Catch Up Time

Wow, I cannot believe it has been over a year since I have added an entry!  I guess life has gotten in the way of my blogging :-)  I have never been good at keeping any kind of a diary or journal, though I always have good intentions.  There have been so many things happen since my last update.  There's no possible way I can mention them all,  so I'll try to hit some of the highlights and add some pictures at the end.
  
* Eli "graduated" from Kindergarten and is thriving in First Grade.  
* Zoe is enjoying another year of Mother's Day Out, officially called Preschool  this year at our church, Lakepointe.  
* This past summer, Eli was in my group at VBS and made the decision on June 28th to accept Christ as his personal Lord and Savior.  We met with our Children's pastor two days before leaving for vacation.  He was baptized a little later on September 16th. 
* Johnny and I started volunteering in the nursery every other Sunday at church, which quenches his desire for a third child :-) 
* Eli's confidence in swimming improved so much this summer, he is like a fish.  He finally conquered the diving board and hasn't looked back.
* Zoe was a little more cautious this summer in the water, which is kind of a good thing.  She kind of scared me with her dare devil ways last summer. 
* We spent 9 glorious days in Hawaii for a vacation/wedding.  Johnny's best friend from childhood got married and we decided to make it an extended trip.  We are already planning for the next one.  
* Zoe is finally potty trained, which I was beginning to think would never happen.  She even wakes up from most naps and most mornings with a dry pull-up, though I'm not ready to do away with those quite yet.
* Eli had his first very small cavity, which we had filled just after school started.  While we were there and he was under the gas and shots, she also pulled a tooth that was not even a little bit loose.  His adult tooth was coming in behind and needed somewhere to go.
* Eli is playing soccer again this fall, with Johnny as one of his coaches.  He has really come a long way since he started 2 years ago.  He is very athletic and has a true understanding and love for the game.
* Zoe started gymnastics in September and loves it.  She is such a great listener and tries her best at all of the new skills she is learning.  
* I am serving as President again this year for the Rockwall Preschool Association (RPA)
* I am also serving again this year as the Homeroom Volunteer Coordinator in Eli's classroom, as well as serving on the PTA Board as Student Directory Chair.  Needless to say, I will be spending a lot of time at Grace Hartman Elementary this year, and will love every minute of it. 
* Johnny's practice is chugging right along.  He just got a new website and is taking on a couple of areas that coincide with consumer bankruptcy to help his business grow even more.
* Johnny is serving as President of the Rockwall Breakfast Rotary club this year.

My little graduate!

 Kindergarten graduation

 Petting zoo day at MDO

 This girl loves animals

 Pumpkin Patch day at MDO

 Eli has loved art class.  This is at the school's annual art show.

 The aftermath of the kindergarten Teddy Bear Sleepover 

 Dolphin Encounter in Hawaii, notice there's not one of Zoe :-)

 Watching the waves

 After swimming in the freezing cold waterfall

 4th of July at Justin's rooftop park at his apartment

 Swimming at the Disney lagoons

 Dolphins!!

 All dressed up for Justin and Rose's wedding

 Johnny giving his Best Man's speech

 First day of First Grade

 Zoe was so happy to pick Eli up from school.  She missed him all day.

 

First day of Preschool

Being baptized by our fabulous Children's Pastor, Trent Worsham

We love these girls!

 Family photo after Eli's baptism

Lunch at Allure with the cousins after baptism

Another family photo

 Pastor Trent

RPA

I was elected President of RPA (Rockwall Preschool Association) this year. I had to have a current picture for our first newsletter. Johnny took this yesterday morning :)

KINDERGARTEN!!!

Where have the last five years gone?!?! Eli just finished his first week of kindergarten. On the way home, I asked him to describe it using only 3 words. He said, "Cool, awesome and best!!" He loves his teacher, Mrs. Scamperino. She even got an extra hug on the first day after school before I got one. His best friend David isn't in the same class, which was devastating at first. However, he does know one girl that is in his class, Charlotte, which made it better. The first four days we walked him in and got him settled in his class. This morning, he informed me that he was ready to do it by himself. I was a little sad, but also a little relieved when I realized that meant that I didn't have to get up at 6:15 in order to have time to shower, get dressed, finish packing his lunch, get Zoe ready and be out the door by 7:40. So, I'm back to taking him in my pajamas :)

Starting school has meant a few changes around the Tomasino house. We now have this thing called a bedtime, after school chores and no more naps for Eli. I am trying to have dinner ready by 6:30 (which is early for us), showers and bath by 7:15 and kids heading to bed by 8:00. When Eli gets home, he is responsible for feeding Harley, taking out his portion of the trash and packing his lunch for the next day. He takes a lunch and an afternoon snack each day. I bought 3 plastic shoe boxes for the pantry. Two of them are for lunches, one with chips and crackers and one with dessert. The other is for snacks. He chooses one item from each box and I make the rest in the morning. So far, it is working really well and he isn't doing any complaining about it :) We'll see if it's the same story around week ten!

Long Time, No Blog :)

Wow, I didn't realize just how long it's been since I'd put a new entry. A lot has happened in the last five months :)

Eli turned 5 on April 30th. He had a Science birthday party at the Rotary Hall. We saw this Professor Brainius at one of the summer programs at the library last summer. He has said since then, 9 months before his birthday that that is what he wanted to do for his party. So, I booked him in January. There were 21 kids plus him and Zoe at the party. All of the kids had a great time and Eli was the star of the show. The Professor even brought him special goggles that he got to keep.


Zoe turned 2 on June 30. However, her party was a couple of weeks later. Eli came up with the idea to have a dress up party at home, so that is what we did :) I made Zoe a big fluffy tutu so she could be a ballerina and she refused to even put it on. Fortunately, on the way home from Clint and Staci's wedding we stopped in Granbury and I found a little Mud Pie dress with an attached tutu. Eli was Super Why the first half of the party and then he switched into Spiderman. The kids decorated foam door hangers and tiara cookies.

Updates

Springtime

Let me start by saying, I am not a summer person, at least not the summers in Rockwall, TX. They are hot and miserable. Maybe someday we can "summer in Canada". However, springtime is one of my favorite times of year. I love days that you can be outside with the sun shining, breeze blowing and you might need a light jacket. We have spent a few afternoons at the park with picnic lunches in the last few weeks. Zoe is getting to the age where she can enjoy the playground equipment right along with Eli. She climbs the ladders, goes down the slides, walks across the bridges and she could spend the day in the swings. I can't keep up with her and all our stuff at the same time anymore. So, I hang out by the exit so they can't escape and off they go to play. Every few minutes or so I'll hear, "Mom, mom!!" and see those chubby cheeks come bouncing my way. She either wants a bite or a drink, then she's off again. Eli does a really good job of keeping up with her and including her in whatever he's playing. On Monday, we were there with some of our Preschool Association friends and they made Zoe the park monster. She had a blast chasing all the big kids around. Then they'd all come down the twisty tube slide holding onto eachother with her in the middle. I am always so proud to see Eli watch out for her and make sure that she is okay and having fun.

Update for Eli

Eli started his second soccer season a couple of weeks ago at our church, Lake Pointe. This season, Johnny and Eli's friend David's dad Danny are coaching. Neither of them has had this kind of experience before and they are really funny to watch. They are both so loving and patient with the nine boys on the team. Danny did bring them both new whistles at the second practice :) Johnny proudly keeps his hanging from his rear view mirror in his car. I have to include this quick clip of Eli attempting to do sit-ups. He clearly doesn't get it :)

I also got Eli signed up for his second summer of swimming lessons. He starts the week after school gets out. He cried when I first told him, but then for some reason the fact that he will be five and no longer four has made him very excited. His goal is to be jumping off the diving board by the time the lessons are over. We go to a woman that teaches out of her home in her own pool. I was very proud of him last summer and hopefully he will really excel this year.

Update for Zoe

When I look at Zoe I no longer see a baby, I see a little girl. She is full of personality and spunk, and is growing up too fast. I love watching her develop and learn new things, but it's a little bittersweet since she's our last. She is talking more and more and is 100% mobile.

This week she started ISR (Infant Swim Resource) survival swimming lessons. She goes every Monday-Friday until she is completely successful. At her age, they said it takes four to six weeks. The lessons are only ten minutes long.

From the ISR website:

"Children over 1 year learn the following sequence during ISR's Self-Rescue swimming lessons.

• To hold their breath underwater
• Swim with their head down
• Roll onto their back to float, rest, and breathe
• Roll back over to resume swimming until they reach the side of the pool, crawl out or be rescued by an adult
• To perform these Self-Rescue skills first in a swim diaper, then while fully clothed

With these skills your child will be able to swim independently and learn to move at his or her own pace toward the safety of the side of the pool or the shores of a pond or lake."

She cried quite a bit the first two days, but she did a great job. She has really good arm strength and is able to grab onto the side of the pool very quickly. Today, the third day, she hardly cried at all. She seems to really be getting the hang of what they've done so far. At the end of the lesson, I lay two towels by the edge of the pool then cover her with a third one. She is so worn out that she just lays there and almost falls asleep. I will feel so much better this summer at the pool and the water park with both my babies having the skills they are gaining through swimming lessons.