Lodi Fun

Because Drew's Tball game was so early - 8:30 - it was wonderful to have a full Saturday yet to do something fun.  So we decided to head out to Lodi to pick up one of our wine shipments from Macchia.

Well since we drove all that way - about an hour from our house - we decided to hit up a couple of new (to us) wineries.  Down the road from Macchia is Acquiesce the all white version of Macchia which is all reds.

We loved this little winery!  They have a cool front door

And the winery is inside a restored 100 year old barn.  They are a very small lot winery and I have to say we loved it!  We got a couple of bottles.  Everyone was super friendly!  And best yet, we were able to taste for free courtesy a free tasting "coupon" given to us at Macchia.  Although it would be worth the $5/taste fee they charge.  Acquiesce also pairs their wine with foods.

We will be back!

And then we decided to venture to another new-to-us winery, Heritage Oak.  Again, very impressed!  The staff was really sweet with us, and even made friends with Drew.  Not all wineries are kid friendly and I have to say they went above and beyond to make us feel welcome.  We were told about a really cool little hiking trail with a swing.

So after tasting and purchasing a few more bottles we decided to head out for a little hike.  Oh man was that worth it - especially for a little boy who wanted to do something "fun" for him.

About 10-15 minutes down the trail was this awesome tree swing near the bank of the creek.

Drew had a great time swinging and got a bit nervous when the swing would start to spin in circles.

After some play time we had to make our way back - Mom and Dad wanted to hit up the Lockeford Meat Market if not one more winery (we only managed to get our meat).

But there was one tree on the hike back that Drew couldn't pass up climbing.

The height started to make him nervous and Drew said he had to go to the bathroom.  Bad.  So instead of climbing down he jumped to Dave.

I thought it was pretty cool I caught the action jump shot.

Turns out Drew didn't actually have to go to the bathroom.  It was just the sensation he had from being so high up.  Guess you have to be a guy to understand that feeling - Dave went into great detail filling me in.

On the way back Drew found a cool stick and pretended he was one of the "Sand People" from Star Wars.

Daddy wanted to play too and found a stick.  Drew saw how cool Daddy's stick was and decided it should be his.

Size does matter even when you're 5.

And here's a final shot on the trail back to the car...

Gotta love my boys.

It turned out to be a perfect day. 

Nationals vs. A's

I'm highlighting all of Drew's T-ball games for our baseball loving family around the country who can't be there for every game.  This is the only sport I intend to do this for.

After a 2 week break from Tball games due to Spring Break, it was back to baseball Saturday last weekend.  This time we played the A's and started the game with something new - the Little League Oath.

I guess they do this before all the games, for the older kids 

Then it was time to play ball!  Drew batted first on Saturday.  I got one of his practice swings.

In the bottom of the first he played first base and I caught a picture of him catching a grounder.

Second inning he batted middle of the line-up and made it to first.

Coach Dave/Daddy likes to rotate who starts the batting line-up.  It keeps things flowing better when they aren't always batting in the same order every inning.  Since the final batter gets a "home run" and there aren't any outs in Tball, this offers something to keep the boys busy.

In the 3rd and final inning, Drew played pitcher.  Which is where most of the balls are typically hit.  Drew stuck to the "pitcher mound" though and didn't seem to go after the ball much.

That picture cracks me up.  I have no clue what he was doing other than pointing to the batter.

It is really interesting to see how different each team we play is.  The A's were all about defense and keeping their boys focused on what's going to happen.  They all kept the "ready" position well.  Of course they had a lot of parent volunteers - one per base.  So they could keep their boys better focused unlike ours who enjoy playing in the dirt.  We have a total of 3 coaches - that's including Dave.

We're already half way through the season already.  Only about another month left.  Drew says he's really having a lot of fun with it.  Lucky for Dave.

Easter: A Family Affair

After the Easter Bunny's fun, Dave, Drew, and I got ready for church where they had a breakfast and an Easter Egg Hunt.  Of course there's always a beautiful - albeit crowded - service.  One of the great traditions they have at our church is a floral cross.  They ask members of the congregation to bring in their fresh flowers.

Shortly before the service they bring the cross inside and put it alongside the alter.  After the service everyone comes up to take pictures at the cross.

After church we rushed to Grammy and GrampC's where the family was gathered to enjoy the holiday.  This year it was Grammy, GrampC, GG, Aunt Connie and Uncle Doug, Uncle Matt, Auntie Rana, Kent (Rana's Dad), Adrina and our newest niece Avery.

As is typical with the new babies, everyone fought over time to hold the newborn.  I gave up some of my time to pass her over to Drew for a few moments... this was the first time he even looked like he wanted anything to do with her.  It was quite sweet.

Drew got a new Angry Bird game from the Easter Bunny and inside was an Obi-Wan bird - so he had to wear his Obi-Wan cape cloak all day.  We made him wait until after church and we got to Grammy and GrampC's.   The  cloak was made by my Aunt Connie.

We managed to snag one snapshot of Drew with Grammy.

And then Obi-Wan used the force on Daddy.

Grammy has always been good at finding child labor.  Just ask my brother and sister.  Here Drew and Adrina were actually fighting over who could scoop the dead bugs out of the pool.

While the outside temp was about 60-63 degrees, the pool was roughly 65 degrees.  I wouldn't let Drew inside, but Uncle Matt was dumb crazy enough to try another "polar plunge" like he did at Christmas.

Only this time he refused to let me pick out his towel.  I picked out a nice princess pink towel at Christmas.  He preferred the manly blue.

And then the idiot jumped in.

Drew kept putting the force on Uncle Matt sending him back into the water.  He didn't complain because it was warmer in the water rather than out of the water.

GrampC decided to avoid the water and snuck some Avery time instead...

It's always so special to get the kids and family together. 

Easter Egg Hunts

It was a weekend full of Easter egg hunts - a whopping total of four!

It started Saturday with a quick egg hunt at the Blackhawk Plaza.  We did this a few years ago and it was a lot more organized, but not as much fun.  Previously we went store to store to get an egg.  This year it was a mad rush to find eggs hidden throughout the plaza - but the problem was trying to contain about a hundred little kids for an hour while they hid eggs.  However if you came late like we did, you missed that you're supposed to sit aside and not look for eggs... oops.

Eventually we figured out we needed to join the crowd and wait.  And what chaos it was after they let the kids loose!

After we found about a dozen eggs, we got ready to go home and get ready for the long day ahead.

Which included dying eggs for the Easter Bunny to find.

That's an egg with Chewbacca drawn on it.

Then the next morning it was Egg Hunt #2 - the real one courtesy the Easter Bunny.  Of course Drew scored with some loot in his basket.

And it seems the Easter Bunny had trouble escaping after leaving his gifts and hiding the eggs...

 ...he left a little bit of his cotton tail behind and dropped some jellybeans in the process!

The "egg in the toilet" (magnet that is) was Drew's favorite egg find of the morning.

And then Drew realized what happened to Mr. Easter Bunny...

After hunting for eggs at home, we had to hurry up and get ready for church where we were having breakfast and Egg Hunt #3.

And in our whirlwind weekend, after Church we went strait to Grammy and GrampC's for Easter Dinner and egg hunt #4!

Drew and Adrina had a blast looking for eggs.

I adored my Easter find - little Miss Avery.

Drew scored big this weekend and found some money in his eggs that is burning a hole in his pocket.  We promised him he could spend it, but he had to count it first so he knew how much he had.

Sipping from the Barrel

The week before Easter the three of us were joined by Grammy and GrampC for a weekend of Barrel Tasting in Livermore.  We loved doing this before and just after we got married in the Sonoma/Kenwood area, but the cost of tickets got a little out of control.  It was much more reasonable in our local wine tasting region.

And the trick now days is to figure out how to keep Drew pacified for wine tasting.  This time not only for one afternoon... but two!

It helped that ever few wineries there would be something of interest to look at.  Like the Clydesdale horse that was resting while it's passengers were inside Murrietta's well wine tasting.  Drew is in love with Clydesdales after watching the Budweiser commercial during the Super Bowl - the one with "Landslide" playing in the background.

The first day we hit up about 6-7 wineries.

There were a lot of opportunities for candids at Concannon.  We were in their event center.

For those not familiar with wine tasting and barrel tasting... wine tasting you are at the counter tasting bottled wine. Barrel Tasting you taste wine before it's bottled and still in the barrel.  It goes through a lot of changes before it reaches the bottle. 

So what does Drew do to entertain himself while we're getting our wine on?

He runs through the fields.  Dave and I would take turns checking on him. It was a gorgeous day and he preferred working on his workbooks outside rather than inside where it was often crowded and dark.

GrampC and Drew check out the old set of wheels outside Page Mill Winery.

And at our next to last stop for the day , we went to Las Positas Winery.  We managed to get one family picture.

Drew wants to taste from that barrel in a few years...

So the plan to get Drew to cooperate for two days of barrel tasting was to bribe him with an overnight stay at a hotel with a pool.  Thankfully I had some hotel points and it was a free stay.  This was the best idea I had!

After swimming the next morning, we headed out for another day of wine tasting.  We started at Thomas Coyne and Fenestra.  Drew was climbing the rooftops... begging to go back to the hotel.

I clearly didn't take as many pictures on Day two, but here is a nice shot from McGrail Vineyards.  One of our last stops for the day.

We had a lot of fun, and Drew managed to survive although day 2 was definitely a tough one for him.  Who can blame him?  Perhaps next time we'll give him a few sips of the "juice". 

Tball Game 3

I'm highlighting all of Drew's T-ball games for our baseball loving family around the country who can't be there for every game.  This is the only sport I intend to do this for.

Spring Break starts next week, so the league gave everyone the weekends on each end of Spring Break off.  So last week was the last game for two weeks.

I was so preoccupied watching Drew's first at bat that I failed to take a picture of it.  Here he is on third base...

For his second at-bat in the second inning he got on base.  Here he's getting instruction from Coach Steve who is working 1st base. 

The coaches alternate between first base and getting the kids prepped for their next at bat.  Dave, who's the manager, is always getting the kids set up on the tee.

Here's Drew's final at bat (notice the weird man in the right side of the picture?  Yep, that's GrampC).  If you look carefully you can see Drew hit the ball just in front of the tee along the first base line.

I believe they managed to get him out, but like I've touched on previously they don't count outs at this stage in our league.

After the game and the boys all got their snacks and drinks, Manager Dave told everyone how he managed to play tricks on the Leprechaun and he stole all of his loot.  Keep in mind this game was on March 16th, the day before St. Patrick's Day.

The kids loved it!  Dave gave everyone a little frisbee, a green necklace and some gold coins that were really chocolate.  Yes, he spoils these kids rotten!

TK Parent-Teacher Conference

Last week Dave and I met with Drew's Transitional Kindergarten Teacher for his second report card and final conference.

The short and sweet, he's come a long way emotionally/socially since the beginning of the year.  Where she was concerned about his overreaction to issues that arise, he's done a lot better, but she still thinks we need to watch his impulse control - a lot of which is normal for 5 year old boys.   I'll go into the story she shared at the end.

Here's how he's "Graded"
P= Proficient (highest achievement possible)
OT = On Track (age appropriate)
E = Emerging (needs a little work)
AC = Areas of Concern (serious problems)
X - Not Yet Taught/Assessed

There were four categories in which he's graded:
1. Social/Emotional
2. Language Arts
3. Math
4: Physical Development
5: just teacher comments


His previous "grades" are in parenthesis.

1. Social/Emotional:

• Seeks adult help when appropriate - OT (E)
  Notes: He's come a long way, minus the incident the day before the conference (I'll touch on this at the end)
• Engages in cooperative activities with peers - OT (E)
• Exhibits impulse control and self-regulation - E (E)
  Notes: working on this (this goes along with the first bullet point, again to be discussed later)
• Works Independently - OT (OT)
• Participates in group activities - OT (OT)
• Demonstrates caring for others - OT (E)
• Follows Playground Rules - OT (E)
  She made several comments about how Drew is actually too competitive on the playground when he's racing classmates, she'd like him to work on this. I think this is a father/son trait.
• Follows classroom rules and procedures - P (OT)
• Separates from parents/caregivers without stress - P (P)
• Follows Directions - P (OT)

2. Language Arts

• Writes own first name in Titlecase - P (P)
• Uppercase letters 5 10 15 - P (P)
• Lower case letters 5 10 15 - P (P)
• Exhibits beginning sound awareness - P (P)
• Exhibits rhyme awareness - OT (X)
• Listens while others are speaking - OT (OT)
• Shares ideas with others - P (OT)
• Actively engages in writing activities - OT (OT)
• Actively engages in reading activities - P (P)

3. Math

• Understands that numbers represent quantity - P (P)
• Recognizes numbers in random order (0-12) - P (P)
• Uses one-to-one correspondence to count objects (12) - P (X)
• Recognizes common shapes - P (X)
• Counts orally 1-20 - P (P)
• Sorts by one attribute - P (X)
• Extends simple patterns - P (X)

4. Physical Development

• Demonstrates gross motor skills (balance, jump, run, climb) - OT (OT)
• Demonstrates sense of body in relation to others - OT (OT)
• Demonstrates fine motor skills (cut, color, draw) - OT (OT)
• Performs basic self-help/self-care tasks - OT (E)
• Uses Small Manipulatives effectively - P (OT)

5. Trimester Comments

• Drew continues to show good growth in kindergarten.  He loves playing imaginative games with his friends and is well liked.  He is a creative thinker who thinks "outside of the box".  He is a strong student and interested in all areas of the curriculum.  At times he jumps to conclusions, loses a game or race and becomes very upset.  We are working on this.  We will focus on comprehension in language arts and number sense in math.  Keep up the good work Drew!

When we first arrived for our conference his teacher told us about an incident that happened the previous day.  Ironically Drew started telling me his version of it the previous day as well - and changed his tune as soon as he realized I was going to be speaking with his teacher. Funny how that works.

Anyway the incident involved another little boy that was continuously getting in trouble from the teacher put into "time out".  Well on his last time out, he was instructed he no longer could play with the other kids, but had to find something to do independently.  The boy listened like most 5 year olds do, and proceeded to try and interrupt what Drew was doing - apparently playing with some science stuff that involved a timer.  The teacher said she was was unusually busy that day and while she saw the other little boy go over to approach Drew she didn't think much of it until she heard a blood curdling scream.  Apparently Drew started screaming because the little boy snatched the timer out of his hands and then the boys began brawling. (While Drew used to hit kids in preschool he has yet to do it since about the age of 3 or 4).

Well the teacher quickly broke them up and told the one boy he was now in time out for the remainder of the day (10 more minutes of class left).  Drew had 2 minutes, which she said he took and they talked about how while even though the boy made the teacher mad, the teacher didn't hit the boy... even if she thought about it.  Drew took his punishment, but after his time was up, he went to the teacher and said "It should count for something that he hit me too".  Apparently he was punished for not following directions and bothering Drew, not the hitting.  The teacher said she got a good chuckle out of that.

In addition to the story, she went on about how he will still be challenged in Kindergarten, and why he shouldn't advance just to 1st grade (I think she was fielding a lot of questions from parents who thought their kids were ready to move on).  She said he is amazing in reading and math - advanced for his age.  She still said they want to keep an eye on him to ensure he's not just a sight reader, but she's no longer thinking so.  In her opinion he's such a math wizard and language is so high he'll be a CEO when he grows up.

So another great conference!  We've loved having her for our teacher.

And so it's not just a long winded post - here's a little picture of Drew from my phone from earlier this month when he was getting ready to sing Praise Him, Praise Him for the Children's Choir at Church.