Our soon-to-be Kindergartener

I waited to post about this until we were sure ....

Luke has been accepted to Kindergarten at St. Martin of Tours school!

We couldn't be happier or more excited to have found and become a part of such an amazing community of teachers, parents, and students.

The search for the "right" school felt like a full time job over the past 6 months.  I researched online, talked to anyone who was willing, and personally visited 18 campuses throughout the fall.  Yes, I'm crazy.

Apparently, Kindergarten, or elementary school for that matter, isn't what it used to be.  This is serious business!  I narrowed down our pool significantly and then Michael joined me at the open houses of 5 schools.  Of those, we applied to 3, Luke attended assessments at those 3, with very high hopes for St. Martin's.

So, Luke (and Mia for that matter) will be a Bengal for the next 9 years!  That sounds like such a long time right now, but I know that those years will pass more quickly than I would like to admit.

I just feel relieved to have a plan :)

...oh, and those green glasses are going to go so well with his new school uniform.  We've already found a cute, new pair of green sneakers!

Jump!

Northstar's Village is awesome!  We love their rec center, the restaurants, the shopping, the fire pits around the ice rink ... but a favorite highlight right now is the bungy trampoline.You might remember that Luke tried this for the first time last summer and loved it, meanwhile Mia sat by asking repeatedly for it to be her turn.

Well, get her turn she finally did!  Participants have to weigh 20 pounds, and since our girl is now weighing in somewhere around 23 pounds, her time had come!   She could not have been more ready or willing to jump right in (literally).

She did incredibly well given her size and the fact that she's still mastering that 2-year old skill of jumping using both feet.

Big brother Luke jumped alongside Mia.



Ski 2012

We spent several days up in Tahoe over President's Week.  Luke had two scheduled lessons with Coach Jay, which went exceptionally well.  And what I mean by "exceptionally well" is that Luke came away from both wanting MORE ski time, more time on the mountain.  He loves it - and that is all that really matters.

But, as a mom, I can't help but be proud when I see him doing his thing up there!

The downfall to having a kid who has developed a love for the mountain?  Having to take him every day and not getting any time to "adult ski."  Daddy bore the brunt of this this go-around.  I think out of 4 ski days, he actually got to ski (by his standards) for one morning.

Riding the Gondola up with Paw

On the lift

Mommy and her skiier at the lodge on the mountain

Mia on the Gondola ride up to mid-mountain


Coach Jay also took some video of our skiier - will get that posted very soon.

My sweet (wild) boy

Just a few photos of my boy on a random afternoon in the backyard .... and me trying out some different camera settings :)

Be Our Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day!

We have been busy preparing to spread the love with LOTS of glitter, stickers, and hearts.

And some pictures of my loves on Valentine's Day 2012:

Hugs and kisses:

In addition to the handmade Valentine's, Luke and I also worked together to create these for his classmates:

I think that they turned out really cute.  We also put together bags with some goodies for each child that Luke got to hand out at the end of the school day.  He was so thrilled!

Hair cuts

The kids went for haircuts this week - Mia's first real cut.  Prompted by Uncle Todd informing me that she was sporting a mullet ... umm, yes, I very quickly made her an appointment.  She loved sitting in the chair and was very serious about the whole thing.

The length taken off definitely allows the curl to come out, especially after bath (which is when I took these photos).  Her pigtails are definitely shorter now, but I guess it's a good trade off.

Of course, my handsome boy with his new cut had to get in on the picture action as well.

By the way, Luke's new brown glasses are just on loan while his green frames get fitted with his new prescription ... not to worry (although he does look very cute in these as well, the green just feel like they are a part of him now).

Playtime at Day and Paw's

Mommy has a new job!  It is very part time, just two afternoons a week, tutoring.  For Mia this means, for the first time for her, a very regular (usually once a week) playdate at Day and Paw's house.  Luke is at school, so it gives Mia a bit of time alone with them, which is so nice for everyone (except Luke who seems to think that Day and Paw belong to him, and him only!).

Here are a few photos of Mia playing in their yard.

These ones with the duck are very reminiscent of some of her brother just a few years back

Winter swimming

Both Luke and Mia continue to swim at AVAC through the winter.  They are doing so well and both seem to really enjoy their lessons.  This particular week I had an appointment to get to right after swimming, so Day volunteered to swim with Mia so that I could dash off right after the lessons.  So, for once, I had an opportunity to get some pictures of our swimmers.

Mia is in a 2-3 year old parent/child class.  She is easily one of the most comfortable toddlers in the water, and is most certainly the most social. 

Mia's teacher this time is Miss Devin, who has worked a miracle with Mia's backfloat.  She can just about do it without any support!

Luke's class starts 15 minutes after Mia's, so he sits poolside and waits for his turn (with his friend from school, Vidyut, who has class at the same time as Luke and also has a little brother in Mia's class).

Luke is a "Sea Turtle" right now and is working on coordinating arm strokes with nice strong kicks.

Luke's teacher is Mr. Carl, who is great.  There are only two kids in Luke's class ... both boys have July birthdays and are named Luke.  Luke and Luke think that this is super awesome!