Six Months, Sports Camp, and Stage Moms

Okay, do any of you miss my marathon blogs? Well, I have great news for you! ; ) I haven't bogged in forever, which is horrible because so much has happened. So, here is a little (or long) glimpse into our lives so far this summer.

Cici turned 6, then 7 months, and is now half way to 8 months! She is eating solids as of 6 months and gobbles up her food, even spinach gulash, which looks about as good as it sounds. I'm making her food, just as I did Evelyn's, and I really love doing that for her. She is still in the 25th percentile, which means she is just a little peanut! She is 7 months, but wearing Evelyn's 3-6 month clothes-which is perfect for summer. She is sitting up and talking much more. Not as much as Evelyn did at this age, but she is definitely not silent. She is not crawling, or even seeming interested in doing so, but Evelyn didn't crawl until 10 months, so that doesn't surprise me. She also hasn't started teething yet, which is nice. Basically she is in the sweet spot. She sleeps through the night and is past all that newborn fussiness, but is not yet able to move and get into things, nor is she cranky from getting teeth. She is very mellow and often content to just sit and play by herself. I bring her to the office with me and she gets passed around during staff meetings, then sits on the floor and plays with sharpies while I work, then falls asleep for the last few hours. Not bad!

Then, Sports Camp! It's a good thing Cecilia is a mellow baby, because Sports Camp kinda rocks our little world. The month of July is my busiest work month-many times I work double my hours-to help put on a big sports camp for kids in the community around where our church neighborhood. It's an awesome experience but I was more than a little nervous about it because it demands so much time and energy from me-which means takes time and energy away from being a mom and wife, and just being Kristin! However, with lots of help from friends, family, incredible volunteers, and a ton of support from Bard, I think this was the most peaceful and successful Sports Camp yet! I had nearly a hundred volunteers for Sports Camp, over 160 children so the week of camp was quite a sight to see. Evelyn has been at camp every year, but this was the first year she participated, even though she is still too young. She loved every minute of it, was absolutely exhausted and even slept in til 9am! Bard plays one of the characters for our "Half Time Show" and she thought it was hilarious that her dad was "Super Summer"-and especially loved when he threw out candy : ) I think she is used to seeing me speak to large groups of people, so that didn't really matter to her, but the fact that I threw out candy too-every evening-blew her mind since I've only given her candy a handful of times during her little life. The expression on her face was priceless! She loved the sports-and could even do some of the activities, although after hitting the baseball-for the first time ever-she ran after it instead of toward first base : ) She told us that her favorite sport was soccer, which made both her mama and dada quite happy : ) She learned all the songs and is still singing them and was pretty much spoiled by everyone there, so no wonder she had a good time! All in all it was an exhausting, exhilarating week, one that I am both glad to be over and thankful to have experienced. See you next year Sports Camp!

The first month of summer Evelyn was also able to attend a little summer camp put on by her preschool teacher and took a ballet class-from a teacher other than me-for the first time. She loved summer camp and it gave me freedom to get work done while knowing she was safe and having fun-success. Ballet class was a different story as almost every time I peeked in on her she was running off to do her own thing, taking another little girl's scarf, or ignoring the teacher-fail. The last day was parent observation and I really wanted to get a few pictures and a little video of her. Parents could only come in for about the last minute of class but one minute felt like a lifetime and I left so upset with Evelyn that I didn't really even want to talk to her. I don't want to be a stage mom who just jumps in, pressures her daughter, drives the teacher crazy, and is all around miserable, so I'm trying not to let my daughter's behavior (technically misbehavior) define my identity, but since I am a dance teacher, for Evelyn's age group, and have long wanted to see her in dance class, it was a bit crushing. I know that one of her strengths is her energy and social excitement, but when she crosses that line into being a rambunctious busy body, it's a bit hard to stomach. Hopefully through consistent discipline and educational discussions, she learns where that line is and not to cross it. I have to find my line too-of being involved but not over bearing, of letting her shine on stage but not becoming a stage mom. We'll work on balance together.

Speaking of balance, I'm actually writing this blog while on vacation in New Hampshire. Bard's family is from the East Coast so we are all out here together having an amazing time. Stay tuned-that will be the next blog. Now, off to cocktail hour!