We're still kickin'!

I guess I have established a new standard for "not so periodic" updates.  Gosh, has it really been that long?  Let's not figure out how long it as been...I'm just not going to go there.

So what has the Shibata Household been up to since we've last surfaced?  There were end of the summer outings with the kids and a vacation with friends.  There were weekend trips to see family and a wedding.  Birthdays were celebrated, sometimes multiple times.  Of course there was school and all that goes along with it, the first day back, class field trips and celebrations, picture day, lunch duties, school programs, and even homework.  There has been volleyball in the forms of serving as camp director, volunteering at various practices and even a good bit of playing for fun (yay!).  There has been work and the expected challenges and stresses that go along with it.  There has been grad school and late night study sessions.  There were the little holidays that included costumes and candy and BIG holidays, also celebrated multiple times.  And in the midst of all that, our lives are filled with everyday blessings, so many of which we have to remind ourselves to enjoy.  The kids have been growing and changing, providing us with frustrations, utter joys, and many opportunities to grow.  We. are. blessed.

Marie is almost halfway through her 1st grade year.  She is thriving.  It is not uncommon for her to come home from school and "play school".  She claims her favorite subject is math.  Don't get me wrong, she is good at math and is quick to pick up the concepts.  But she is very good at reading and reads well beyond her grade level.  According to her teacher, she gets along with everyone and has been known to say that she has 23 friends at school (there are 24 in her class).  She has always been mom's helper, but she is really turning into a big help around the house.  She is a good playmate for her younger brothers, as long as she doesn't try to boss them around too much.  Marie tried ballet for the first time last fall and LOVES it.  This was a completely new arena for us, definitely embarking into the unknown.  She took to it right away, and to the untrained eye, you can't tell that she is the only one of her classmates that hasn't been dancing for two years.  Marie seems to have a natural grace that she most definitely did not get from her mom.

Joey is just recently four years old!  He had been looking forward to this age for quite some time and had developed quite the list of Thomas the train characters and accessories to have a response if anyone were to ask him what he wanted for his birthday or for Christmas.  He has such a good heart and is generous beyond his years...at times of course.  For example, he didn't think twice when a certain uncle jokingly asked for his last bite of Christmas cookie.  Joey loves "screen time", whether it be TV or on the computer.  We almost always limit "screen time" to educational games and shows.  (Note:  "We" does NOT include Grandpa.)  As a result, Joey has started sounding out letters and picking out an occasional word.  He also frequently shares random science facts that he learns from Sid (the Science Kid).  He recently informed Jon that it was actually friction that slowed him down as he was sliding across our hallway in his socks.  Speaking of sliding, it is such a relief that we finally have snow.  Finally, you might ask?  Yes, finally.  He has only been asking about sledding since June.  Joey has a wonderful smile and sense of humor and makes us smile even when he's not trying.  He has got to be the slowest kid at getting dressed and one morning I asked, "Joey.  Why do you still not have your clothes on?"  His response: "Well there was dirt in my belly button!"

Stevie is our two-year-old that is not quite two.  That is he acts like and gives us as much grief as a two-year-old.  Yet Jon (rightly) contends that he makes me laugh more than the others did, particularly at things he should not be doing.  Stevie has been trying to keep up with Marie and Joey from birth it seems.  Anything they have or are doing, he wants to have and be doing.  He climbs and runs, stays up late and takes or "ruins" Joey's toys.  His laugh is contagious and he is a ham.  He is starting to talk more and is finding it less frustrating that we don't know what he wants or is saying.  He loves hockey, watching or playing it.  He is Grandpa's boy, constantly talking about Grandpa's tractor even though Stevie wouldn't ride in it during our last visit.  He is fascinated with tunnels, for cars or trains and ones that he imagines like under tables, chairs, blankets, or a plethora of other things.  We sometimes call him, "the destroyer" which goes along with the fact that he has a particular love for hammers.  And boy, you should see his face if you even mention the word "cookie".

And as for Jon and me, we are still at our same jobs and still for the most part enjoy them.  We are thankful to have them for sure, and I am especially thankful that I can maintain working part-time so that I can be at home with my kids and see them as they grow.  Jon is still working toward his graduate degree, but (I think) the end is in sight.  I have really enjoyed being able to play more volleyball than I have in years (pregnancies will do that I guess).  Big thanks to Jon for handling the kids while I'm off getting exercise and having fun.  We all continue to be blessed with good health, good friends, and wonderful family.  If we could ask for one thing, it would perhaps be time, but then I'm sure we would fill it up with more of this thing called life.  So I guess when it comes down to it, we wouldn't change a thing.

The Month of Marie

September was definitely the "Month of Marie" around our house. To start the month (actually on August 30), she had her first day of Kindergarten. She had been counting down the days and was pretty excited to say the least. She had met her teacher a couple of times and already knew and was friends with a couple of the girls in her class. The first day came and even though she was up really early that morning, she was still pretty chipper.  If the rest of the days went similarly, should be a breeze, right?

Well, the first week went pretty smoothly. The mornings were still early (if you know us, you may also know that none of us are really morning people), but it was only three half days, so we were still able to have afternoon naps and she didn't feel like she was missing out on too much.

The following week consisted of four, full days of school, starting at 8:00 with Mass and being picked up at 3:00. She would come home and give us little details of her day. We started learning some of her classmates' names, the daily schedule, what she liked and didn't like at snack time, what she usually did during "rest" time, etc. We learned that there was a James that sat at her table in her class, but "James" was also the name of her 7th grade Mass buddy.

She generally told us that her favorite time of the day was recess. We knew she was making new friends, sometimes older kids in the 1st, 2nd, or even 3rd grades. We learned that she had gym class on Mondays and Wednesdays, Spanish on Tuesdays and Thursdays, that Tuesday was "Library" day, and that Thursday was "Computer Lab" day.

That first week, we also started hearing and noticing that she was having at least daily episodes of crying. It might happen at recess, at lunch, or even during class. Sometimes she would say that she missed me, sometimes she was "just tired", and sometimes it seemed the littlest thing would upset her.  Mornings were also getting to be rougher. I had a brief talk with her teacher, and we basically decided that she was still getting used to school and needed to get more sleep.

So, we instituted a rest time after getting home from school and also bumped her bedtime up as much as possible when we could. She was still excited about school, but would also make comments that she didn't want to go because she had to get up so early. We took comfort in the fact that at least by the time she went out the door, she was chipper and smiling.

Now that we have four full weeks under our belt, it is still sometimes a struggle, but she is doing much better. We have gotten a couple of encouraging emails from her teacher. And, as far as we know, she went the last two without crying at school. PROGRESS! It has been a transition for us all. Going to bed early, getting up early, spending more time in the car, adjusting nap times for Joey and Stevie, etc. It has been good for us all...I'm sure we'll settle into a routine sooner or later. We are looking forward to seeing everything she will learn and how she will grow this year.

 Marie and her classmate and "BFF" Sarah on their first day.

In the midst of the starting school transition, we also celebrated Marie's 5th birthday. It snuck up on us a little bit. But, we enjoyed immensely a visit from Uncle James, Aunt Jaclyn, JJ, Gracie, Aunt Jess, Grandma and Grandpa Shibata, and Grandma and Grandpa Meinhart. Uncle Mark and Aunt Sarah also made it over for a big chunk of the weekend. The weather was nice; the kids got to play outside a decent amount.

 On her actual birthday, she got her present from us and requested to be able to go out to dinner at her favorite restaurant, Olive Garden. She was super excited about her new matching raincoat and boots and it was a good night out, and by good, I mean that everyone pretty much ate their meals, there was no crying or screaming, and we didn't draw too much unnecessary attention. Marie even got to enjoy a Birthday Sundae to finish off her meal. It is hard to believe that our little girl is already five years old. She is growing up so fast!

 

I'll close with a kid-ism from Marie and a few recent pictures of her little brothers as well.

Marie has been enjoying Mad Libs lately and at one point, I was doing them with her.

Peg: "Name something strange."
Marie: "Toilets."
Peg: "Toilets? What makes toilets strange?'
Marie: "You know when they flush all by themselves and you're not expecting it."

Okay. Now I get it. Yep, that is kind of strange.

Look who turned 4!!

It has been a couple of weeks, but on Sept 19, Marie turned four! As she will tell you, there are lots of things that she can do now that she is four. Even her stomach grew overnight and now she can eat "lots"!

We had lots of visitors come to Michigan for Marie's birthday weekend. Grandma and Grandpa Meinhart came a couple days early and helped with preparations. Uncle James, Aunt Jaclyn, JJ, Gracie, and Aunt Jess arrived late Friday night. Grandma and Grandpa Shibata drove up for the afternoon on Saturday. Of course, Uncle Mark and Aunt Sarah were over as well. Even Colleen (the kids' sitter) stopped by, since Marie had been inviting her to her "party" a few times each day she saw her.

All of the kids' enjoyed helping to decorate for the celebration. There was generally a lot of running around and playing and the kids all got along very well. This is more of an accomplishment that it might seem given that Marie and Joey's sleep schedules are significantly different than their cousins'. Marie and Joey go to bed late and get up late, while JJ and Gracie are just the opposite. Everyone (including the parents) probably got much less rest than usual.

By the time we were really up and going Saturday morning, it was just about time for lunch. We had some sandwiches, cleaned up, and then at Marie's request, proceeded to open presents. This was followed by cake and ice cream. Marie had asked for a cookie monster cake and I was glad when the cake was successfully recognized as such!

All too soon, Grandma and Grandpa Shibata left for home and all the kids went down for a nap. After naptime, the weather was still somewhat nice, so the kids went outside to swing and run up and down the hill. It was good to get some fresh air and exercise after all that cake!

Sunday morning, Marie's actual birthday, we all went to church and then headed back to the house for a quick lunch. Then it was time for the Pittsburgh-ers to start heading for home. Marie still talks about what fun her birthday was and how we had such a full house of visitors that all wanted to come and celebrate her birthday. Everyone made her feel so special!

We put Marie and Joey down for a nap, thinking that they might wake up early enough to take a quick trip to the apple orchard that we've visited the last two years on Marie's birthday. However, the kids must have been exhausted because they took really long naps. That was still okay though because we still had enough time and the weather was nice enough to head to a park to play and try out Marie's brand-spanking-new roller skates. She really got a kick out of them and kind of, sort of started getting the hang of it. Though, she did have a lot more fun hanging on as Jon pulled her along the path.

Grandma and Grandpa Meinhart stuck around for most of the next week. Mark and Sarah closed on their new house the day after Marie's birthday. They all went to a lot of work getting the house in order, addressing issues (resulting from the house being vacant for over a year) and moving things. They are now the proud owners of a very nice place. Joey often comments about the "new house" and talks about how "Mark went home." Joey has also dubbed one of the more spacious rooms the "football room." Marie on the other hand keeps asking if they've gotten their goats yet.

Before Grandma and Grandpa had to leave for home, we did eventually get to the apple orchard. This is a favorite fall activity of Marie's and she continues to do better at actually picking apples. She and Joey both had fun especially considering that we met their friends Megan and Jacob there, that they got to eat a fresh apple doughnut, and that we got to go to a park for a picnic and some playtime afterward. We said our sad goodbyes to Grandma and Grandpa, but the kids still talk about their visit. In fact, Joey now has specific names for two of our dining room chairs, "Grandma's chair" and "Grandpa's chair."

In the meantime, Marie has had her 4 year doctor checkup. She did extremely well. She is growing as we would expect. She's at about 95% for height and 85% for weight. She got lots of praise from the nurse because she opted to sit by herself (instead of on my lap) while she got her four shots. She didn't even cry...just a couple of little whimpers. We got to go out to a special lunch at Applebee's afterward because she was so brave.

Marie has also started Atrium again. She had been talking about it a good deal this summer and it has FINALLY started! She has quite a few friends in her class this year. We are both excited about this because that means that I will also get to catch up with a lot of her friends' moms on a more regular basis. :)

Last Sunday, we took Marie to a children's theater to watch a production of Little Red Riding Hood. She absolutely loved it...so much so that she forgot to eat any of the popcorn that she had asked for on our way in. Afterward, we stopped at a cider mill for some cider and doughnuts. We then proceeded to let the kids pick out their own pumpkins. By the time we were all done, they were pooped and both fell asleep in the car on the way home.

Joey has been doing very well. He is lately getting a kick out of being able to walk and jump both forward and backward. He is also known to unexpectedly tackle Marie or Jon, or anyone else that might be sitting or laying on the floor. He is talking more and more and is starting to put words together into more sentences and thoughts. He is particularly good at saying, "Thank you" and "Sorry." Even when he sneaks up behind us and we inadvertently bump into him, knocking him on his bum, he promptly gives his apologies. And, last night Jon was trying to get him to finish the last few bites of his supper. Jon was "helping" him with his spoon while Joey was complaining and whining about it. Nevertheless, as soon as the food was in his mouth, Joey said "Thank you, Daddy." Now we just need to work on not talking when his mouth is full.

It has been a busy last couple of weeks. In the meantime, I've submitted my resignation, wrapped up things at my old job, and have completed my first week at a new job. The technical work is for all practical purposes the same and I'm working with people that I have worked with professionally in the past. We are starting a new office for a company that has locations around the country (Engineering Systems, Inc.). It is exciting, chaotic, and a little annoying all at the same time. Chaotic because we are starting the location from scratch and and very much learning as we go. Annoying because there are all these little headaches, like setting up our network at the office, not getting our phone system to work, and having to get used to using a Mac. But, so far it has been a good thing. Thankfully, I seem to be beyond the nauseous state of our pregnancy and have regained some of my old energy. Still get tired at the end of the day for sure, but overall I seem to be much for functional than I was a month ago! Thank God!