What we're into...

I love doing a recap on what my kids are up to, and even what we've been doing together as a family! When they were little I was documenting more of their milestones and developmental processes, but now this seems more appropriate.


Xander:
Star Wars. But the desire and love has waned a bit over the last couple of months. I'm sure it will have spikes when new movies come out or new books are found.

Pokémon Go. Yes, the craze has hit the Little Family! I think it's cute, but I'm not crazy into it. My nephew knows all kinds of stuff, though, so I had him give me a tutorial so Xander and I can do it together. David and Xander even went uptown early before a soccer game to go Pokémon hunting. :)

Soccer. David and Xander recently went to a soccer game uptown between Inter Milan and Bayern Munich. They both enjoy going to sporting events so much - I hope these professional soccer games can become a tradition and teams will play in Charlotte annually so they can do it each year. This is their second year in a row to go. I haven't yet asked Xander if he wants to play soccer this fall because I know he'll say yes. Our schedule looks fairly full already and I don't relish the idea of adding anything else to it. We'll have to wait and see.

Legos. He wakes up most Saturday mornings and goes directly into the game room to tear apart his latest creation and make a new one. He has a Minecraft set that can be made into 8 different things, so he's enjoyed following the instructions and making each one on his own. He's starting to branch out a little bit and get more creative with some of his freehand structures, and I love seeing that. He's such a rule-follower that it makes me smile when he goes rebel and does his own thing. Ha!

Just this past week I was home with the kids by myself and put them both to bed. When this happens I always lay down with Amelia Jayne first and then with Xander (he's better at occupying himself alone while he waits). When I went in to lay down with Xander he was reading a book. I think it was the first time since he could read well that I've found him reading a book for pleasure. Either he's ready for school to start or the love of reading has found its way into my son's heart. I hope it's both, but I certainly want the latter. Of course, I immediately went to work the next day and pulled some books for him that I thought he might like. Right now he's settled on the Captain Awesome series by Stan Kirby which is silly, dumb and completely ridiculous, but means it totally appeals to his little 7-year old brain. :)  I haven't seen him giggle that much in a long time. It made my heart sing.

Amelia Jayne:
Dolls. All kinds. As long as she can change their clothes she's happy. She has an American Girl itty bitty baby that she's named Rosie. They have a lot of matching outfits that she likes to change in and out of. She also loves changing the outfits on her barbie-type princess dolls.

People. My little social butterfly continues to be a huge people person. She is so cute! (And mortifying at times, I won't lie.) She loves being with people - those she knows and loves, strangers, acquaintances, and basically anyone off the street - as long as I talk to them first. She doesn't usually run up to people and start talking to them, but if I start talking to them then they'd better watch out. She not only talks, but hugs, touches and clings. Have I mentioned that her love languages are quality time and physical touch? Yes, even at 4 years old this is obvious.

Her brother. Oh man does she love that boy. She wants to marry him. She wants to do whatever he's doing - karate, soccer, even scouts. She looked over at Xander the other day and said, "You're my best friend." Of course he informed her that they were siblings and that they weren't really friends. Oh, brother.
But he also wrote her a note telling her he loved her. He can be sweet sometimes, too. ;)

Swimming. She's great at swimming on her own now and has taken off the swimmies! I still put them on her in the lake (but I still make Xander wear a life jacket in the lake, because murky waters are a bit terrifying to me.) but outside of that, she's swimmy-free!


Both:
KARATE!
They've been to karate camp for three weeks this summer and love it. Xander tested this past week and is now a blue belt - his seventh belt. Amazing.
Amelia Jayne isn't officially in karate right now, but she has been accompanying Xander to his classes since they offered a "bring your friend to class for free" all summer long. In fact, she could also do classes the weeks she was at camp and often would do two classes a day - on top of camp! Boy were they worn out!


Family:
The Olympics! We've had so much fun talking about the different countries, looking at their flags (hello, vexillologist), discussing the different events and the amazing abilities these people have, and just generally being together while we do it. That's what I think is so fun about the Olympics, it's meant to unite people, right??

Family Time - I have really coveted our time together this summer. It doesn't matter if we're at home helping each other with chores, putting legos together, having Family Movie Night, or out on the town. We have had so much fun together this summer! I love my sweet fam. :)