November Holidays - Part #1

In November, our friends in India celebrated their biggest holiday of the year... Diwali.

To celebrate Diwali on this side of the world, we made Rangoli Designs with colored sand & templates.

 

That's my boy

Yesterday, when I picked Benjamin up from school, I asked him: Do you want to go to the library or go home and rake leaves?  He answered "I want to go home and do crafts."  My heart smiled...he is the perfect child.

 

Hoops

As the cold weather moved in, soccer came to an end.  It was time to select an indoor sport.  Taking in his Papa's footsteps, Benjamin chose Basketball over Hockey.  The basketball class he is in is purely a lesson, no games.  He is learning dribbling, passing, defense, catching rebounds...and shooting.  Check out this unbelievable shot I caught on camera today!

 

Halloween

Finally, our first Halloween IN the US.  Naturally, we did it big!

Benjamin decided he wanted to be a Dragon.  He actually wanted to be a black dragon, but since I made a blue dragon tail for his 4th birthday party...we were sticking with blue.  Now, there was a short moment of excitement when we saw a cute and PRE-MADE dragon costume at Marshalls, but the largest size was a bit to tight for my tall boy.  Back to DIY!

Benjamin's first Halloween consisted of:
 - Trick r Treating at a local Farmers Market
- Trick r Treating at a local park
- School Halloween Party
- Handing out candy at Papa's work
- and last, but certainly not least, door to door trick r treating in an area of town with lots of other kids and houses that are close together.

Carving pumpkins & loads of Halloween crafts too!

ALL FUN!

 

 

Fish...we're not so sure

Benjamin has wanted to take swim lessons ever since his friends in India were taking lessons.  It never worked with our schedule there, but once we arrived here and saw how much Benjamin loved playing in the lake...swim lessons quickly became a priority.

Now, here is the story.  Benjamin & I were in various hotel pools throughout the summer. He was becoming quite brave and trying new things. He liked going under water & popping back up.  He enjoyed kicking around the pool on his own with 2 pool noodles under his arms.  We were on a roll.

We started lessons at the Y and it was as if he had never touched water before.  He wanted nothing to do with it.  And he held on to the coach with a death grip...scared to death to let go of her, even if he had enough floating devices to make him walk on water.  Well, it turns out that he didn't want to be taught by someone other than Mommy.  Well, Mommy isn't exactly a good swimmer herself buddy, so that is not going to happen.  By the 4th week, I asked the coach if I should leave during the lesson  instead of staying.  Okay, so I handed my kicking kid to her in the water and left.  Benjamin got out of the water and tried to find me.  The other Mom tried to catch up with him, but got separated from him on the stairs while a Maintenance Guy brought down a ladder.  Long story short...Benjamin, wet & in nothing but a bathing suit went out the front door of the Y when it was COLD outside.  He was caught immediately and brought back in to me.  So, that didn't work.  He did get back in the pool and finished the lesson.  Benjamin & I then visited the pool one time before the next class...I really don't like indoor pools!  Anyway, we are on a MUCH better track.  We have not only caught up to where we were this summer...we are now past it! 

 

Really to cold to post this

I am way behind on blog posting, but it is only because we are having fun exploring our new world.  Tomorrow, we are expecting our first wintery mix (snow & rain), so a few summer pictures may be a refreshing sight. These photos are from the end of the summer.

The house we are renting is in a neighborhood that has lake access.  The lot they own has a boat dock, sandy beach, playground, and pavilion for grilling/picnicking. We were able to enjoy it for a couple of weeks before the temperatures took a dive. The neighbors are all so friendly and welcoming...one family even took us out on their boat AND let Benjamin Drive!

Can't wait until next summer for more lake fun!

 

Football...I mean Soccer

There are a couple things Benjamin has been looking forward to for months: playing soccer and swimming lessons.  Although it is a bit out of the way, we chose the YMCA.  We ended up just getting a youth membership, which allows Benjamin to get the Member rate on the classes and we can still go into the pool with him during open swim times. 

Benjamin attends soccer on Monday afternoons.  Monday is the only day I allow him to take a nap in the car - after school, but before soccer.  The concept is that the first 30 minutes is a "lesson" and the second 30 minutes is a "game."  I put both "lesson" and "game" in quotes, because, after the first meeting, I am not sure either happened.  In fact, it was painfully slow to watch.  Rene kept sending me text messages that he wished he could be there...I told him that it was hard to watch and maybe in a couple weeks he could come to watch something worth watching.  Nonetheless, the small kids looked super cute in their uniforms. 

Now, after the third lesson, I realize that although not much is being "taught", somehow I think they are learning...and perhaps next year will be more impressive as a result of participating this year. 

I am AMAZED at how aware kids are of winning v losing at this age.  I am also AMAZED, that they just expect to go out there and be the best right from the get-go.  I continue to have conversations with Benjamin that people that win or get trophies (aka Piston Cups in 4-year old Lightning McQueen world) had to learn, learn, learn, try, try, try, and practice, practice, practice!  And even those people don't win all the time.  These conversations apply to soccer, swimming, drawing pictures...  I was relieved when another mother at the soccer field started this conversation with me, so, we are not the only ones. 

Anyway, it continues to be enjoyable to watch...and he does say he is having fun.