October Came and Went

My! Where does the time go? Here are some highlights of October.

Steven had a great time playing soccer. He had two great coaches and played on a team that worked well together. In the end their record was 7 wins, 1 tie, and one loss. The weather may have played a role in the loss. The boys couldn't stay on their feet due to all the mud. Actually, our last game was Nov. 7.

Halloween was a screaming good time. Our pirate has the loot to show for it. Even mom got into the action or did she just come as herself? Only the Shadow knows. And nothing is more fun then trick or treating with a BFF.

September has been a very busy month. We began with a wonderful Stay-ca-tion before school started. Some of the highlights included a water taxi to Navy Pier. Of course, Steven made a friend on that ride. September was also the start of school, then soccer.

Topping off the month, we celebrated Rosh Hashana and a visit from Shy.

I tried a new way to post and it mixed up the order. Oops. Better luck next time.

If you visit this post, please let me kn ow

The month ended on as good a note and it started. We had a wonderful Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Years) celebration. We spent so much time with family and friends. Here is just on cute shot of Ben, Emily, and Steven.

The month ended with a short and long overdue visit from Shy. For those not in the know, Shy lived with us for two months 3 summers ago. Steven likes to refer to him as his big brother by choice.

Soccer season also started. Steven is a White Night. His team has 2 wins and one tie so far. He has two great coaches and the boys seem to work well together. Steven did have his first experience with trash talking that didn't go so well. Luckily just tears. No physical stuff. Some boy swore at him and told him he was a looser. It was kind of funny considering the White Nights were winning by quite a few and Steven had made a goal.

Here is Steven on his first day of school. 2nd grade is going well. I am so excited to hear him read Hebrew so well and see how big his vocabulary is growing. In his American studies, he much prefers math to reading just like his mom.

Another highlight was the White Sox game with some of our favorite friends.

September Summary

September has been a very busy month. We began with a wonderful Stay-ca-tion before school started. Some of the highlights included a water taxi to Navy Pier. Of course, Steven made a friend on that ride

BIG NEWS!!!!

Steven met Nicole! Nicole is Steven's biological sister. He has been asking to meet her since we was 3. He even dedicated a book he made in class two years ago to her.

We had a great day! First we went out to lunch. Next we went bowling. Last we can home so Steven and Nicole could play Wii and wiffle ball in the alley like good city kids. They got along great and we loved every minute together!

Summer's Coming to an End

With the Chicago weather right now, it is hard to believe that it is still summer but the temp is a good tone setter that school is right around the corner and summer fun is coming to an end.

Steven had 11 weeks and 4 camps. First Bears camp, then High 5, next a week of baseball and finally a week of basketball. That still gave us 2 more weeks to fill. This week Steven enjoyed Daddy Camp where the fun never ends. It started with Great America and ended with a Cubs Game.

There are no pictures from Daddy Camp but I am including some from Steven's delayed birthday celebration. He wanted Chuck E. Cheese and he got it. I was very surprised at how easy and reasonable the party was. I think you can see the fun he had in some of the pictures. He was also so happy that Dor was able to join us.(We didn't celebrate until August due to some scheduling issues.)

Lost His Mind

Steven came home yesterday high on sugar. He took $6 dollars of his own money to camp and decided to buy not 1, not 2, but 3 ice cream treats. This was topped off with a sucker from the allergist and root beer at lunch. At dinner he acted like a crazy person and by bed time he was off the wall. Thanks to camp, he now sings a song he calls And That's What You Get For Waking Up In Vegas. Here is a clip of the insanity and inappropriate lyrics. Ouch!

Catching up part 2

The summer continued with High 5 camp. Steven is in heaven playing all sports all day with almost all boys. I am lucky he comes home at all. Steven even saw the perfect game in person on a camp field trip.

This summer has been so much fun that even rain is a reason to sing and dance.

Catching up

Summer has been so action packed that I have been very bad about keeping up so here is a look at some of what has kept us so busy. First, Steven began the summer sports season with baseball. This year no more t-ball. 3 innings of kid pitch and 3 of coach pitch. Steven has done a good job making contact with the kid pitches. Then we added a few weeks of soccer to help out a friend who lost a few players.

Topping off the first round of summer fun was the arrival of Dor. Our 22 year old Israeli summer family member.

Wishing Can Make It Happen

For the last 2 years, Steven has asked to have a mohawk. Well, we came up with a perfect compromise and Andy finally excepts it for most days. Here it is!

Don't Be Fooled

This Memorial Day weekend, we have had lots of fun. We played in the park, went to Bryn Mawr (Andy's Parent's country club)and played lots of Uno. Today there is golf and family fun to be determined later. But if you looked at Steven you would think it is hot hot hot. It is not. Although we finally are seeing more than one sunny day in a row, yesterday's temps must have been in the 60's when this picture was taken. I wonder what it is like never being cold.

The Final Phase

Last year Steven had us take off his training wheels. IT was great to see how quickly he took to biking and how in control of his balance he was. Just one glitch. Steven couldn't figure out how to stop unless he ran into things. I watched him run into park benches and fences. Once he saw his friend master this quicker, biking was over for the season.

Yeah, a new season. Steven is now back into riding his bike and has learned how to stop. Next step is to get him to use handbrakes so he can ride the bike that has handlebars that stay up.

Pesach Pride

We had a wonderful Passover break. Steven made us all so proud when he sang the Ma Nishta Na.

March Madness

March has been filled with fun and excitement. At school, Steven has been skating. This year he is doing pretty well but I miss the days of Stomp Stomp Splatter.

He is also in the throws of basketball playoffs. He won his first game in a 3 game series. Two more to go.

Kung Fu Fighter Part 2

Last week Steven moved up to a yellow belt with fringe. He was very excited and we are proud of him for sticking with it and not using his moves on family and friends.

Thank You Ben

This weekend my nephew, Ben, had his Bar Mitzvah. He did a stellar job and even gave those in attendance something to think about. He also brought together many of our wonderful family and friends.

Steven was in heaven. AZ cousins Marty and Dylan stayed with us for 4 days. (Cousin Wendy too.) This made all the child unfriendly events fun too. In their spare time, the group went sledding and has many romps in the snow. This outdoor snow fest was complete when Ben and Emily came and joined in.

Here are some highlights of Steven's fun with his cousins as well as a shot of the cousins I had fun with. Our family sure knows how to rock!!!

Happy End of the Year!

We had such a great end to 2008. We went to AZ to visit our Hartman cousins. We had so much fun. The weather was great. Even with the cold snap, it got up to 50 degrees and by weeks end, we were in the 70s. I got to read a great book and my boys played and played and played. They played basketball, soccer, and wiffle ball all without leaving the house. There is something to be said for backyards.

Happy New Year!!! You will notice from the picture of Steven that he is beginning his with a few less teeth. He will do his best to pull them all out by the end of next year.

Black Mountain

We had so much fun ( and such a great workout) climbing to the top of Black Mountain. It took about 3 hours from start to finish. It won't surprise you to know that Steven was first to the top. The first picture is on the way up with cousins Marty and Taylor. The second is all of us at the top including Flat Stanley who arrived a day after us.

What a great way to end a day in the middle of winter!