The Boys And Me

I've been trying to remember all of Dante's little mispronunciations and phrases, and wanting to write them down so I don't forget, because they're so cute, and I'll miss them when they're gone - 

In the summer, he wears his "babing suit" to the beach.

On the way to Providence the other day, he commented on the "windmeal" we saw. 

When we have company for dinner, we eat in the "diming room." 

When I got him new shoes, he told Scott they were "new brand" shoes. 

His catchphrase right now is "Didn't you know?"  Whenever he's telling you about something, he'll start off by saying "Didn't you know?"  

As we were putting on his shin guards before today's soccer game, he was explaining to me that shin guards are to "pretect" your legs.

When he came home from his soccer game, he wanted to join me and Gabe in playing the "remembery game."   (we were playing Memory)

He told me that he scored six forty twenty goals in his soccer game. 

****************

Gabe did not score six forty twenty goals in his game today, but he did almost score a goal, and I swear, I almost teared up, I was so proud of him. It's an especially big deal for him, since last year it was all we could do to get him to pay attention to where the ball was on the field and to stop sitting down and resting every 5 minutes. This year he's running right along with his teammates, and paying attention, and really making an effort - the difference is amazing! 

I don't care one tiny bit about whether or not he scores goals or wins a game or any of that, but it's nice to see him more interested and more involved, and really getting into the game and having fun. And the pride on his face, even after coming close to scoring a goal, was just awesome to see. 

*****************

Last night Gabe and Dante went to Kids Night Out at the Y. They ate pizza, ran around the gymnasium, played in the bouncy house, made a craft, and watched a movie and ate popcorn. 

And while they were doing this, Scott and Carmine and I went out to a relatively quiet dinner. Sure, I had to nurse Carmine while I was trying to eat, but that's still a lot easier than trying to keep a 6- and 4-year-old quiet in a restaurant - it's all relative. 

I think we'll definitely let them do Kids Night Out again another time, and next time we'll get a babysitter for Carmine, and have a real night out - all by ourselves! 

******************

Signed the big boys up for swim lessons today, which will overlap slightly with soccer, which means that for a few weeks between the end of May and the beginning of June, we'll have swim class one night a week, and soccer practice two nights a week. But they NEED to learn how to swim once and for all, so it has to be done. 

They're both very close to swimming on their own, but they need one final push, and I think this round of swimming lessons will do it - I hope it will, anyway. 

*******************

I went to the gym every day this week, and am feeling pretty good now that I'm 7 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight! I still would like to lose a few more pounds after that, but losing those 7 will get me to a point where I feel really good, so I'm looking forward to that. 

And it's not even so much about the numbers on the scale, but the fact that I just feel so much healthier and fitter. It only took me about two days to recover from the half, and I went for a short run on Wednesday, and kept the pace relatively slow, and felt great. Felt good enough to go for another run Thursday, and allowed myself to pick up the pace a bit, and finished the 4 miles at an average 8:41 pace, feeling fabulous the whole time. 

I'm also now able to swim a mile in about 50 minutes - not very fast, I know, but fast enough for me. Frankly, I'm thrilled just to be able to swim a mile! 

I'm starting to really feel my endurance returning, and it's a wonderful thing : )  

Comments

[Wes]

The important thing is to not discourage the little guys and help them develop a love for the game. So many kids get discourage when they get older (Matthew is one of them). Keep up the good work with the kiddos.

Very nice on the running and swimming. You lose those pounds in no time!