We've got a First Grader!

Our Layla bean is officially a first grader.  After a whole year of shuttling between two schools, we had two weeks of fun end-of-year festivities!

Breakfast out at Walker Brothers to kick off the last day at Lyon School

Layla and Mrs. Patitucci, her beloved teacher at Lyon School.

Kindergarten Sing  The kids did a great job!

Last Day of School 6/10/15

Flashback to the First Day of School 8/26/14

Kindergarten Graduation at Open Arms

Layla with her best girlfriends.  They all started at Open Arms as infants.

The coolest thing

Life has been hectic lately, I haven't been posting much.  As the school year comes to a close, Layla and her buddies are getting a bit squirrel-y, maybe in boredom, anxiety, anticipation.... There are a lot of end-of-year activities and prep for camp and vacations on the horizon (!). 

A month or two ago Layla began reading with real life fluency.  And reading everything.  Every sign, every license plate, every greeting card and so on.

I have asked her to read a book to me and she shies away, even though I know she can do it.  Last night, she offered to read books to me.  Two books, in fact, and it was wonderful because she was so engaged and so proud. 

At her public school she has a fantastic teacher.  This teacher that has really engaged her in the classroom and fostered her independence and self confidence to a significant degree this year.  I knew she would learn a lot, but it is truly amazing to see a person learn to read.  And, as promised, one day she just 'got it' and the whole world opened up to her. 

So, it really is the coolest thing.  She loves books and promises to be the kind of kid that reads with a flashlight after mom and dad turn the light out.  Among all the things she has inherited or been taught by us, this one makes me especially proud. 

Revisiting Spring

I think every year I post something regarding 'spring has sprung'.  This weekend was the one that inspires that post.   There is always that turning point when winter is gone and spring is here.  This year it felt very sudden, maybe because the last month was so cold and the snow wasn't budging.  We enjoyed the weekend with classic spring/summer activities:  running, playing in the backyard, cookout and bonfire with friends, and a trip to the beach!

Pictures from Layla's Parent-Teacher Conference on Thursday last week.

Layla and Elena

Elena braided Layla's hair with the first flowers of the season!

Sunday's trip to the beach.  The kids had a blast playing in the sand and making a 'castle' with found rocks and sticks.  What a beautiful day to be out in the fresh air!

Bittersweet

Today was the final closing for the sale of our condo in Deerfield.  It was quite bittersweet in more ways than one.   I hope with time the pain of the losing financial investment will fade and only the good memories will remain.  Of those, there are many.  This was our first home and we put in our sweat equity and lots of cash too, and lost it all and then some.  We lived in this place when we got engaged, married and brought both our babies home from the hospital here.  It was our home for almost 9 years and we loved it there. 

The closing was this afternoon and it still doesn't feel quite real.  I feel lighter somehow,  happy and sad.  And also really thankful that I never (I hope) have to talk to anyone on the board or with the management company for the our association.  At every turn they thwarted our efforts to sell and rent our property and continually enacted more restrictions to make the property less attractive to potential buyers or investors. 

All that being said, I think I will sleep soundly tonight. 

Family pic from our last visit last week.

Let it Go, Let it Snow!

I've been slacking on the blog, life has been crazy busy with holidays and work and general  life stuff happening.  In recent events: Layla and I went to Frozen on Ice with our friends, Maddie and Emily.  The girls had an wonderful time and even us moms did too.  It was a lot of fun; we sang and danced and bought overpriced souvenirs.

Last weekend we went to lunch to celebrate the engagement of one of Jason's best friends, Kevin.  Afterwards we ventured to the new Maggie Daley park to go ice skating.  The kids had a wonderful time and we even got 'Uncle' Kevin out on the ice!

Jayden enjoyed skating, a lot, almost as much as he enjoys eating snow.  He slipped and slid all over, giggling and laughing the whole time.  Then I held him and skated and he kept yelling, "I skating, Mama, I skating". 

Layla (and I) experienced every possibly emotion as part of her skating experience: terror, (normal) fear, irritation, frustration and finally joy as she figured out she could actually skate if she stopped trying to run in place while gripping the rail for dear life.

The new park has been taking shape over the last year and the parts of the park are open. The new park area was existing but is all being "renovated and re-imagined"; it is connected to Millenium park by the Frank Gehry pedestrian bridge.  The skating venue is not a rink, but a 'ribbon' track.  It is very pretty and well done, though for our very limited skating skills, staying at the Millenium park rink might have been better.....

Here's a map of the park if you are interested:Maggie Daley Park and website for more pics: http://maggiedaleyparkconstruction.org/

It is snowing like crazy here and the wind is howling.  We are hunkered down and ready to eat junk food and root on the Seahawks tonight!