Let the Season Begin!

I realize I am lacking (again) in blog updates. Part of the reason it seems all we do is play football and you can only have so many posts about football. I realize our summer consisted of BMX and swimming based on the blog posts.

The other reason is SCHOOL!
Yes, Gerrit loves school - especially PE (which the first week of school he hated). He is working on learning site words to read and enjoys all that school has to offer (including convincing his dad to go to the homecoming game when it was 40 out).

I am trying to stay afloat with school myself. My classes are good and I'm adjusting to teaching middle school and a little elementary. The elementary is not my favorite time of the day, but I survive.
It is trying to get all my grad school work done before due dates that is tough. I not only sit in class o Wednesday nights (and stay at my friend Sue's overnight), but have papers etc to write on top of my everyday life. Needless to say, there is not much down time for me but it's only for the school year and I'll be done (that is what I keep telling myself). I can't wait to have my 'free time' back!

Anyways, besides school, Adam has started his season of racing. We just finished BMX (even though they are still racing, we are not going to try and do both) and Adam just started last week. It was a beautiful day so we all went to cheer him on (even though we did not see much of the course because of they way it was laid out).
Notice the look on Adam's face - its the same look on every other picture of him racing. The difference - the kit. Yep, TEAM BEAT is an official team - Adam is president and Paul Dahlen (15 yr old) is vice. My brother Jeff designed the kit and we love that Adam (and the rest of the guys on Team Beat) stick out from the rest. Yes, it is MSU green, but frankly, not too many teams have these colors which is why we went with them.

 

From now until December, our weekends will consist of a bike race, either on Saturday or Sunday. I have become a fair weather fan and will stay home (with Emmit) if the weather is questionable. 

First Day of School 2012

Gerrit had a great first day of Kindergarden. We met his teacher on Thursday during his pre-school conference and he seemed excited and ready to go. Adam and I braced ourselves for a rough morning on Friday, bit it went great!  There were no tears, he was excited and seemed confident in what he had to do and where to go.

Here are a few pictures:

If you remember what last year's pictures looked like - these are very different! (It really was not that dark - it was 7am and the photos look worse than it was.) Gerrit is smiling and happy; last year he was mad and still eating breakfast! Emmit felt he needed a 'pack back' which is what he calls a back pack. So before we left he walked around with his diaper bag that is a back pack.

Now that he's had 2 days of school, he said today was even better than Friday. He had show and tell and brought in one of his trophies from this summer. He has made a few new friends (most of his friends from preschool stayed at Kids of Christ for Kindergarden).

He's really starting to grow up and is even nice to Emmit (on a regular basis). He's more helpful around the house and turning the corner (for the good) compared to earlier this summer.

I'm excited to come home each day to hear all about his day at school. It is fun to hear what he has learned and what the best part of his day was.

Emmit is making strides in the potty training area. He seems to be getting the concept faster than Gerrit did. I'm not sure how people can make money off of books titled "Potty Training in 3 Days" because I don't believe it! I'm hoping it is mastered before we have to get back to pants because shorts and crocs are much easier to clean than dealing with pants and tennis shoes!

Back to the Norm

Seems like all I do lately is go to BMX races. I know that is not true but when I look back at the last week and what we have done, that is the only thing that sticks out in my mind. Sure, I headed back to school with workshops and the boys  are adjusting to getting up and out the door early but that does not seem like 'fun'. I guess that is life though - not always fun. 

Potty training is going on week 3 and little progress from Emmit is showing. He has no problem going - he's just not into telling you when he needs to go. Every once in a while we will luck out and have the pleasure of him telling us he needs to go but then the next time he either has an accident or will go - if we remind him. I sure hope it 'clicks' soon because it is not fun when we go away (and he refuses to wear a pull up - which is not always a bad thing either). So our conversations at home often center around the amount of flow Emmit seems to get when he goes (the kid could push anything out, even a drop and expects a treat because 'he went potty'). We continue to plug away and I am able to keep up on laundry with all the accidents! 

Gerrit wishes he could get treats every time he goes potty so we deal with that debate on a regular basis. He's given up for the most part, but every once in a while wants a treat too. He is more into making money which is a new chapter for us. We decided to start the allowance thing if he stays on top of picking up his toys and helping out. It seems to make sense to him because he is expected to do more than Emmit so he is paid and Emmit is not. We are making sure that half of the money he makes is put in his piggy bank for savings and the other half is in his wallet. He is currently saving up to buy BMX goggles.

I am adjusting back to the middle school again. I miss Sue but like working with the guys again. I never thought a staff could be so happy to see a PE dept back together but our's is. It is a welcoming feeling to know we were missed and they valued what we did and how that affects the school. I am warming up to the idea of elementary again. I have 3 days in which I start my day with little kids - not my favorite but I just have to get them moving and play a game. At least now I have a kid that age so it makes sense - but I'm still not good at it!

School starts for me on Tuesday with kids, I attend school on Wednesdays this semester at the U, and Gerrit officially starts on Friday. A big week for all of us.

Until more news on the start of school, you can watch last night's BMX races. I took the video camera and tried to capture every race the boys did - meaning, Paul, Luke, Gerrit and Emmit. So, they are in order of when they happened in the night.  Paul is in the grey long sleeve shirt, Gerrit in his red pants and black/red jersey/helmet, Luke is in the black/white jersey/helmet, and Emmit is the one in shorts and a t-shirt (the rest of the kids are in full BMX gear - not gonna do that!).

A Glimps at BMX

Tonight I used my phone to video tape the boys' races. When I mean boys', I'm referring to Gerrit and Emmit. Yes, Emmit raced tonight - his first one! They have a little push bike race where they start them near the finish line and they do a little bit of the course. Here's the clip:  

Yes, that is Emmit crying at the first hill. He didn't realize how steep it was and was embarrassed he rolled backwards. It was cute hearing everyone cheer for him. He soon forgot about crying because he was asking to race again before we left! Next week....

Gerrit raced shortly after Emmit in the finals. He did well considering he didn't have a very good start. Uncle Travis ordered different gearing to try out (Travis and Adam think Gerrit is pushing a harder gear than the others which is slowing him down). He took 3rd again tonight and brought home hardware; our mantle is running out of room! He's raced about 6-7 times and all but one time has come home with a trophy.

Maybe next week I can take the actual video camera and zoom in a bit more. I was a bit unsure if I would be able to even video w/ my phone because it was me and the boys (and Luke) while Adam rode over to the race...all worked out though.

Olympics

I love the Olympics and could sit in front of the TV all day and watch the various events. Unfortunately, I have 2 children that do not allow me to watch as much as I'd like. Gerrit will humor me and watch - until he starts to mimic the events. We've had a volleyball game, gymnastics on the couch, and swimming. It was perfect that Gerrit just finished swim lessons and remembers some of the things he learned. He's able to make connections with the 'real swimmers' strokes which has been fun to watch.

Today at the pool, Gerrit started to swim an IM (Individual medley) which was the first race we watched with Michael Phelps. Once I realized what he was doing, I grabbed my phone (yep, I got an iphone on Saturday and love it!) and took some video. Instead of doing homework tonight, I messed around with the video. Here it is:

Family Night Out

Last night we took a family bike ride to the skateboard park. I should say, Adam and Gerrit rode normal speeds and I was lucky to keep my bike upright waiting for Emmit. But, we all made it to the park on our own bikes!

Emmit was funny trying to do the things his big brother likes to do. He insisted he ride down the ramp but when he saw how steep it was, he decided against it. He is getting stronger and coasting longer and longer (Adam hopes to have him riding his 2 wheeler by fall). He did go down the big ramp at the end, with Adam's assistance.

 

The boys and their bikes:
 

On the ride home, Emmit was stopped by the local police. He was awarded a free ice cream cone from DQ because he was caught wearing his helmet. We caught up to Adam and Gerrit to learn, Gerrit was stopped too! So, of course we had to end our night by cashing in the free ice cream! 

Level 2, Here He Comes!

Gerrit finished his 2 weeks of swimming lessons on Friday. As much as I love that he gets 2 full weeks of lessons, it is a bit taxing to always be home and get there on time etc. Luckily only a few days of him fighting to go and was ready to go before I was ready. One morning he wore his goggles on his eyes in the car and said he couldn't see when we got to the pool - of course- they were foggy! It would not be so bad if I didn't have to keep Emmit entertained and out of the water. Luckily next year, they both can take lessons!
Gerrit made great strides over the 2 weeks and took a huge leap on the last day that convinced his teacher he was ready for level 2! I think he was the only one that was passed on to the next level that was in his class.
Gerrit was bummed because his group did not go off the diving board the entire 2 weeks whereas the other level 1 did as did the preschoolers. So, when everyone left, he asked his teacher to help him go off and here he is:
the first one is him jumping in the 5 foot area with his class and using noodles. He liked that he did it but is afraid to do it w/o anyone there to help him swim to the side. (During open swim, no one is allowed to wait in the water to help the jumper to the side.) So, we will see if he is brave enough by the end of the summer or waits till next summer. Either way, he is quite the fish and loves to swim!