Violet's Big Day

So I am still catching up a bit from the summer. (And spring, I guess, because I still haven't posted any pictures from our trip to Hawaii in April. To be honest, I haven't even finished looking at them. Guess I'm saving them for a rainy day.) But I really wanted to post these great photos from one of Violet's big events this summer. I won't tell you exactly when her big day was because then you will know how slow I am with this blog (OK, it was in June), but let me just say the delay is only due to my disorganization and not a reflection of how proud we are of her. Which we really are.

Violet started taking therapeutic horseback-riding lessons this summer, and in June, she competed in her first horse show.

Here she is with Daddy, who is helping her get her number all set. Go #63:



Ready to ride, accompanied by her helpers for the day:



Riding past the judge:



Some of Violet's competition! Don't be fooled by that cute smile. Frida was a serious competitor:



Big brother Calvin, keeping cool and watching the show:



In the end, Violet placed fourth in the overall riding and second (!!) in pole bending. She must be a fast learner, because it was the first time she ever performed pole bending. (It was also the first time we ever heard the term pole bending, which is when a rider weaves in and out of a set of poles in a timed event. Yes, we are still very new to this equestrian world.)

We were all very proud, of course, especially Violet's big brother, who offered to carry around her ribbons and told everyone we encountered for the next few days about her big wins.

Here's the little rider, showing off her ribbons:

Calvin's Big Day

After a three-day power outage and a bout of pneumonia (poor Violet!), we are back in action around here. Check out these photos from Calvin's 6th birthday....

He started the day right with breakfast in bed, at his request. He made the very rational point that he has been involved in several breakfast-in-bed exchanges (i.e. for Mother's Day and Father's Day), but has never been in the role of beneficiary, so it was his due time. Smart kid.

So while everyone else was snoozing away, I got up a little early to try and surprise him, which was difficult to do. It was not a very elaborate breakfast (cereal, yogurt, blueberries, and chocolate milk--a special treat we agreed he could drink all day long on his birthday). But I had to work fast because he kept coming down the stairs to check on me, asking me what was taking so long with his breakfast in bed. So much for the surprise. But he seemed pleased, especially when he noticed the chocolate milk:



Digging in:



After breakfast, we started with Round 1 of present-opening (Round 2 and 3 followed later in the day). Here he is, posing with his loot:



Then it was party time, a little get-together with his friends (and some of ours) for cake and a magic show at Barry's Magic Shop.

Um, controlled chaos:



Boys admiring the tricks and trinkets in the magic shop:



The cake, which I am proud to say I made with some tips and a lot of moral support from a professional baker friend (thanks, Lauren!):



And cookies, which Noah and my mom stayed up late to help decorate. We had top hats and magic wands and the number 6 and some pretty intense white bunnies (thanks, Noah!):



Calvin and kids enjoying the show:



Barry at work:



Below, see a picture of Noah and Auntie Frankie as Barry's assistants. Yes, that is a pair of goofy glasses and a cap on Noah's head. And what is under the hat that was later revealed (but sadly not photographed--turns out keeping track of 15 boys in a magic shop keeps you too busy to fully document everything)? It was a mini plunger, like the kind you'd use on a really small toilet, I guess (??). Because what is a magic show without totally humiliating one of the parents?

Calvin Reading to His Little Sis

Calvin has become a great reader during his kindergarten year, which makes him very proud (us too!). And while we initially thought it would make our lives trickier because we could no longer use the age-old parent trick of spelling-things-out-we-didn't-want-him-to-understand, it actually has been a giant plus for our whole family. We love reading to him, and it is even more fun to have him read to us. Sometimes, he'll even sit and read books quietly in his room. Once, on our way back from the beach and after he had complained that we didn't bring enough books for him to read, we pulled over to a used bookstore and stocked up. I mean, when your kid asks for more books, what are you going to do?

But perhaps the best part is that he loves to read books to Violet, and she loves it, too. It's a fun thing for them to do together, which can be hard to come by many days. Plus, some weekend mornings after they've both woken up earlier than they do on weekdays (why, oh why does that always happen?), he'll sit and read to her in our bed and we get a few extra minutes to snooze. That can really start our weekend off just right.

More Fourth!

These are not the best photos from our Fourth of July adventures. I guess we were too hot and busy to focus on documentation. But here are some cute shots from the Palisades parade. It's right down the road from our house and a fun mix of small-town Americana and crazy big-city D.C.

Noah and kids watching the extravaganza:

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V and me:

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Calvin in front of patriotic bug:



Sweet Violet, starting to wilt from the heat:

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Maybe I haven't been paying attention the last few years, but when did parades turn into giant lootfests? I remember floats and parade marchers throwing out candy from years past, and yes, the occasional beads, too. But this year, it seemed like a deluge of freebies. Maybe it's because of the hot mayoral race in D.C., but we got pelted with towels and stickers and signs and flags and little hand-held fans. Kids were scrambling for mushed up candy all over the ground. And there was almost a riot when the truck passing by ran out of the Capri-suns they had been handing out. I was a little overwhelmed, but Calvin and Noah were totally game. Here they are, waiting for the handouts:

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Calvin showing off some of his loot. That's the little fan hanging around his neck. I have to admit, that one did come in handy:

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It is really hard to get a shot of fireworks from inside of a hotel room, through a glass window, especially for these novice photographers. So this is the best we've got. Yes, that's Calvin in there somewhere:

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Happy 7th of July!

Yes, we are a little late, per usual. But Grammy is in town to help with the kids, so I am determined to catch up on the blog this week. Stay tuned for more....

In the meantime, here are a couple of shots from our July 4th weekend. I am in a remote location (ooh, mysterious!), so these are the best I could do, some pictures from this cool new app on my iPhone. I like the look of these, like a throwback to my childhood when we took pictures on film and just had to live with whatever turned out, weeks or months after you took the pictures. But I also like the fact that the design of these blurs the flaws or makes them look intentional, like I was going for this particular effect. Or maybe I was.

Regardless, here is Calvin waiting for the fireworks from the view of our Arlington hotel room, and getting a little patriotic while he does so:




The hotel room was a last-minute plan of Noah's, and a very good one. Earlier in the day, we went to a long, hot (but fun) parade in the Palisades and a cookout with friends. We wanted to see the fireworks, but didn't want to schlep all the way downtown, especially since it would be hot and late, two things Violet really doesn't like. So we got to watch from our air-conditioned room, after we had a dip in the pool and room service! I never felt so pampered on the Fourth of July.

More to come soon....

Calvin's Last Day of Kindergarten

Um, yes, his last day was a week ago, so we are a little behind again. This will be a short post, too, because our air conditioning went out tonight and it is, like, 90 degrees INSIDE the house and I just cannot really concentrate on anything except the Skinny Cow ice cream cone I'm going to get out of the freezer the second I am done with this.

Until then, here is a picture of Calvin on his FIRST day of kindergarten back in August. See how small and uncertain he is here:



And by some strange coincidence (or maybe because he needs more shirts), he happened to be wearing the same shirt on the last day of school. I wish I could say we planned this. But we did at least notice it and figured it would be a really good time to take another photo. So here is on the last day of school. Bigger, hairier, smarter, and still just as cute:

Our Little Maestro

On Sunday, Calvin had his second piano recital of his young musical life. He started taking piano in September and, despite the occasional struggle to get him to practice, we have all really enjoyed it. He can read music now and recognizes many of the musical marks and relishes the fact that he now knows more about piano than Noah.

I was SO nervous at his first recital in February. We wanted Calvin to be prepared for the fact that there would be lots of people watching, but we didn't want to freak him out, so it was a tough balance to strike. Plus, the first recital was canceled and rescheduled many times because of all the snow, so we had many weeks for extra practice and growing anxiety (at least on my part). But when the day came, he went up, played, smiled, and thought nothing of it.

So when this recital rolled around, we could all relax a little bit more. And he did great! We told him he could pick the restaurant after his recital, which, of course, was his usual favorite (and ours) Rio Grande, a Mexican place that is usually insanely busy so we have to carefully time our visits. But we braved the Sunday night crowds for him.

Here he is, all decked out and ready for the show. I hope we can get a few more uses out of that awesome seersucker jacket this summer, before he outgrows it:



Looking for his name in the program, which is probably the highlight of the show for him:




Found it! Yes, he was playing the classics Yankee Doodle, Grandmother, C Song, and Elephant Ride:


Our sweet girl. She was very patient during the performances:


This is her brother's face, absorbing an afternoon of culture while the other kids played:

Finally, his turn. He's playing a duet with his teacher, Ilya:



This was the best shot we could get of his bow, which is my favorite part of his performance. (His teacher makes all his students practice the bow, too, so Calvin is really good at it:) He was pretty excited to finish this time, though, and we were seated way in the back. So he only paused for a second and then broke into a sprint to get back to us. But his smile shows how pleased he is with himself. When he got back to his seat, I hugged him and told him he did a great job. And he said, "And now you'll take me to Rio Grande."