Spring break 2016

We are currently occupying Nana and grandpas house while they are in Mexico (luckies) and our house gets painted, new carpet and a new bedroom! I am very excited and a little nervous to see if we like the paint colors or if it's too much. Guess we will see. 

We had this gorgeous 70 degree day Saturday to kick off spring break and then it's been rainy and overcast the last few days. I am grateful for a day off work today. We had an easy going morning and then went bowling! 

I think they all had fun! Then we got Easter shoes for the girls and tried to go see a movie but they were sold out so we bought tickets for the next time and came back for dinner. We aren't sitting pool side but this has better pretty nice. Wish Robb and I both could have had vacation to just staycation but someone has to pay for our new basement! Here are some pre-Reno shots!

Go or not go

This is the thing perplexing me. Grace doesn't totally have a summer birthday. It's the end of May. But her Prek teachers have had some worries about her speech and her hand strength. So we heeded the advice, had her tested 3 times and she finally met criteria for therapy and started in January. She does very well with therapy. I think she likes it and works hard with the therapists. In her fall Prek conference it seemed like socially she was doing fine and with math she was doing well. She seems to not be interested in letters so we have been hitting those hard. I feel frustrated. I want to send her. She knows she could go. The advice is to wait and give her a year to learn. They say it will help her be a leader and make better choices. So maybe it will. I wouldn't mind another year home with her. I just want to make the best decision for her. 

It makes me think of when we had to pick her  birthday. I debated over and over. I wanted to give her until close to her due date. But Friday, May 27th was 38+6 and was the Friday of memorial weekend which meant an extra day off for Robb and my mom who would be taking care of Max while we were in the hospital. Logically it made sense but I wanted to wait and give her time. Now with her speech etc I think about how the decision then might have impacted her. I don't want to do wrong by her again. The maternal guilt can hit you hard. And trust me, I know we have 3 healthy babies who are all just perfect. We by no means have it rough. I just want the best for her and wish it wasn't a decision I would make that could impact her life long again. 

I also struggle with not knowing the answers to will she be bored if she stays in Prek another year? Is she ready for kindergarten? I have no clue. She's different with us then in the classroom. I know she doesn't know everything but she knows a lot. I know she can be shy but not always. I know we have had swim lessons where she went in once out of the 8 days and then went right into to the classroom her first day of Prek no looking back, no tears. I know she is smart. I know she wants to go. I fear she may need lots of tutoring if she goes this year. But whose to say she won't even if we wait? 

And just to throw it out there she's off the charts tall. If we wait she will be dealing with the height thing even more than if we send her this year. 

If you have advice, I'm all ears! I feel like we have heard the whole gamut. Prayers are welcome!

Season 2 of hockey in the books!

After more then a year hiatus, I've been feeling the urge to keep the blog going. So yes, Max played mite hockey last year as a kindergartener, his team was Mite D Lightening! This year as a 1st grader, he was a Mite C Maple Leaf! Robb decided to coach this year, too! So fun to have both my guys out there!  e is feeling the call of the GOAL to be tended. This year we signed him up as a goalie. The only difference for being a goalie is that he had extra training every other Monday nights. One of the fun parts was that the head guy from goalie training was a dad from Maxs first year team! He owns MEGA goaltending and does these training for goalies in different associations around the twin cities! We are so lucky to know him personally!  

Max played Goalie whenever he could and defense the rest of the time! He was encouraged to skate up and shoot. He did score the occasional goal but that's not what drives him! Some of his team mates love puck-handling but it doesn't seem to interest our boy.  

One story from his Jamboree weekend. He did all his goalie training in his normal skates but the last weekend we got him goalie skates. Apparently, they are very different to skate in. His last game of the year, he was going to play goalie and wanted to try his new skates. Without ever skating in them. Not once. Jamboree weekend is fun because the get to dress in the varsity locker room which is all decked out with a team poster, name plates individualized and a whole bag full of goodies. They get their name announced and skate out to the blue line for the national anthem. Picture it, the last kid to get called out : Max Akerson!!! He tries to skate out but falls, then falls again and again. He finally gets to his team and the anthem plays. He's in tears. I am, too. At the end Robb asks him if he wants to change skates and he says no. He proceeds to play the next hour and a half. He totally shook off the falling and just played his heart out! His perseverance and determination amaze me. I can't say I played it as cool. I was banging on the glass to complaining to Robb that he wasn't ready. But he was. He showed me! 

Great year Leafs! Both my boys had so much fun. And we meet some really nice hockey families! 

Out of diapers!

Over Christmas break our diaper Genie broke. That gave me a big push to get our baby potty trained. She was 2.5 at the time but We lucked out with her. She was ready months before. In the late summer she was completely stripping when she had a wet diaper so I knew she understood. She has done so well and usually only has an accident as she's trying her hardest to get up in a high seat. Sorry about that baby. You got mommy's short Book legs! 

Feels really good to be diaper free! At least during the day. Advice on getting rid of the bedtime ones??