" I Shwimming Mama!"

Well, miracles do happen!  Jack has gone from:

1. not wanting to put his little toe in the water, 
2. to going in while holding on to someone (preferably me) for dear life (while wearing some kind of flotation device), 
3. to "shwimming" (as he calls it) while wearing a flotation device AND holding on to a noodle for dear life, to 
   
4. to "shwimming" with ONLY the help of wings or life vest,
5. to "shwimming" with NO flotation device from papa to grandma in the hut tub!

Granted, he really can't "shwim" yet.  He really just pushed himself from one end of the hut tub to the other (2-3 feet?) and glided from one adult to another. But, in the process held his breath/blew bubbles, kicked his feet, moved his arms (doggie like) and did not freak out in the process.  This was definitely an improvement!  As all of the above were achieved this past weekend, and all of August still looms ahead, I am hopeful that he might make even more improvement before the summer is over.  Guess you know what I'll be doing most days until I go back to work!!!  

The sequence below was repeated numerously this past weekend.  It always ended with a smile.

That's my baby boy!!!!

(that smile gets me every time....)

In the end he was so proud of himself, I'm sure he felt like he was on top of the world!!!

Swimming & Making Music w/ Our Friends...

What else is there to do on a HOT Texas Day, but jump joyfully into a cool, refreshing pool!

They all got points for style....

Bella (whom I predict is going to swim butterfly in the olympics one day & we will all be in the stands wearing "Fly, Bella, Fly" t-shirts in the stands.  She not only won her last meet, she beat all the 7-8 year old boys, save one, too!  She is simply a beauuuuutiful butter-flyer!)

Robbie, of course!

Kata (not to be confused with Katja)

Kung Fu - Alex

This is what the kids call the "Slide Train."

Too bad they didn't realize that they should have lined up from Oldest (in front) to Youngest (in back) until AFTER they had all landed on poor little Kata.  Fortunately, she's a tough cookie!

After swimming, it was off to the living room to play some music. In addition to being competitive swimmers, the beautiful and talented Brosvik girls are also very musical.   The girls come by their musical talents honestly.  The mother,  Cassandra (who happens to be Katja's viola teacher) graduated from Eastman School of Music and has played in symphonies and operas in venues all over the world (including Carnegie Hall) before she gave up playing nights, to be a mom and orchestra teacher. The dad, Steve, is the manager of the Houston Symphony and quite proficient at the piano.  They are a wonderful family and friends.

 

Kata on the violin

Alex has played for the Houston Youth Symphony for several years now.

Bella is the family cellist.

(sorry for the fuzzy picture....)

The Littlest Quartet

Katja joined the girls on her viola to form the ensemble.

The girls are all at such different levels of play due to their ages that they had to settle for simple songs to make sure everyone could play.  It was really very sweet.  At one point you will hear Jack speaking loudly in the background as he rolls around the floor (behind the girls) with one of auntie Michelle's winner dogs. Robbie & Cassandra accompanied on the piano. 

The gang plays "Twinkle, Twinkle" and "Lightly Row". 

I love these kind of days....  Visits to grandma & papa's always end with music by the children.

Videos Only Grandparents Will Love!

As everyone else will be bored stiff by them.... but, since Nana, Grandpa, and Jeff were not able to attend Katja's latest concert at Sam Houston State University I have posted them here for their viewing pleasure.  Above is Katja after the concert holding her viola. Notice, only Katja deems it necessary to accessorize her instrument to match her outfit!

A bit of background on this....  

• Katja went on her first overnight summer camp to Sam Houston State University's Orchestra Camp.
• It is a combined High School & Junior High camp.
• Students audition upon arrival and are placed in one of three orchestras based on how well they performed during the audition.
• Katja was proud (and surprised) to make the first orchestra (her realistic goal had been 2nd) since she's only going into 7th grade & she was competing vs. H.S students also....
• The students got their music on a Sunday night and had to perform by Thursday.  That's only four days to learn three new songs & play them with complete strangers.  Seems a daunting task to me, but then, I'm clueless when it comes to producing music myself and am easily impressed.
• Her orchestra played three pieces.  I will post two of them here.

The piece below is "One Hand, One Heart" by Bernstein from West Side Story. Katja is the violist in the middle of the screen just behind and to the right to the boy in front center.  This first video was very shaky due to Robbie bumping into me repeatedly (while "trying" to help) and me not able to tell him to back-off (he ignored my LOOK) lest it be recorded in the audio. If you feel queasy, just close your eyes and listen only.  Sorry!

This next piece was my favorite.  It is called "Incantations" by Myer; however, Katja and I call it the "BATMAN song"... as it makes us think of that movie's theme song.  Unfortunately, I ran out of battery before the end of the song!  Next time, I'll only video Katja's orchestra and forget the others....  The camera I was using went from 37 minutes of battery charge to zero in about 2 minutes.  Even I can do better math than that!

Now her teacher wants her to buy a good viola.  Apparently, I have been renting an OK instrument, but not nearly up to what her needs are about be now that she's improving so quickly, playing for the Houston Youth Symphony, and aspiring to attend Julliard School of Music in New York for college (as her "role-model/heroine" who just graduated from College Park H.S. in The Woodlands just did). 

Her teacher also wants her to attend Interlochen Summer Camp in Michigan for three weeks next summer. Apparently it's some major Arts Institute with lots of history. You can only attend if you are accepted after they view your audition DVD.  It costs over $4,000.00 for only three weeks. ;O  LOL!!!!!!!  That does not include airfare and uniforms either!  However, I did find out that they give out over 6 million dollars in financial aid each year, and that they favor giving such aid to aspiring violist & bass players since there are less of them, so I am hopeful.  I do have a Master's in Education.  Surely they have need for some of my skills and I can barter my services for her tuition?!?  Anything... I'll even do windows and toilets.  The lengths we go for our children. Thank goodness Robbie's into football!  Texas has got to be the best place to train for that.  And I used to think shoulder pads & helmets were expensive! LOL!

I think I'll go buy a lottery ticket now ;)

Advice: Don't argue with a 2 year old....

Yesterday, I was playing with Jack just before bedtime. Lately, one of his favorite things to do is undo and redo (over & over) his Shapes Puzzle. As he grabs each shape, he announces the name of the shape, "shircle" and places it in the appropriate spot (the circle indentation in the wooden base.) However, he and I had a disagreement on the name of a shape. I could not understand why he seemed to have forgotten this particular shape, but moreover, why he persisted in disagreeing with me. He would hold up the wooden square piece and say "cat". I would correct him by saying, "no, sweetheart, that's not a cat. It's a square". He would say "No, cat". Doesn't he know that I have a Master's in Education, and therefore, am quite competent at sorting shapes?!? With much alarm, I began to think that my child, who had known (and could name) all of the basic shapes, was all the sudden developing Oppositional Defiant Disorder. After all, I knew he could easily differentiate between a "cat" and a "square". However, I was not to be deterred. I just had to set him straight at once! After all, he couldn't be making such mistakes when testing to go to preschool...

Once more I held the shape in front of him (as shown below) and said "SQUARE".

Jack shook his head (side to side...clearly loosing his patience now), took the "square" away from me, looked at me like I was an idiot, held the shape (as seen below) in front of my face and repeated his utterance even louder...as if I was deaf, or dumb, or both. That's when I realized that while I had been "hearing" him say "cat", he was really trying to say "KITE".... (ding, ding, ding, ding, ding....) I'm sure he was quite proud of me as he saw the light go off in my head and my eyes register understanding. I laughed, kissed and hugged him and said, "Oh, I see, you meant to say KITE!" My two year old looked at me with relief, nodded with a smile, and said, "yeeees". Then he grabbed the star and said, "starfish".... Ahhhh! Now I got it. He had moved on from identifying basic shapes to analogies! Why didn't he just say that!! lol! j/k....

I told this story to the Admissions folks at Cooper today while working there at summer camp. They laughed much at my expense, and then announced (with a straight face) that it was OK. That Jack was welcome to apply for admission into Pre-K when old enough, as they do not "discriminate against children based on a parent's questionable mental acuity". Sighh...

Belated Birthdays Blog Entry

Many Birthdays were celebrated in May and June.  With the end of school madness and then the rush to sign the kids up for summer camps before they fill-up and getting the kids packed to go on vacation, I just haven't had the time to catch up on my blogging.  

The first birthday celebration was that Jack and his friend Jude. They turned two, but Jack at least, celebrated his "Hap-py Day!!!" for about a week.  He definitely has the whole "blowing the candles" thing down....  Below is the cake I baked for the boys this year.  The theme was "pool party", so I baked a couple of flip-flops.  I used orange licorice for the straps.  My nephew Jayce now wonders why not all birthday cakes come with these....

Yes, we actually used the pool noodles to decorate the table.  This was last minute inspiration just before the guest arrived.  You have NO idea how difficult it is to get six noodles to balance just right inside a gift bag so that the bag does not topple over and land on top of say...the cake? It was an irresistible challenge.

For some strange reason, the two mothers who take the most pictures of their children in the whole world (Tracy and I) were total picture taking slackers this year.  The only pictures I got of Jack smiling are completely out of focus.  I am making it a priority to do MUCH better next year.  Below is the Thank You card the boys will be sending out....  I know, it's been a month already, but better late than never, right?!?

Below are a few random snapshots taken during the party....

"Aunt" Tally, cuddling one of the million babies

(How many "uncles" (Eric & Paco) does it take to untangle the birthday boys' fishing rods?)

In case you were not aware, toddler boys looove fishing in pools.  Their plastic fishies are tied to the lines, so they catch something with every cast :)  As evidenced by the picture below... sometimes they catch each other!

"Uncle" Mike with Lissie & Anna after playing in the pool...

The Aunties (honorary and actual) playing with the babies...

The second birthday celebration was that of Katja, who turned 12 in late May.  She opted not to have a large party this year in lieu of some "choice" gifts.  However, she did invite a few girlfriends over to swim and grill at grandma's pool and mark the occasion. 

The girls made ice-cream sundaes, 

and swam until it got dark and the pool lights came on...  

The third birthday celebration, was that of my nephews Zeke and Baz.  This was an impromptu party we threw together as the boys announced that they wanted to celebrate their birthdays(which are actually later in the summer) with their cousins, for a change.  You see, the boys are always taken on some fabulous vacation trip for their birthdays, and thus, are never around to have a traditional party with cake and all the trimmings.  This year they will be flying to France to spend their birthdays in a castle.... but what they really wanted was a swim party with their cousins.  So, we threw them one.  Zeke is turning four and Baz six.

Baz took some healthy swings at the pirate ship pinata.

Zeke went after the pinata with gusto.

I know they'll have a fabulous time in Paris, but they'll remember wacking the pinata, and jumping into the pool screaming and laughing with their cousins, and eating snow cones and candy until their tummies ached....  and that's a good thing. 

Summer Time Fun

The only way to survive our hot Texas summer is to hang out at the pool. We visit grandma and papa's pool as much as possible, sometimes inviting friends to join in the fun.

This is the annual "Papa & Grandma with all the grandchildren in the pool" picture.  Paco and Kerrie just found out that they will be having a little boy, whom they will name Luke, so expect one more little swimmer in next year's picture.

Robbie is still Robbie.  Fun-loving and goofy as ever and looking forward for football season to start.  He has become an avid sports fan.  He watches basketball games online and on tv simultaneously because there's a few seconds delay and he can tell what's going to happen on tv before it happens.  How exactly does a 9 year old find these things out?

Katja is growing up faster than I'd like.  She has had her first boyfriend this year just before her 12th birthday.  His name is Austin.  The romance lasted no longer than a couple of weeks.  He seemed like a nice boy who got all A's (mom's favorite trait), played golf and the violin.  They went on one date, Katja's first, to the movies as part of a group.  Uncle Paco drove her and checked things out.  If there happened to be an a adult she knew in the back of the theater watching exactly the same movie, I'm sure it was a coincidence. ;) 

Woohoo!!! Guess who's 2!!!

Jack-Jack, silly...  That's who!!!!

Boo-hoo!  On Monday my baby turned two....  Right up to Sunday, had anyone asked me how old he was, I would have said, "One!"  I held on to that for as long as I could.  It's funny how with my first one I looked forward to the milestones and told everyone her age in months.  Jack being the third (and last), sometimes I wish life had a "slow motion" button.  Hmm... that would mean that I could "fast forward" through temper tantrums too...  Not a bad idea! 

Thank you uncle Paco for the birthday fajitas.  They were super yummy!  Playing with Jayce on his swing set on a school night was a pretty cool way to spend the afternoon.

I got to blow my own candle this year 'cuz I'm a big boy now.  I know, I know!  There should have been two candles on my cupcake but my cousin Jayce wanted to blow one too.  I told him he could have the candle so long as I got to have the two wishes!

I had some cupcakes left over after celebrating with Katja, Robbie, and Jayce so I took 'em to my buddy Jude's house the next day so he could celebrate his birthday too.  I was two and he was one for a little while, but my mama says he's caught up with me again!  I can't wait for the big party!  I get to blow candles again!!  We practiced blowing them LOTS at uncle Paco's house.  He has lots of fire in his pocket for the candles....

The Easter Bunny Rocks!!

Katja decided that she would be Jack's Easter Bunny this year, and he thought she rocked!

Easter weekend was very busy.  Not only Sunday, with church, etc., but also on Saturday.  That's when we went to grandma & papa's to color eggs, swim (in the heated pool- thank you, papa!) and hunt for eggs with all the cousins.  Yep, you guessed it. This is another one of those Rivera family traditions.  This one sort of evolved naturally when Katja & Robbie were very young, and began coloring eggs. We would strip them down to their bathing suits before letting them have at the eggs and dye cups so they would not ruin their nice clothes.  Then, when the coloring was done, grandma would jump in the heated jacuzzi with them in order to clean off.... Now, it is a day long celebration with LOTS of food and laid-back fun for the kids and adults alike.   

Jack LOVED everything about Easter.  He would show me his eggs and say, "mama! Ish egg!" with enthusiasm.  The teacher in me, of course, used the opportunity to review the colors with him ;)  

Me:  "Yes, it's an egg, honey!", I would say, "What color is that egg, Jack?"

Jack: "Ish lellow?" (he would say this with big round eyes as if looking for confirmation)

Me:  "Yes, it sure is yellow, sweetheart.  You're so smart! What other color is it?"

Jack:  "Ish pink!" (followed by grin full of confidence, pride (at his cleverness) & laughter)

This verbal exchange occurred over, & over, & over....  He carried his basket of eggs everywhere, everyday, including to bed.  (Yes, I took the candy out of the eggs prior to bedtime ;)  The picture below was actually taken while in the midst of one of our color identifying conversations.  Can't you just see the wheels in his head turning?

Above, Jack after coming home from daycare and hunting for eggs in the playground.  He had so much fun, and was so competitive, his teachers had to sneak a few eggs out of his basket so the other children would have enough....  Below- By the time he went hunting for eggs at grandma & papa's he knew what to do and took off to fill his basket without hesitation.

As you can see, having already egg-hunted at school did not diminish his excitement for the activity again on Saturday.  It was like he was thinking, "This is SO cool, and I get to do it again!?!  Woo-hoo!"

A few times he took a break from hunting to sample the delights hiding within the eggs. Starburts, much to my delight, were his favorite as well as mine.  "Open, pleeze!" was his favorite phrase over the weekend as these candies came tightly bound in wrappers.  We got to practice our manners repeatedly. :) He knew he wouldn't get a single sweet until he said, "Sssank-you". He said it A LOT.

Cousin Jayce quite enjoyed coloring eggs again this year... almost as much as he enjoyed smashing them on pool deck afterwards.  He is SOooo much fun these days.... all boy!

In sharp contrast, cousin Zeke (who has been know to posses a "wild-side") not only enjoyed coloring the eggs, but was quite meticulous about embellishing them with stickers and being VERY careful so as not to break any accidentally.  Who would've "thunk" it...?!?

While our usually more "mature" and "sensible" Cousin Baz (who also enjoyed the egg coloring and the hunting) MUCH preferred the chocolate fountain.  Especially, when he thought no one was looking. ;)  He didn't even bother skewering fruit or marshmallows to dip into the streaming chocolate. He just stuck out his tongue...!?!  Now, why didn't I think of that?

It was a fun weekend.

Spring Time in Texas

Only in Texas is it an annual tradition for families to risk their lives each Spring by pulling on the side of the road and dragging their children for a picture among the blue bonnets. This year I decided that the wild flowers in the medians along Grogan's Mill road looked more inviting. I guess I was ready for something new. We were actually on our way to a friend's Bar Mitvah when we realized that it was temporarily overcast (prefered picture taking condition) due to a massive cloud blocking the Sun when I pulled the car to the side of the road. Unfotunately, by the time we got Jack out of his car seat, found the camera, and dodged traffic to get to the median, the Sun had come out to greet us. Sigh.... Oh well, we did the best we could under the very BRIGHT conditions.

Jack was fascinated by the wild flowers. He kept pointing at them and saying "mama look! fowers...", "lellow" and "wed".... He was SO cute to watch & hear. I feel so blessed to have him. I think he must be the happiest baby in the entire world! He finds joy and wonder in absolutely everything. I love looking at life through his eyes... it is so bright and wonderful.

Wow! I actually made it in a picture. Thanks Katja!