It's in the details

We had a great Father's Day.  Justin slept in and then came down to his favorite breakfast of tea and toast with marmalade.  He opened his gifts - an adorable clay fish from Aidan and a new electric shaver from all of us.  We went to Pinstripes (Baci, Bowling, Bistro) for lunch and bowling, which was rather comic because none of us bowl, ever.  Aidan got the highest score, then Declan, then Justin, then me.  Sure, the kids had the bumpers up, but I simply sucked.  And that was with me holding the ball between my legs and hurling it down the alley from a standing position.  The family next to us were all pros or something - even the 11 year old was getting strike after strike.  We had a good time laughing at ourselves, that's for damn sure.  Later in the day Justin took himself shopping for some new duds, as he says, and the boys and I stayed home and alternated between watching Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and being sent to our rooms.  Um, not me.  I didn't have to go to my room.

This is a short video of Aidan's karate belt test. I find it very amusing - he keeps thinking he's done, and his teacher keeps calling him back.  His footwork is pretty sloppy, but he and his other 5-6 year old friends are doing what they need to in order to get the first belt after white: orange belt, white stripe.

Today was Aidan's last day of Kindergarten.  There was no school, just a popsicle party in the playground for the kids and their families from 10:00-11:00.  All week long he's been bringing things home from school; journals filled with drawings of stick figures with solid-colored heads, a life-size drawing of himself, prizes he won in the Nursery Rhyme Olympics, photographs, crafts.

When we got to school for the popsicle party I chatted with other parents and kept an eye on Aidan's teacher, because I wanted to grab a moment with her before we left.  And then, as I'm standing there talking to Elizabeth about summer camps, my mind wandered and I realized that the moment I approached Aidan's teacher I was going to start crying.  And that realization made me tear up.  I was standing there alternately pinching myself and tearing up, pinching myself and tearing up.

One of the teachers rang a bell all of the kids came over and sat down near an electric piano that had been rolled outside.  With their teachers, aides, and the music teacher, they belted out some songs they'd been learning, all of which involved funny hand and arm movements and silly words and names.  Then they started singing "You are my Sunshine," and I had to turn around and face the road because my face was all scrunched up and red and I couldn't hold back the tears.  This is the first song I sang to Aidan when he was a baby, the only child-appropriate song that I really knew at the time.  I still sing it to the boys almost every night.  Now he was singing it to me.

When it was over I fished my sunglasses out of my purse and we all filed inside to pick up some last minute things.  I kept a hard bite on my lower lip as I approached Mrs. Frehe.  Futile. She took one look at me and my red eyes and held out her arms.  I told her that I wasn't expecting any of this, that it had all snuck up on me and run me down like a Mack truck.  She understood.  She told me how ready Aidan is first grade, how far he's come and how much they've enjoyed him.  And he has, he has come so far!  Susan, one of the aides, pulled me aside and told me that she's going to miss Aidan, that it was hard for her to not grab his face every day and tell him how cute he was.  I know just how she feels.

For those of you with kids starting Kindergarten in the fall:  If you think the first day is hard, give yourself a good month to emotionally prepare for the last day.  ;)

I love the stuff Aidan brings home from school.  This piece is laminated; each kid did one and they were all hanging on the wall in the classroom for a few months.  I love everything about this - the photo, the drawing, and what he said.

Here are Margie (pronounced Mar-ghee) and Declan doing the Princess Kiss. The video is so clear on my computer, why does it look so blurry and fuzzy on YouTube?

Be still my beating heart.

Declan had his first kiss today.

Margie and Declan are an item, and if I wasn't sure before today, I am sure now. They were out in the yard and I was watching through a window. I saw Margie lying shock still in the grass, then Declan ran over and knelt by her side.

"Wake up, wake up!" he shouted at her. She didn't budge. "WAKE UP!" he shouted again. She opened her eyes a crack and said something quietly. He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. Then she said, "Noooo, on the lips!"

So he leaned down and kissed her on the lips. She got up and they went running off.

Sad to have no documentation, I went out with my camcorder and asked what they were playing. I have a re-enactment on my camcorder, and a photo or two.

Look at what I found in our backyard!!

Today Aidan's class celebrated his birthday. The teachers are celebrating all of the summer birthdays now, so that no one feels left out. I made cupcakes and picked up Declan early so that he could come, too. Aidan was so excited when we came in. All the kids sat down and Aidan served each one of them a cupcake. He was so proud, it was adorable. No one was allowed to eat until Aidan sat down and took a bite.

Photos from his school party:

My cupcakes!

Aidan and Declan with friends, ready to dig in:



Aidan unwrapping his cupcake.





The whole class:



Mrs Frehe reading. She is the BEST teacher ever:



Aidan's cut-out of himself, complete with basketball/soccer shoes:

There's stuff coming up all around the house!  I didn't plant a dang thing, so this is all what the previous owner/owners did in the past.

This:

became this, almost overnight, and I can't wait to see the finished product:

We also have these in front:





This on the side:





These in the back:





And this lone little guy off to himself:



We also had ONE of these, but it's gone now: