On Easter, we celebrated with mass at church and an Easter Egg Hunt at Aunt Jean’s house. Here’s a photo of the whole gang on the steps of MeMe and PaPa’s house and one of me and my dear cousin, Heather. Happy Easter!!!
Category: Xander
Dolphin Trainer…
Xander dressed up on Career Day as…a dolphin trainer!!!
Spring Break: Camping…
We got to go camping over spring break which was so much fun!!! On Thursday, we got settled in, walked down the dry creek bed, gathered wood for a fire, filtered water from the creek, checked out Tom’s survival gear, put together a peach cobbler (in the Dutch oven Grandma and Grandpa gave us for Christmas), grilled hot dogs, ate a yummy dinner and dessert, sat around the campfire, and tucked in for the night. On Friday, we ate breakfast, went exploring, hung out around the pond (Petra swam for the very first time in her life!), and headed home.
Yay for camping with all of the Seyfried boys!!!
Spring Break: Indoor Pool with Jordan…
The boys and I had fun at the indoor pool this morning with Jordan…playing monkey in the middle, diving for dive rings/sticks, and enjoying the water.
Spring Break: Adventure Science Center
The boys and I went to the Adventure Science Center this morning. They could spend forever in there playing and checking everything out. The favorites today were: the light board, the plasma globe, the rocket launcher, and the water table.
Spring Break: Zoo with Jordan…
We spent the first day of spring break with Jordan at the zoo!!! We fed the lorikeets, checked out the fish and reptiles, pet the kangaroos, fed the turtles (Roman got bit…ouch!), rode the train, and played on the playground. The boys loved hanging out with their cousin, and I loved spending time with my niece.
Playing in the Woods…
The boys LOVE playing in the woods behind our house…they get stocked up with snacks and walkie talkies and build forts.
Spring Parties…
I had fun hanging out with Jonas and Xander at their classroom spring parties this afternoon…they played bingo, ate snacks, won prizes, made crafts, etc.
Half-Marathon…
I was so excited to finally run the half-marathon today that I’ve been training for for three months now!!! It’s been a great way for me to keep my spirits up over the winter (spending time alone, listening to music, being in the great outdoors, boosting serotonin, and having a goal to work towards). I’ve had good days and bad days…fast days and slow days…feeling good days and feeling rough days…running through all of them. I’ve been learning how to pace and race myself. I even felt like Rocky a few times…haha…running in the freezing cold, crossing over snow-covered bridges…and running in the pouring rain, finishing up those last few miles. I felt somewhat young while I was running and really old when I stopped.
The last (and only) half-marathon I ran was about 14 years ago. My goal after Roman was born was just to get back to where I could run 3 miles 3 times a week. This fall, I started bumping up the mileage on the weekend a little bit just to see if I could do it. I’m so grateful to my chiropractor, Dr. Todd Smith, for inspiring me and encouraging me at that point to “resurrect the dream” and try to run another half-marathon!!!
It ended up SNOWING the day of the run. Crazy. Tom was so great and set up a course for me at Crockett Park, where I did the majority of my training. He and the boys met me at different points along the way with precious signs and exuberant cheers which really helped…especially past the halfway mark and beyond. It was so beautiful running in the snow…even though at times I could hardly see for all of the snowflakes blowing in my face. I was surprised but not to see quite a few other runners out there on the trail, grinning from ear to ear. Tom even set up a finish line for me, complete with dear friends and family cheering me on and a medal!!! So fun. So grateful.
Mommy Son Game Night…
Jonas, Xander, and I had a BLAST at Mommy Son Game Night. We did everything from golfing and bowling to ring tossing and ladder balling in the hallway. Our favorite thing by far was the dodge ball tournament (1st grade boys against 1st grade boy moms, 2nd grade boys against 2nd grade boy moms, etc.) and dancing in the gym…so much fun to participate in and to watch. Hands down one of the best mommy and son nights ever!!!
Cardinal Pride Award Winner…
Xander was chosen out of his class to receive a Cardinal Pride Award this morning!!! Students are awarded based on their behavior…being responsible, showing respect, giving 100%, and doing the extra. It was so sweet for me to see all of the kids in Xander’s class and in other classes holding their hands up to high five him. Way to go, Xan-Man!!!
Family Literacy Night…
Jonas, Xander, and I had fun at Family Literacy Night! The boys unscrambled and guessed book titles from famous lines, played sight word Twister and Scrabble Junior, worked on crafts for “Oh the Places You’ll Go” and “There’s a Wocket in My Pocket”, goofed around in the photo booth, and even got their faces painted. We’re so thankful for such a wonderful school and for a fun night together.
The Funny Things They Say…
Jonas (explaining things to Tom): “It’s a world of complications, Dad.”
Jonas (building with Roman): “Roman!!! Do you want me to build this?!? I’ll build it the way I build it. And I won’t regret it.”
Xander (trying to get my attention): “Dude! I mean…Mom!”
Xander (loving his new found ability to snap): “God gave me a new power…I can snap both of my fingers!”
Roman (consoling me for messing up): “You have to get stuff wrong to be the specialist Mommy.”
Roman (discussing his ongoing cold): “I think the bacteria is winning.”
Brothers…
For as much as they fight, they do love each other…
More Fish Friends for Xander…
Xander has been loving his aquarium and fish!!! He lost two fish friends (Echo and Flip) which was rough for our tender hearted boy. But he was super excited today when the chemicals in his aquarium finally equalized and he could add three more fish friends (Blue Glow – a Glow Tetra, Blue Ray – a Neon Tetra, and Rapido – a Lemon Tetra) to his tank.
Hanging Around…
We met up with our dear friends, the Pomerantzes, at the park this afternoon and played some frisbee golf (which really ended up looking like the kids messing around with the frisbees in new and different ways) and had a picnic. Here’s Xander and his newest dolphin stuffed animal that his teacher gave him, hanging around on the playground…he’s getting so big!!!
First Snow Day…
We had our first snow day on Friday!!! The boys had SO much fun playing in it…they were in and out all day…sledding, playing with friends, scooping and piling up and eating snow, and enjoying our first winter wonderland this year.
Adventure Science Center…
Roman and I visited the Adventure Science Center with some friends several weeks ago and LOVED it. So, when Aunt Jean gave the boys some money for Christmas, I knew one of the best gifts ever for them to enjoy would be a membership to the Adventure Science Center. We went today, and I practically had to drag them out of there to go get some lunch…haha!!! They were all over the place like pinballs in a pinball machine. Jonas had the great idea of bringing walkie talkies…so, in case we got separated, we could find each other…it worked brilliantly. Among the favorites of the day were the rocket launcher, the parachute pulley, the play structure that goes all the way to the top of the pyramid and looks out over Nashville, and the water table. We can’t wait to go back and explore some more. Thanks, Aunt Jean!!!
Xander’s Aquarium and Fish Friends…
Tom had the winning idea of getting Xander an aquarium for Christmas…which was the best gift EVER for our aquatic animal lover. His Aunt Sherri helped him set up his aquarium while we were in Virginia, and he was so excited to pick out some fish for it when we got back to Tennessee. He chose three Tetras…a white, a longfin serpae, a bloodfin…and a platy. Their names have changed since the beginning, but he’s settled on Pearl, Splash, Flip, and Echo (named after his favorite dolphin characters in the Dolphin School book series).
Christmas in VA…
We spent Christmas in Virginia this year with Grandma and Grandpa Seyfried, the (Northern) Seyfrieds, the Longs, and the Paccassis. The boys had a BLAST playing with their cousins…exploring the woods, playing pool, decorating Christmas cookies, playing Wii games, going to mass, and opening and playing with their Christmas presents. Highlights for me were: catching up with everyone over after meal conversations; learning to sew a pair of pajama pants from a pattern with Sherri; watching all of the kids play together; family prayer time; continuing my half marathon training by running my first 8 miles in 13 years; and seeing Gabe, in his little man Christmas pajamas, hug Joseph and kiss baby Jesus in the nativity.
For more pictures, click on the “Christmas in VA 2016” picture page to the right.
