Cecchin Cousins Take on Great America

We paid a visit to Great America with cousins Tommy and Lucy last week, and came away sweaty, sleepy and armed with miscellaneous stuffed and inflatable toys. 

I'm pretty sure that means a good time was had by all! Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Cecchin for keeping our kid:adult ratio 1:1!

For the first time, all of the kids were tall enough to go on a variety of rides... Joey and Tim could not have been more excited! They rode the Demon three times in a row!

Molly and Clara got their own thrills on a tinier coaster that had way more than enough ups and downs for me. It should come as no surprise that Clara was more than fine going on the ride by herself, but we were shocked that Molly is a huge fan of coasters, too! Her giddy shrieks were deafening!

We procured some inflatable bats for Lucy and Molly, and they turned out to be quite a dangerous(ly cute) duo.

 

 

Out of the Mouths of Babes

What makes changing diapers, chauffeuring kids and dealing with bedtime antics worth it? Getting to be the first to hear all of the crazy and entertaining things that these little people say all day long.

First it's the mixed-up words... like Molly's persistent use of "Oakwey, dokwey," instead of "Okey, dokey." And then there's her ice cream order... "grenilla" instead of vanilla. I love the way she tilts her head quizzically to the side, and proffers her opinion, always beginning with, "Ashually," instead of "Actually." Sometimes her sentences are completely lucid and perfect, and other times, they're a train wreck, like this one from last week:  "Will you did go to Oakwood last year again, Mommy?" She also coined Joey's longstanding nickname in the house: "Jofus." Oh, how he loves that one! ;)

Meanwhile, Clara continues to mix up certain words that my heart just won't let me correct. For years now, she's referred to exercise as "extra-cise," bracelets are "brace-slips," and she's always called the go-to cereal in our house "Smart Smart," instead of Smart Start. She persists in confusing our front door and back door, understandable since we so rarely use our front door for our comings and goings! And I love that she still refers to any tummy troubles as having a "stomach-eck" instead of a "stomach-ache." She also coined the phrase "best sleeper-inner" (much to my delight) and usually wins this title, since she likes to stumble out of bed between 9 and 10 a.m.

Even our most linguistically mature kid in the house isn't immune to some of his own amusing slip-ups. Even though he's watched approximately a billion hours of miscellaneous sports coverage over the past two years, he still calls announcers "pronouncers" and refers to his own swim and baseball workouts as "praftis," even spelling the word exactly that way multiple times for first grade writing assignments.

But the mixed-up words pale in comparison to the crazy lens through which they view the world. Last week, this gem was offered up to me from the "way back" of the car as I was driving:

"Mommy, I know how you get earrings! You go looking in the forest for a really sharp stick, and you kind of stab the end of the stick in your ear. And then you have earrings, right??"

Yes, this was Clara... thankfully, she hasn't tried this yet.

Making a Splash

Our little three year-old made a big splash at her birthday party last month, thanks to a hot day, an inflatable water slide, and lots of little friends and cousins!

We grilled hot dogs and hamburgers for our crowd, and actually ran out of meat, despite the fact that we purchased 80 hot dogs and 40 hamburger patties. It was a rager for toddlers and their older siblings.

 

 

 

Thanks to all who helped make Molly May feel so special that day!

Goodbye to Pre-K

Clara left behind a very special place last month, when she officially graduated from preschool, a place that has nurtured her faith, her self-esteem, and her fledgling friendships. We feel so blessed to have found this school and its amazing teachers!

The send-off program for her class included lots of songs and movement, a little play that was interrupted by "Jesus" losing his first tooth, and finally, the presentation of rolled-up diplomas that all the boys promptly turned into weapons and telescopes, and all the girls daintily held in their hands.

Clara had lots of grandparents in the audience, with Grandma Cecchin and Hop and Mop there for her big day!

Adventures in Arnold

Two days after school let out, we headed to Arnold to kick off our summer with Hop, Mop, Charlie, and the Stecher crew. The good news: The new cabin survived the onslaught. The bad news: It may be hard to keep our crew away from there!

We helped Hop finish making the seating around the new firepit, roasted S'mores, went swimming, visited a lake and playground, and had some wild and crazy times with cousins.