clarification from the coach is part of learning.  But I digress..anyway, I think next week will be better since Hans is prepared to separate from Freddie and he'll switch to an older group where the kids seem a bit more independent.  

I should have known to prepare Hans that he'd be doing his own thing.  It's hard being the little brother, and Mommy will do better in recognizing those challenges in advance next time.  

Next week there will be some action shots!  

Button Downs

Proud

When I bring Freddie to school in the morning we go into his classroom where he signs in and spends a few minutes putting his lunch kit away and getting his backpack in his cubby.  While he's getting settled in just about every kid in the class pops over to say hi and check in with him.  After giving Freddie a kiss and sending him off with a "Work hard, have fun, I love you" his teacher commented to me that everyone in the class is very excited when its a day Freddie will be in school.  She went on to say how well liked he is because he is so kind, generous, and thoughtful.  I mean there is nothing better than hearing your kid has a big heart and those around recognize and appreciate that heart.  You make me so proud, Freddie.

Another Saturday at the Baseball Diamond

Lots of pictures…sorry!  It was just so cute to watch.

This week they got lots of instruction on base running, including which foot to put on the base, how to round the corner, and how to take a bit of a lead of the base.  

#6 is listening

#6 takes a lead

 And lots of encouragement to run hard all the way home.

I think I heard more reminders to "be in the ready position" in the field more than anything else.

There's lots of daydreaming as well as important conversations going on out there.

They practiced ground balls more than fly balls...

And worked on batting…

He hit it! (and the pitcher)

He isn't running so hard for 1st base, but knowing he can be "out" might change that real soon.

Out!

His biggest fan was there to cheer him on…

 He cheered when he wasn't busy reading….

 Or lounging and snacking...

I mostly loved seeing him grinning while paling around with the guys…

And the smile as he ran off the field so proud, proclaiming next week he will be even better, so said Coach.

After the game we enjoyed the sunshine and had a picnic lunch where the boys really just fooled around and snacked on the treats.

He writes, and writes, and writes whenever he can.

Peeps!

Another *perfect* Saturday…

Yep, Hansie has the exact same glove…no other way, for now anyway

Easter Sunday

A friend of Freddie's has a snorkel and he's been asking for one.
And if Freddie wants one, so does Hansie.

The Bunny stopped at our house!

Freddie wrote a note to the bunny and put it out along with the baskets and hard boiled eggs.  So cute.  I was expecting him to wonder why the Bunny didn't write back or what happened to the note, but not a single question.  I really over think this stuff.  I need to remember to keep it simple, and the response "it must be magic" works for just about any question the kids have about the Bunny or Santa or the Tooth Fairy.

After filling the baskets and hiding some jelly bean filled plastic eggs it was off to bed with the alarm set so we could get up before the kids and hide those hard boiled eggs from the refrigerator.

Hans was up first, of course, but he was content to play in our bed until Freddie got up and alerted the whole house that the Easter Bunny had come!

It was a beautiful day out and I had thought we'd have an adventure, perhaps heading off to the Bronx Zoo just as we had last year, but realized the boys wanted nothing more than to enjoy their Easter goodies.

Rabbit snout sucker!

 So we enjoyed the sunshine close to home, riding bikes, kicking around the soccer ball, and spending some time at the pool.

Freddie really enjoys chasing and kicking the ball.  He has declared he doesn't
want to be goalie when they start soccer next week because he wants to kick!

Happy Easter!

Eggs!

Egg dying was the most anticipated event of the week.  They talked more about this than the egg hunt or even the Easter Bunny.

Looking back at last year not much was different, except I cannot believe how little my guys were just a year ago.

Freddie was again very serious and determined to get the right shade of color and the perfect design, and wanted to experiment with using the crayon and adding stickers. 

And Hansie….well, what he lacked in finesse he made up for with enthusiasm.  There were quite a few eggs slam dunked into the glasses and eruptions of dye on the table and floor.  I'm glad we used trays again this year to contain some of that "enthusiasm."

Why yes, that is spaghetti sauce still on my face from supper!

Admiring his work

Beautiful results, which will make enough egg salad for Dada for the week.  Glad he likes egg salad!

I'm still not quite sure what our boiled egg tradition is.  As a kid I remember just leaving them in my Easter basket, but Charlie told the kids the Easter Bunny would hide the eggs for them to find in the morning…so…..alarm set to be up before the kids to take the eggs from the refrigerator and hide eggs for The Bunny.  Hardly seems right to have to set an alarm on Easter.