So apparently, my boys who claim they can’t swing on their own and need me to push them can miraculously swing themselves when I’m not there! Wonders! 😉 I’m still so excited to have the play set completed for the kids.
Steven, Sammy and Amaya have been engrossed with magnatiles lately and their creations are getting more and more elaborate. It’s been fun to see what they build and the stories they tell around their creations. Hostibles, castles, space ships…
Steven convinced me to bring these up for him one night before bed. He was very proud of his building that was almost as tall as he is. I can understand why.
My favorite of the week is credited to Amaya.
About 2 minute after I took the photos of Steven and his super tall magnatile building it came crashing to the ground. Steven as a sad, sad Bobes so I cheered him up by letting him watch the rocket launch scene from Apollo 13. He was absolutely captivated. We’ll need to watch the whole movie soon.
It’s been a chilly May (sadness) but SSA are still getting outside as much as possible.
On Wednesday we had a special visitor – Baby Love aka Eden, formerly known as Baby Rainbow Heart.
Steven, Sammy and Amaya get ready for school so quickly these days because they can’t wait to get on their scooters. Every morning, Sammy’s question is “how long do I have to get dressed” meaning, “how long do I have until Madison comes and it’s breakfast time because I want to ride my scooter for as long as possible.”
Bedtime shenanigans with Aunt Annette. “Just five more minutes, mommy.”
And Amaya drew this picture of me! She specifically pointed out the dark hair so I’d know for sure that’s it’s me.
On Thursday I headed off to Louisville, KY for Bitcherie Weekend 12. Twelve! It’s pretty incredible. And I was over the top thrilled to take a photo of KFC in K.
The necessary shopping.
I made it until about 5:30pm before nap time hit. Naaaaaaaaaaaps. <3
Amaya got rough with Steven at school on Thursday, even as he asked her to stop and told her that she was hurting him. It was allegedly in retaliation for something that happened (accidentally) earlier in the week so we had a long conversation about it and she made this picture for him as an apology.
Saturday morning, as I missed the kids, my Nest app pinged me with the perfect opportunity to get a peek at SSA.
This child. Even her leg bandage (or a scrape) can’t be ordinary or unadorned.
Post-rain bike rides!
Amaya giggles.
Jason wrapped up Saturday with the kids with a living room sleepover. So sweet.
The Bitcherie!
Jason could report back better than I can but, by all accounts, the kids are having a great weekend with their Dad.
I need to get back to the fun with my friends but here’s one last video for the week. I’ve watched it at least 10 times.
We had a wonderful week. It was chaotic and busy and parts of it gave me a taste of what I feel is to come as SSA move from preschool into the big world of elementary school. I’m not ready at all but, day by day, I can tell that they’re getting ready for the transition.
After work shenanigans… Sammy was trying to save me from the clutches of Steven and Amaya.
Working with Steven on the Lego set Sammy brought him from Disneyland. It was 6+ and I’d say he did 85% of it by himself. He really loves lego sets. (As does Amaya. She didn’t have one of her own so Sammy let her build one of his that he hadn’t gotten to yet.)
The kids are scootering around the house all the time. In fact, they’re getting dressed in the morning faster to have time to ride around before school. They’re getting good at it, too!
It’s been a cold, wet spring here in MI. Booooooo. We’ve been trying to take advantage of any nice day we get.
Me: Amaya, tell me about people you love.
Amaya: I love Ms. Bri and Captain Marvel.
Me: Anyone else?
Amaya: Wellllllllll, not that I can think of.
Totally teaches me not to go fishing lol.
On Tuesday night, Sammy came down for a minute after bedtime and found Sally curled up with me. She sat very patiently and let him pet her. It’s hard to believe this is the same cat who’d bolt at the sight of the kids. Just like with Amaya and Sally, I was so proud of them both.
On Wednesday afternoon, Madison’s mom graciously came over and hemmed the boys’ dance pants. It was so nice of her! Steven, Sammy and Amaya are always happy to see Michelle.
A little more time outside. I remember when they wouldn’t go past the first level of this climber. Then again, they’re 5 now. 🙂
Love these pics of this giggly boy.
Thursday was a big day for the Clines. (Huge, gigantic, massive almost as big as the universe.) After a long time of dreaming on my part, and a shorter amount of time actually doing, we had our play set installed! I stopped home at lunch to see how the work was progressing and to provide some input on the final positioning. Yay!!
It’s done! The kids couldn’t wait to play. But first, dance class.
Amaya and Sammy were the only two at tap class this week! They even had a substitute teacher – Ms. Christina’s sister.
I think Sammy really enjoys tap. Amaya seems to enjoy dance in general but Sammy seems to have a specific affinity for tap class. (I think Steven just goes with the flow in jazz.)
PLAY TIME!! What’s amazing is that, one month ago, none of the kids would go down the bumpy slide at Sara’s house. They’re totally over that hurdle now. Steven even climbs up the rock wall. Between the play set and their bikes & scooters, I feel like the Cline kids are reaching a meaningful inflection point with their gross motor skills. Now we just need the boys to learn to pump their legs on the swing.
The other BIG event on Thursday was kindergarten orientation for the parents of incoming students. Like I said, the kids are ready. I am not. It’s just so hard to believe that we’re making this transition in a few short months. It’s the end of a very specific era of parenting and my emotions are somewhat similar to when I went back to work after maternity leave.
I did get a minute with the principal to be sure he had our message about keeping SSA together for kindergarten. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s time to separate them by 1st grade but they want to be together next year and I agree it makes sense to let them continue in the same class like they have been as they transition into a new school.
Of course we got homework to do with about 14 hrs to finish. Best I could do for Sammy and Amaya’s photos were a year old but they’ll do.
On Friday, Jason took Steven, Sammy and Amaya to Kindergarten Round Up! Wow. They’d heard about it from other friends at school which provided comfort and it also seems to help that they’ve been playing at the school playground. Jason reported that Amaya was a little nervous at first but acclimated pretty quickly. They were all excited at the promise of popsicles afterward.
On Friday, Sammy’s Disney pillow arrived. Now SSA all have photo pillows as reminders of our CA adventures.
A weekend visit from Nana! Yay! SSA love their Shabbat routine with Nana.
Friday night was Steven’s turn to pet Sally. 🙂 I love it.
This week the kids received another STEM kit from Grandma Sunshine. It was a geode set and, early Saturday, we set out to break the geodes in half only to quickly realize we needed a little more muscle.
Enter Daddy!
Late morning, I headed off to Motor City Comic Con to see Doug Jones (Saru) and Ethan Peck (Spock) from Star Trek Discovery. So much fun! Doug Jones can seemingly talk to anyone and has quite the resume. Ethan Peck was a little rougher with the small talk but you’d never know that from his panel.
While I was at the Con, Nana took SSA to Starbucks. <3
It was a packed afternoon. Back yard time.
Scooter races.
Word games with Nana.
Bike and scooter rides. They’re doing so well.
My girl.
Today was the day for all of the Clines to hit Motor City Comic Con. Jonathan Frakes was appearing and with a limited autograph schedule so we arrived early to be sure we wouldn’t miss out.
Since I knew we’d have almost an hour to wait, I brought the kids’ tablets to help them pass the time while we waited “in line” in a ball room until the doors opened.
Devices, devices, devices lol.
Captain America and Captain Marvel – ready to meet Commander Riker!
Funny story – I have a framed, autographed photo with Frakes in our house so the kids talked about how they were going to see “my friend”. As they were talking about it, I think Steven must have finally picked up on what I was saying and he asked, “Does he know he’s your friend”? lol For the record, I never said we were friends. SSA just reasonably assumed we are if there is a framed photo of us in the house.
I can not say enough about how generous Frakes was with his time with us. He was completely engaged with the kids – talking to them, teasing them. It was incredible. He got Steven to spell his name, teased him about having a drivers license, joked with Amaya and even got Sammy to come out of his shell. The kids were enamored and rightfully so. He was a total class act.
That’s right. Go Boldly, kids.
You can’t quite tell from their faces but everyone really loved looking at costumes. We didn’t have a lot of time with them before Nana came to pick them up but hopefully next year they’ll get a bit more wandering around & sight seeing time.
Front row at Frakes’ panel! He officially starts work on Star Trek: Picard on Tuesday!
Finally, I wrapped up my con weekend with a photo op. For this one picture, I spent hours walking around with the framed photo from our last photo op. The photo was taken in Chicago – maybe 11 years ago. And then he signed it for me in Calgary.
What a fantastic day.
With invaluable help from Nana, we wrapped up the day at the kids’ dance studio for photo day. Here’s a sneak peak of Amaya and Sammy in their tap costumes and Steven in his jazz costume. He was playing tic-tac-toe with Nana while we waited for Sammy and Amaya to finish up.
It’s Mother’s Day and my sweet family spoiled me and loved on me all day. <3
I will get to that, though, because first up is my spectacular trip to Disneyland with my Sammy. I was over the top excited and, at the same time, heading off was almost bitter sweet because it meant the end of my California tour with Steven, Sammy and Amaya. What an amazing gift this has been.
Originally we had a flight scheduled for Wednesday morning and I planned Wednesday afternoon, Thursday and Friday at the parks. A few weeks ago I realized that Sammy would be pooped by the time we got to the park on Wednesday (5pm ET) and we’d probably only get in a couple of hours. I made a last minute change to a Tuesday afternoon flight instead and it was 100% the right choice.
Obligatory fountain photo
Sammy was invited to the cockpit and the pilots were so kind & generous with their time. He even got to move a lever to “test” that it was working correctly.
Sammy insisted he was going to stay awake for the whole flight but, by about 8pm ET, he was out.
We landed at 6pm PT and then had an hour wait for our Disneyland Express bus to Anaheim. Sammy woke up for about 3 minutes when I transferred him from the plane to a stroller and then didn’t wake again until we got to Anaheim. He slept straight through the wait for the bus and on the entire bus ride. When asked, Sammy will be the first to tell you that he’s the best sleeper in our family.
Back at home, Amaya and Steven had a quiet Tuesday night together.
Since I made a last minute addition to our trip I wasn’t able to get a room in the Disney hotel we had booked for Wed, Thurs and Friday nights so we stayed down the road at a little motel. By 6:30am we were on our way to check in at Paradise Pier. Sammy was so excited to see real palm trees!
READY FOR FUN!
Disneyland didn’t open until 9am on Wednesday so I also made us reservations at PCH for a character breakfast. I’d never done anything like it but we had time to kill and it seemed like a great way to get into the Disney mood. Sammy loved it! He didn’t care that it was people in character costumes. It still held so much magic for him. (This is unlike the princesses, of course, who are the real princesses.)
This face. I saw so much joy on Sammy’s face throughout out trip.
By chance, we watched Lilo & Stitch for the first time on Sunday afternoon and it so happened that Stitch was one of the characters at our breakfast!
Our hotel was a short walk through Downtown Disney to the park. On the way we stopped for a beignet which had been specifically recommended by Ms. Shannon. She told Sammy that he’d get powered sugar all over his face and she was right. 🙂
Disneyland!! This felt very different than my trip with Amaya in October for a few reasons: I was familiar with the parks. I had a MaxPass which included FastPass and PhotoPass. And I knew we had 3 days so I wasn’t trying to cram the whole experience into one day. (Not to say that Amaya was slighted. We had a phenomenal time together and really did maximize our day there.)
Sammy and I planned ahead. We watched videos of some faster rides to be sure he was ready for them and made Big Thunder Mountain our first FastPass choice of the day and Dumbo our first ride of the day. It was he perfect intro for him.
“I am going to be in charge of when Dumbo goes up and down.”
This trip I was also more familiar with how to meet the princesses and an early stop was to meet Elena. Sammy was absolutely overcome with giggles through the entire experience.
“Elena told me about Avalor so she must be real which means Sofia is probably real, too!” There was absolutely no way I was going to break an ounce of this magic for him.
Sammy’s first roller coaster! Big Thunder Mountain Railroad! He looooooooved it. Omg this kid loves speed and thrills. Over the course of our two days at Disneyland we rode the ride EIGHT times – three on Wednesday and five on Friday. So much fun!
A big, unexpected treat was that Addie and Mary came to spend the day with us. So awesome!! Sammy was a little worried at first about what it would mean to have “new people” with us all day but he quickly realized that it was just fine. And fun.
Matterhorn! Sort of roller coaster-ish and another first for Sammy because he didn’t sit next to me on the ride.
Small World – we liked it but not as much as the faster rides.
Same restaurant we ate lunch at when I went with Amaya. <3
After lunch we headed to the Royal Hall to meet Ariel, Cinderella and Snow White. It was interesting – Sammy wasn’t sure he actually wanted to meet the princesses. I think it made him nervous. When we got in there, though, it was giggles, giggles and more giggles. He was so happy and excited.
Pure magic.
And then it was back on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
With our PhotoPass, we were able to take lots of great quality pictures around the parks. Addie commented on how cooperative Sammy was for photos. He has lots of practice lol. He was also having the time of his life.
Ready to watch the Belle show! I was proud of Sammy for sitting up front with the other kids. It’s rare that he’s on his own, without his siblings next to him, so I was glad to see that he was willing to go off without me.
One of our last rides of the day was Astro Orbiter – sort of an adult version of Dumbo where we fly higher and faster.
Showing off his pins. On our way back to the hotel we stopped in the World of Disney store and he was given two more! The next day, multiple people commented on how cool it was that he had 5 pins.
Addie! Saying goodbye was only made easier by the fact that I’ll see her in two weeks at Bitcherie Weekend 12.
All day Sammy was eyeing the Mickey bubble maker so, toward the end of the day, we picked up his first gift. (And, later in the trip, two more for Steven and Amaya.)
That was day one! In the gates at 8:30am. First ride right after opening at 9am. Left the park shortly before 5pm. So. Much. Fun. After a short shopping trip and a stop at the fountain, we made it back to the hotel and were both asleep by 7:30pm.
Day two was our day at California Adventure! Staying at the hotels, we could get into one of the two parks an hour early each day and Thursday was they day for Disneyland but I decided we’d skip that extra hour rather than do Disneyland two days in a row and I think it ended up being the right call for us.
On our way to the parks, Sammy stopped to check out the braille map of the area.
He loved this fountain. We stopped for a few minutes every day on the way to and from our hotel. Sammy did a great job reminding us to stop and smell the roses (literally) and make time for little moments that caught our attention.
Our first ride was Soarin, right at opening. Interestingly, this ride made Sammy a little more nervous than the roller coasters. (But not nervous enough to keep him from going again later in the day.)
Radiator Springs was our first FastPass of the day and we were able to ride twice, early. Good thing, too, because it got busy fast. You can kind of see Sammy in the photo behind the window.
Stopping to watch a Newsies show. He really liked the live performances.
Our longest line of the entire trip (thanks FastPass!) was to see Anna and Elsa. Sammy even work his Anna t-shirt on California Adventure day. Fortunately, there was a lot to keep Sammy entertained while I waited on line.
God, this was special.
“They didn’t even have to ask my name because they already know it from my birthday parties.”
One of the rides Sammy was excited about was the ferris wheel. A couple on line with us at the park gates told us the “swinging” ferris wheel was pretty scary but Sammy was determined to try it anyway. Such an adventurous kid and I didn’t even know it! I was queasy for a good hour afterward but so glad we went for it and so was Sammy. This is one of my favorite pictures of the two of us from the trip.
Photo credit: Sammy. The weather on the trip was overcast but warm enough to be pleasant.
Eating a churro (so much junk food!) and watching a show.
Mickey Mouse!!
Goofy!! He pretty much smiled like this for three days straight.
Toward the end of the day we decided we’d try out Grizzly Peak River Run. Despite the fact that I packed a change of clothes for us, I insisted on ponchos. Turned out to be the right choice because we rode this ride five times in a row! Definitely a top pick for the trip for both of us!
Sammy was having so much fun that I had to get a video of him on the ride. Oh, the laughing!!
Our one miss at California Adventure was the area with the superheroes. We saw Captain Marvel and Captain America but weren’t there in time for photos. Honestly, though, Sammy seemed okay with just the up-close. He’ll tell you that we were in line to meet Captain Marvel but she had to leave on a mission before we got our turn for pictures. (True story.)
An Agents of SHIELD vehicle!
This wrapped up our day at California Adventure! We were in the gates at 7:30 and on Soarin’ right after it opened at 8am. (First group!) We left the park around 5:30pm and stopped for pizza on our way back to the hotel. Sammy was a sleep by 7:30pm and I wasn’t up much longer.
Friday morning – Sammy living his best life with a room service delivered Mickey waffle.
The forecast called for rain and Sammy didn’t want to worry about wearing his “bag” (poncho) so I brought his raincoat. He actually didn’t need it but still chose to wear it for a good chunk of the day.
First fast pass of the day was for Space Mountain and first ride of the day was Big Thunder Mountain. It was so quite first thing in the morning that we were able to ride it three times in succession. First in the middle, then in the front car and, last, in the back car. We both agree the back of the roller coast is the most fun.
“I make this face better than you do, mommy.”
Aurora was meeting people for a short time that fit in our schedule but, for some reason, Sammy totally panicked and didn’t want to get out of the stroller to meet her. Okay! Princess Aurora knows how to adapt. 🙂
Sammy isn’t familiar with Alice in Wonderland but it’s hard to resist the Mad Hatter.
Sammy was most excited about the opportunity to meet Chewbacca who “came all the way to Earth from Star Wars just see us”. We made it a point to arrive at the Star Wars area right when it opened at 11am and were 2nd in line to meet Chewy.
I can not overstate this child’s awe. It was beyond.
My heart.
Sammy was happy that Chewbacca understands “human” even if he only speaks Wookie. <3
I think this experience was my highlight. Seeing Sammy’s face was incredible.
Sammy was adamant that he didn’t want to meet Rey. I think he was scared, though I’m not sure why and he couldn’t articulate it. Maybe it was an overload from meeting Chewbacca but he burst into tears at the thought of it. I really wanted to meet Rey for Amaya so I found him somewhere to stand where she couldn’t see him while I went to say hello. (I mean, he didn’t even want Rey to see him. “Not one bit.”)
Space Mountain! I wasn’t sure if it would be too much for Sammy but he loved it and we rode three times! Early, too, which was good because the FastPasses started booking up quickly.
With the upcoming opening of Galaxy’s Edge it was reskinned as Hyperspace Mountain which made it even cooler.
Friday was the toughest day in terms of Sammy’s mood. Every now and then something would set him off. I think it was just a lot of stimulation. To take a break from the chaos we went on the Riverboat ride. It was just the break we needed to take a deep breath and regroup.
“Take a picture of me here. Will Daddy know I’m on a boat because he’ll see the water?”
By mid-afternoon I was ready to give Splash Mountain a try and it was another winner! We went twice and I would have been game for a third if Sammy was but I think he thought the line was a little too long (even with his FastPass). This kid has no idea how spoiled he was with lines at Disneyland. 🙂
From my experience on Grizzly Peak I packed myself a 2nd pair of sneakers and socks which came in handy when my shoes got soaked.
Our last princess of the trip was Rapunzel who was in high demand with only a few meet & greets. Sammy was super excited until he saw Flynn Rider was there with Rapunzel and he panicked. Like, completely freaked out and didn’t want to see Rapunzel. Flynn Rider was kind enough to step to the side but I still needed to hold Sammy for the meet & green for him to get comfortable.
Since it was our last day we went for broke and stayed at the park through dinner. We wrapped up with three rides after dinner – Buzz Lightyear, Star Tours and Astro Orbiter.
On our way out of the park, there was one last, special meet-up. What a way to end our day.
If I recall correctly, here’s our three day tally:
Dumbo: 1
Pinocchio: 1
Carousel: 1
Big Thunder Mountain: 8
Matterhorn: 2
Star Tours: 2
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters: 5
Space Mountain: 3
Splash Mountain: 2
Riverboat: 1
Pirates of the Caribbean: 1
Roger Rabbit: 1
Astro Orbiter: 2
Small World: 1
Radiator Springs: 2
Mater: 1
Goofy Driving School: 2
Ferris Wheel: 1
Midway Toy Story: 1
Little Mermaid: 1
Golden Zephyr: 1
Soarin’: 2
Grizzly Peak River Run: 5
47 rides! It really helped that Sammy was so into FastPass rides. I don’t think we waited longer than 30 minutes for any single ride and that was probably the far end of our wait times. It was so, so much fun. Plus, of course, all of the characters & princesses that we met throughout our trip.
While we were wrapping up our trip, Steven and Amaya were meeting a frog in our yard. (And Madison was on point to accept delivery of 780lbs of play set!)
Saturday morning – the happiest bus from Tuesday night became the saddest bus on Saturday morning. Sammy and I were both feeling the end-of-vacation blues but, at the same time, I don’t think we had another Disney day in us. There were lots of mixed feelings.
Sky club while we waited. Sammy really liked the “big room”.
And we’re home! Sammy picked out a Gaston bow & arrow set and absolutely could not wait to try it out. Admittedly, it’s pretty cool.
Here’s what steps at Disney looks like!
While we were traveling home, Jason was off to t-ball with Steven and Amaya – their first time on the actual baseball diamond.
Mother’s Day! I was able to sleep in and then Jason and the kids brought me gifts and breakfast in bed. Sammy and I also distributed the gifts we brought home with us from California.
We had wonderfully lazy family day together – just what we all needed after the time apart. Plus, legos.
Someone sulked through lunch lol. She’s got that face down.
Scooters and My Little Pony. 🙂
We wrapped up the day with dinner out at Zingermans. This homemade shirt was one of my wonderful Mother’s Day gifts. I love it.
Amaya, sitting at the bar while we waited to be seated.
Finally, for the day, Sammy couldn’t quite hang for the ride home. Best sleeper ever.
Madison and the kids made this awesome frame for me.
The kids brought these home from school. I absolutely love that they all mentioned our travels. It’s so special to me and I’m glad it registers with them, too.
So, all in all, a spectacular week that’s hard to match.
Monday was a bit of a rough entry for everyone. Amaya, in particular, had a hard time when I left for work in the morning. Of all the kids, she’s least likely to tear up saying goodbye to me. There were lots and lots of extra hugs. Wearing this new unicorn JoJo bow from Charlie also helped.
After school, Madison took the kids to Michael’s to get some supplies for a surprise for Jason’s birthday.
Back together again after work. <3 We spent some time in NY talking about being deaf and being blind, and the kids remembered the story of Louis Braille, so they were excited to revisit the story when we were back in MI. It led to so many interesting questions. “What does someone’s eyes look like when they’re blind?” (In the book, the children at the School for the Blind all had their eyes closed.) “Do blind people need to sleep if their eyes are always closed?” We also talked about how Louis Braille went blind and how medicine today would help stop an infection like that from spreading. (Which went a bit sideways when Amaya got worked up about eye drops.)
Amaya colored this using a reference photo the entire time. Admittedly, I’ll be a little bit sad when she rights her “J”s. (Same for when the kids correct “aminal” and “hostibal”.)
Tuesday was the dentist which the kids and Madison rocked. It was their first time for x-rays and Amaya and Sammy breezed through. Steven had a really rough go of them but he toughed though and then mostly recovered for his exam.
Not much has changed. Sammy has perfect spacing for toddler teeth. Amaya’s mouth may be a little crowded but it’s too soon to tell. She may start losing teeth in a few months. Steven’s mouth is very, very crowded – same as we’ve been hearing since his first dentist appointment at 2 years old.
BIG NEWS for Sammy on Wednesday. He took a swim lesson in the big pool and he loved it!! Hopefully all of the swimming at camp will officially crack the code for him. And, on Tuesday, Amaya dove into the pool with help from the swim teacher. She’s definitely going to love pool time this summer. Steven is still hesitant but he’ll have his moment.
After school on Wednesday, the kids got to work on Jason’s gift.
Before I had my dance class, the Cline kids had a dance party. I love this picture of Amaya. She knows who she is.
SSA all had rough days at school on Thursday. Just so much energy. So Madison took them to the school playground for a bit, afterward, to help burn off energy. Slides have finally clicked for Sammy! One Cline kid may actually use the slide on the playset we ordered. 🙂
Dance class! We’re getting close to recital time.
This week, our landscapers got the ground ready for our new playset. If all goes well it will be delivered on 5/8 and installed on 5/16. I think I’m as excited as the kids are.
These faces. <3 It was the post dance party / super hero battle pile of Clines.
Steven was sad, sad, sad at bedtime that he couldn’t keep playing his superhero game so he picked up a book titled, “What Makes Steven Happy” and read to me from his book. (1. Give him his Mommy. 2. Being with his daddy. 3. Talk to his whole family. 4. You have to guess his favorite game.)
I asked this child to put on his pull-up and he complied. And then forgot the exact way in which he complied which ended just as you’d expect.
We had a milestone on Thursday night! Amaya came down after bedtime for help with something while Sally was sitting quietly on my lap. After 5 years, she got up the nerve to pet Sally and Sally got up the nerve to let her. My best girls.
You can tell Amaya still kept her distance.
Friday! Happy Birthday Daddy!!
Steven, Sammy and Amaya were so excited to give Jason the cards they made for him.
Our birthday morning adventure was the kids’ first t-ball game! Amaya came to terms with her uniform by wearing a pink shirt underneath her uniform shirt and by striking a sassy pose.
After our soccer experience I wasn’t sure how this would go. In advance, Jason talked to the kids about listening to the coach and being part of a team but they’re still five and who knows, you know? But it was great! The kids dove right into practice, they listened well, and they had FUN.
Amaya is the only girl on the team. You can see her in the purple sweatshirt, practicing with her partner.
Getting instructions from coach.
We played two innings. In each inning, all players got to bat and all players fielded. All players also got to advance a base with each successive batter. Important, it seems, because they definitely don’t know when to run. Yet.
Steven’s first at-bat.
Sammy’s first at-bat.
Amaya’s first at-bat.
Sammy, coming home.
If you look carefully, you can see the bases loaded with Clines. Steven on third, Sammy on second and Amaya on first. (The field we were supposed to use was wet and muddy so our coach improvised for this first game.)
Madison joined us for the game!
During the week, Madison convinced Steven to try Sammy’s “big” bike and he loved it! After t-ball, Jason took Steven to buy his own two wheeler. A nice 14″ Lightening McQueen bike. Sammy and Amaya have 16 inchers but this one is perfect for Steven.
At first, he wanted to ride with me holding onto the front of the bike. After about 15 minutes, I was able to show him that I wasn’t really holding on and off he went! Goodbye little red tricycle! Hello big red bike!
The CBG – Cline Biker Gang
We had big plans for the evening – dinner for 21 at Michigan Beer Company to celebrate Jason’s 50th. Four of his oldest friends and their families were able to join us along with Grandma Sunshine, Aunt Annette and Aunt Ouize – in all the way from DC.
In case the kids ever ask, that’s Penske, Pughsy, Kotre, Daddy and Doog. (Though Amaya has dubbed him Doug Doug.)
Amaya loves Doug Doug. So much, in fact, that she turned to him and said, “You’re a beautiful man.”
Sammy and his Aunt Ouize. <3
Happy Birthday, honey! I know you feel that we only celebrate 50 as a milestonet because we have 10 fingers and count in base ten, but I was still so glad to celebrate with you.
This morning, as early as 8am, Steven was begging to go ride his bike again. It was a perfect day so “yes” was the only option. Amaya and Sammy brought their Razor scooters (but pretty quickly wished they also had their bikes – which I had offered, but the the suggestion was resolutely turned down so note to myself and others – always pack those bikes).
Amaya and Sammy really did get the hang of those scooters, though. All three Cline kids are making some big connections with gross motor skills.
We wrapped up our weekend with a birthday party at Pump It Up. Again, progress! Last time we were around bounce houses, SSA were all very hesitant to try any of the bigger bounce houses and slides. This time, Amaya and Steven both went in some smaller bounce houses and Sammy went down every. single. slide. He loved it!!
Steven’s friend Ethen wanted to sit next to him but he insisted on sitting next to his brother. I love the loyalty and, at the same time, it also makes me glad we’re starting to do 1:1 play dates for the kids.
That was our week! On Tuesday, Sammy and I are off our big Mommy-Sammy adventure to Disneyland. We can’t wait!!*
