We didn’t get to experience the typical transition out of pre-school to kindergarten with Sloane because 2020 was 2020. So this is new for us. I can definitely see that Soren is ready for kindergarten and that pre-k was getting a little boring for him. His last day was at the end of July, but his teacher is off this summer traveling to see her family in China. She arranged a celebration at the end of June before she left. Adam took Soren (along with Sloane because she was off school). It seemed really sweet and I was sad to miss it. The kids got up on a little stage to say what they wanted to be when they grew up. One kid started the trend of saying I want to be ….. and then naming an animal. They also answered what they wanted to learn in kindergarten. Soren said he wanted to learn geography!

He really has grown so much at pre-K. He has learned to be inquisitive and direct his own learning. He has made some good friends and together they have fun games they play. An old phone and keyboard is a favorite to play a type of command center game. We even found out his friend Hadley might go to the same school as him next year.

As exciting as it will be to have both kids at the same place for a few years, it will be very strange to not be connected to the center at Clark College. Sloane started there in January 2017. We weren’t going for about 1.5 years during the pandemic, but it is still a long time. I remember we looked at one other daycare for Sloane that I couldn’t stand. The second place we looked at was Clark and we just loved it. Our instincts were right and it has been such a nurturing environment for our kids toddler and pre-K years.

This school year many people told me that 2nd grade was their favorite year of elementary school. It was not the case for me, so I wasn’t convinced. But wow, Sloane had a magical year. Between an energetic and positive teacher and a great group of classmates, she had a wonderful year.

She did get to have a few field trips this year- to OMSI in the fall; to a musical in the spring; and to Pomeroy Farm. We are pretty lucky with our flexible work schedules that we were able to divide up the field trips and one of us chaperoned each one.

I heard a pediatrician say that 8 year old girls should rule the world. They are emphatic and caring, and they want things to be fair for all. And I agree, especially with Sloane this year. For example, Sloane drew a picture of a house with some rainbows. She asked her teacher to put it on the wall in the classroom. Her idea was if a classmate was feeling sad, upset, or overwhelmed, they could go put their hand on the drawing and Sloane would give them the support they needed. Her teacher did ask to keep her for another year of 2nd grade!

We were so excited that our favorite cherry place was open this year for u-pick. We had a great trip out to Moiser and picked SO many cherries. I think we picked 25 lbs. Adam pitted a bunch to freeze. We’ve been able to have them for dessert with cream on them in Adam’s grandparent’s cherry bowls. It is delicious.

The kids both played soccer with Parks and Rec this spring. Parks and Rec asked me to coach, but we decided Adam would be a better choice! They were on teams with our neighbor friends, Sadie and Aya. I wasn’t prepared for being fully thrown into the sports world! By the second week, we had bought a wagon to haul things to the field- soccer balls, water, chairs, blanket, snacks……

Sloane did really well. Her first game, first time on the field, she offered to play goalie. We needed to remind her a few times over the weeks to pay attention to the ball while playing.

Soren also did well. His age played 4 on 4 and they were mostly a cluster moving about the field. Coaches are on the field, so Adam got lots of steps each weekend.

And the tradition of lunch at Seize the Bagel post games was also a big hit!

In January, I started searching for cats. Sloane was really missing have pets in the house and now that holiday travel was done, it seemed like time. I wanted to get a bonded pair that were under 1 year old. I found a few options but we weren’t excited not enough to apply for adoption. Then I found a sibling pair that were being fostered. They were 7 months old and had been found abandoned on the street. The day after submitting the application, I heard from the foster family. I took the kids down to meet the cats that week. The cats were so scared we barely got to see them, but even with them being scared, they were calm. They didn’t hiss or swat or scratch. They came to our house a couple days later. Sloane was over the moon. She learned how to make Google slideshows at school, so she made a couple about the cats!

We kept Asher’s name. He was originally more outgoing and would get pets and cuddles. But now, he is shyer and likes to spend most of the day under the chair in Sloane’s room. He loves playing with the feather toy and drooling all over me after the kids go to bed.

Sloane really wanted to name the female cat Beatrix, so we went with it. She already has a bunch of nicknames- BB, BB trix, baby trix. She took longer to warm up, but is so playful now. She loves the laser pointer. And her meow is very hoarse- it is so silly.

If you include the kids and Adam riding the train around Sea-Tac, we really did all this for the holiday travel. The adventure started the night before our scheduled flight. There was an ice storm in the forecast and I booked us a hotel for the night by the airport. If the planes were taking off, I was going to be there! We got take-out for dinner and swam in the pool- it was super fun. Until bedtime. When both kids started getting sick. While we are all trying to sleep and I am trying to figure out how we will make it through a flight and how to get them prescriptions in NH, I get a notification that our flight is canceled.

Bill and Paula come and pick us up, very kindly. Back at our house, the ice is so intense that each blade of grass is coated. A neighbor was ice skating down our street! But the main roads were ok. We were rebooked to fly on Christmas day and get two nights at home to recovery. I have a phone call with the pediatrician and get them both prescriptions called in. Adam walks to the store to pick up some essentials and the prescriptions. Everyone is feeling better and things are looking good. We lose power on Christmas Eve and I have a small cry, thinking this will be the end of the obstacles.

Then Christmas morning, I get a notification that our flight from Portland to Seattle is canceled. With an 8 hour hold time on the phone, the best option is for me to go to the airport and wait in line. After about an hour, I get them to keep our Seattle-Boston flight. Now- we drive to Seattle!

We made the flight from Seattle to Boston and arrived just after midnight on the 26th. Luckily we wrote a note to Santa asking him to come to G and Pa’s house on the 26th and it wasn’t a problem.

Christmas on the 26ths was lovely. We had a really low key day. Through all the travel adventures and multiple mini celebration, the kids had a blast. Even though I was a ball of stress and plans kept changing, they thought everything was exciting and almost magical.

Our visit was short, but we did have some fun. The kids found the old snow banks fun to play in! And we took them ice skating for the first time at an indoor ice rink. They both loved it. Luckily Jesse joined us because three adults to two kids was a good ratio. The kids helped G make lasagna and helped Pa paint bird houses. Sloane wrote a song and Cam played accompaniment to perform it for us. She was elated. We are hopeful NH Christmas 2024 will be less of a traveling adventure!

Our cat Mia died in October. She was 14 years old and had gotten quite thin and ill. The last few weeks, she spent most of her time curled up in cat beds and on towels. Mia always had a feisty personality. During the last few weeks of her life, Sloane and Soren were able to pet her and love her more than when she was frisky and young. We adopted Mia as a rescue from Rach’s dad’s clinic. Mia spent most of her young kitten time with Adam and me, so she was really attached to us. She loved to make biscuits in your lap. She also knew exactly how many pets she wanted and would let you know when your hand did that one extra stroke.

We had a little ceremony for her and buried her next to Murdoc. It happened to be the same day we planned a trip to Fort Stevens for a day trip with bike riding. Getting out of the house and moving our bodies helped to ease the sadness. Having no pets in our house was a big shift. Sloane started to ask for kittens right away, but waiting until after holiday travel seems the best idea.

Sloane was so excited to start second grade, mixed in with a little bit of nervousness. We found out a week before school started that the school moved a second grade teacher to kindergarten this year due to enrollment. This meant they divided one of the second grade classes into the other two teachers. Sloane’s class is about 25 students! Luckily Sloane was able to keep her assigned teacher because she was very excited about having Mrs. White.

Sloane has grown so much with her independence and social skills since last year. She gives us a quick hug and dashes to her class door. Last year, we had to wait to watch her turn the corner for one last wave before we could leave. She is also being helpful with her class mates, especially one who is nonverbal at school. I think it helps that some school activities have resumed- assemblies and recesses with other grades. She gets to play with our neighbor friend Sadie who is in 3rd grade at 2 of her recesses. Sadie likes to play soccer and Sloane sometimes plays and sometimes just follows her around. We are working on boundaries a bit!

Here is the first day of school picture. There was a hawk up in a tree across the street which was a little distracting!

A few weeks ago, I said something about Soren being my son. He looked at me with a strange face and said “I am not your son. I am Daddy’s son.”

“Well if you aren’t my son, what are you to me?” I asked.

He thought for a while and replied “Your mini husband!”

It was perfect and I laughed so hard. When we were back east, Erin remarked that it must be so strange for me to have a child who looks exactly like my partner! Soren is a mini Adam and apparently my mini husband. But only Soren uses a straw to suck is own boogers.