November highlights: turkey shoot, Shedmas, turkey trot, Thanksgiving
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the dust has finally settled after a whirlwind eight weeks of birthdays and holidays! here's a quick look back at November.
1) turkey shoot. this is a traditional weekend basketball tournament hosted by our school, and this year, Greta not only got to play with the JV team (who made it to the final game for the first time!) but also got to perform with the cheer squad for the varsity boys' game. Cecilia performed with the Spirit Squad in between games. the school spirit was epic!
#21 -- her first official JV game (playing as a 4th grader with 5th & 6th grade -- it's a learning curve for sure and she naturally doesn't get as much playing time as she does on her own developmental 3rd & 4th grade team, but she absolutely loves it!)
watching her steal balls is incredibly entertaining. I just think it's so funny that what we would never condone in regular daily life is actually what can win the game here. and once her hands get on that ball, she does not give it up!
it reminds me of the seagulls in Finding Nemo. "mine!" "mine!" "mine!"
I have no pictures of her actual cheer performance, but here she is practicing stunts as a flyer!
Spirit Squad (K through 2nd grade). they are just too cute!
2) Shedmas. Nick has been dreaming and scheming and saving for years to purchase a shed for the yard, so he can free up space in the garage to tinker on his cars. the stars finally aligned and we were all counting down the days until Shedmas. to Nick's great delight, the shed was actually delivered a day earlier than initially promised because the forecast called for heavy rains on the original date. he was just as thrilled as a kid would be to discover Christmas arriving a day early!
3) turkey trot. my very first turkey trot was in Rome, of all places, and it was a traditional 5K (the course ran around Vatican City and back, earning it the auspicious title of "the only three-mile race to run around a sovereign nation"). this year, I signed up the whole family for a one-mile family fun run on the north shore of Pittsburgh. the day started off not auspiciously as it was freezing cold, and the older girls who had been so excited to run in theory were suddenly less inclined to crawl out of their cozy beds at 7 AM. I did doubt my own sanity as I packed a bag full of hats, scarves, gloves, and pocket hand warmers, and asked Nick if he wanted to stay home with the babies since it was going to be so cold and he would much rather have stayed home himself (he loves walking and hiking, but hates running). but he knew how excited I was about doing this with the whole family, and he said we should just do it (bless him)!
flat family... I saved Victoria's bib for her memory box. her sex/age designation (F 0) cracks me up!
it wouldn't be a race morning without the angst of inching along in heavy traffic diverted due to multiple road closures for the 5K course. finally, we snagged a spot in the designated garage, flew out of the car, loaded the babies into the double jogger, and hustled our way to the starting line a few minutes after the 8 AM start. thankfully, we arrived in plenty of time to join the second wave of participants, and as I was trying to coax a smile out of the grouchy girls for a starting line photo, one of Greta's classmates and her teen sister ran over and hugged her! it was a Thanksgiving miracle.
immediately Greta took off running with her friend like a gazelle, and Cece was inspired to run after them. Nick commandeered the stroller while I jogged with Cece. we took several walking breaks and pointed out the Pittsburgh landmarks along the route. we ran right past Heinz Field, where the Steelers play (no actual Pittsburgher refers to it by its new moniker, Acrisure Stadium).
Heinz Field to the left, turkey day tutus to the right
as we approached the 3/4 mile mark, Cece's energy began to flag. she lamented, "I'm not even trotting! and it's a TURKEY TROT!!!" much to the amusement of several other families around us. thankfully, the brilliant race organizers had volunteers dressed like turkeys challenging kids to a 20-yard dash. of course, each kid magically beat the turkey, and that victory was enough to spur Cece on for the last push to the finish line!
"I beat the turkey!!"
Cece zoomed ahead (on the far left, approaching the finish line)
that face says it all! she was so proud of herself!
as soon as we crossed the finish line, we looked for Greta and her friends. I assumed they would be waiting for us. when we didn't spot them immediately, Nick headed off into the crowds to look while I stayed put at the finish line. I wasn't genuinely concerned for their safety as they are smart kids and Greta is well-versed in what to do if she gets separated from an adult (look for another mom with kids or a police officer/staff person and ask for help). I have the teen sister's phone number, so I texted her to meet us at the finish line, but of course there was that inevitable niggle of worry -- and I also thought Greta herself might be panicked about not finding us. after a few minutes, the girls skipped up to us, beaming with pride at finishing the race in ten minutes (not too shabby for Greta who hasn't done any dedicated running, but definitely hustles up and down the basketball court!). I asked Greta privately later if she was worried about finding us and she looked at me like I had three heads. "no!?! why would I be?" haha. my risk-averse girl is growing up!
Elizabeth's favourite part of the run by far was the post-race banana! the girls got bottled water and Cece had hot apple cider, too. it remains to be seen whether I can convince everyone to do this again with me next year, but I have high hopes!
I feared the babies would be miserable, but they didn't make a peep the whole time -- and the sun came out, so they didn't even need all the winter accoutrements I had packed!
4) Thanksgiving. once we got home and showered, it was a quick turnaround to pack up the car and drive two hours east to spend Thanksgiving with Nick's family. we had a delicious meal, with ice cream cake in addition to the pies for dessert since Greta's birthday was just a few days afterwards. that evening we drove back to Pittsburgh since I had to work the next morning, so it was a short but sweet trip. we certainly have much for which to give thanks!
I didn't notice Cece had food in her mouth until hours later when I was looking at the pictures...
I'm not even trotting - haha. That is too funny. What a great way to celebrate the holiday season; I really wish we had more "trots" where we live. They sound so festive!
And you did one around the Vatican? That is soooo cool <3
The running community here is really topnotch and there are so many family friendly races - it makes it really fun to participate with the kids!
Yes, the 5K around the Vatican was definitely one of those "pinch me" moments! I trained for the Rome half marathon while we were there and unfortunately it was cancelled due to Covid (it was scheduled for March 8, 2020, as the world was coming to a crashing halt).
It's so fun when the kids can race too. I went to the gym yesterday, and as I was walking in, my son was walking out - I didn't even know he had left the house. It struck me that I used to take him to the gym daycare to workout and now they workout on their own. You're setting a great example!
Oh wow, what a full circle moment! That is truly awesome. I was doing a youtube workout yesterday and Victoria, in her bouncer seat, was watching me and laughing hysterically. I do hope all my girls come to value physical activity and what their bodies can *do* vs. how they look. Coming back from each pregnancy gives me new appreciation for being able to exercise!
it's about time for a good old airing of the grievances. while we have ever so much for which to give thanks, sometimes we need the catharsis of enumerating our woes, big and small. (you can read the 2023 edition here.) _________________________________________ first up, potty training. I buckled down and trained Greta and Cecilia both around age 2 1/2, and it went fairly well (I'm a big fan of waiting until the kid is practically ready to train themselves). Elizabeth turned 2 1/2 near the end of the school year, and logically it seemed like a great time to buckle down -- we wouldn't be driving around to after school sports and activities and we'd have more time at home. I kept waiting for the day when I'd wake up full of excitement and motivation to strip off the diaper and chase a naked toddler around the house. and ... shockingly ... that day never came. then we were preparing for our trip to Seattle in July and it definitely didn't seem like the right time...
1) Color Run. the first annual Color Run for school took place on a Saturday morning in late August and it was so much fun! our school opened in Fall 2020, and I am continually amazed at how much the school community has grown since then. over the last year in particular, there have been an explosion of events for families outside of school (spearheaded by volunteers), and I just love how these programs foster a sense of common purpose and boost school spirit. the Color Run was sponsored by the school's cross-country team, and dovetailed with the Back-to-School Breakfast hosted by the parent volunteer group. Greta had no interest in running the 1-mile course (they had two courses designated, one that went up a hill and along a trail for a bit, and one that was flatter and suitable for strollers or walkers). so she volunteered to help as a color-sprayer! she was stationed at the beginning of the race, and then also was tasked with guarding the water balloons at the end of th...
1) Zoo. we picked a scorcher of a day to go to the zoo with friends! I can't actually remember if we went to the zoo at all last year (when Victoria was a newborn). in any case, Elizabeth was definitely far more interested in pointing out the animals than she had been the last time. striking their best explorer pose Greta is as tall as an adult female black rhino! she was obsessed with the anteater our friends headed home and we decided to circle back to see a few animals we'd missed the first time around. we ended up getting caught in torrential downpours and had to seek shelter by the cheetah enclosure for a while. but I'm glad we came back because we got to see the funniest shenanigans between the baby gorilla and his dad playing chase! another good place to wait out the rain -- hanging out with the sea lions. 2) Around home. Victoria and Elizabeth are having so much fun playing together (well, at some point it devolves into fighting and scratching, but still! they...
I'm not even trotting - haha. That is too funny. What a great way to celebrate the holiday season; I really wish we had more "trots" where we live. They sound so festive!
ReplyDeleteAnd you did one around the Vatican? That is soooo cool <3
The running community here is really topnotch and there are so many family friendly races - it makes it really fun to participate with the kids!
DeleteYes, the 5K around the Vatican was definitely one of those "pinch me" moments! I trained for the Rome half marathon while we were there and unfortunately it was cancelled due to Covid (it was scheduled for March 8, 2020, as the world was coming to a crashing halt).
It's so fun when the kids can race too. I went to the gym yesterday, and as I was walking in, my son was walking out - I didn't even know he had left the house. It struck me that I used to take him to the gym daycare to workout and now they workout on their own. You're setting a great example!
ReplyDeleteOh wow, what a full circle moment! That is truly awesome. I was doing a youtube workout yesterday and Victoria, in her bouncer seat, was watching me and laughing hysterically. I do hope all my girls come to value physical activity and what their bodies can *do* vs. how they look. Coming back from each pregnancy gives me new appreciation for being able to exercise!
Delete