Has it really been that long?

Oh my goodness....has it really been since August 2010 that I have blogged?  I guess so. 

Lots have happened in the past year and a half, I suppose about a year and a half worth of life!  The boys completed first grade and kindergarten and are now in second and first grade.  Heck, more than half way through those grades!  When did that happen?  We have been very fortunate that they have both had wonderful teachers, who happen to match their personalities perfectly!  Mrs. Schulte is Owen's 2nd grade teacher and she embraces his competitiveness and love of all things sports.  She is groovy, full of life, and funky.  We love her!  Mrs. Lawrence-Richards is Gavin's 1st grade teacher.  Mrs. L-R is a bit more of a "mother figure".  Very soft spoken, she balances out Gavin's incredibly goofy nature.  She will hold him accountable if he gets out of line and is not afraid to let us know.  I appreciate that as I don't think of myself as one of those moms who thinks her kid is absolutely perfect and cannot do wrong.  I've worked with too many parents/kids who immediately blame the teacher when it is actually the child's issue...not cool.  So, Gavin has gotten into a bit of trouble and has had to stay in from recess before, but you know what?  If he didn't do the work when asked, he faces the consequence.  Enough said.

On the back side of that, Gavin recently received the "Kid of Character" certificate from Mrs. L-R two days in a row, and that made him VERY happy.  (Of course it made us very happy as well, but it was encouraging to see the pride he held in that, as it will hopefully motivate him to continue)  Both boys were recommended and are doing the Explore program at school, which is for students with higher abilities.  It's exciting to know that they are being given opportunities to show their thinking skills.  They are good thinkers.   :)

Owen just finished up a full slate of sports.  In the fall, he did soccer and football.  Wow, that kid loves football and it provides the perfect outlet for his competitive side.  Give him the ball and let him go.  This mama was pretty excited at a few of the games!  It was just fun to see him fly down the sidelines, intense as he could be:)  Soccer started off slow, as he didn't know anyone (other than Gavin) on the team.  He refused to even participate in the first practices or game.  Once he saw the first game, he asked to play.  He got on that field and went to town!  In a nutshell, if the game involves running, he's all for it.  This winter, Owen did basketball and indoor soccer.  For bball, they played with kids a bit bigger than him, but that's ok.  His group of pals are all very intense, so the bigger kids didn't intimidate them too much.  They didn't always win those games, but they weren't afraid to get involved.  Indoor soccer was a hoot.  I've never experienced that before.  Very fast paced!  Glad to see both sports done for a while as we get our weekends again.

Gavin's world involves swimming lessons and piano.  He's being challenged a bit more in swimming this time around.  He is a pro at the doggie paddle, but since that isn't the preferred swimming method, he's being forced to actually learn the REAL strokes!  He usually does pretty well, then at the end of the lesson, they get a bit of diving board time.  Both of my kids are kamikaze when it comes to the diving board.  They love it and aren't afraid!  Gavin also started piano lessons back in August.  Who would have thought that this little ball of energy would do piano?  He loves it, as do I, since I loved being involved in music.  It's also nice to see Gavin perhaps find his "niche" since I'm not sure that sports are necessarily going to be his thing (in fall soccer, we had to bribe him to kick the ball and stay with the game.  Each kick earned him a marshmallow.  You know, he's the kid that is in the goal laying on the ground...yowza).  He is doing well tickling the ivories and has his first recital on May 5th.  His piece?  "Kangaroo Kickbox"  Yeah, one of the classics:) 

That's a not so quick synopsis of the boys lives here in the past few months.  They've also lost teeth, but that's fairly common place, nothing too huge:)  Ha!