Every morning when David starts getting ready to head off to work Mr. 1 makes it clear that he would much rather be heading out too. He wants Daddy to hold him and then waves goodbye to me. Then he grabs a hat from the bin and tries to put it on his head while standing at the door. So far it hasn't worked but he's sure we'll let him go one of these days.
A few days ago Mr. 3 decided he was a wizard. He went about is his wizard attire, complete with wizard hat, binoculars, two swords, and Mardi gras beads. And he insisted we call him "the wizard". Then yesterday he added a crown to his costume and became the king of wizards. And had spells for anything I asked him (including making me invisible at one point).
Tonight he told me he had a secret wizard name that he would write down for me in a secret code. I looked at his "code" for quite some time, guessed once or twice, and asked for a hint. He told me it starts with H. I guessed random H-words which he said no to until I guessed Herman. He told me that "yes, his wizard name was Herman". Really? Yes.
Then he started making wizard names in code for each of us. Since guessing was difficult, I asked him to spell it. Our names were all rather unique - mine was Saretvy (I did insist he use a few vowels - he recently learned that vowels are a, e, u and sometimes y - we're still working on it) and Mr. 9's was Ahstrumzy (Mr. 9 wanted another letter but Mr. 3 said no - I suggested he get it for his 10th birthday and they thought that was very funny). So now we're all wizards - at least for the night.
We again took advantage of home school ski day only this time I went with the older boys while David stayed home with the little guys. It was a beautiful day and I spent the morning trying out the slopes with friends while the boys took lessons. I hadn't skied since the winter before Mr. 9 was born so I was a bit nervous but had a great time. I picked up the boys for lunch and then we all headed out together.
The first run down was great but then we tried something a bit harder. It turns out Mr. 7's natural daredevil instincts give him an advantage on the slopes and he took it in stride. Mr. 9 lost his confidence and then got more and more nervous but didn't want to leave his friends. We went back to the first run and he started to relax. We ended the day splitting up, Mr. 7 went with friends to try something a bit trickier while Mr. 9 and I got in two perfect runs on the hill he felt confident on.
Add to that the fun of carpooling with friends and listening to the kids singing together in the back and you have a great day. Although we're all a bit sore today.
Each of our kids have had their favorite songs when they were little - Mr. 9 loved Peter, Paul, and Mary and later Another Postcard, Mr. 7 loved 10 Gallon Hat, Life is a Highway, and Dog Train, and Mr. 3 loved Wavin' Flag, Singing in the Rain, and We are the Dinosaurs among others. Mr. 1's favorite reflects his current battle of will with authority - I Fought the Law by the Clash. Add to that I Will Wait by Mumford and Sons, Dynamite, And Breezeblocks and you have a playlist to keep him happy. He points at the computer and waves his arms in the air hoping you'll turn on music. If you do you're rewarded with big smiles and dancing. Unless you try to capture the moment on video...
This year there are 3 boys on skates - and 4 (Daddy and the older 3) starting lesson s next Saturday. After all, we are New Englanders so we should skate. And everything is more fun with good friends.
