GOOOOOOOAL!!!!

Micah scored the only goal for his team in his last game of the season!!  His team was not great, and Micah is generally better on defense than offense, so it was a big, fantastic surprise!  Go, Micah!
He also played goalie for the first quarter.  His dad's genes and advice were a big help.  He made some great plays, blocked at least five shots, and only allowed one goal.

Unfortunately, Hannah's game got rained out.  She had a good attitude, and we came home to eat leftover birthday cake and celebrate the end of the season.  :)

Two Years Old!

My baby is not a baby anymore.  The reality began to set in for me a few weeks ago when he was promoted out of the nursery at church.  He is moving on and growing up, which means he may not be a baby, but he is a lot of other things.

Matthew is..
- loud.  His speaking voice is a yell.
- loving.  He is generous with his hugs and kisses.
- polite.  Without prompting he regularly says "yes, please" and "t'anks, Mommy".
- athletic.  He runs, jumps, and climbs with kids much bigger than him.
- funny.  Sometimes accidentally, sometimes intentionally - he loves to get a laugh.
- adventurous.  He can be a little too brave for his own good.
- mischievous.  Oh, the trouble this kid finds!  I can barely keep up!

Some of his favorite things include...
- playing outside, especially swinging, playing with balls, and trying to ride bikes.
- cereal
- milk
- Dora  (We try to pretend it's not true, but he loves Dora.)
- dogs
- swimming
- sweets
- accessories, especially hats and sunglasses

His talking is pretty understandable, but he still has many words that require a Matthew-to-English dictionary.  For example:

Pita = Micah
Sonny = Jackson
Sartar = Carter
sock = sock or snack
wawa = water or waffle
dog = dog or duck
gook = fork or spoon
hop-pop = lollipop (which he loves to sneak out of the pantry)
taaaaay = trade

Happy Birthday, Matthew!

P.S.  Just in time, I now have a new baby to cuddle!  Carter and Jackson have a new baby....SISTER!!  McKinley Grace was born almost a week ago, and as you can see she is perfectly beautiful.

What??

I assumed that my next blog post would be about Matthew's birthday, but then this happened:

Hannah's determination wins again!

End of School; Beginning of Summer

Micah's last week of school was jam-packed.  On Friday (May 29th), I helped with the 1st and 2nd graders' bike ride.  Thirty little kids on bikes - what could go wrong?  ;)  It was really fun.  Micah zoomed along with his friends in the lead, while I brought up the rear with two sweet girls using training wheels.

The following Monday had the awards ceremony in the morning.  If you remember from last year, the school gives students awards for demonstrating fruits of the Spirit.  It is such a great reminder for the kids (and me!) that while they strive to do well academically, a Godly character is more important.  Micah got an award for self-control, just like last year.  He also got a health and fitness award.

That afternoon the younger kids and I went back to school for the talent show.  Micah wasn't participating, but last year was so entertaining that we went anyway.  It did not disappoint.  Besides the typical songs, dances, martial arts, and magic tricks, there was also some very talented girls hula-hooping while doing a dance routine.  (Jackson said they were his favorite.)  Four boys did a dance/synchronized swimming number that was hilarious. At one point the headmaster and some of the older boys burst on to the stage with a little Gangnam Style.  (Dad, you can google it....actually, don't bother.)  And the sixth grade class traditionally finishes the show.  This year they made life-size bobble heads of the teachers and did a dance routine.

Tuesday was the class picnic.  We left Matthew with a friend, but Hannah came along.  The weather was sunny and breezy, and the kids had a great time playing games and eating lunch. 

water relay race

balancing dice on a spoon

building sandcastles

Micah's class was so large this year that they've hired an additional teacher for next year and will have two second grade classes.

Wednesday was the spring program in the evening. Then Thursday they just had a half-day to finish up the year.  Friday was our last day with Jackson for the year.  The boys enjoyed having a whole day together without school interfering.  We started summer off right, with muffins and water guns.  :)

The past few days we've had a nice balance between playing with friends and doing nothing.  (Well, the kids are doing nothing.  I've got projects and cleaning going on everywhere to prepare for Summer XP in less than two weeks!)

Hannah is still having a lot of fun with soccer.  She has really surprised us with her speed and determination.  She's just as aggressive as the bigger boys on her team!

Hannah daily shows a lot of patience with Matthew, and he loves her for it.  The scene below is not uncommon.

I bravely used the clippers on the back of Matthew's hair to help our sweaty guy keep cool in the summer.  I think I did all right. Phew!

before

after

And Matthew finally has a name for Micah!  He calls him "Pita".(I got the camera out because Matthew had been trying to blow raspberries on himself, but he stopped once he saw the camera.)