7

EVAN IS SEVEN!!!!!

 

 

So, I went back and read last year’s birthday post and my prediction was that “6” would be an epic year for my boy.  And I believe I was right!!!  Evan had a great year in kindergarten – he blossomed on so many levels. Reading, writing… arithmetic! J  And he really came into his own with friends and activities.  He had a great summer and then hit the ground running into first grade.  And, as I had no doubt he would, he is excelling in first grade.

To say I’m proud would be an absurd understatement.  To sit and listen to this kid read, or watch him write one of his scripts (!!!), well, it basically sends me over the moon.  I love watching him play with his Legos – he’s a “master builder” for sure.  I love seeing him mastering his video games – and then when he tries to explain them to me!  I pretend I know EXACTLY what he is talking about because he is so excited and so animated, but I really have no idea.  But it doesn’t matter.

He is a very skilled child.  But beyond that, he’s a pretty great human being. Watching him play with his little sister and teaching her things, well, it just makes my heart swell.  He’s kind, he’s considerate, he’s thoughtful.  Always looking out for others, always inclusive. He is a sweet, sweet kid.

Some fun things from today – Evan woke up to find a message from our elf, Bob.

 

 

I love how much he believes in Bob.  He is fiercely devoted to him and what he represents.

 

 

And our usual birthday lunch – I brought him Chick-fil-A at lunch time in the cafeteria.  Such fun!

 

I am so appreciative of this time, when he is still young enough to WANT me to show up at school and has no problem celebrating my arrival and hugging me and being lovey-dovey in front of his friends.  I know this won't last forever, so I cherish every moment.

Happy birthday my sweet, sweet boy.  I love you to bits!!!!

5

Five years ago at this moment, I was lying in a hospital bed, holding a brand new baby girl, watching the snow fall outside the window.   There was a blizzard, Mitch had gone home to tend to the boys, and because of the H1N1 strain of flu going around at the time, there were no visitors allowed.  It was quiet, and at first I thought I would be lonely.  But I was wrong.  It was wonderful.  What better way to bond with this new creature than being almost totally alone for four days in the hospital?  Those were some of the most precious moments of my life.

Fast forward five years later… well, actually, several months earlier than now, to when I started to really freak out that that baby girl would be turning 5.  It suddenly struck me over the summer that, before I knew it, December 16^th would be here. And here we are.

I always see “5” as a big deal.  Felt it with Tyler, felt it with Evan.  But it is somehow more profound now with Madelyn.  She is my baby.  She is my girl. She is my last. 

So for the last several days, I’ve been trying to figure out what to write here and now.  What do I say about this child who turned my world upside down before she was even born?  This child who can make my heart sing and make me reel in frustration almost in the same moment?  This child who needs me, needs me, needs me, UNLESS, she doesn’t need me? This child who I can’t always figure out, but seems, on most days, to have me completely figured out?  This child with whom I feel like I share a soul?

While on many levels, I mourn this baby growing up, I also couldn’t be more excited.  I watch her every day and am in awe of the great kid she is becoming.  So smart, I know she’ll be more than ready for kindergarten next fall.  So funny, that she makes us all laugh every day - and she cracks herself up pretty regularly as well!  And so beautiful that sometimes, I can’t help but stare.

 

 

 Dear Madelyn,

 I have no idea what path you will take in this life. Will you be an academic? Will you be sporty?  Will you be musical?  Will you be dramatic?  Who are we kidding???  You already ARE dramatic!  Whatever path you choose, I know you’ll do well. You’ll excel.  And I’m excited to see it all. 

All I ask is, while you travel on your chosen path, please don’t get too far ahead of me.  I will always want to be able to see you there, walking in front of me.  And I will always need to be able to reach out and touch you.  Not to stop you from moving forward, but just to let you know that I’m there and that I will always, always be with you.

Love,

Mommy

xoxo

 

 

The Year in Review...

Well, we are hip-deep into the holiday season, so I figured, what better time to recap, well, the entire year???  Oy vey! Well, I guess we “only” have to go back as far as April, since I last posted in March for Tyler’s birthday.  We’d better get started!!

April:

The beginning of Spring brought some new and fun things to the Bath family!!  Madelyn got her FIRST HAIRCUT!!!!  I was trying to hold out as long as possible, but it was just getting so unmanageable that we had to do something about it.  Once I convinced her that we were just going to have a little bit taken off and it would help with the ouchy tangles, she was fine with it.

 

Before and after!

 

Not a tremendous difference in length, but definitely neatened up and much easier to manage!

 

And, it also brought BASEBALL!!!  I was so excited that Tyler was interested in playing Little League!  What fun we had throughout the Spring watching him practice and play!

May:

In May, we had a few adventures.  We took the kids to the Dulles Expo Center for the Dinosaurs Live! show.  They had fun, and got dig for fossils and ride a dragon!

 

 

 

And of course, it was Evan’s turn to go on the kindergarten field trip to the National Zoo!! I chaperoned again, and we had a lot of fun.  A couple of the other chaperones and I decided to stay together with our groups and the kids had a great time.

 

That bottom right picture is of Evan with his best buddy, John Henry, who sadly moved away at the end of the school year.  They've seen each other once since, but I have been a bad mommy in trying to follow up and set up another get-together.  Maybe over the winter....

But the BIGGEST adventure in May – probably the biggest adventure of the YEAR! – was a trip to Savannah and St. Simon’s Island for Fammy and Granddad’s 50^th Anniversary!!!

Such a great trip!  The kid’s first time on a plane, Savannah is a beautiful city, St. Simon’s Island is beautiful, the house was gorgeous, there was much to explore everywhere and we saw as much as we could in a four day trip!

Airport fun!

 

 

Fun on the plane!  And OF COURSE, Bunny came along for the trip.

 

 

Views from the house balcony on the island....

 

 

Nice deck to hang out on!

 

 

 

 

We made it to the top of the lighthouse!

 

 

My little sillies....

 

 

Costume fun at an historical site... some fort... Please don't ask me to remember details. I'm lucky I remembered to put pants on this morning.....

 

 

 

 

Precious cousin time!

 

 

Some final shots before leaving the house.

 

 

Time to head back home!  Fasten your seat belts!!

 

 

And here they are - the couple of honor!!



 

 

Happy 50th Anniversary to my wonderful in-laws!  Here's to 50 more!! :)

 

June:

June brought the usual excitement of the end of school!  For the boys, it was just a last day,

 

for Maddy, it was a little mini graduation from the 3’s class.

Her beloved teacher - Mrs. K!!!!!!

 

It also brought the end of baseball --- and the CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!!!

 

 

Woo-hoo!!  Go Bulldogs!!

The end of some things, but the start of others – POOL SEASON! 

 

My kids are turning into fish just like their father.  We skipped lessons this year and just did our own thing and the kids’ skills improved immensely.  We’ll probably sign back up for lessons next summer.

 

July:

July brought lots of indoor and outdoor fun!

 Girly playdates:

 

 

A festive 4^th:

 

Summer camp for Maddy and her BFF!

 

 

Summer school… Ok, not ALL fun…

 

 

Dollar movie Tuesdays!!

 

 

And picnics in the park…

 

 

 

August:

First time bowling.  This was fun. And I KID YOU NOT – first time up, FIRST TIME, Tyler chucks the ball and gets a strike!!  I swear, when it comes to any type of sport, this kid can’t lose.

 

We bowled two games, and Tyler beat all of us – including Mimi and me.  And yes, my daughter bowled in a dress.

 

More girly stuff – a Saturday morning ballet class!  Simply adorable!

 

 

 

I just LOVE these girls!!

A wonderful trip with the family to a lake house on Lydia Mountain.  Great place, fun times, and lots of good memories created for the cousins!!

 

 
In keeping with the "Tyler can't lose at a sport" theme - this kid was DETERMINED to fish ALL WEEK.  He kept at it and at it.  And, of course, he was the ONLY one that caught a fish.  Luckily, Aunt Ashley snapped this picture before it wriggled it's way back into the water!!
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
Trapping fire flies!!
 

And our second annual cousin shot for the Kids Post!!  We got published in the big end of summer wrap-up edition. :)

 

Summer camp for the boys!

 

They joined cousin Nathan for a week at a Nature Camp and had a blast!!

 

 

And more pool time…

 

 

 

My goodness – my kids are SO happy in/on/around the water!!!!

September:

Of course, September means BACK TO SCHOOL!!!!!  YAY!!!!!  Oh, sorry, don’t mean to sound too excited….

 

 

 

A fun trip for the boys – Mitch surprised them with the Marvel Superhero Live! show!!

 

And another hair trim for Mads – she’s becoming a pro at it!

October:

October brought LOTS OF FUN!! 

A visit from Mitch’s beloved Uncle Terry from Sydney, Australia!  The kids really enjoyed meeting him and spending time with him.  We hope it won’t be such a long time before it happens again.

A celebration for Granddad's birthday!

 

And, a visit from my wonderful Uncle David!  He only lives in Florida, and it’s been longer since I’ve seen him since I last saw Terry.  David and his partner – also named David! – were in DC for the "tourist thing".  They came out on a Sunday afternoon and took us to dinner.  My kids LOVED them and we had such a nice little visit.  Methinks we’ll have to take advantage of the fact that we have family in Florida and go visit them soon….

 

Our annual trek to the pumpkin patch…

 

 

We're a good looking family, don't you think?? :)

 

 

A surprise trip for Maddy to the Disney on Ice presents FROZEN!  A fun, magical night!

 

 

A great show, and a great evening spent with friends.

 

And HALLOWEEN!!!!!

November:

November brought a fun gymnastics birthday celebration for Charlotte,

 

and a snowy Thanksgiving!!

 

We had visitors for the holiday – my nephew Jared and his wonderful fiancée Chelsea, and my brother Doug and his boys Jake and Max.  And can you believe ??  I took NO pictures!!!  I was pretty busy I guess…

 

And now we are in December – which started off with a BANG!!  Mitchell turned 50!!  We celebrated over Thanksgiving weekend while everyone was still visiting.

 

 

Maddy had her final Daytime Playtime holiday show:

 

 

And we have our Christmas tree.  The kids did a wonderful job decorating it!!

 

Before and after...

Yup, it’s December.  Busier, I could not be.  The holidays, birthdays, school activities, and it seems, endless doctor’s appointments this month.  It just keeps piling on.  But we’re nearly half-way through, and I just have to survive a little longer….

Next week will be big.  Evan is turning 7!!!  And Maddy turns 5.  I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m having a HARD time with that one.  For months, I’ve been freaking out.  My baby is turning 5.  Not sure I can handle it.  I guess time will tell.  Parties galore this weekend, so time to enjoy!!