so thankful

As you can see, I haven't been very good at blogging this fall. The past few months have been a whirlwind of first grade, new friends, work, parties, book clubs, scouts, swimming, piano and more. I try very hard to be the best mother to him and I'm often exhausted. But you know what? I love my job - I love my job as Marek's mother. He is the best thing that ever happened in my life. Tonight I asked him if he could guess what the best day of my life was...and he said, "the day I was born?" Absolutely. I wish I had more time with him. I would have given anything to have been at home with him, instead of working - even though I love my career. I wish time hadn't flown by so fast these past - almost seven! -  years. But I am so proud of him. He is sweet, kind, sensitive, funny, inquisitive, and so much more. He loves to play. He loves to laugh. He loves to sing and play games and help at home. He is often wise. He loves to snuggle. He's a fantastic reader. He's a worrier, especially about those he cares for. I hope he knows how much he's loved. Two events in my life - the passing of my father and the birth of my son - have given me the immediate knowledge of how important every minute is - how important those you love really are. Nothing else really compares. I'll miss my boy at Thanksgiving, but I know he'll be having fun. And, as always, Marek is what I'm thankful for each and every second of my life.

Summertime

Bike riding - no training wheels any longer!!!!!

Building with food...

 No summer would be complete without...strawberry pie!!

Last day of Kindergarten

 Bed Head! Wouldn't you know, that going to bed the night before with wet hair would create a crazy look for the last day of school!

 His sweet teacher. She predicted that he would grow up to be an architect. She also mentioned that if he could become a professional reader, that'd be the job for him! :)

 The sign I made for him for our front window.

 Celebrating the beginning of summer at the kindergarten family BBQ!

He could have gone on the tractor rides all night long!

Baseball

 Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good too.

Fieldtrip & End of School Party

Nature Class Field Trip:

Walking with one of his best friends.

 

End of Year Splash Party:

Music Performances

This spring was also the time for music performances - school performances and piano recitals.

Marek has been taking piano lessons for a little over a year now. He has a wonderful piano teacher! His first recital was at Christmastime. His teacher has all of her students and their families over to her house in December for parent-child duets, child performances, and Christmas carols. It's also a potluck dinner, too.

Then later in the spring, all of her students have the opportunity to participate in the annual Suzuki Play-In. It's fantastic! All Suzuki students (piano, violin, viola, cello) in our community come together to play together. Marek worked really hard to learn his songs and he had a blast playing with the other students. We also purchased a Yamaha keyboard this year, which he used at the event. It's a really nice keyboard and I'm glad we have something portable to take with him on trips to Washington. I love our piano, but having something that is portable is great! It's given him extra motivation to play. I can't wait for the next Suzuki Play-In!

School Class Performance:

Getting ready on the risers.



Catching up: Rewind to Winter and Spring!

I just haven't been great at blogging this past year, but I have a free moment tonight, so I'm going to try to catch up as best I can. Much of the past year was consumed with our remodel project: we added a family room, remodeled the kitchen, remodeled the bathrooms, and added wainscotting to our entry. I also volunteered a lot in Marek's classroom. I volunteered twice a week in his kindergarten class, in addition to helping out with fieldtrips when I could. Add in work, piano lessons, pottery class, baseball games, and book clubs...well, it was a busy time for us!

A photo tour of some of our memories:

Valentine's Day

Marek with a sweet girl from his class, exchanging valentines.

Vacation to the Mountain in Washington with the Roberts and the Lyons:

Playing Hullabaloo with Madeline, Sophia, and Talus.

Buddies!

Bundled up.

Giving ice skating a try.

Sophia, Madeline, Marek and Jake.

Teacher Appreciation Day:

He had a great kindergarten teacher and he was happy to make a special card for her!

first game memories

He's player #1, in pitcher position.

Untitled from Kristin S. on Vimeo.




Untitled from Kristin S. on Vimeo.

Baseball Season Has Begun

It's T-Ball season! Marek loves baseball. He loves watching it and playing...but when he found out I signed him up for t-ball he was very nervous. He was afraid it would be just like his experience with soccer (which wasn't so pleasant for him) and he was dreading the first practice. But, luckily, it has gone so well! He's been blessed with a great coach who seems to really understand kids (he's a dad himself with a daughter on the team), he knows baseball, and he's so encouraging. Marek took a few practices to warm up to everything and I wasn't sure how the first game would go today. He surprised us all by doing a fantastic job and having a great time! I took a lot of photos and video. It was incredible weather (and the sun was directly in my view, so the photos aren't the best quality). I love this boy so much!