Happy Birthday, Mr. Mayor!

 Eight years ago, The Mayor was born by Caesarean section.  An ultrasound predicted a weight of 11 lbs. 10 oz., so I was not given the option of waiting for a natural delivery!  Imagine my disappointment when he was "only" 9 lbs. 7.5 oz.!   As Mrs. Cosby used to say on The Cosby Show, 9 pounds of it was head!

Although he spent some time in the Special Care Nursery with high blood sugar common to big babies, he came home at the normal time.  And we went straight to the beach for our annual 4th of July picnic with the grandparents and cousins. 

He was welcomed into the family by two adoring older sisters...
who have since become the bane of his existence.

Even though I dropped him on his nose when he was 4 months old, he has turned out alright.

 

 At three, he climbed the lowest of the Adirondack high peaks, Cascade, without a complaint or a carry (except when we wanted to carry him in a certain place).  We were impressed.

 At four, he became a big brother.  Usually, he loves to play with and take care of The Princess.

The Mayor earned his nickname at Easter a year ago, when we went our to dinner with Grandma, Grandpa and Great-Grandma.  We walked into the restaurant and he took over, telling the hostess exactly what we needed and where to seat us.  He was very charming about it.  He is, like his sisters, very friendly and talkative, and has never met a stranger.  So the nickname fits because he is always willing to have a dish of conversation with someone and tell them how it's going to be.

he attended public school kindergarten for about half a year, and has been home-schooled ever since.  We started homeschool because we were moving around a lot, but I think it's really beneficial for him because he can move at his own pace, which is fast!  He took of reading very quickly, and now read, spells and does math way above grade level.  I think if he were at school, he would do his work quickly and then talk to other students, which is what happened in kindergarten.

One thing homeschooling has done for him is to ignite a love for birdwatching.  Once while bike riding near Philadelphia I told him I thought I saw an oriole and he told me what sound it would make if there was one; something we had learned months before, but he remembered.  Moments later, we heard it call and his eyes lit up!

Today he is packing to go off to Pirate Camp on Sunday, where no doubt he will charm everyone again.  It's exciting because this is his first year to stay a whole week instead of half! He was ready to stay longer before, but camp wasn't ready for him!

Things sure will be quiet around here while he's gone, and I predict the Princess won't know what to do with herself without her big brother. 

After camp's over, we're going to see a Pediatric GI doctor to find out once and for sure whether he has celiac disease or not; he's been on a gluten-free diet since he was about a year old.  We were hoping that he would grow out of his sensitivity, as I did, and genetic testing was inconclusive regarding celiac.  He's been on a "wheat test" all this week and so far, I have not seen any reaction which is great.  He is not even cranky.  But I am not sure he would tell me if he did have a tummy-ache, because he likes eating the wheat.  So we'll leave that up to the medical professionals. I would love to see his "special tummy" go away!

What other special events await an 8-year-old boy?  Can't wait to find out.  I've never had an 8 year old boy before!

Trying to Stay Busy

Todd has been overseas for more than a week (see link in sidebar).
I used to put off doing fun things while he was away because 1.) I felt outnumbered and 2.) I didn't want him to miss out on things.  Then I realized, *he's* overseas.  We are the ones missing out!  So, I should go ahead and do fun things. So this year my goal is to keep everyone as busy as possible.
Here's a sampling of what we've been up to:
17th: Airport. On the way home, stop at Borders to get free books. Old Navy, Wal-mart, AC Moore.  Exhausted.
18th:  Homeschool Co-op Year-end picnic, even though we didn't go to co-op this year.  We will go next year.  Good chance to make friends.
19th: Father's Day picnic at my sister's, since we already celebrated Father's Day and birthday with the other Grandpa on the 15th.
20th:  We went to the beach with some friends in the afternoon.
21st:  Stayed home to get some housework and paid work done.  Should have waited a day... Soccer in evening.
22nd:  Intended to go strawberry picking, rained out.
23rd Rained out.  Orthodontist, Library.  Went to soccer anyway!
24th Rained out.  The Mayor went to a birthday movie with Grandpa. 
25th Rained out.
26th:  Birthday party for the Princess and the Mayor, NOT rained out despite ominous clouds.  Thank you GOD!
This week:  Rec basketball, Extra Tae Kwon Do, Library Summer Reading Kick-off party, physicals for 2, Overnight with friends for 2, Soccer, church.  Week after:  Mayor goes to camp, family picnic at Schroon (at least I think we are still on for this, even though B-I-L has a broken leg).  The girls will start volunteering at the library, have volleyball camp, go to the ballet...and at the end of the week, The Girl has her Green Belt I test at Tae Kwon Do.  Daddy comes home on a Monday.

Yep, I think I have succeeded in keeping us all busy for these three and a half weeks!  It doesn't actually end there: we will have a very busy summer lined up with more weeks of camp, summer enrichment classes, and the math lessons that I have not let them stop doing.  I finally stopped saying "we'd better not sign up for stuff because we don't know if we will be here..." Now I say, "If we leave, we leave, it's not that great of a loss to have spent $35 on rec programs."  I'm letting myself and our kids invest in life here like we live here and are not just passing through.  I hope I'm wrong.  But for now, it's okay.  Good, even. 

Rose Garden- The Yaddo

 I'm happy that I remembered to go to The Yaddo this year before the short season of blooming had passed.  We were here two years ago on the Giant's birthday, so now I have a mental peg to hang it on, that helps me remember when to go. Even though Todd was getting ready to leave the country the next day, we took a couple hours last Tuesday to visit this peaceful, free retreat.

The Yaddo was the home of Spencer and Katrina Trask, and after Katrina's death it became a retreat for artists.  Only the gardens are open to the public, but there is a mansion where writers, choreographers, filmmakers, sculptors and others come to work.

I don't have much to say about the visit, I just wanted to share the pictures.  I will tell you that we didn't pick the flowers that you see us holding or wearing; we learned last year that you can find the spot where they dump the clippings and get some nice flowers or petals from it, so that's what we did.


If ever you find yourself in the Saratoga Springs, NY area in mid-June, I hope you will put this spot on your list of places to visit.  Unlike a botanical garden, nothing here is labeled- so a visit is not primarily an educational event, although one could make it so.  It's an opportunity to enjoy the scenery, it's romantic, and it's quiet.  No responsibilities.  In fact it's enjoyable when the flowers are out of season, as well as for picnics, the koi pond, and the water feature (although that's awaiting repairs at the moment).