2021 :: week 24

June 6

Baseball paraphernalia is a staple in our house, and keeping the floor clear of it is a never-ending task! All three boys like to play with bats and balls, but Elliott is in the middle of imaginary games 24/7. He swings his arms around all the time, as if he was swinging a bat. He reminds me a little bit of Michael Scott (from the Office) at his improv class when he cannot complete a scene without having a gun. The other night he struggled to sit still and not swing his arms like a bat while we were saying our family prayers. I snapped this picture as I was heading to bed. When I came across these bats and balls and glove my initial reaction was annoyance. But I know soon enough the kids won't be playing imaginary baseball games in our front room and I will probably miss it. I do enjoy the enthusiasm and passion our kids have. It makes life fun.

June 7

I think Monday was our busiest day since early March 2020. Will started basketball camp, Elliott had his first swimming lesson, the floor guy stopped by to get a sample of our current flooring, Miles had a meeting with his SLP, and Will had a dentist appointment. There was a lot of driving by me and stepping up by the big kids--especially Lauren--to make everything happen. Thankfully this is the exception, though with basketball camp and swimming lessons every morning the day took off running.

June 8

When I signed Elliott up for swimming lessons my goal was to get him comfortable in the water before our John family reunion. Specifically, I was hoping that he would be able to jump into the pool without being caught. He did that on the first day! The class has worked out really well for him--boy teacher, all boy classmates, alone time with mom while driving to and from the lessons, extra time in the water on a very hot week, and tons of positive feedback from his instructor.

June 9

The pool was a big part of our week. We were lucky enough to match up with friends each time we went, but the kids had a great time playing with each other too. Now that Elliott will put his head under the water the boys have a lot of fun together retrieving various objects. 

June 10

The kids were over the moon excited when they saw that Holy Spirit was hosting a garage sale again this year. It is something they look forward to at the beginning of each summer and last year they did not have one. They each found a treasure or two and it was under $10, which was the arbitrary limit set by the amount of cash I had in my purse. Elliott was most excited about his batting gloves and I was most excited by the brand new white church shirt I found for him, both $1.

June 11

A really intense rainstorm passed through in the area late Friday afternoon. The sky turned black, the wind was blowing hard and it poured rain for close to an hour. We didn't get any hail, but friends on the east side of the neighborhood did. The wind was so strong a tree outside of Anthony's office window was uprooted. Our original plans included an evening of watching Will play baseball. Instead had homemade pizza and watched the Lindsay Lohan version of Freaky Friday. When your child that struggles to speak insists "I hewp" you let them help, even if it slows the process down. Miles' speech has dramatically improved over the past month. He has started to at least attempt to repeat most things I ask him to, including two and occasionally three-word phrases. We are getting along much better now that he can more fully express himself. He's still two so he's frustrated a lot of the time, but it feels like typical two-year old frustration.

June 12

The Hintons were back in town and Darren, Tony and the boys went to the Negro Leagues Museum.