This crazy thing just happened, and I've been warned multiple times, by multiple people that it would happen. And I always said, "I know, they do grow up fast, but I still have some time" Well everyone, it's happened, not all at once, there is still some babieness/little boyness in there but they are definitelyboys, and not little kids or babies anymore. They have definitely grown so much from the start of summer to now.
They can ride their bikes. And now that we've taught them to ride, they feel that they can just go wherever they want. I feel like we have given some wings, but still need to cut them back a bit. Because, I'm not ready, Kevin is not ready and the boys are definitely not ready to be full blown flying just quite yet. But now that they have learned to ride their bikes, they are wanting to go on bike rides, which is great, because that is added exercise for me and family time which I love. And I love to see how "free" they feel. They are happy!
If they are not riding their bikes, they are riding their scooters, (thanks Aunt Dottie) and thanks to all of the older boys in the hood ;-) for teaching them to jump and do tricks (sarcasm) and thanks to the boys who have the ramps, because the kids think they are soooooooo cool now that that they can go on the ramps. We even went to the skateboard park, I think I lost a few nails from nailbiting and Austin did fall, but they had a blast. There were so many kids there, all sizes, 6-18, I'd say and so many levels, I told the boys to stay on the small ramp. But when I wasn't looking, watching Johnny's football practice, Kevin had Austin go down one of the bigger ramps. What about baby steps? Austin, my little risk taker!
They have friends and a lot of them, family friends, school friends, neighborhood friends. I can't quite keep up with all of them. It's nice that they are so outgoing that they can make friends, wish I could make them as fast ;-) The one thing the mommy books never talked about was this...... Boys making decisions at school or on the bus and then thinking that it would happen. For instance, John and a friend at school, make plans to meet at the park after school. "Mommy, I'm meeting so and so at the park" Me, "wait, what, you have homework and...." "Mommy, please, he is going to be there" Does said kid make it there, will John be there? You just never know. Also, learning that while they love me and I know they do, they want to be out there with their friends. From the minute they get off the bus, they want to be outside. Which I'm cool with, because that beats being glued to the TV or devices, but I need to find my place again. And I miss them so much during the day that it's hard to see them want be with friends rather than me. I don't want to be the uncool mom but I also want to protect them and make sure they are safe. And I do get my cuddles, let me tell you, when they aren't out with their friends, they do like to cuddle on the chair and they do make me feel special. And Kevin gets morning cuddles with each of them.
I love watching John David play football. He really is a natural and just loves to play. He often likes to play catch, or practice having the ball snapped to him. He almost always has a great attitude at practice and at the games and always tries his best. He has an arm and can catch the ball. He does great at flag pulling, and is a good runner. He also cheers his team on and tells them good job. He is just a solid little boy with a lot to learn. This weekend is the Homecoming game and there is a lot planned so I'm super excited to see how it all turns out. And hopefully they will win a game. They have yet to win a game. It's okay, because they are learning the game and having fun!
Austin is rocking it at bowling. 3 weeks ago was his first time bowling without bumpers and he did very good. His first score was a 44. Since then, he has gotten 1 strike, and 2 spares. They have coaches there to help him. I can see that he is listening to what they say and trying. He has 2 goals other than to have fun that he is working on, 1... not to get a gutter ball (keep his arm straight) and 2. to make sure he waits for the bowlers on each side of him so he's not distracting them. We are looking at getting him a ball so he has the right finger spacing, they said that would help him since it's made for him.
School is going well for both of the boys. They both are rocking it at reading and are pretty good about doing their homework. Austin's math has been a bit challenging at times, even for us, because we know the answer but they are teaching different ways to get there and that's been difficult. We are managing. Austin has gotten some high scores on his weekly tests which is an improvement over last year. Taking his time on his work has been something that he is working on and we can see the results. John's reading is crazy amazing. Austin was no where near this level starting first grade last year. I think it has some to do with 1/2 kindergarten in a different district. It's just amazing! They both have weekend news, where they write about what they did over the weekend. Kevin and I love reading what they wrote about. It's fun to see what they remember and who they write about. We went bowling with Kayla and Maia last month and Austin highlighted it in his weekend news, not by their names but by their ages. So fun.We really have been having fun, the boys sure keep us busy. One thing is for sure, we love these kids so much and they truly are good, happy, crazy kids.
