Happy Birthday, James!

James has had an eventful year as he has transitioned to middle school.  From the small school environment where he had his father and sister around to support and guide him to a new public school with a 4,700% increase in size (ha!) from 25 students in six grades (K-5th) to 1,200 students in three grades (6-8th). It's been a lot for a kiddo who can feel anxious at times. Happily, he has been doing wonderfully -- making friends and getting distinguished honor roll in his first term. We are so proud of him and the growth and maturity he is demonstrating. Every day is still work as he manages a busy hallway and some rough-and-tumble middle school boys. But he is doing well and we know he will find his stride in this new environment.

When I took him to a parent-child bingo event in November at the middle school, about eight kids hollered for him to sit at their table when we walked into the cafeteria, which warmed my mama heart. Then, in the kind and attentive way that James is, he checked in with me a few times during the event, feeling bad that I was stuck with random parents while he hung out with friends. I assured him I was fine and was secretly so pleased to see his great relationship with his buddies and also witness his caring nature still intact.

James had a great Christmas break. It's terrific to have so much time together to celebrate. The days before, we rest, bake, and complete all the other final preparations for his birthday and the holiday. On Christmas Eve, we celebrate with my cousin Christine and her family and friends, which is always fun and very filling. Lobster mac and cheese is the highlight for many of us.

We start December 25 as a family at 7 am opening Christmas gifts, then my parents arrive, and we enjoy a terrific breakfast together. After breakfast (berries, cinnamon rolls, eggs, Christmas cookies), we transition to celebrating James's birthday with presents. Then we get a few minutes of downtime before heading over to my brother's house for a lovely dinner followed by cake and other desserts.  What a terrific day with family.

Also during the break, James got to do some boxing with Josh, fly his stunt plane at our favorite parking lot (side note: everyone has a favorite parking lot where they learn to ride their bike, drive a car, crash small toys, right?!), skate with Alma and her friend, learn to use his new hoverboard, play a lot of video games (Madden 2024!), and enjoy a second birthday cake made by Nana.

While James still loves the cats (Dylan's favorite spot is on James's lap), his main obsession these days is video games, which he often researches extensively during his spare time. This year, due to gaming, he has learned so much about planes, especially those used during WWII. Based on this love and knowledge, instead of a birthday party, James opted for a family trip to the two Smithsonian Air and Space Museums (the hangar in Reston and the original museum in downtown D.C.). It was great to see his excitement about the WWII planes that he knows all about due to playing a certain video game. It was charming when he would exclaim, "I flew this!" about several of the aircraft. Below, he is pictured with his favorite plane in the museum's collection.

We all had a great time on the overnight trip, which was special for James and a joy for all of us.  We are all so grateful for our little Jamers who is steadily growing into a smart, funny, joyful, and kind young man.  

Happy birthday, buddy.  We love you!

Merry Christmas!

We had a great Christmas holiday break -- cookies galore, cats who barely climbed the tree, a newly painted sunroom, time with family and friends, and cat decorations for James's birthday.  Perfect!

The nearly finished sunroom: before in green (can I admit that I kind of miss the green?); after in bright orange (Dainty Apricot, to be precise).

Happy birthday, dear Alma!

While Alma is now 14 years old, she has a mature spirit and a recent growth spurt that makes strangers assume she is older.  She seems to feel slightly conflicted about this. She is looking forward to driving in a few years (!!!) but also would like to remain shorter than Josh and me.  

Alma loves traveling, trying new foods, and looking for the small joys in life. She has moved away from baking but still uses her artistic skills for more beauty-related activities (hair, nails, fashion, makeup). She often goes on independent bike rides, is a great companion for a "brunnel" walk ("brunnel" being the name she gave the small bridge-tunnel along the public trail that is the turn-around spot for many walks), and enjoys playing Sims on the PlayStation. 

She continues to get distinguished honor roll each term at school and her teachers are very complimentary of her work efforts. She continues to do well with violin -- progressing with her sight reading, which has been a challenging transition from solfege. She has the same group of terrific school friends.  To celebrate her birthday this year, I took them to an indoor trampoline/obstacle center and then for pizza (Urban Air then Mod Pizza). They had so much together.

Thank you, Alma, for being a terrific daughter, sister, and love.  We are so happy you are part of our family. I love being your mother.

 

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving with my parents and my brother's crew. We are so grateful to have such a terrific family. 

The day after, we went to a chilly Temple University game at the Linc in Philly, which was fun even if Temple got creamed.

 

Upstate NY and Toronto

Since the kids had the week of Thanksgiving off from school, we decided to travel up to Toronto to spend a few days doing touristy things, with a few fun stops along the way.  Trip highlights included:

• Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge
• Chimney Bluffs State Park
• Niagra Falls, Canada -- viewed during the day and at night
• Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum in Niagra Falls 
• Ripley's Aquarium in Toronto
• CN Tower
• Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) with an exhibit by KAWS
• Lots of delicious restaurants -- e.g., Chef's Corner, Polish breakfast, Thai lunch
• Three nights in a cute Airbnb in Leslieville (Old Torono), near great restaurants, a terrific grocery store, and Tommy Thompson Park
• Tons of time in the car together -- James was a great navigator; Alma was in charge of snacks

While we missed Josh, who had to stay home for school days and parent-teacher conferences, it was SUCH a fun trip. We are great traveling companions and kept marveling at how easy the trip was because we were all so invested in having a great time and supporting each other. 

Fall Updates

In the best news, Hayden moved to Philly to attend Drexel. We are thrilled to have him in town and were delighted to attend a Phillies game with him.

My petite Development team hosted a great Alumni Weekend on campus that included Mansion tours, Fall Fest, All-Alumni Mansion Party, Mass, film screening, and a visit to the St. Frances Cabrini Collection in the library. Even with a big storm that came through the area and forced us to move all the events indoors, the weekend was a success with nearly 2,000 attendees.  I felt very grateful and proud of the team plus all the others on campus who made these events possible. 

Nana and Grandpa joined us for one of James's soccer matches.

I went on a lovely ride at Valley Forge.

Alma and I went on an overnight car-and-tent camping trip to French Creek State Park, which was so relaxing and fun.