Hockey, 2010, Done

This morning was Tyler's last Learn to Skate with Holy Name hockey. What can I say? The kid can skate. Next year, I have to hold my breath while I watch my son, on the ice, with other kids, playing games. Ugh. Thank goodness he is one tough cookie!

I loved this shot. The big and the little. It seems like just yesterday I was watching him on the ice with a walker. He used to skate, with the walker, to the far end of the ice and where the advanced group was. He would try and hold his own. Nowadays, he goes right there, warms up, grabs a puck and shoots on net. My little guy is getting big.
No one is prouder of what Tyler has achieved through this program than Frank. He is on the ice with him each week, rooting him on, there to receive high fives, and to push him when the attention is waning.

The smile under that face mask says enough. Let's face it, I can't fight this love!

The last class today consisted of each group, beginner, moderate, and advanced, showing off their skills to everyone in the audience. I did not get many shots, I was in charge of watching, taking still shots, and using the video camera! What a job. Below, Tyler is showing the crowd their warm-ups. His group also practiced passes, stick handling, and took shots on net. The after picture. It has always amazed me at how much this five-year-old sweats!After the on ice portion, the kids were treated to cupcakes and juice and were each called up to accept their certificate and medal. It is the little things in life that make this kid proud (okay, and his mom and dad!).

Who knows what next year really brings? The definite is that this kid loves hockey (I guess that erases all questions of who his dad is! ;) and that he will continue playing. Where though? We will see where that road takes us!

Banquet, Fire Station and V.I.P. Status

When Spring starts to show signs outside that means one thing at our house. The end to another hockey season. After last years trip to the Final Four, this year was anti-climactic, but an exciting season nonetheless. Each year, the team has a banquet for the players, their families, and the coaches. This year the banquet was held at the North Thompsonville Fire Department. Not realizing that this was a real (as opposed to fake?), working fire department, Tyler and I were both excited when we walked in a were greeted with the huge, red, shiny fire trucks! It was great! However, we were not there to play (at least not yet), and we had to make our way to the banquet.

Not realizing how the banquet came to be in the firehouse, Tyler was soon told by the parent of a player that if he behaved, that he would be treated to a special tour of the garage! And special it was. The only other thing that could have put Tyler in line was an afternoon of hockey. He was extremely well behaved through lunch, speeches, and videos and earned his tour! Our guide, it turned out, is the Fire Chief! Talk about special!

The first stop on our way in? The front office to collect the mandatory hat. When we entered into the garage, it was simply amazing at how beautiful the trucks were. They were all clean, including the tires, the chrome sparkled, and the insides were pristine. Tyler went right over to the bell on the ladder truck. I am sure the fingerprints were gone by the time we got home! ;)
After that, Mr. Provencher, our guide, showed Tyler into the back of the pumper truck and

My two boys got to sit in the front of the truck as well!

Tyler even checked out the rows of lockers which had the jackets, boots, and helmets for each firefighter.

It was a great trip and even more special that we had the place to ourselves! Thanks to Mr. Provencher for being a great guide and giving Tyler the V.I.P. treatment!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Mystic Aquarium

Sometimes the best laid plans are just that. Last weekend, the forecast was for beautiful Spring days. We had all decided to take a trip to the Mystic Aquarium on Saturday to spend some family time together. However, when Tyler crawled into our bed that morning and announced that his stomach hurt and proceeded to vomit for the next 12 hours, well, those plans changed. On to plan B. Stay at home this beautiful weekend, and we will simply make the trip next weekend.

Fast forward a week to the following Saturday. In the forecast? Rain, rain, and more rain. Oh, and wind, and cold, and just plain yuck. But the show must go on! We packed ourselves up and made it to the shoreline in Connecticut through the driving rain. (The next morning we would wake up and discover that there was flooding in many of the towns in the area!) Part of the reason we were looking to take the trip the weekend before is because the aquarium is build so that you are outside seeing many of the exhibits. Not realizing really how cold it was or how much it was really going to rain, we were severely under dressed! However, we decided that a little rain would not hold us back and into the aquarium we went! We were glad we did, too. You know what rain + cold means? No crowds! It was wonderful. We made it to all the shows and exhibits despite the conditions outside!

First stop? The Ray Touch Pool. I hung back to shoot some pictures, and Tyler was a but freaked, but Frank was a trooper and was lucky enough to have some of the Rays swim by and graze his hand. They are so graceful in the water and were amazing to watch, we were simply mesmerized!
Many times when we travel to the Zoo's and Aquarium's , there are such huge crowds, we usually don't make an effort to watch the special shows. Today was the exception. We caught the whale and shark feeding sessions, and the seal show! Our seats were in the third row, middle. That meant one thing-- a great seat for the show. The seals were each featured right in front on us, it was fantastic!

One of Tyler's favorite exhibits? The sharks, of course! He stood, nose glued to the glass, each time we visited the tank (which was many). Camera in hand, I waited for the perfect shot. Needless to say, his expression is priceless!

A close runner up to the most visited exhibit on the day? The Beluga Whales. The whale exhibit, despite being outside, was very captivating. At first, when the whales swam by, Tyler would back up. After a few swim-bys, he realized that there was very thick glass and stayed glued to their activity. We were even treated to feeding time in the whale tank and watched as the trainers interacted with these huge animals.

Taking a break towards the end of the day, Frank caught a shot of Tyler and I. If you look closely, you can see how wet the bottoms and backs of out pants were. Despite being wet (we will dry, right?) we had a fantastic day, it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. We made it to all the shows we could and saw each exhibit. Even the penguins, way out on the edge of the park, which meant a walk through the rain (and the puddles if you are Tyler!). The irony? The penguins were all huddled in a cave together! we had a fantastic day!

Oh Boy!

One of the things I remember when I was pregnant with Tyler were all the 'Old Wives Tales' about how to tell the sex of your unborn child. People never had a problem guessing what you were going to have and telling you why they were right. My favorite people were the ones who guessed boy one week and then guessed girl the next. These same people also had fun after Tyler was born saying "See! I knew I was right!"

Here were some of the things I frequently heard: If you have morning sickness, girl. If you sit on a fork over a spoon, boy. If your face loses beauty, girl. There is also the Chinese Gender Predictor which some people swear by. Well, here are the things I swore by this time around:

Morning sickness, afternoon sickness, middle of the night sickness. Not to mention nausea whenever and wherever. Including this week-- girl!

Skin like I am 14 again and eating greasy pizza everyday-- girl!

Emotions and mood swings that are OOC! (Out of Control!)-- girl!

A Chinese Gender Predictor result-- girl!

There is a reason why these things are 'Old Wives Tales'-- they do not ensure a 100% correct guess! So instead of keeping people guessing, we thought we would let the Big Brother in this house give the news!

The next 'Old Wives Tale" to defeat? Heartburn. They say if you have it, your baby has lots of hair! Well, I had it bad with Tyler and now I have no heartburn at all, so we'll wait and see!

The Baby Limbo

On Friday, this "baby" I am having will become a son or daughter. No more will we be caught in the limbo of "baby", green, yellow, and what if....

I can't wait!

If you have not guessed, Friday I have an ultrasound, the second part of the Nuchal Translucency screening, to be exact. After weeks of going back and forth on the "do we" or "don't we" find out topic, Frank and I have settled on the you-better-cooperate-kid 'cuz we really want to know!

When we were pregnant with Tyler (okay, who am I kidding, when I was swollen and huge with Tyler), we did not find out. We wanted the suspense of waiting until the last possible minute to find out what we were having. After all, the only thing that mattered then is the same thing that matters now-- a happy and healthy child! But that being said, why prolong the suspense? I am feeling suspenseful enough to last me until Friday!

One thing is for sure. If this growing baby is a girl, I will fill her closet with pink, dresses, ruffles, and bows! It is about time that the Estrogen level in this house increases! However, if God brings us another boy, we will have enough for a Bobsled team! Watch out 2030 Olympics!

We will all continue to wait until Friday when we will know more. Say a prayer that little Geno Baby, or Tigger as Tyler refers to 'her' as(yes, he calls my bump a 'her') cooperates. In the meantime, vote and give us your opinion on what our next addition will be!

**********

I will share this gem of a story with you. When I was pregnant with Tyler and set to be induced, my parents flew in from Indiana and Frank's drove up from New York. Unfortunately, Tyler did not cooperate as planned and I was sent home after the induction failed. My dad was not able to stay and await "the big day". My mom did and the next weekend proved to be the successful induction. My mom and mother-in-law waited outside the room while I was giving birth to Tyler. My mom stayed on the phone with my dad (who was at an IU football game) to give him this play-by-play. I guess the nurses were providing everyone with updates and they were told that Tyler was crowning and had a head full of hair. My mom relayed this to my dad. His response?

"Well, is it a boy or a girl?"