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!!

 

 

 

7

So Sunday was Tyler’s 7^th birthday!!!  Unusual for me, I know, to not post on the actual birthday, but today is also a special birthday, or at least an anniversary.  It was 7 years ago today that we were allowed to bring him home.  But that is a story for another post, soon.  For now – look at this kid!!!!!!


Here he is on the morning of his birthday - he was so excited that it was FINALLY here!  He'd been doing the countdown practically since the beginning of the year.

Such a handsome kid.  He's looking a little shaggy, but he is insisting on growing out the top of his hair and is only allowing trims to the sides and back at this point.  We'll see how long that lasts....

We had a nice day - the family came over and we had pizza and cake and presents.  The weather was reasonable, so the kids got to play outside too.  A good time was had by all, and we were all pretty tired by the end of the day.

Here are some right before bed selfies:

Seven.  Wow.  Getting so independent, yet struggling with maturity.  Trying hard at school, but having a hard time focusing.  Almost reading independently, but not quite there.  About to start little league!!  I worry that he won't be able to handle it, but it's time to find out.  The kid definitely has skill, but he lacks discipline.  But maybe this is normal??  I don't know.  What I DO know, is that I will never stop trying to figure you out or helping you navigate this life.

After several re-schedules due to my work and his school activities, on Thursday, we were finally able to have lunch.  I brought Chick-fil-A to him in the school cafeteria, which apparently, makes me the best mommy ever.  One day out of 365 isn't too bad, I guess.



Happy Birthday (week!) to my little monkey man!!! xoxo



6

Totally decked out in a Birthday Boy shirt, an "I'm 6 Today" sticker, and a birthday crown, this kid was ready for school this morning!!!!

 

 

 

 

Old enough to have his birthday announcement in the Washington Post's Kids Post!

 

 

 

 

And finally his turn to have a big party at a venue with LOTS of friends!!

 

 

It was a great turnout, despite some pretty nasty weather.  We had a few cancellations, but still ended up with a great crew!  Because of the questionable weather, I had emailed parents in the morning to let them know that we were going ahead with the party, but I understood if they were unable to make it and to put their own personal safety first.  Some comments I got back were "Oh, we're totally going to be there!"  "My son told me there is no way we are going to miss Evan's party!"  So whether it was because Evan is just so popular, or because the lure of Jump-N-Jimmy's is too irresistible for kids and parents on a snowy Sunday afternoon, it doesn't really matter.  Evan had a fantastic time, and I think he was pretty pleased that all those kids were there to celebrate HIM.

Evan, you're a star.  You're funny, smart, creative, and snuggly.  So much fun to be around.  I'm so excited for how well you are doing in school - YOU ARE READING!!!! - and how interested you are in learning as much as possible.  This year will be EPIC for you!!

Happy 6th Birthday Ev!!  Love you so much! xoxo

4

No longer a baby.  This is my big girl.  My 4 year old.

 

 

 

In the morning, with her long, messy mane sitting across from me at the kitchen table. Who wouldn't want to share breakfast with this kid??  Except maybe when she pulls this face....

 



 

 

 



 

In a rare moment that she actually keeps a headband on.  She much prefers two pony tails.

 

 

In moments of wildness, running around with the crowd at the bouncy place.  But it usually doesn't last too long before she just wants to hang with mommy in the sitting area.

 

 

 

In moments of compliance when mommy forces her to pose with her brothers. They all look so thrilled, don't they?

 

 

 

 

In moments of pure, pink quirkiness.  I just want to eat her up with a spoon!!

 

This is my daughter. I am intrigued, mesmerized, and perplexed by her all at once.  This is my daughter who wants to put on a princess dress and run around playing zombies with her brothers. This is my daughter who, almost from day one, learned every button I had to push.  This is my daughter. She is smart and strong willed and independent, and I'm pretty sure she'll never take any crap from anyone.

 

This is my daughter.

 

May she always make someone smile at breakfast, and get a reason to smile in return.  May she always have a strong sense of what she wants.  May she always have fun in a crowd, yet still enjoy the quiet moments.  May she always be close with her brothers while still keeping them in line.  May she always keep a little pink in her life.

 

Happy Birthday, Madelyn, my sweet, precious girl!!

 

 

 

 

THANKFUL

 

So, it’s November, and everyone on Facebook has been doing their daily posts of “I’m thankful for….”  I haven’t been participating in this daily ritual, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking about the things that I’m thankful for.  I’ve been thinking about it a lot.  So here is my list, all at once, in no particular order – some of it silly, some of it not.

 

1. I am thankful for, aside from the occasional virus or common cold, my children are HEALTHY.  There truly is nothing more important than that.
2. I am thankful for the crazy way our family came to be – it’s what makes us interesting and normal at the same time.
3. I am thankful that when we were at our lowest low, the universe guided us toward adoption, and five months later we brought home our oldest son.
4. I am thankful that VERY soon after that, the universe and Mother Nature delivered him a little brother and sister. (Technically I delivered them, but you get my point!)
5. I am thankful that my children are so close in age. It has its difficulties now, but I know they will be the best of friends when they grow up.
6. I am thankful that I still have family and friends in Vermont. This month it is 20 years since I moved away, and I definitely consider Virginia home now, but I always get excited for every opportunity I get to visit where I grew up.
7. I am thankful that when I told Mitch that I wanted to go to Vermont for Thanksgiving this year (which translates to: Let’s pack a ridiculous amount of stuff into the van and strap the kids in for what will surely be an at least 12 hour trip through questionable weather!), instead of raising an eyebrow, he smiled and said “Sure!”
8. I am thankful for my mom, and everything she has done for me my entire life. I could get specific, but we would be here all day!
9. I am thankful for wine.
10. I am thankful for the part time job I have that allows me to bring in a decent amount of money and still essentially be a stay-at-home mom.
11. I am thankful for my home.  It is a disaster and needs to be painted and de-cluttered and better organized, etc, but it’s mine. And someday I will get it into the shape I want.
12. I am thankful for the neighborhood I live in, and the neighbors I share it with. They are THE. BEST.
13. I am thankful for my two best friends. These special women have been with me through thick and thin. And even though we don’t get to see each other as often as we’d like, I know without a doubt that we will always be here for each other.
14. I am thankful for the family I was born into. Not perfect – but whose is??  Wouldn’t trade any of them.
15. I am thankful for the family I married into. I won the lottery on this one for sure!
16. I am thankful that my brave big sister is recovering ahead of schedule from her DOUBLE KNEE REPLACEMENT SURGERY. Just something else I can admire her for.
17. I am thankful that, even though my aches and pains are increasing as I get older, I still have all of my original parts (unlike my sister) and for the most part, they serve me well.
18. I am thankful for the preschool that all of my children have attended/are still attending. It’s a place where they feel safe and have fun, and get well prepared for kindergarten.
19. I am thankful that my children have all of their grandparents nearby – one of them in their own house!
20. I am thankful for all the help I get from family and friends on a daily basis. Being a mom is hard, but the love and support of others makes it much easier.
21. I am thankful for good books and good television when I need to escape.
22. I am thankful for my big sister and my big brother. They make me laugh and keep me in check.
23. I am thankful that my children have a dedicated, involved father who is always ready to get down on the floor and play with them.
24. I am thankful for chocolate.
25. I am thankful for my five nephews.  They are all smart and funny and pretty sweet.
26. I am thankful for my one and only wonderful niece. She is smart and funny and very sweet.
27. I am thankful that I was an aunt for many years before I became a mother. It gave me some clue on how to take care of babies!!
28. I am thankful for wine.  Wait, did I already say that???
29. I am thankful for the good food that is cooking right now and that I will be able to complain later about eating too much of it!
30. I am so very thankful for my wonderful, wonderful husband. He takes such good care of me, of us, and loves us unconditionally.  He is my hero and the absolute love of my life.

Happy Thanksgiving – may you all have a very, very long list of things to be thankful for today and every day!!

Back to School !!!!

Well, here it is nearly Thanksgiving and I'm just writing about this now.  We've had a VERY BUSY FALL!!!

 

Big doings around here back in the month of September!!  Tyler MOVED UP TO FIRST GRADE(thanks to a very confident kindergarten teacher and a three week spell in summer school), Evan STARTED KINDERGARTEN, and Madelyn STARTED PRE-SCHOOL!!

 

 

Elementary school started first, on the day after Labor Day.  The boys were ready - and SO WAS I!!!!  It was a fun summer, but I was looking forward to a little peace and quiet around here.  

 

The morning started with pancakes, eggs, bacon, and freshly ironed polo shirts and khaki shorts.  The obligatory Back to School photos:

 

Evan sure is gaining on Tyler - only about a half inch separates them!

 

And off we go!!!

Evan was a little nervous, but I knew that in his red (favorite color) shirt and Superman sneakers, he'd be just fine!!

During orientation the week prior, parents are given the opportunity to sign up to come in and help during lunches the first week.  It's a great idea, since for most kindergarteners, this is brand new territory.  Schedule-wise, the best day for  me to join Evan's class for lunch was on the first day.  It worked out well because I was able to tell Evan in the morning that I would see him in just a couple of hours and that helped to ease his nervousness.  But it was clear when I joined him in the cafeteria that he was already adjusting very well!

And here is the happy boy at the end of the day:

On Friday, it was Tyler's turn for a lunch date!

 

 

On Thursday of that week, Madelyn had her orientation at pre-school.  We learned in late summer that our beloved Ms. Belinda (who had been Evan's teacher in the 3's "Busy Bees" class) would not be teaching this year.  I worried because I had been telling Maddy all along that she would be in Ms. Belinda's class! 

 

But when we showed up at orientation, we met Mrs. K!!  Right away I knew she'd be a wonderful teacher.  I loved her enthusiasm and demeanor, and she reminds me very much of Joy, a friend of my in-laws whom Mitch has known his entire life.  I was very comforted by that feeling.

 

So here's our girl checking out all the great toys in her classroom!!

 

Madelyn's friend Madeleine was also starting preschool and they are in the same class!!! :)  On the Saturday before, the girls and the mommy's went out for a celebratory lunch. (We also have a tradition of going out to a birthday lunch in December since the girls are only 6 days apart!)

And here are our girls on the first day of school:

The backpacks are SO BIG!!! :)

So crazy seeing my "baby" girl march into that school!  I'm glad it's only two afternoons a week because I'm not ready to let go of her entirely!! I know it's necessary for her to go, and it's such a wonderful environment for kids - SO glad I found this school! - but it makes me sad.  She's growing up so, so fast. *sigh*


So far, so good.  Everyone is enjoying school and working hard.  And now the holidays are upon us and there is no sign of anything slowing down anytime soon!!!