Next week is Sping Break! We actually leave town this Friday. It seems that once Spring Break happens, the school year is gone; the rest of the year is a blur! Well, the entire school year has been a blur for me so I'm hoping that Summer brings a new pace for the Lyman family! I have been terrible at keeping up notes for my kiddos this year on the what has happened in their lives. I thought maybe a wakeful night would be a good time to note some events.
As soon as the weather got warm (so early this year!), the kids were in the water! Carter and Gracie played in water at the ball park one afternoon while Parker practiced Lacrosse. They were both stripped before the drive home one in underwear and the other in a diaper for the drive. :) I wish I had gotten Gracie Lin on camera - she was in a dress and just soaked and covered in mulch and grass clippings. There are still green stains on that little dress. Of course, Parker has been off to the creek as often as possible. He and his friend Danny took advantage of a great fishing day and certainly didn't forget to bring along the dog to splash around and frighten the fish!
Last week, the kids had a great time playing out front. Who can resist a blossoming Cherry tree? In Parker fashion, he is wearing camo, flannel pajama pants and a long sleeve under armor top. Note how everyone else is dressed. Carter is getting so tall - at Christmas time, he stretched to reach the ground on his little bike, now both feet are on the ground, legs bending. Grace just became an overnight expert on that tricycle. She would pull herself up the hill a little and let it roll back down with her. She only took one tumble and just took that in stride! Not sure what Carter found but he was certainly showing it off! I have to add one more very excited picture of Carter running down the drive - he was marching up and running down.
Parker just returned from his first Turkey hunting trip with Grandpa Marvin. He thought it was pretty cool to hear the turkey calling but they didn't get anything. As always, he had a great time at the farm! He is having another great school year. It seems that just in the last month or so, there is a new maturity to Parker. He surprises me with solutions he comes up with to help with the little ones or times when he just takes care of something that needs to be done.
Carter is talking in full sentences - he can tell you a story now and it's pretty amazing. He is making great strides at putting his lips together to form letters and helping us understand him! He is having adenoid and tonsil surgery on April 24. We are hoping that helps him to get better sleep at night and helps his speech. He still LOVES "Cars" movies and he has discovered match box cars since Christmas. He has had a couple from the cars movies for a long time but just recently started to really get into the huge box of cars his Dad and brother have collected over the years.
Gracie Lin is so close to walking. We have been working to help her get her left foot straight and teach her to balance her weight on both legs and not just the right. She has been taking 3-4 steps at a time but last Wed. with some little pushes from Ms. Holly (PT), she took about 8 steps. Last night, she walked from one room to the other - maybe 20 steps. I only caught her from falling back once. GL also has 6 teeth now. She got them all between Feb. 14 and Mar 14. She has not really complained at all about them! She does soak thru a couple of shirts a day on occasion with all that drool. It's so finny too, when she does physical therapy, she works so hard and drools so much in that 1 hour that I have to change her top afterward.
John and I just got away for a couple of nights to Washington DC. It was a work trip, but we got two full nights of sleep and a dinner out alone - we celebrated out 12th wedding anniversary. We are so very thankful for Annette & Marvin to be able to take over for a few days! When I sat down at the airport, leaving Atlanta, I realized that I had been alone for almost 2 hours! I have been to events with John and friends but to just be alone... It was such a strange feeling not to have at least one child with me. There is never a dull moment now that there are three of them! We wouldn't change it for anything!
