Checkers

I won, but not by much.

Hoffmans Playland

We enjoyed our time at our local old-fashioned little kids amusement park. 

Here we are on the tilt-a-whirl. He was squealing with delight each turn we took. I surprised myself by not feeling ill with all the motion. Thought for sure that with age I may no longer be able to handle it.

Our view from the Ferris Wheel. Tilt-a-whirl on the left.

Joined up with Juni for her first visit to the park! Theyre like an old married couple :)

Race Day Professional Pics

http://leblancstudio.zenfolio.com/p36271912/e200b5a74

http://leblancstudio.zenfolio.com/p36271912/e3ca96ccb

http://leblancstudio.zenfolio.com/p36271912/e5f10f59

A few people have asked how the race went - I totally forgot to send out an update, so sorry. The race was May 10th and the rainy morning started out with the children's run  at 8am (photos above, Andrew is #52 in the group shot). He was a good sport about it. Despite the rain, and despite being youngest in his group, he stayed at the middle of the pack. The race officials were kind enough to give all the kids medals and he wore them for days afterwards. Now and again he will ask me if we can go on a practice run for his next race which warms my heart.

My race followed, and was happy that the rain stopped just as I began. The entire second mile was a steep uphill, which I somehow didn't recall from last years race, and it really kicked my butt. I didn't have high hopes for finishing quickly as a result. But somehow I knocked off a minute off my time! A new personal best which I'm really happy about.

It was great to have Shawn and Andrew cheer for me at the start and finish lines. Anyone want to run with me next year? No need to fundraise if that's not your thing - its open to the public. Let me know - a few of you have mentioned it.

Back to the Blog

 

Sorry to have gone AWOL - evidence (picture) above shows that we still are alive and well. Between Shawn's trip to NC, mine to Corning, and getting ready for Pittsburgh things have been a tad nutty....alright, ALOT nutty. But I am going to put the blog back on the to-do list! Above is a photo taken at the end of my trip to Corning - we hit up their glass museum before heading back home. Andrew was totally enthralled by the glass making, and glass breaking, demonstrations. He sat perfectly still and quiet, a real sight to behold for a chatty active type. 
 

We were in Corning because there was a conference there I wanted to attend. My angel of a boss offered to pay for Andrew's childcare so that I could go. Seriously! So we took along our friend Lauren who gave Andrew quite a little vacation while I was in sessions. 

Here's a taste of their experience:

 Plus ice cream, the toy store, the library, walking around Main Street, playing games in the hotel room, throwing pennies into fountains, visiting me at the conference etc. Great town, great conference, and Andrew can't stop talking about his vacation to Corning.

Later on Race Day...

All tuckered out.

Race Day

Andrew had a blast running the quarter miler and 100 yard dash. They even gave him medals! Shawn and I look forward to family runs once his little legs get a bit longer :) My 5k race was great as well - a new personal best 31:32. Thanks for the support!

Spring is Here

Enjoying a picnic dinner in the yard.

Love Letter

       Der Mom, I luv yo. Luv, Andrew

A & A

Andrew was so happy about the arrival of Ms. ASJ from NYC! They had a blast this weekend while Shawn and I escaped to the Finger Lakes for some R&R. She gifted him with an outdoor tent which we will use for our first backyard campout :)

Happy Friday!

Andrew and his Morningstar crew let loose after a hard day at preschool ;)

Architect in Training

Andrew seemed to get a kick out of using my drafting tools.

One Word

Loyal readers (who know Andrew well),

If you could choose one word to describe him, what would it be?

My friend Jennifer suggested

e·bul·lient

iˈbo͝olyənt,iˈbəlyənt/

adjective

adjective: ebullient

1.

cheerful and full of energy.

"she sounded ebullient and happy"

synonyms:

exuberant, buoyant, cheerful, joyful, cheery, merry, jolly, sunny, jaunty, lighthearted, elated;

Some News!

I'm excited to share with everyone that we will be summering in Pittsburgh :) The city is our old stomping ground where Shawn and I met, dated and married (10 years ago this summer!) My brilliant hubby is going to contract to Walt Disney Research out of their office at Carnegie Mellon. I am VERY excited. Pittsburgh is one of my favorite small cities, and I get to reunite with friends and places in my past. It should be a very different experience now that we have a child of course, checking out all the places I ignored in my early 20s like the zoo, playgrounds and museums. We are renting this great house, owned by a University of Pittsburgh professor and her family - right in the city, walking distance to the park and cafes. Our daily routine shouldn't change much. He will go to camp in the mornings, I will work from home while he is out and we will hang in the afternoons. We are happy to receive visitors! Leaving the first week of June and returning mid August. Andrew has no idea of course. We will probably tell him about a week before our departure so mums the word if you see him. Not that he will care. Kiddo has moved 3 times since his birth, had multiple 2-3 week stints in Ohio, flown cross country to Las Vegas a handful of times, and taken a 2 month sabbatical to Florida in his short life. To him (and me), its all a big adventure.

Morningstar

It's not too often that I get a peek of Andrew in action at school. There's a parent-child day each month which is a bit of a zoo, and the kids are just too excited to do their normal routine. The teacher sent these over, which I appreciate. We have re-enrolled him at Morningstar for next year :) In fact he will be going to a Montessori-based summer camp for a few weeks, mid-summer. Mostly outdoor play but with really great themes like gardening, recycling, water play etc. More on that next post!

Sweetness

All together now, "awww..."

Happy Birthday, Maria!

2014 Portraits

Every spring portraits are taken of Andrew and his BFF Juni (her mom is a photographer, lucky us!) These two have been best friends since they were 14 and 22 months old. She's been on our holiday cards, he calls her a sister. These are my favorites of a GREAT series that were taken. The pictures really capture their spirits and adoration for each other. And yes, I know they could be twins :)

A Good Cause

Thanks for all your support.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/uny/mstdnclg14/slawson4a4

Pirate Smartie Pants

Shawn and I agree that Andrew is going to outsmart us both in the not too near future. He is completely reading on his own now. If I misread or skip a word when I read to him, he corrects me! He knows when letters are silent, and what punctuation implies. And now he's discovered math. He can count to a hundred, and do addition and subtraction to 20. Above is a pic I was sent from school. They are teaching him about numbers in a very tactile way so that he can see how tens become hundreds become thousands. All this at 4 years old. Crazy. Montessori education has really really impressed us, and has had such a great impact on Andrew who loves getting to focus on tasks at school that challenge him, and having teachers who know his abilities.

Lest you think we are slave drivers, I assure you that at home we keep things far less intense and have been enjoying afternoon play dates with friends, cooking in the kitchen and watching Disney animations while snuggling on the couch. Today he did alot of imaginative play, pretending my bed was a pirate ship. Captain Andrew and Matey Mama swabbed the decks, hoisted the sails, threw out the anchor, searched for treasure and said lots of Ahoys! I've got to get a video of him pretending to be a pirate. Its hilarious.

Heading Home

He loved taking a bath in nana's whirlpool tub.

We will miss these beautiful "rainbow sunrises" at breakfast.

We leave tomorrow for our almost 12-hr ride home. Which he doesnt seem to mind. Lots of books and movies.  He got to play with Shawn's childhood toys that are stored in a walk-in closet that Andrew has dubbed "wonderland" :) He helped cook muffins,  get the fire going in the hearth, played outside, checked out the childrens museum, visited a family friends model train set, made art presents for all and had a stomach virus. Not bad for a week!

In Ohio

The "farm"

Cruisin

The play yard

Lovin up his Nana

Its been a relaxing, fun visit as usual! 

Won't you be my neighbor?

Our next door neighbor has claimed Andrew as her honorary grandson. She randomly stops over with book and games. She is so sweet!

Strike!

Too funny. Where were these when I was a kid?

NYC!

One cold morning...

We took Amtrak to NYC.

The dinosaur bones at the natural history museum were a big hit.

As was the subway.

He served as both bellhop and elevator operator at the hotel.

As usual he stayed close to Auntie Allegra.

...who took us to her neighborhood craft studio.

The fun had to end sometime :(

Snowbunny

We built Andrew a sled hill in our yard, and it was a big hit. Shawn and I even took a ride down. Good thing kiddo loves the snow- he can spend hours out there.

"Thats Me!"

Here you go, Westley :) Its You! He and his brother Alexander were in town visiting. We miss them so. Move back up north please!

Cousins

Andrew, 4. Jojo,6. Perry, 3.

Us