Again For Sure

The Bigs recently had a first that will not be a last. They participated in a kids' triathlon sponsored by our local neighborhood. Neither of them had trained for such a thing, but could do all three events separately. Nathan took them out twice to practice the main idea and distances and then we gave it a good old Lino try. Girly Girl had to swim 25 meters, bike 1 mile and run a quarter mile. Toads' age division had to do double all of her distances. Swimming is not a forte of either of them, but they made it through. We tried to stress to them that being the best at one thing was not the goal, but watching all of the local swim team members roll up in their team suits was a bit intimidating. The transition was a whole experience on it's own due to some poor planning on the part of the event organizers. Let's just say this momma was not happy. Nonetheless, off to the bike they went. Biking is Toad's strong suit.  He made up a tremendous amount of time. Girly just learned to ride a bike a few months ago but actually did fairly well. Except for the volunteer sending her the wrong way on the course it was a good bike segment for her. She hit her stride on the run coming in second on that segment. They both finished the run up strong and had a great first race. We loved seeing their determination and watch them try something new. They are both all set to do another one. Training will be in order, but the Six Linos are up for the challenge.

The photos are not in order, but you get the main idea. A great time was had by all! 

First Day Without Kindergarten

August 22, 2011

After two years in a row of dropping off a kindergartner the first day of school, it was a little different this year. First grade and second grade. Old hat. No big hugs. No help finding your name. No problem. We took Toads to his class first and then settled Girly Girl into her class which is Toads' class and teacher from last year. Their classrooms are right across the hall from one another, so they will be in view/ear shot of each other almost all the time. Toads probably could have done without the parental escort but Girly Girl was still a little interested in having us there. They have each other and for now, big brother is not too troubled by little sister being around all the time. I can already tell that they won't want us around much longer. They are confident, independent little Linos. I wouldn't have it any other way. I did manage to get a few pictures before they dismissed me.

1st grade and 2nd grade

Pine Forest Elementary - Sra. Fabela's class

Pine Forest Elementary - Sra. Rudd's class

No Girls Allowed

Here is the boy - Toads. Our oldest. Our only son. If he has heard it once, he has heard it a thousand times......'you're the only boy'. People say it with such sympathy and often a 'that's just terrible' tone in their voice. There are times that I would have to agree. He is inundated with the feminine side of everything  - all the time. The summer in particular is rough for him. He's home with mom and three dramatic girls that like all things pink.

I have to be very intentional in my efforts to keep the masculine side of things at the forefront for him. Of course I just don't 'get him' on many occasions and I will never be able to relate to him like Dad does, but I can do my part to not let the hormonal female majority at our house overwhelm him. These are some of the things I try to do:

• Have plenty of boys over to play. The three girls rarely have guests over to play - they have each other. He has nobody! Just having another boy in the house eases many of the tensions among the little people.
• Let him choose the entertainment. He can only watch Barbie: The Island Princess so many times. We have a nice selection of boy movies, dinosaur puzzles, monster books, war games, and more.
• Don't worry about his clothes matching. I have to admit that I struggle with this one. I want all the girls in matching outfits with cute bows, so of course the boy should at least have on a shirt and shorts that match each other. I have had to learn to let it go......let him wear mesh shorts 6 out of 7 days, let him have on plaid shorts and striped shirt, wear tennis shoes with everything. I still make him look presentable for church and certain family outings, but I am getting much better about this one.
• Let him get dirty. Being the oldest, I was naturally a bit cautious with him as an infant/toddler when outside. With age, came dirt, sweat, sticks, rocks, and more sweat. He smells like a boy in no time.
• No pink or purple allowed. Strong masculine colors only - clothes, blankets, toys, bikes, plastic plates/silverware, etc. All the princess dress - up clothes are for girls only.
• Never object to Father/Son time. We call it 'guy time'. Nathan is very good about spending time with him and being intentional about building masculine traits in him. I am so thankful for that significant influence! I do my best to never discourage or detract from that time they have together even if it means planning 'boring' things for the girls and I to do so that Toads is not interested in them.
• Limit the girly activities. If at all possible, I make alternative arrangements for Toads when it's time for me to hit the mall or nail salon. This also means the little girls cannot make him play girly games all day in the playroom.

The Second One Went Too!

We did it! Number two went off to kindergarten today. It was a little different for me this time..........it wasn't the oldest, it was a girl - not a boy. The build up was different too. Girly Girl wasn't excited to leave preschool back in May and it took pretty much the whole summer to get her to the 'this is going to be awesome' point. It was a great day. We had practiced our morning routine last week, so that part went off without a hitch. Took standard pictures and off we went - Mom, Dad, Toads & Girly Girl. Leaving Samoosa behind didn't bother anybody (so sad).

As Nathan said afterwards, 'we are irrelevant'. We walked Toads to his 1st grade class and he didn't even acknowledge us. Nothing. The kindergarten hall wasn't that much different. Girly Girl walked down the hall on her own and then wanted us to walk in with her. We did and she proficiently unpacked her bag, found her desk and began coloring with her favorite color - orange. She did pause long enough for a photo with Mom. They both really could have done it without us. There were no tears. Not even lingering hugs. We prayed on the way to school and told them we loved them when we left. Off they went.

I couldn't wait to pick them up. Well, not the car service I was running. One pick up at 1:50 and then the other at 3:20. Not enough time to go all the way back home. I wanted to hear all about their fabulous days. Girly Girl promptly got in the car and announced 'I don't want to tell you about it'. I knew she had a good day because her teacher had already told me, so I just ignored the comment and didn't talk to her for about ten minutes. Eventually, she opened up and told me some of the juicy details. The best part - recess; the worst part - getting lost; the funniest part - Mrs. Wiggin doing recess rules. Mrs. Dees - 'I love having her as my teacher'. She's flat out exhausted. The tears started flowing when she realized that her teacher kept today's artwork so she could show it to us later. Everything from that point on had drama and tears. At bed time, she was willing and excited to go back tomorrow.

Now the boy, I expected no juicy details. But I got - 'it was the best day ever!' I was astounded. He just started telling me everything (more about that in a later post) and he had a blast. Tomorrow, we do it again. Mom's not going in. The boy will take the girl. I will keep praying over them and enjoying the two little girls. What an exciting time in the life of our family! Watching all these little people grow up. I'm having a blast.

For Two Reasons

This post is for two reasons only.......1) so relatives can see the boy at his kindergarten program and 2) so I can find this video ten years from now.

Relatives, enjoy......Toads' Kindergarten program from his last day of school. He is on the top row, in the middle and holds the letter 'O' in the alphabet song.

Everyone else, ignore.