Fall 2014 Family Pictures - By Jenn

I can't believe I forgot to post these! I love them. Jenn took family photos of us this fall. Simon is 3.5 and Lillian is one year old in these photos. The sweater she is wearing was hand knit by Alan's Aunt Sharon.

The few on the front are full resolution if you want to print them. After the jump are smaller but I'm happy to send them full resolution to anyone who is interested.

THE BRIDGE TO NOWHERE

(Written by Ms. Zairel)

In the picture on the left, Simon is serving as the guardian on the bridge to nowhere in particular. During small groups, he chose to work with the foam shapes. He picked a long green noodle shape and straightened it out as much as possible. He walked on over to the water table and placed the tip of the foam on top of the table. Then he patiently raised his hand until I called on him and told me that I needed to walk through the bridge.

I walked on over and when I tried to go through the bridge, he just started cracking up and told me that I can't go through the bridge, I have to wait for the bridge master to lift it. I figured that this was fair, so I waited for Simon to lift the bridge. Then I waited...and I waited some more. The bridge did not open. I asked Simon why the bridge did not open, and he laughed again. 

"You don't know? he teased, "You have to ring the bell Then you can take the bridge to nowhere!" 

Oops. I soon learned how to ring the bell and passed easily through the bridge.

Maeve and Laszlo watched the bridge go up and down. They decided that they each had something to contribute to the design. Laszlo found some circular pieces and began to arrange them on the table near the bridge. Maeve pulled out a large purple noodle shape and stood next to Simon and called out, "Ms. Zairel, come to the bridge!"

I walked on over and rang the bell. Nothing happened, so I rang it again, and again. The bridge did not move at all. This was all starting to look a bit familiar. I asked Simon, how come the bridge was not opening up even though I was ringing the bell. Once again Simon laughed and said, "Ms. Zairel, you can't just ring the bell! You have to push the code!"

Apparently a lot had changed since I last passed through the bridge. Laszlo programmed a system that included a number code. In order for Maeve and Simon to lift the bridge, I needed to now press "3433" and then ring the bell. I followed directions, and soon made it across the room to talk to Mrs. Walker. 

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Simon shows off just how strong your muscles have to be in order for you to hold the bridge up long enough for people to walk through. Someone has been eating their fruits and veggies!

Good night hugs from Simon to Lillian

Lillian finished dinner and I had her kiss Alan goodnight then we headed up to bed. Simon realized that she was going to bed and said WAIT! I didn't get a hug and kiss goodnight. (Usually he refuses them). He ran after her and gave her hugs and kisses. She joyfully returned the kisses in kind. 

Crying to get her way

Lillian has reached a milestone I hoped she would never achieve. She has started crying to get her way. *sigh* I took my phone out to take a picture of her with Minnie and she wanted it, I said no and then this happened...

Good morning, wearing a hat!

Lillian and I said goodbye to Alan and Simon out the front window and hi to every other person walking down the street - especially the dogs. Then she went and played with the hat in the front room. Super cute. 

Walk in the cold

Auntie Amy needed help moving some furniture so I had both kids for a few hours in the afternoon. We were all getting a bit stir crazy so, cold or no, we needed out of the house. Simon desperately wanted to ride his tricycle. I would have said yes to almost anything to get his coat on (don't tell him that!). Pushing the trike through the snowy patches was not my favorite thing but well worth it. We were all better for the time outside.

Stuck in the snow and waiting for a push. 

Stuck in the snow again. I paused to get a picture of them both. 

Simon's First Baseball Class

Simon had his first Baseball class on Sunday. The session is a Christmas present from Grandpa Bart and Grandma Kiki and we went to show him the place while they were in town. He was so sad to leave then and so happy to come back on Sunday. We got there a bit early as I thought we'd have some paperwork, but they just went ahead and set him up throwing into a hoop while he waited for the rest of the kids to arrive. One of the kids in his pre-school class, Ryan, is in this class with him. They were adorably next to each other the whole session. He had a blast!

They actually have set things up really well. They have a group of kids hitting at a T and then another, separate group just behind where the pitcher would be. When the kid batting swings he runs toward a line of cones (first base line) and runs through a finish bar that has been set up. At the same time, when the batter swings the kids in the outfield take that as go and grab a ball and run up and throw their ball through a red or blue hoop. It gets the motion of the game without having to depend on the skillset of the other kids.

Practicing throwing with a coach pre-class. 

Simon is in back waiting to go.

Kid hit ball, Simon is in back running.

Simon throwing through the hoop,
other kid ran through the cones on right and knocked down the finish line bar