Birth of an Obsession

Some people have asked us where our kids get their weird obsessions.  Sometimes the stories are simple; sometimes they are convoluted.  Here's the story behind Michael's latest.  One morning, on the way to school drop-off, the Doors' song "Riders on the Storm" came on the car radio.  The kids immediately asked me what the song was about and why there was thunder in the background.  Anybody that knows me knows that I am the worst when it comes to song lyrics.  I have no idea what that song is about.  So, I made up some elaborate story about a couple of people out riding their motorcycles, getting caught in a scary thunderstorm.  Well, Michael must have latched on to that concept, because his world now consists of motorcycles, motorcycles, motorcycles.  We have to count every motorcycle that we pass.  He always looks to see if there are any motorcycle races or commercials on the SPEED channel.  We watch motorcycle stunts on Youtube.  And, he dresses like a motorcyclist.  (Well, his version:  helmet, sneakers, gloves, jet ski.  See the picture.)  Do you think he'll be excited to see Rolling Thunder over Memorial Day weekend?

Happy Mudders' Day!

Happy Mothers' Day to all of you mother figures out there!  Traci certainly had a wonderful day with all of her favorite people in the world!  We started the day at church, where Traci proudly displayed her bead-straw-marshmallow necklace (courtesy of Michael) and paper flower corsage (Katie).  After a quick nap/lunch break, we then headed about an hour or so out of the city to meet up with friends at a winery/vineyard to celebrate the day.  Most everybody there was either a current or former co-worker of Mike's, so it was nice to catch up with everybody again and see how their kids had grown.  The winery itself was a fabulous location to bring everybody together.  Set in the mountains, it had a huge grassy meadow next to a rolling river where we all set up our picnic stuff.  The parents gabbed all day while the kids explored in the river (and its very muddy banks!), played baseball or soccer or gymnastics on the meadow, flew kites, and hiked some trails.  Please note the second picture of Katie and Michael....you can imagine their need for a nice, long bath after this kind of play!!!

And, we can't end this tremendous day without reading from Katie's card that she made at school.  This was a fill-in-the-blank card...all of her original answers are in caps:

My mom is as pretty as a BOW.
She is 55 feet tall and weighs 30 pounds.
My mom's favorite color is BLUE.
My mom likes to eat CORN.
My mom likes to WALK IN THE WOODS but she does not like to CLEAN AFTER MY DOG.
I like it when my mom HUGS ME.
I would not trade my mom for MY HORSES.

Hmmmmm....mysterious dogs and horses have entered our world.  Oh, and Traci is really tall and thin now.  We like it!

Wait, Mom Runs?

Ever since delivering her third child in just over 5 years, Traci has had a goal to get her body back in shape sooner rather than later.  Last year, Mike suggested that she train for one of his favorite races, the National Police Week 5K, held in honor of all law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.  So, she dutifully started to run verrrrrry slowly on the treadmill last fall, working hard to get where she got today.  She can happily report that she not only finished today's race, but she did it in a personal best of 32:14!!  (Shush, she knows that's slow, but it's a far cry from where she began!)  Although she was kind of demoralized in the beginning getting passed by many runners, things picked up when she saw some unusual sights (several Taylor Swift tour buses, the beautiful Capitol building, some Marine officers running and singing in cadence).  And, she ended strongly on the uphill portion, actually overtaking some of the very runners who passed her!  Alas, the kids were not impressed when she reported that she finished 957th overall.  (Whoa, Mom, that's really, really BAD!)  Anyway, not only did she improve on her own health, but she ran for a great cause.  Every runner had a fallen officer designated on his or her race bib.  Very fittingly, Traci specifically ran for Trooper First Class Blake Coble, a Pennsylvania State Trooper whose squad car collided with a big rig.  He died not too far from where she grew up.  Sometimes God works in mysterious ways....  God bless all law enforcement officers out there, especially that cute guy we know in the FBI!!!

Muffins with Mom!

This morning, Katie's kindergarten classroom hosted their very special "Muffins with Mom" show to celebrate an early Mother's Day.  What a treat!  The kids sang four Mom-tastic twists on classic songs and then served us our muffins and milk.  (Too bad our two younger kids gobbled up Mom's entire muffin!  Oh well, that's life with three kids.)  We all huddled together for some Mom-themed story books and the kids presented us with some cute hand-made gifts.  Finally, we stuck around for a bit to watch the kids actually doing their work station school work.  A mom could get used to being treated this royally 365 days a year!

Please take a minute to watch the class' performance.  The very last part of the video is a quick snippet from when the kids were "fighting over" whose Mom is the best.  It's hard to hear Katie's part, but she says, "No, my Mom's the best because she cooks for me and takes me to the park."  Not bad, not bad!!!

Warning Track Power

A guy could get used to this!  As you may recall, my birthday present from Traci was a pair of Tigers-Nats tickets.  While originally set to take in the game with a friend on Tuesday night, it was rained out and ultimately rescheduled for this afternoon.  After moving a few things around at work, I decided I could still make it work and headed downtown for the 4pm game.  Solo!  While Traci laughed at me as one of those old curmudgeons that keeps score, it was heavenly to get some alone time and actually watch a baseball game from start to finish.

I got there just as the first pitch was thrown.  Unknown to me, the seats were in a rather exclusive club level seating area with an indoor concourse, private bathrooms, and concessions that you could access from your smartphone.  Score, Traci!  It was also a sparsely attended game (due to the rescheduling), which made for a low-key afternoon and plenty of room to spread out.

Unfortunately, the Tigers were terrible for some reason.  They were vastly outplayed, but at least they made things interesting in the end, as the game still came down to a warning track fly out by Prince Fielder.  Final score: Nats 5, Tigers 4, Traci 10 (with gratitude).

Caption Contest

What do you think is going on here?  Our take?  "Did anybody respond to our Big Sister for Sale ad on Craigslist yet?'

Pow....Right in the Kisser!

I know, I know...another picture of Nevie with a baby.  But, this is another special baby!  This is Charlotte, our other brand-new godchild, who we hope will be best buddies with Neve for a long time to come.  But, perhaps Neve didn't get off to the right start by plowing her in the face....

Anyway, we do have some good news regarding Neve.  First, she is now consistently speaking her first word!  Just like her big sister, Neve has chosen BALL (Bawwwwwww!) as her special first proclamation.  Needless to say, that warms Daddy's heart.  She is absolutely enamored with balls (basketballs, bouncy balls, dodge balls, tee balls, you name it) and melts down if she can't play with one within her viewing field.  Now if we could just get her moving, maybe we could have a little sports star on our hands.  Speaking of which, we are seeing small increments of progress on the gross motor front.  She is now comfortably willing to stand against things to play with toys.  She will not shift her feet, but she is willing to grab left and right for anything.  She is also able to get around decently well on her behind.  She's still not able to go very fast or far, but she can cover great lengths of the room if she wants something badly enough.  It's still so weird to see a baby scootching around on her behind rather than on all fours!  For those who have asked after her, she is scheduled to be evaluated by the county at the end of this month and would hopefully start PT in June.  Then, her neuro appointment is in late July (sigh), so it's a weit-and-see game!  But, if she keeps making this incremental progress, we should feel good going into those appointments!