Special Olympics!

Last weekend the triplets took part in the Special Olympics Summer Games in Cambridge MA.
They all are gymnasts, and had a wonderful time. Because of the difference in Level since Amelia participated last year, we had competition on both days. Jamie and I decided to make a weekend of it and stayed in a suite at a nearby hotel, taking Dante and Alexander along.

That does mean we left two teenagers home alone for the weekend-- Zachary and Nikita-- but they are trustworthy and the police station is a mere 50 yards away so there were no concerns about a keg party taking place. (It looked like not much dishwashing was taking place either, but the house was still in one piece so we cannot complain.)

In this photo Sunny and Micah are ready and waiting to join their team; Amelia and Alexander watched them compete. Dante was wonderful throughout the loooonnnnggg morning-- we were on those bleachers from 9-1!!


Here Sunny has joined the girls on her team with her coaches for warm ups.



Micah looked so tiny on the rings!! He just turned 8 in May, so was likely one of the youngest gymnasts there.


And here is Micah on the parallel bars. He definitely gives it his all!

Sunny is doing her floor routine, the photo caught her going up for a handstand.

There were a number of state and local police officers, as well as some EMTs helping to give out the ribbons. Micah scored a bronze in every category, and was quite pleased with his haul.

There were only two level one 8 year old girls, so Sunny was able to score a silver every time!! She took the medals off only for swimming and sleeping.

Sunday was Amelia's turn to compete, and here she is posing for Dad while waiting for the judge to be ready for her beam routine.

It is not the best photo, but Amelia just finished the vault here.

And here is Amelia celebrating with all of her medals!

Oops, Sunny did not always take her medals off for sleeping! It was a long weekend, and she was more ready for a nap than for watching Amelia for 4 hours.

It was a wonderful, yet exhausting weekend, and we cannot wait until next year to do it all again!!

My Baby is Growing Up!

Jamie and I are eagerly (ok, impatiently for me) anticipating the arrival of our 8th child in 15 days. Exactly. Unless he decides to come sooner. Later is not an option.

Anyhow, on the other end of the spectrum, my firstborn is hurtling towards adulthood. Alexander today became the proud holder of his Driver's Permit. Soon he'll be behind the wheel of a car. (Yes, Jamie's car, not my van!) Six months from now he should have his license and be able to run errands for me! I mean, experience some independence when he decides he wants to go somewhere...

Also, in 2 weeks Alexander will have his first official job, since we found out two weeks ago he was accepted into the Teen Service Program of Camp Good News. He will spend three weeks volunteering in the kitchen during July. I am so glad he is going off to get this experience. One of the best parts of it is that he will be going alone. Not that I would wish any sort of loneliness on him, but since he and Zach are only a year apart it often seems like they become a package deal when doing anything-- camp, sports, friend's parties-- this is Alexander's true turn to shine and be himself.

Two milestones for my firstborn. If I weren't 38 weeks pregnant I might start worrying about facing an Empty Nest soon!

Congratulations Alexander!!!

Happy Birthday Nikita!!

Yesterday Nikita Kathrin turned 14!! We started off with a surprise field trip to Cabela's, which we had not yet visited. The hat Nik wanted was unavailable, but we did order one (see photo at the very bottom). We rounded off the day with ice cream cake and a visit from Nana and Poppy.

I am not one to perpetuate stereotypes, but wherever the one about redheads comes from, Nikita sure lives up to it! She is an absolute spitfire and keeps Jamie and I on our toes, but we know this means great things are in store for our bundle of ambition (and should spend more time reminding ourselves of that).

Gym Show!

Today Amelia participated with her typical gymnastics class in the Annual Gym Show. She has been attending Twister's Gymnastics for several years now, and this is probably her last. She is aging out of the 5-8 year old class, and physically I do not think she can adequately keep up with the 9+ classes.

For tonight though, she was at the top of her class and did an excellent job on the routine-- the whole class performs together to a song so it is important she be able to learn the moves and keep the time.

Every year the photos I take come out dark because of the high gym ceiling, so this year I just watched and took a few after. (And a friend took one of Amelia and I together.) She was so proud of herself! Unfortunately Jamie missed the show because he took Sunny and Micah to the last gymnastics team practice before the Special Olympics next week. We took home ice cream and toppings to celebrate a job well done.

Sibling Rivalry

Dante turned 4 last October, but we have still always called him the baby...in part because he is the youngest and in part because he is so small and still does not walk. Up until a few weeks ago he was still in a small crib in our bedroom.

Dante even used to still need to cuddle with me in bed before he fell asleep. It took some transitioning for him to realize that he could not lay on top of me, because I was so nauseous in my first trimester and just couldn't take it. He was not too happy, but as the months progressed and he started getting kicked in the head by his unborn brother, he did move off to the side.

We moved Dante's little crib upstairs a few weeks ago, where he also has a twin bed waiting for him. He adjusted well to sleeping up there at night, but he quickly learned to climb up onto my bed and hang out after school-- he used to crawl into my bedroom and wait until someone put him in the crib and he would just hang out for a while relaxing-- a self-imposed time out of sorts so he could regroup in the peace and quiet after school.

It has become clear in the last few days that Dante wants my lap back (because it literally no longer exists now at 36+ weeks!) He tries to sit on my lap but there just is not any room. Baby does not appreciate it either and starts to kick Dante.

A few months ago we bought a small wedge maternity pillow for me to use at night. It is fairly small, and I told Amelia it is "Baby's pillow". She of course thought it was weird at first ("Dear!"), but now thinks it is funny that Baby has a pillow even though she cannot see him. She even uses it sometimes and tells me she has a "little baby" in her tummy.

Yesterday Dante claimed Baby's pillow for himself. He climbs up on my bed and grabs the pillow, then laughs as he keeps flipping it over and pretending to sleep on it. I did even let him take it to bed with him, and he slept with it last night. Clearly he and Baby have some competition going, and Dante is getting back at his baby brother already!!

Just 25 more days and we'll see if Dante thinks the trade off--- having a baby brother in reality--- is worth getting Mom's lap back!!