Guess what "toy" Ben has found recently? 
On this day, he even was clever enough to put the towel on the floor to keep it from getting soaked. He prefers the water dispenser over the ice dispenser, most likely because he sees immediate results when he pushes the button. It's bad news for his outfit that day, but it does serve as a great distraction for a few minutes.
Hayes had his final basketball game last Friday night. His league is for 4-year-olds who want to learn the sport. The league does not keep score, you can't steal the ball away from your opponent, and the boys don't have to dribble the ball up the court if they don't know how. These rules are intended to make the first basketball experience a positive one.
I think this sport season, coinciding with H's attendance at many Georgia Tech basketball games this winter, has sparked his intense interest in the sport. He has a blast at his games, even though sometimes he seems more interested in wrestling with his friends
than playing basketball. He is very energetic on the court, as he is always diving for free balls, probably with the hope that it will lead to some wrestling with an opponent. 
His strong suit is his dribbling. One parent even dubbed him a "Harlem Globetrotter" last game as he dribbled all over the court. 
He'd prefer to dribble the quarter away rather than shoot the ball which he has found to be quite challenging. Many of the other kids in the league are taller than he is. All they do is put their hands up in front of him, and he struggles to shoot over them. Here he is, though, successfully getting a shot off, 
but it sure is hard to get a rebound when the two boys around you are a head taller than you are!
With basketball season coming to a close, 
we can now look forward to introducing Hayes to t-ball which he will start in a few weeks.
Poor Baxter was feeling terribly on Sunday. We were all very worried about him. He could not walk on his front left leg because it shook so badly. He preferred just staying in one place. He did not eat all day and only drank a little water. Early in the day, before Thomas and I really got concerned about him later that night, Eleanor showed her wonderful bedside manner. With numerous neighborhood friends in the backyard playing on her play set and with her toys, she chose to sit here with Baxter to try to make him feel better. 
Since Thomas will be traveling most of the week, he decided to take Baxter to the vet yesterday afternoon. I must admit that we thought the situation was rather dire, but lucky for all of us, it was not as bad as it appeared. It turns out that Baxter was bitten by a spider numerous times in his left front paw and then had an allergic reaction to the bites. The bites then became infected and have caused all of this trouble. The vet gave us some antibiotics for him and told Thomas that Bax will return to his usually chipper, 10-year-old self in a few days. I'm just eager for him to get his appetite back as that will be my sign that he's better.
I know Baxter appreciated our efforts at making him comfortable on Sunday, but I hope that he especially remembers Nurse Eleanor who took extra-good care of him!
With the weather reaching mid-60's on both days over the weekend, we told the kids that they would spend all day, both days, OUTSIDE. By the end of the weekend, we were calling our two older children nomads because they spent their two days wandering the street, which is exactly what we had in mind.
The beautiful weather also coincided with the delivery of girl scout cookies (and their large, cardboard boxes) to our street. (E's Daisy troop cookie chair lives a few doors down from us.) Mid-afternoon Saturday, on returning from a trip to our YMCA, I came upon this scene in a fellow neighbor's yard. 
The kids on the street had come up with their own version of the Winter Olympics with a new sport - The Girl Scout Cookie, Cardboard Box Downhill Sled Race. Thomas and Ben played the role of judges and determined the medal winners after each run. 
I especially like the photo below because it shows our neighbor Jack making a running/jumping start to the race, and he was using a wake board, not a traditional cardboard box like the other athletes. It also shows how Eleanor always tried to get a head start. She was often called for false starts, but if she slipped by the judges, she usually ended up in medal contention. 
At one point, we had nearly 15 athletes in each race. 
Can you guess where we spent Sunday afternoon, too? Yep, in the same exact spot doing the same exact thing. The kids and parents all had a ball, and we are all so grateful for the beautiful weather we had over the weekend.
On President's Day, we made the 45 minute drive south to historic St. Augustine. (I say "historic" because the city is both the oldest, continuously occupied European city in the country and the oldest port in the U.S.) The kids and Thomas had never been there, and it had been a good 20+ years since I had had seen the city. My goal was to see the fort and the oldest schoolhouse. If we accomplished anything else before Ben began breaking down from sheer exhaustion, it would be gravy.
The Castillo de San Marcos was our first stop. 
The kids were mainly interested in running around the fort while looking at all of the cannons. I tried teaching them some history about Florida and the fort (built by the Spanish in 1695 to protect the city from foreign threats),but I'm not sure how much they actually heard and absorbed. 
We had absolutely beautiful weather which kept everyone energized. 
While Eleanor was posing on the drawbridge, 
a group of dressed soldiers drummed their way out of the fort to the surrounding yard where they gave us a gun demonstration. 
Hayes was particularly fascinated by the school-aged drummer boy. 
Once the kids had seen all they wanted to see at the fort, we walked over to the historic district to peruse the streets. I made the family see the oldest wooden schoolhouse to check it off my list, but I think we all agreed that we would not need to make a return trip in future years! 
Finally, blood sugars started to drop and we had some grumpy kids on our hands. It was time for lunch! We decided on a great, local pizza joint where we could sit back, relax, and enjoy our meal. 
After lunch, it was time to make the drive home, as Ben was more than ready for a nap. Though we only spent a morning in the city, we noticed many more activities that we'd like to check out on a future visit. Until then . . . that's it from St. Augustine!
Unfortunately for us at home, the big city lights drown out many of the stars in our night sky. Growing up miles from NASA, I have missed not being able to show our kids fascinating night-time sky activities (i.e. meteor showers) and constellations.
We had clear, beautiful night skies at the beach and spent a lot of time star-gazing. One night, Eleanor was able to point out Orion's belt. We helped Hayes find the belt and then used those three stars to help locate find the rest of Orion. 
Once we found all of the stars in the constellation that we could see with the naked eye, Eleanor cheered, "I have found my first constellation! I have found my first constellation!" Then Repeat, I mean Hayes, followed with, "I found my first constellation!"
Hopefully, this constellation discovery will be the first of many over the years.
Because Eleanor had a four-day weekend over the President's Day holiday, we decided to venture down to the usually-warmer climate of Florida for a mini-vacation. Though the temperatures were very chilly by usual Florida standards, we still appreciated the change of scenery and the chance to see some sunshine. (We had some snow and extremely frigid temperatures back home.) The warmer temperatures in Florida enabled the kids to play outside, for which they were very grateful. They spent so much of their time in the fresh air that they ended up with sun-kissed cheeks by the end of the weekend.
How did we pass our time at the beach?
We played games.
Ben took his first "bike" ride. 
We decorated Valentine's Day cupcakes after a super-duper-cold (and crazy) swim in the pool. 
We had a fun visit from Mimi and Papa who drove up from Melbourne to spend 24-hours with us. 
(Papa spent much of his time outdoors playing basketball with Hayes, but I failed to capture their time with a photo.)
We played on the beach and desperately wanted to feel the sand between our toes, even though the wind chill was probably in the low 40s. 
Hayes spent some time working on his frisbee-throwing skills. 
And, when we were just too tired from being outside, the boys usually resorted to some wrestling matches on the floor.
All in all, it was a wonderful escape and time well spent as a family!
We are spending this long weekend at the beach, enjoying sunshine instead of the snow back home. Today, in honor of this love-centered holiday, Thomas and I received this sweet email from Eleanor that definitely made me feel loved:
Eleanor spent much of yesterday afternoon in her Taylor Swift-mode. After school, she put on her gown and dress shoes, made sure she had her scarf around her neck, found her guitar and chair, and then started playing Taylor's CD. 
She's getting pretty good at mimicking Taylor's performance style, and she has even started to incorporate some of Taylor's head shaking. 
(Ben is so familiar with the music now that he comes in the minute he hears her turn it on.) Eleanor's performance is truly a sight to behold!
Ben has reached the point where he's less than thrilled to go somewhere in the car. I usually have to carry him to the car kicking and screaming each morning before we make the drive to the Preschool. He will, though, go in peace to the car if I allow him to carry his toys. This morning it was some toy food and a hotel shampoo. 
Last week, he carried with him nearly every Matchbox car and Brio train that we had! At this point, I'll load up my car with toys if I can get him buckled in without pitching a fit.
The other morning, after Hayes had gone to school, I walked into his room to open his blinds and make his bed. Instead of the usual unmade bed, this is what I found . . .
Because Hayes does not have an attachment to a blanket or animal, I found these cute, tucked-in animals all the more surprising.
Yesterday, Eleanor felt that Baxter was getting left out of any discussion of Valentine's Day. What did she do?
She left this valentine for him right behind his food and water bowls. The valentine says . . .
Dear Baxter Boy,
I Love You! You are the Best Dog in the Wolrd. I will care for you for the rest of your life. Have a Good Valintines day! Love yha!
Love
Eleanor
Ben has two loyal table mates whenever he eats a meal . . . Doggie and Lambie. At each meal, they are always placed on top of the table, usually (but not this morning) with each one placed on opposite sides of his plate.
He has even started feeding them and involving them in any meal conversation. They truly are his constant companions.
Nearly every afternoon, if the weather cooperates, you can find Hayes in the backyard playing basketball. He actually simulates an official game with teams, a score, and even halftime. Hayes is always Georgia Tech. His opponent is an ACC foe that he seems to pick at random. (It is rarely UNC since that is his second-favorite team in the ACC.) Georgia Tech's basket is our "official" basketball goal. I call it "official" because the opponent's basket is always the side gate, and I deem it much less "official" since it lacks a basket. He runs back and forth, up and down our driveway, as both teams try to score. Speaking of score, he does keep it, but Georgia Tech always wins. Often the score is something like Georgia Tech 84, Duke 68. I really think he personally might have actually scored that many points due the length of time he is out there playing!
He's got some great form . . .
especially with his follow-through and wrist-action. 
He also enjoys any opportunity to dunk . . .
One thing that is a constant is his tongue sticking out of his mouth, something I have pointed out before. 
When you can see his tongue, it is the sign that he is truly focused.
Though I'm not always happy with the outcome of his game, I'm just grateful that he's outside getting some exercise. :-)
Since it was Grammy's weekend, the kids were really into their music. Eleanor sang Taylor Swift most of the weekend in her room with her pink electric guitar that she got for her third birthday. She was deep in rehearsal mode for a "show" she was going to have for us. Unfortunately for her, her brother Hayes kept wanting to come into her room to hear Taylor too, so E had to postpone her show due to lack of preparation time. She has promised that her "show" will be ready next weekend.
Before the Grammy's special started last night, I shared with E how she can print off lyrics to her favorite Taylor Swift songs from the Internet. Once I gave her the go-ahead, I think she nearly ran through our family paper supply as she tried to print off the words to every song she could think of!
Since the Grammy's were on TV so late last night and since their dad was there, sitting in the audience, I taped the show for the kids. They sat down and watched it almost in its entirety this afternoon. (When I say entirety, I mean that they only watched what they cared about . . . which probably amounted to about 30 minutes of the full 3 1/2 hour show and included Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas and Taylor Swift.) E was extremely eager to see Taylor perform 
and make note of her stage moves. She even had her lyric sheets accessible so she could "sing along." 
So, with the lyrics to Taylor's songs, a hot pink electric guitar, and some of Taylor's dance moves as part of her repertoire, E's show next weekend will be amazing! I can't wait.
