Addison and Riley are LOVING school. They have friends in class, they talk about things they do in school. Full day kindergarten is a really long day for them but wow, I'm so glad it's going well.
Addison will be sitting at the dinner table and start talking about how 6+4 equals 10, and he'll spell words that he's learned in school. He loves to look in books and pick out his "sight words" that he's learned in school. He has his own style (don't EVER try to put him in jeans or a "handsome" shirt), he's an athletic pants and t-shirt kid.
Riley is learning so much too! He loves words and reading. He's still working on the math thing, but he's making huge improvements! Poor kid missed the second day of school because of being sick. We had a few weeks where Riley and Addison seemed to be switching illnesses and one would be home one week and the other, the other week.
My biggest brag on my boys has to be them playing football! They have grown up seeing their older brother playing football and have wanted to play for years. This year they were able to play flag football.
When we got to the first practice, I literally had to push them into the warm up circle. They didn't know any kids or the coaches. Their coaches were amazing! When they did warm ups, a coach would get down next to them and do the warm-ups with them. The kids encouraged each other and the coaches were my boys biggest cheerleaders (aside from me, of course). They were quickly dubbed "The Wonder Twins". At first, they didn't quite understand everything but they quickly learned how to block, where to go, and they both had chances to carry the ball, and they did AMAZING!
Now, let's be real...I don't ever expect to raise starting quarterbacks or all stars but I believe sports are really important for kids. We're fortunate enough to have a league that truly is about kids learning and having a good experience.
I had a moment that brought me to tears. The twins practice had ended early and we were walking down to the school where my daughter was still having cheer practice. As we walked along the parking lot, kids from the twins team were stopping to give them high fives, and yelling goodbye out of the car window as they drove past. Those kids knew which twin was which, and my boys, for the first time, had friends. Addison asked me on the way home that night if he could have a playdate with a friend from the team. I started crying right then and there. They had been in preschool for 3 years and never made friends or asked anyone to play. They were content to be with each other. My boys have friends. They tell me that they saw so and so from football in the halls at school or in the cafeteria and it makes my heart so happy.
Having them involved in sports forced them out of their comfort zones and they amazed everyone. As I sat at their first practice, I kept telling myself it was a horrible idea. I couldn't have been more wrong.
Football is now over and we're enjoying having our lives back from constant running and take out pizza. We're getting ready for the holidays and the upcoming winter. They were so excited when we got 1.5" of snow the other day and that it was still on the ground when they got home from school. They bundled up and went out sledding. I'm looking forward to (hopefully not too many) more of those days.
