Oops! Has it seriously been that long?!? This is what they were talking about when they said I wouldn't get anything done once the baby was born! ;) I'm looking back through my calendar and remembering why I started doing
this blog monthly: if more than a month goes by, I can't remember what
happened! I'll do my best to recap.
April flew by, with nothing too exciting, except the joy of watching Lincoln get bigger and bigger. We had a very low-key April vacation with Trevor home and Gay finishing up her stay here with us.
Ayla and Sophie really enjoyed gymnastics this spring. They both mastered their "blue ribbon skills", which is a skill they chose and had to be successful at by the end of the 10 week session. Ayla started with a cartwheel and was able to do it fairly quickly, so she switched to mastering a round off. Sophie worked on walking on the balance beam without me holding her hand. They both earned their blue ribbons! Ayla also had a gymnastics show at the end of the session, where she performed on the balance beam, horse, bars and trampoline. She did very well!
Corinne decided not to continue with martial arts and has kept busy, reading, writing and drawing. She recently competed in the Battle of the Books, which is a team competition, where students are asked questions about the books on the Maine Student Book Award nomination list. She read almost all of the books from the list and her team won!
Sophie, Lincoln and I had a great time every Thursday at the library for story time and Fridays for music time. During story time, several stories with the same theme were read to a group of three and four year olds and afterward all of the kids did some type of craft that went along with what was read. For music time, we sang songs, many of which had movements go along with them. The kids also had the opportunity to play the drums every week, shake rattles and dance with scarves. Sophie had a blast and if you can believe it, Lincoln usually slept through the chaos.
I enjoyed a baby massage class with Lincoln for four sessions. Sophie joined me on the last with her own baby, since Grandma Gay was gone. Lincoln seemed to love it and I've continued to give him massages at home.
I started Mother's Day this year again by running the Sea Dog Mother's Day 5k. We spent the rest of the day celebrating with the Cote's.
Corinne did an awesome job in the spring band concert. Her school band played with the junior high and high school bands. It was great to see how the music program develops. All of the bands sounded great, but the high school band is really amazing. Corinne was very excited to know the bands she'd be joining were so good.
Ayla had a spring chorus concert, which was a lot of fun to listen to and watch. Fourth grade is the first year students are able to join chorus and she really liked it.
Ayla's Girl Scout troop spent the night in Boston at the Museum of Science. They had a ton of fun exploring the museum and camping out in the math room. Her troop leader said she couldn't have been more impressed with how mature and responsible all the girls were. Ayla has absolutely loved Girl Scouts this year and can't wait for it to start again in the fall.
My teaching position in Phippsburg was eliminated due to low enrollment. The good news is that I will be teaching fifth grade at Woolwich Central School, which is in the same district. I'm super excited to have an awesome teaching partner, since I've only ever taught in a school with one class per grade. I've been into the new school a few times already and I'm eagerly anticipating school starting in the fall!
Ayla spent a week at a day farm camp and absolutely loved it! She picked strawberries, collected chicken eggs, weeded, fed pigs, not to mention started and ended each day with yoga. The weather was sunny and fairly cool all week, which was nice because they were outside the entire time. She said her new favorite animal is a pig.
Sophie went to "camp" two mornings one week at Little Sprouts Daycare. This is the daycare her, Lincoln and Ayla will be attending in the fall. They have a certified preschool teacher come in three mornings a week for three hours. She also runs a camp for a few weeks in the summer. Sophie and I have visited a few times to help her get familiar before starting full time in the fall. Camp was her first time being there for an extended period of time by herself. She had a ton of fun and was chattier than ever each day when I picked her up. They made bubble wands, tie-died t-shirts, and many other crafts.
I spent a day in Freeport at a conference on leadership. Trevor was sweet enough to take the morning off and stay with the kids for the day so I could go. When I asked him how the day went (since it was his first full day with the four kids by himself) and he had one word, "BUSY!" =)
In July, the girls are beyond excited to go to California with Grandma Connie to visit their aunt Camille and go to Disney Land. They'll spend some time in Kansas with Connie, then meet Trevor, Lincoln and I in Wichita to spend some time with Grandma Gay.
In August, I'll be away for a three day weekend in Block Island, Rhode Island for my sister's bachelorette party. Trevor and I are also doing the Tough Mudder in Vermont in August and Corinne is spending a week at soccer camp. Summer will be over before we know it!
